how long do factory seals last?

If I enclosed in an airtight container, how long should the factory seal last? Forever? I don't want it to come tearing apart by the process of nature.

I don't see how it would disintegrate, so I say forever.

NES games have lasted 20+ years in their factory seals.

One word of advice to ensure the longevity of the factory seals is to enclose them in a air tight protective bag/box as you've stated and store them in a dark and cool environment in a bigger box or a display shelf enclosed in glass (or something similar). The heat can ruin the seal at times and start to fall apart. Basic stuff, but you could look at preserving the seals of your games for quite a few years down the line this way. The actual amount of years is difficult to determine and it all depends on how well you keep them from harm's way.

Dude_20 wrote:One word of advice to ensure the longevity of the factory seals is to enclose them in a air tight protective bag/box as you've stated and store them in a dark and cool environment in a bigger box or a display shelf enclosed in glass (or something similar). The heat can ruin the seal at times and start to fall apart. Basic stuff, but you could look at preserving the seals of your games for quite a few years down the line this way. The actual amount of years is difficult to determine and it all depends on how well you keep them from harm's way.

I once saw a us snes game, where the foil actually got very dry and hard so it started to fall apart on the edges. What could have cased that? Can I prevent such things by storing them air tight ? (if so I'll start putting them in tupperware )

The plastic itself will last almost forever. It's the glue that will break down quickly.

Sunlight does accelerate the deterioration of the seal, as does moisture. Heat variations can also play a part.

Dude_20 is absolutely right. Also, you want games protected specifically from strong lights anyway; the box art will discolor and fade if exposed to intense lights for extended periods. We're not at the point yet, however, where we have to fill our vaults with Nitrogen to slow oxidization :-)

The problem with guessing just how long something will last under any given conditions, is that new games use different plastic and glue to what old games used to - nothing sinister in that, it's just progress. Just like how old game consoles have problems with discolored plastics and worn motor belts that new consoles simply don't have, because they're actually very different in construction. Also, there's not kind of standardization outside of each company - they use all sorts of different stuff.

In some ways, new seals take advantage of more advanced chemistry and are stronger; in other ways, they take advantage of cheaper manufacturing processes and are weaker. On the whole, it seems that recent seals won't last as long as old ones under optimum conditions, although both (under optimum conditions) should still last for very long times.

If you were to ask me, based on my limited knowledge, I'd guess that a properly-cared-for original Factory Seal could - in general - outlive the original purchaser, surviving at least 100 years. Some individual games, especially ideosynchratic PC games, might have seals that could never last that long (chose a cheaper plastic or glue, etc), but we don't have much evidence one way or another.

This sounds like an interesting science project. Hmm…