Bitboxes vs Shadowfox Custom Cases
Anyone else have both? Which do you prefer? I'm trying to decide which direction to take things.
The Shadowfox cases are nice because they're slightly more compact, and seem sturdier. But I also feel like they're a bit too tight, that the snaps are going to break off at some point, and that the carts cause the inside wall to buckle a bit from being slightly too small. There's also gaps in the plastic where the artwork is vulnerable to damage.
The bitboxes are slightly less aesthetically pleasing (the spine is curved), I'm not sure if the bottoms will remain straight as time and gravity work on them, and they are pricier.
The Shadowfox cases are nice because they're slightly more compact, and seem sturdier. But I also feel like they're a bit too tight, that the snaps are going to break off at some point, and that the carts cause the inside wall to buckle a bit from being slightly too small. There's also gaps in the plastic where the artwork is vulnerable to damage.
The bitboxes are slightly less aesthetically pleasing (the spine is curved), I'm not sure if the bottoms will remain straight as time and gravity work on them, and they are pricier.
Comments
I've also been using Shadowfox's Game Boy cases and Sega cases and the quality is fantastic. I might even get the N64 cases which appear to be next on his list (along with SNES).
And this is why my nes and snes sets are not cased yet.
The prices on both kill it for me. I'd love those Shadowfox ones but I just cant justify paying $4 to box a 10 yard fight i paid $1 for.
The boxes are $2.75 each if you're buying singles.
You're only paying $4 if you're having them print cover art for you.
If you get 100, the price goes down to $1.50 each.
They are inexpensive cases, considering that UGCs were $0.60 each and required considerable and irritating modification to get to NES cartridge compatibility.
The prices on both kill it for me. I'd love those Shadowfox ones but I just cant justify paying $4 to box a 10 yard fight i paid $1 for.
The boxes are $2.75 each if you're buying singles.
You're only paying $4 if you're having them print cover art for you.
If you get 100, the price goes down to $1.50 each.
They are inexpensive cases, considering that UGCs were $0.60 each and required considerable and irritating modification to get to NES cartridge compatibility.
Must have been looking in the wrong place. That is significantly less and seems a good rout if you buy in bulk. I think I am just too cheap lol. Besides money, Im running out of room in my collection for damn loose carts. These would look nice but I'd need a whole new shelf
They look great with the covers printed out. Please keep in mind that covers from UGCs will not fit properly in the new Shadowfox cases because the spine is a little wider. However, a cover for the Shadowfox case has been made for nearly every NES game out there.
Those do look really freaking nice lol
They look great with the covers printed out. Please keep in mind that covers from UGCs will not fit properly in the new Shadowfox cases because the spine is a little wider. However, a cover for the Shadowfox case has been made for nearly every NES game out there.
Only thing I don't like about the covers are the "Nintendo Entertainment System" in a black box at the top of the spine. I know it's not limited to Shadowfox, but I like a cleaner look.
Scroll down.
They look great with the covers printed out. Please keep in mind that covers from UGCs will not fit properly in the new Shadowfox cases because the spine is a little wider. However, a cover for the Shadowfox case has been made for nearly every NES game out there.
Only thing I don't like about the covers are the "Nintendo Entertainment System" in a black box at the top of the spine. I know it's not limited to Shadowfox, but I like a cleaner look.
Agreed. I don't like it at all. That could be fixed with a bit of Photoshop but would be a massive pain for a hundred plus games
They look great with the covers printed out. Please keep in mind that covers from UGCs will not fit properly in the new Shadowfox cases because the spine is a little wider. However, a cover for the Shadowfox case has been made for nearly every NES game out there.
Only thing I don't like about the covers are the "Nintendo Entertainment System" in a black box at the top of the spine. I know it's not limited to Shadowfox, but I like a cleaner look.
Huh. You and I have very different definitions of a "clean look." To each their own I suppose.
Huh. You and I have very different definitions of a "clean look." To each their own I suppose.
To me it splits the box spines visually, almost like there are the boxes with the games, and then something smaller marked "Nintendo Entertainment System" stacked on top of them. Like it doesn't belong on the box. If it were integrated better, I think it would look nicer. Looks too busy to me. I'd rather the label was continued all the way to the top.
That's what I did with my Bitbox Gun-Nac label. The left looks cleaner.
Huh. You and I have very different definitions of a "clean look." To each their own I suppose.
To me it splits the box spines visually, almost like there are the boxes with the games, and then something smaller marked "Nintendo Entertainment System" stacked on top of them. Like it doesn't belong on the box. If it were integrated better, I think it would look nicer. Looks too busy to me. I'd rather the label was continued all the way to the top.
That's what I did with my Bitbox Gun-Nac label. The left looks cleaner.
I agree that the partitioned Nintendo Entertainment System logo is jarring, visually.
But I think it would probably be a better use of space on your left label to scrap the publisher name entirely, and replace it with the NES logo WITHOUT the explicit box/partition.
I'm assuming the idea is that the same size case accomodates multiple systems, so it is visually ambigiuos what system's games you are viewing on the shelf.
So the system is important and the game title is important... but the publisher is irrelevant. At least in terms of spine available information.
Huh. You and I have very different definitions of a "clean look." To each their own I suppose.
To me it splits the box spines visually, almost like there are the boxes with the games, and then something smaller marked "Nintendo Entertainment System" stacked on top of them. Like it doesn't belong on the box. If it were integrated better, I think it would look nicer. Looks too busy to me. I'd rather the label was continued all the way to the top.
That's what I did with my Bitbox Gun-Nac label. The left looks cleaner.
That's why I said you and I have different definitions of what is "clean." To me the uniformity is much "cleaner." I definately prefer the right image in the above example. But that's the best thing about PhotoShop. You can change it to whateve you want.
I get what you mean, and I like uniformity, but I think they could have done those black parts better. They look jarring and out of place to me. But I admit it's my own hangup, and they look nice otherwise. To each their own, (even if they are wrong.)
I agree that the partitioned Nintendo Entertainment System logo is jarring, visually.
But I think it would probably be a better use of space on your left label to scrap the publisher name entirely, and replace it with the NES logo WITHOUT the explicit box/partition.
I'm assuming the idea is that the same size case accomodates multiple systems, so it is visually ambigiuos what system's games you are viewing on the shelf.
So the system is important and the game title is important... but the publisher is irrelevant. At least in terms of spine available information.
I take your point about the publisher, though I don't mind it as much. But yeah, I think a Nintendo logo kind of unobtrusively placed would look better.
A little off topic but does anyone know if the shadowfox box art cam be quickly/easily be converted to UGC? Because those covets are the cleanest but I think they are sized differently. I havent actually tried to do it yet
Well, the art for the UGC's has been around forever. But you are correct that the art for the Shadowfox covers is a little cleaner because one member of TCP took it upon himself to resize all of the UGC covers for the new Shadowfox cases completely by himself. As he did it, he also cleaned up a lot of the artwork to get the best quality possible. So yes, many of the Shadowfox sized covers will look a little better than the original UGC coves.
The good news is that the front and rear of the cover are the same size between Shadowfox and UGC. The only thing that changed was the spine. So yes, you could revise the spine in Photoshop and just leave the front and back as they are.