Where have all the Gameboy boxes gone?

[Trebeck]

Hey all,

I am currently building a little gaming display shrine next to my mame cabinet and I have a nice little collection going on.
I have my original Final Fantasy and Zelda for NES, Choplifter and Alex Kidd for SMS, and Combat and Haunted house for 2600. I also have the 1980 DK card packs, a few related energy drinks, a pinball and a gameboy that is powered by the cabinet among other things.

The point. Right.

Well I wanted to grab a few Gameboy games in box (especially Revenge of the gator!) but I can't find anything! Is this a common trend? I'm not too concerned with sealed but in box would be awesome. I even went to Portland's retro expo and nothing!

Trebeck

[retroshaun]

LOL! Yeah there are a few but in general its cart only. I'm OK with it as it means I can nab some cheap games but it sucks that so many people seem to care so little about retaining the packaging. Even the 2600 and Intellivision have more "in box" availability!

[Leathco]

A lot is due to the fact they were portable systems and the boxes were cheaply made. I have a boxed rtype dx for game boy color but thats it.

[SubaruBrat]

I chalk it up to portable, many people had caddys or just their pocket for the games and keeping them in the box was not a priority. I have never been one to care much about boxes in collecting but for those that do, your right, this system has an apparent shortage.

[retroshaun]

Its weird though because the Lynx was portable (and the carts were smaller - thinner, certainly) but I seem to have a lot more games with boxes. But in general, you're right, I am sure thats the main reason.

[Trebeck]

Well good and bad to know It's not just me having trouble. The quest continues...

Long live retro!

[Burgertime]

As with most things that came in cardboard boxes and tended to be aimed towards kids back in the day, they tended to get thrown out. Plus with all of the carrying cases that flood the market, people even to this day throw out the boxes/cases to handheld games. Just go into any Gamestop and look at the used DS section. Heck, look at the whole store's used sections. As a collector it makes me sad, but I can't say I'm not guilty of it. My collection has 1 GBA box, maybe 2 or 3 NES boxes, and 1 Super Famicom box. My Intellivision collection currently has the most boxes, and I'm kicking myself for loosing the box for my copy of Diner.