How to MAKE Your Own Retro Game Boxes!

Ever wanted to make boxes for all of those loose retro games on your shelf? Now you can - and mostly with materials you probably have lying around the house!
NOTE: Please DO NOT try to make exact replicas of existing video game boxes. Always label your reproductions as reproductions. :)
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[@user-lg9hc1nl9u]

Where do you get the size/shape template for the boxes and where do you get the graphics to use on them?

[@DoYouNerd]

Really enjoyed seeing this process. I liked first of all that you really push to NOT try to pass these as real boxes--thank you so much for that! Second, I adore that you're using cereal boxes--it just feels that much more accessible to do and it really looks so good when complete.

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Thanks! I've tried SO many materials, but cereal boxes just mimic the feel of the real thing so well! Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one! Thanks for watching! I always appreciate you guys' support!

[@MrKoArtist]

Where did you get the template?

[@Cheeseshredder]

@@BittyKongsQuest maybe I skimmed over the whole process but did you cover the type of printer you used and adhesive paper? Would like to buy the same brand.

[@jamesward3137]

holy crap I never would have thought to use the cereal box and it makes PERFECT sense. THANK YOU

[@Retrorevelations]

As I'm sure a lot of people can relate, I REALLY wish I had thought to keep the game boxes when I was young, especially for my NES games.

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Oh man. I lost about 70 boxes to one of Mom's cleaning sprees when I was away at college. I almost cried when I discovered the loss.

[@pmcccar]

Bitty Kong's Quest no...... brutal....

[@ramgladore]

Yeah me too. I actually traded my Turbo Graphics 16 for a Gameboy when I was a kid. Dumb thing to do.

[@Z64sports]

I kept some but they kinda deteriorated over time anyways so kinda didn't matter

[@ichi_the_kitty1526]

This is really awesome. I work in a smallish shop that makes boxes like these and it was very cool to see how you made this

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Thank you! It's the process that works for me, but I'm always finding new ways to do it and love hearing that other folks are doing it too! I appreciate you watching!

[@ChoobsX]

Really cool process, Bitty! As an owner of two of your RePros, the quality is top notch and made with a lot of love!

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Thanks so much! I think you've got a couple of the early ones right?

[@ChoobsX]

@@BittyKongsQuest Tiny Toons and Little Samson!

[@callumbowhay-pringle2228]

I've never done a repro box before, just researching methods now. But I always find with folding things for craft projects, you can help avoid creasing the cardboard during the folding process, by holding the ruler (straight edge) over the flap while folding over the larger side.

[@The-Great-Brindian]

I would try and go one step further to increase the longevity of the box design, I'd cover it with sticky back plastic or something, to give it that extra gloss and shielding from natural elements, dirt and spillage/stains etc, not to mention it adds a degree of water proofing to it. I didn't see the bit where you added the scotch tape to cover the excess double sided sticky tape but I will say that this is the best video for art and craft I've watched in a long time, AND it really has given me a few ideas on restoring some old gaming boxes (Commodore Amiga and Atari ST). Great channel, sublime video - subscribed.

[@undeadgenesis6713]

This is the smartest idea I’ve seen of doing this. Here’s a virtual high five friend 😎🙏

[@vendusmortem1433]

Bro, this is epic. Really appreciate sharing and a true full walk through on the process. Late to the party but glad I saw this.

[@bunnywriter4571]

I can't wait to try this with my romhack repro boxes. I just hope gloss mod podge is okay, i got that instead of matte like you showed.

[@BittyKongsQuest]

You know, I bet gloss will look even better. They just don't have it at my local craft store so I settle for matte. 😅 Good luck!

[@that209gamepicker]

That’s great man!!! I’m looking to make boxes myself. Can you please tell us what you used to make the graphics for the box? And printer , type of paper etc?

[@BuddyWudzyn]

Yo this is sick! Thanks for showing us this

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Of course! Happy to share and glad it could help someone!

[@Ageman20XX]

That was very satisfying to watch, excellent video. Thanks for the tutorial! Excited to try this myself. :D

[@1INSXNE]

This is insanely good!

