Early last year we looked at a new replacement
long box case by VGC online sold through Amazon.
There were a number of issues making them
a less than perfect replacement for the majority
of people.
While there were some unhappy customers, these
cases were the first and only replacement
option for Sega CD, Saturn, and PSX long box
cases since the launch of the system. Those
who were on the fence had high hopes that
Limited Run who had promised to release their
own long box replacement cases before the
end of 2018 would come in with a perfect reproduction
at a competitive price. As 2018 has come to
a close, events have played out a bit different
than expected.
Limited Run has only released their case as
part of special limited release collectors
editions while VGC has released Version 2.0
of their case in an effort to address the
issues found in their initial batch.
We are going to look at this case and see
how it compared to the authentic ones and
how it stacks up against the original flawed
VGC release.
This is retro impressions Long Box Replacement
Cases Revisited.
Like the first set, these are currently sold
exclusively through Amazon. The originals
cost $4.00 each while these new ones are now
$6.00 with the still required purchase of
ten at a time. They come packed well enough
though different from the originals I received
in what I’m guessing is an attempt to address
issues some folk had with broken cases during
the shipping process. To be fair, even the
original cases were notoriously fragile. I
personally remember seeing new games on store
shelves with cracked and broken cases a number
of times detouring me from picking games I
wanted because I needed them to be perfect.
In this package, I received twenty cases and
unfortunately, one was cracked, so I’m not
sure this is the end solution to that problem
or bad luck on my part.
Beyond that one, the other nineteen were flawless.
Each is individually wrapped keeping the plastic
clear should you want to sleeve your games
and keep things minty.
The largest issues with VGC's original cases
was the top lid not locking shut, the cd tray
not staying secured in place, and loose hinges.
I’m happy to report it’s all been fixed.
The case now locks shut, maybe even a little
too good requiring a bit a finagling to get
it open again. A problem I’m more than happy
to deal with. The hinge appear to have the
same amount of movement as an original Sega
CD Case, and the CD Tray issue seems to be
solved.
I Actually think it’s important to note
the CD tray issue in particular as it seemed
to be a significant focus of peoples displeasure
with the original VGC case more so than it
was mine. I really baby my games, so I never
had a concern about the CD tray falling out
and it’s never been an issue with the cases
I replaced. That’s not to say it’s not
a problem, because it was. The reality is
though that even the original authentic cases
had this issue and with a quick movement of
an open case, you could lose the tray. So
how does version 2.0 stack up? In my test,
it did as good if not a bit better when compared
to the real deal. With the ten plus cases
I replaced not one was loose or at risk of
falling out without some serious effort on
my part.
Again these are fashioned after first generation
Sega CD cases meaning they are not parts compatible
the the later revised version used for the
Saturn and PSX. If you have anything Saturn
or PSX, it does require replacing the entire
case, with these new ones including the trays
if you want everything to line up perfectly.
Of course, this brings us back to the tray.
A number of people were upset that the original
cases included the compact disc logo on the
tray. The new tray has rectified this leading
to new complaints that it now omits this logo.
Personally, I could care less and with the
hundred of original long box cased games I
own, not one has a broken spinal. So for most
people, I think it’s as simple as swapping
the outer shell and keeping the original disc
tray. One additional slight difference between
an authentic case and VGC’s is the shade
of plastic on the outside edge. VGC’s is
clear while genuine Saturn, Sega CD, and PSX
cases are a cloudy white. So if you’re concerned
about only having authentic cased that were
manufactured in the early nineties, this is
one of a few ways to easily identify them.
There’s not much else to say. I’m extremely
happy with the end product and that Chris
has decided to continue on improving and producing
this case.
If there’s any real disappoint, it’s that
there’s no true original Saturn and PSX
replacement case currently on the market,
though only a fanatic would notice the difference.
For those who are after the more durable revised
Saturn case, Limited run will have you covered
some time later this year. Unlike VGC Online,
Limited Run’s case is manufactured in the
U S and because of this, they are able to
do fun side projects with the mold.
Things such as producing different grades
of plastics for the outer case along with
a variety of colors for the inner tray. Though
they’ve had these cases manufactured and
sitting in storage since the middle of last
year , they’ve yet to ship or offer them
In a stand-alone form. When they do, I expect
the quality to be superb and at a price point
thats competitive enough to stop most collectors
from scrapping cheaper sports titles for their
parts.
Beyond the application of replacing worn cases,
the most exciting result of these newly available
long boxes is there almost certain impact
on home brew and after market games. In the
past, games for these systems have depended
exclusively on dvd and cd jewel cases, but
now these developers have an authentic looking
option to capture the original look and feeling
from when 
these consoles were active.
For me, Josh of Limited Run and Chris of VGC
are heroes for trying to put something out
there that is clearly expensive to pursue
and revenue wise would be lucky to be considered
anything other than a hobby experiment at
best.
The community as a whole has benefited and
will continue to benefit from this project
and projects like it in the future that are
created
to help the community at large by solving
large problems in our niche hobby.
