Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
We literally just got home from the 2026 Illinois Game Con in Bloomington, Illinois, and man, what an absolutely amazing show it was this year! I want to start by giving a massive thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth, picked up some custom 3D prints, or just hung out and talked retro gaming with me. Now, I will admit, the more and more of these gaming conventions I go to, I'm not necessarily "stuck" in my booth, but I actively choose to stay in my booth. My thought process is that I am there to talk, hang out, and communicate with each and every one of you who take the time out of your weekend to come see me. But, from time to time, I do get a quick chance to step out, stretch my legs, walk the convention floor, take a look around, and see what kind of hidden gems and retro treasures are out there hidden on the vendor tables.
Now, if you saw my YouTube Short from when we were setting up the booth the night before the convention, I caught a glimpse of this amazing item, which I thought was really cool. I thought to myself, "I spy with my little eye that Super Famicom carrying case back there with Mario and Yoshi on it." Immediately, my brain said, "Um, yeah, I need to see exactly how much that is because that absolutely needs to come home with me today."
In previous years, I had gotten another carrying case, which I absolutely love. It is an official Japanese Super Famicom Mario Kart case, and it is easily one of the coolest pieces of storage media I own. Because of how much I love that Mario Kart carrying case, I knew instantly that I really, really wanted this Super Mario and Yoshi Super Famicom case to go right alongside it on the display shelf.
I got it! That's right, it is here in the studio. Now, the absolute best part about this pickup is that I actually traded for this! I ended up working out a deal where I traded some of my duplicate import Japanese Super Famicom and Nintendo 64 games straight up for it. It was a win-win trade for both of us!
For those who have never seen this specific carrying case—and honestly, I had never seen this exact Mario and Yoshi variant myself in person before this weekend—let me break down what makes it so incredibly special. First of all, this case was originally released exclusively in Japan back in the early 1990s during the absolute peak of the 16-bit era. Here is what it looks like on the inside. What makes this specific pickup so rare and exciting is that this unit actually still has the original interior plastic tray completely intact! If you are a hardcore retro game collector, you know that finding these Japanese carrying cases with the fragile interior plastic tray surviving after more than thirty years is incredibly difficult, as most of them have that piece completely missing or destroyed. It has dedicated molded storage sections where the Super Famicom console system will go right in here perfectly, and you've got additional storage areas for plenty of other things like your controllers, AV cables, power supply, and of course, a few of your favorite game cartridges in here as well.
I am beyond thrilled to finally have this piece. For me, because of its age and rarity, it is going to be strictly a display piece in my collection room rather than something I actively use to lug consoles around. I just love these retro carrying cases so much. It really makes me ask the question: Nintendo, why did we not get these amazing, high-quality, character-themed hard plastic carrying cases in the United States back in the day? Because these are absolutely awesome and so much cooler than the generic nylon bags we ended up getting in the west!
I am so incredibly glad I was able to make this import score happen. Not only just because it is an official vintage Super Famicom accessory, but it also prominently features Mario and Yoshi. As many of you know, this artwork represents my favorite video game of all time. Having this beautifully preserved piece of early 90s Nintendo history sitting on my shelf is going to bring a smile to my face every time I walk into the game room.
Have you ever seen or collected any of these vintage Japanese carrying cases? Whether it's this specific Mario and Yoshi one here, or the Super Mario Kart one that I have had for a few years? Have you ever seen these imported from Japan out in the wild at your local retro game stores or conventions? Have you ever wanted to add any of them to your personal collection? And if you could get your hands on one, which character or game theme would you want to get? Sound off in the comments below!
#SuperFamicom #RetroGaming #Nintendo #GameConPickup #IllinoisGameCon #SuperMarioWorld #Yoshi #GameCollecting #RoXolidProductions #Nintendo64 #16BitEra
We literally just got home from the 2026 Illinois Game Con in Bloomington, Illinois, and man, what an absolutely amazing show it was this year! I want to start by giving a massive thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth, picked up some custom 3D prints, or just hung out and talked retro gaming with me. Now, I will admit, the more and more of these gaming conventions I go to, I'm not necessarily "stuck" in my booth, but I actively choose to stay in my booth. My thought process is that I am there to talk, hang out, and communicate with each and every one of you who take the time out of your weekend to come see me. But, from time to time, I do get a quick chance to step out, stretch my legs, walk the convention floor, take a look around, and see what kind of hidden gems and retro treasures are out there hidden on the vendor tables.
Now, if you saw my YouTube Short from when we were setting up the booth the night before the convention, I caught a glimpse of this amazing item, which I thought was really cool. I thought to myself, "I spy with my little eye that Super Famicom carrying case back there with Mario and Yoshi on it." Immediately, my brain said, "Um, yeah, I need to see exactly how much that is because that absolutely needs to come home with me today."
In previous years, I had gotten another carrying case, which I absolutely love. It is an official Japanese Super Famicom Mario Kart case, and it is easily one of the coolest pieces of storage media I own. Because of how much I love that Mario Kart carrying case, I knew instantly that I really, really wanted this Super Mario and Yoshi Super Famicom case to go right alongside it on the display shelf.
I got it! That's right, it is here in the studio. Now, the absolute best part about this pickup is that I actually traded for this! I ended up working out a deal where I traded some of my duplicate import Japanese Super Famicom and Nintendo 64 games straight up for it. It was a win-win trade for both of us!
For those who have never seen this specific carrying case—and honestly, I had never seen this exact Mario and Yoshi variant myself in person before this weekend—let me break down what makes it so incredibly special. First of all, this case was originally released exclusively in Japan back in the early 1990s during the absolute peak of the 16-bit era. Here is what it looks like on the inside. What makes this specific pickup so rare and exciting is that this unit actually still has the original interior plastic tray completely intact! If you are a hardcore retro game collector, you know that finding these Japanese carrying cases with the fragile interior plastic tray surviving after more than thirty years is incredibly difficult, as most of them have that piece completely missing or destroyed. It has dedicated molded storage sections where the Super Famicom console system will go right in here perfectly, and you've got additional storage areas for plenty of other things like your controllers, AV cables, power supply, and of course, a few of your favorite game cartridges in here as well.
I am beyond thrilled to finally have this piece. For me, because of its age and rarity, it is going to be strictly a display piece in my collection room rather than something I actively use to lug consoles around. I just love these retro carrying cases so much. It really makes me ask the question: Nintendo, why did we not get these amazing, high-quality, character-themed hard plastic carrying cases in the United States back in the day? Because these are absolutely awesome and so much cooler than the generic nylon bags we ended up getting in the west!
I am so incredibly glad I was able to make this import score happen. Not only just because it is an official vintage Super Famicom accessory, but it also prominently features Mario and Yoshi. As many of you know, this artwork represents my favorite video game of all time. Having this beautifully preserved piece of early 90s Nintendo history sitting on my shelf is going to bring a smile to my face every time I walk into the game room.
Have you ever seen or collected any of these vintage Japanese carrying cases? Whether it's this specific Mario and Yoshi one here, or the Super Mario Kart one that I have had for a few years? Have you ever seen these imported from Japan out in the wild at your local retro game stores or conventions? Have you ever wanted to add any of them to your personal collection? And if you could get your hands on one, which character or game theme would you want to get? Sound off in the comments below!
#SuperFamicom #RetroGaming #Nintendo #GameConPickup #IllinoisGameCon #SuperMarioWorld #Yoshi #GameCollecting #RoXolidProductions #Nintendo64 #16BitEra