[@LovelymaidenJacki]

yeah i printed up a few at library and used dvd cases also is way for ps2/3/etc size games, cuz i regretted taking them out of cases/not keeping cases for a few i liked art of..some i don't like art of so then i just keep in the big disc albums work good too

[@MusicmanUY]

Incredible video, thanks for this, you've earned a subscriber and deserve many more!

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Thank you so much for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@elgaleonretroPirata]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5DYf4SHZrCsg7s i creible y este tam ien invitado bro

[@SwayzeXVI]

dude this is sooo sick

[@bastianseb2701]

The white lines will give it an used feeling like it was used

[@sheryls7346]

Even the mega man game is coooollllll dudeee

[@PlumEXE]

This is great! I was thinking of buying boxes for some SFC and gameboy games but I can't bring myself to spend like $100 on cardboard, i'll try this! The humdity thing and those products specifically might be a challenge (australia) but I'm sure I'll manage, thanks

[@tubesami]

You could use a ruler bending those short edges

[@DrydenJoss]

There's a rom hack I want to play called Pokémon prism. I was told it might not be the best thing to buy because the rom is free and of I buy a cart for it (Pokémon color) it might not be the newest update and it could have bugs.

[@BittyKongsQuest]

For sure. A lot of hacks also we're never meant to run on physical hardware, so they can have weird bugs and glitches that wouldn't be present on an emulator. Some of those Pokemon hacks are really complex, so I'd say an emulator is probably the way to go!

[@Retro_taco]

Wow love the gaming tip!

[@StarRings]

Really cool dude!

[@kuronagiyurei]

1:18 dont worry about it. Actually Im planning to give a nintendo switch lite with a Mario game to my 6 yo cousin and want to Learn how to make personalized boxes to gave him a kind message 😉

[@Martin.chapman]

How did u get the sticky papers printed add love to do that

[@ZetaCancri]

it's a really expensive and labor intensive process. The things I do to make my collection look nice...

[@NoHandleSelected.]

Hey, does anyone know where i can download the original size and box art for pokemon games, mario games, castlevania games? thank you

[@rhyswilliams8541]

So would the acrylic sealer give a slight gloss finish? Or is the sealer a matte finish spray?

[@BittyKongsQuest]

The Modge Podge I use is matte, but I believe it comes in semi-gloss. I like the look of the less glossy stuff, but it could definitely be done another way!

[@rhyswilliams8541]

@@BittyKongsQuest thanks for replying. The only other question I have is when using a clear acrylic spray it feels like hairspray has been sprayed on, very gritty and you can see small dots of spray. I used a very light coat. What sort of technique do you use? And also is mod podge sponge on sealer the same thing? As we don't have the mod podge spray in the uj

[@MrFungii]

Does it matter if the Mod Podge is glossy or matte?

[@mr.mentertainment]

Hey nice video what size would should I do with n64 games

[@DarkSharkBark]

I want to make a diy conker presskit box so I can store my signed gamecart in but yea

[@AviatorArcade]

Thanks for the video- My boxes are usually on card paper and i then laminate them which look somewhat okay, but yours are so much cleaer- just longer to do, but I would choose your way anyday now. Could i kindly ask which paper you used? when i tried printing stickers before on a laser jet printer for my little nes cart keyrings, the ink kinda smudged all over the paper, I think it was like a glossy kinda style paper, is yours more of a matte effect, if you will? I have now subscribed to your channel. Edit: looking back I think it’s more glossy paper you got, so maybe it was my printer messing up, I’ll give it a try again :D

[@Aleshotgun]

Great tutorial! I'm doing the same with my missing game boxes, but I have a question: It's better to do the creases with the butter knife on the inside of the box (like you did) or on the outside? I've asked the same question to a copy shop this morning and they told me that is better do the creases on the outside of the box (where the game art is), I'm a little confused now

[@BittyKongsQuest]

I've always found that the ink cracks a lot faster if I do the creases on the outside, but if you seal it differently, maybe it'll work? It's always worth a shot I guess, but that's what I've always found to be true. 😅

[@Aleshotgun]

@@BittyKongsQuest other experiences are always a better follow-up, so if it worked well for you I guess I will try your method first! Thanks again!

