I thought I was done with Video Game Storage Part 3, but I was wrong. Only recently did it occur to me that I completely overlooked one of my absolute favorite organizing sets: Portable! When I check a thrift store I often check the backpacks and purses or handbags, as the thrift store employees aren’t always too bright, to see if they’ve slipped in a small video game storage bag.

Even though I have no immediate use for them I still love to pick them up. I find it hard to pass up a good deal on one, even if I already have 10 of them. A while back I even did an article with some tips on how to clean them, which doesn’t always work, but usually makes them look a lot better than they did in the thrift store.

Sega Game Gear Carrying Case

This is one of my favorite carrying cases, this case holds the Sega Game Gear, rechargeable battery pack, the DC power adapter, the official screen magnifier and up to 12 games, and whatever else you can toss into the cracks. On the front and the back there are pockets to store paper work or whatever cables or doodads you want to toss in there. My main complaint with this bag is finding one with the insert still intact; I personally own 3 of these bags and only 1 had an insert that I could keep and use. You may remember that I did an article where I repurposed one of these bags to hold my Sega Saturn and its component parts. A very useful bag, just have a little imagination if the insert is trashed.

Nintendo Game Boy Shaped Carry Case

I found this sitting in a flea market for $1, and later that day two very generous guys let me take the matching Game Boy Color they had found while shopping at the outlet store. I’ve always wanted to collect the large, Game Boy shaped, hard plastic cases, but these are becoming harder and harder to find, in any condition! The layout inside this one is a removeable tray with room for some Game Boy/GBC games in two slots at the top, misc. room for batteries, cables or a few additional games in the middle and the Game Boy Color fits snuggly within a cradle above that. I wish I could find more of these, just to have them for each color Game Boy Color I own.

Nylon Game Boy Carry Bags with Plastic Insert

I find these almost everywhere I go and they come in 2 outward variations, although I can’t find the insert variation no matter how hard I try. One states that it is for the Nintendo Game Boy and uses the older logo, while the other says Game Boy Color, which makes it unmistakably for the Game Boy Color. The problem being that no matter what I can’t find one that fits the original DMG, even though I’ve seen a few (literally 2 or 3) online that prove they were manufactured. The inside of these are the exact same tray as the Game Boy shaped cases above, but these are simply black to match the padded nylon bag. The back of the bag has a zip up pocket for manuals or whatever else you want to slide in there, but the strap sewn to either side really gets on my nerves, as I don’t find it useful nor can it be removed. A couple of the ones I’ve found have chipped or cracked inserts, but they still remain sturdy, coupled with the excellently padded bag these are my favorite carry cases for the Game Boy Color.

Personally Modified Version of Above

As I mentioned in the last sentence above some of the inserts were chipped or cracked, so I took one of the worst off and modified it for my own needs. I originally attempted to make it fit a DMG Game Boy, which doesn’t fit well enough for me to feel comfortable zipping it shut. I later discovered that my Game Genie for Game Boy fits almost perfectly, or at least well enough to take up residence within. So now this case will hold my Game Boy Game Genie, the games and cables.

Padded Nylon Carry Bags

Made of the same material as the carrying cases above, these bags are padded nylon that come in a few variations as well. There is the Game Boy Color logo, old Game Boy logo and I have a yellow and purple Pikachu version, but there are many other versions as well. This time there is no hard plastic insert to dictate what goes inside, simply a pocket on the side that will allow for the DMG, Game Boy Pocket/Light or the Game Boy Color, making these bags much more versatile. There is another pocket at the top that will allow for a few game cartridges (4 in hard cases, maybe 6 loose), with another pocket on the back for manuals, cables, extra batteries, etc. I find these quite often, all but the Pokemon themed ones, and I find them very useful, although they don’t hold enough games.

Non-padded Nylon Carry Bags

These are bags that I own but I do not use, as they’re not padded. I know, I know! The Game Boy is rugged and can take a few falls, trust me I tested its tolerance many times when I was younger. The material these bags are made of is a little softer than that of the padded bags, without any padding. Maybe these are canvas (?), I’m not a fabric/material guy so I couldn’t tell you what this material is, honestly. I do know that I wanted to add them to my collection even if I don’t use them. They’re constructed the exact same as the padded nylon bags, but again these don’t have any padding in them.

Miscellaneous Nylon Carry Bags

The one on the left doesn’t really seem to offer much space for anything other than 6 or so Game Boy cartridges, but it may hold a Game Boy Color system, I haven’t checked. The one on the right does hold a Game Boy Color system and was something that I had seen online and wanted pretty badly, until I got my hands on one. The idea is to protect the GBC and allow the user to play it while it remains in the protective storage, this isn’t exactly ideal and quickly become apparent that its much easier to take the thing out of the case and just use the case for storage.

Game System Padded Carry Case

This is a generic case that is much like the nylon padded carry cases, except this one fits the original Game Boy and quite a few other accessories. While running mine through the washer the torque twisted the foam on the top, leaving it in a huge wet mass. As it dried I could somewhat get it back into place, but it will never be the exact same again. Regardless the hard plastic seems a little more brittle than the official nylon carry cases and the material and padding are substantially thinner as well. Admittedly I staged the open image below to show how things would fit in, if I weren’t using it to store my misfit Game Boy Advance accessories.

Game Boy Carry Case

I believe these to be the officially licensed versions of the above, albeit much worse. I picked up a pair of these throughout my hunting and used to store my Game Boy inside one, with a handful of batteries, games and some manuals. I started to notice that when I would pull it back out everything inside was covered in a black dust, even if the top was zipped shut. The inside liner was covered in a black fur that seemed to be coming loose and the other didn’t have the fur, so I switched everything over to that one, when I kept noticing the same problem! It didn’t take long to realize the foam from the top was pouring down onto the contents within (see last pic below). Needless to say I can’t use them, but they are Game Boy storage, so I guess I should at least give them an honorable mention.

Game Boy Fanny Pack (Bum bag to our friends across the pond)

One of my very first storage solutions was the black and neon pink fanny pack my mom bought me with my original Game Boy, all those years ago. I believe I also had it up until I sold the whole lot of Game Boy stuff. Even though its fashionable side has long since been shot dead I really wish I still had my original or could find another in decent condition.

Play it Loud Packaging Case

Right up until I sold my black Play it Loud Game Boy, years ago, I remember keeping the clear plastic case that it came in right from the factory. I thought it was genius as it allowed for tons of extra batteries, plenty of cartridge and cable storage and the system was intended to fit in from the start! I wish I had kept that Game Boy, hell I even wish I could just find another one of those cases somewhere.