Brief: Cleaning a Game Collection

In my spare time, I like to collect video games. I collect all sorts of games- From early Nintendo games to the latest generation games. One thing is critical in maintaining any kind of collection- the maintenance and care of your favorite items. When talking about games, it is important to take care of them and to clean them.


NES Carts
Especially true for NES carts, games must remain clean for them to work. Electrical connections are made between the cartridge and the pin connector, allowing the game to run. Over time these connections may get dirty with dust, preventing a good connection and either distorting the game, or making it not play at all.

Rubbing alcohol and a q-tip work pretty well at cleaning NES games and the NES connectors themselves. Cleaning the games like this will not hurt NES, SNES or N64 cartridges.


CDs
CDs came online at the advent of the Sega CD, and more commonly known on the Playstation 1. Discs should always be cleaned from the inside hole out with a soft cloth. I always keep my games in a CD holder. For good measure I like them in alphabetical order so I can find them quickly.


Consoles
I always like to keep my consoles wiped down every so often- Clorox wipes are great at this. Why do I do it? Other than to keep dirt off the consoles, germs are easily spread through the controllers first, then the games, then the consoles. I had to clean a gamecube controller, and as I opened it up dead skin and sweat (calcified) came out as a crust from the parting line. Gross! I vowed never to let that one happen again, so I always take care of my controllers, wipe them down and wrap them neatly.

Memory Cards
I wrote this article because I had a faulty PS1 memory card I bought from a game store that didn’t work. Upon inspection of the metal contacts, they were dirty, but not corroded. I can fix the memory card by opening it up and loosening it (it wasn’t fully touching the PS2’s contacts). If it is pulled up and out ever so slightly, the system can read the memory card for my PS1 games. It’s a real shame PS2 memory cards can’t save PS1 game data. Really. Common.