[@andrewrodriguez6197]

Hey, I tried this and it worked great! I do have a question though. I used full sheet shipping labels but it ended up being to matte/paperish with no glossy finish at all. Which labels did you use ? Thank you!

[@BomTheBomber]

Where do you get the templates?

[@XenoVis]

So I'm going to do some of these tomorrow, is it a good idea to use adhesive plastic wrap on the prints? I don't really have any alternatives where I live, so I think this might be the best alternative to the spray thingy you showed in the video. Edit: I'll also be printing the art on plain paper, not sitcker-ish paper.

[@BittyKongsQuest]

The adhesive plastic wrap will probably work? I imagine as long as it doesn't wrinkle when you're applying it, you'll be good to go. If you're not using sticker paper for the artwork though, I'm not sure how that will work getting it to adhere to the box. Maybe some sort of spray adhesive on the back? I'd love to hear how it goes!

[@XenoVis]

@@BittyKongsQuest I'll be using some strong glue for the paper-box section, but I'll be keeping you updated :)

[@XenoVis]

@@BittyKongsQuest So, it took some time, but now they're done! They look really nice, the one problem is that they do look quite glossy due to the plastic I used. Overall I really like the results and will keep making these boxes for my games in the future :)

[@stickywoodyzwallart1354]

Sorry in advance if this has been asked....could you use the inside of the cereal box instead of having to black out the outside?

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Great question! You definitely could, but for mine I wanted the pulpboard color and texture on the inside, not the box logo, so that's why I do that. You totally could use the other side if you want though! 😁

[@stickywoodyzwallart1354]

That definitely makes sense. What about manuals? I'm thinking about making a collection of SNES since I stupidly got rid of my old stuff but want to try and re-create with real cartridges but repro boxes/books. Do you have a line on repro manuals? Thanks for the replies!

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Oh man. Manuals are a different story, as I've just gotten into making them myself this year, and it's intense when you first start. This article has some good info on how to organize the pages: web.printingcenterusa.com/blog/how-to-arrange-pages-for-booklet-printing Then you just have to cut pages and put them together. Be careful with the outside edges of the innermost pages though - the more towards the middle of the manual a page is, the less clearance you gave on the vertical edges, so you might end up cutting off information if there's any there. It's a lot of trial and error before you get a feel for it. Also, I use glossy paper to print on. Good luck!

[@levelupgaming468]

Template for Japan Boxes Gba and Gb Classic Games if u can and thank you

[@ginnylpatton]

Use baby powder to remove the stickiness of exposed tape, just a dab on your finger and rub on there or dust on with a paint brush

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Oooh! Great tip! Thanks so much!

[@fms10pa]

What type of paper do you use for the cover art???

[@wtf1992lynx]

What type of paper did you use?

[@sephiroth29440]

How much do you charge to make these?

[@mr.mentertainment]

What printer do you use

[@AlexxavierE]

Lmao I tried to get one of these printed at my local office Max and they refused to do it because of copyright...guess I’ll just buy a printer then

[@broseb8050]

do you sell these?

[@NOSFYT]

anyone knows the size of japanese version GBA game boxes ?

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Hey there! I've done a lot of my own templates for boxes based on my own measurements, but I've never done a Japanese GBA one before. That said, Nintandbox.net is a really great resource for scale-accurate scans of boxes. If you just need a template, you could even grab one of their scans and use the basic shape for reference to create your own. Here's an example of one of theirs: www.nintandbox.net/index.php/en/nintendo-boxes-project/GameBoyAdvance/Battle-X-Battle-Kyodai-Ou-Densetsu/

[@NOSFYT]

@@BittyKongsQuest that's what i ended up doing, but they we're time consuming to make, so i ended up using cassete tape cases to protect my cartridges (tip: on of those cases can hold 3 GBA games with a little modification).

[@BittyKongsQuest]

@@NOSFYT Ooooh! That's a good tip! Thanks!

[@notreallycdm]

every time he said "um." 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11---

[@BittyKongsQuest]

Yeah, in these kinds of videos I use a lot of verbal crutches so I don't stutter. I have to spend a lot of time editing myself in the more heavily-produced stuff. 😅