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The Impetuousness Of Youth

Posted by Nadia Oxford

When I was writing up my lament about the end of good instruction booklets, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, I don't deserve really cool pack-ins. I didn't really appreciate the work that went into designing and translating the old texts. How many of us did? We were naught but children.

I remember a few years ago, my mother found our old Super Mario Bros 3 instruction booklet and handed it over to me like the corpse of a pet. Every page was marred with angry slashes of red crayon. I'm not sure if I'm to blame or if was the work of one of my brothers.

Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone? I never thought beyond my selfish 9-year-old world and even thought that I could someday make a bundle off some desperate retro game collector bulding up an 8-bit legacy for his apathetic children.

Are any of your old games and instruction booklets still in good condition? Or at least, aren't covered in words that will offend your grandma?

Related Links:

The Death of Awesome Pack-in Material
Don't Call It Retro: Mega Man 9 Design Resurrection

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+ DEL.ICIO.US

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Posted Sep 03 2008, 05:30 PM

Filed under: super mario bros 3, retro, nadia oxford, pack-in material, swag, instruction booklet, youth, roy koopa, silliness

Comments

Claire said:

Actually, I still have all my old manuals, maps and all, in a small plastic bin, in fine condition. I can't imagine drawing in them. What can I say, my parents always taught me never to deface books, and manuals are books of a sort. What I wish I still had are all the boxes. I didn't realize until late in the game that I can keep them and still save space by just folding them flat.

And it sucks that we don't get cool pack-ins anymore, but there's more bonus content and online tutorials built into the games themselves. Makes it easier to buy used, at least.

September 3, 2008 6:22 PM

doubledown21 said:

All you really did was update it to keep it current with the content of today's games. Amazing foresight for a 9-year-old.

September 4, 2008 5:41 AM

Amber Ahlborn said:

The oldest console and hand held games I still own are SNES and GB. I keep everything in excellent condition. Yes, there's wear on the old boxes from being opened so many times but other than that, little to no damage. I've always been prissy about my stuff. I like it to last forever.

September 4, 2008 10:02 AM

Demaar said:

Depends on the era. My 8-bit stuff... in some cases I don't even have the original packaging for, but have the manuals. My 16-bit games are mostly in pretty good nick, a few bumps and stuff. 32-bit and onward were in impeccable condition until a house fire last year (manuals and cover art are water damaged now). PS2/GC games are fine except for 2 or 3 that also suffered water damage. Wii and 360 games are nearly mint.

September 4, 2008 10:38 AM

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