The Cover Art Archive

Welcome to the Cover Art Archive. This is a repository of high quality, 600DPI, lossless scans of video game cover art, discs, manuals, and inserts. They are all free to download via the Internet Archive, and are perfect for printing replicas for your disc-only video game collection, or just for viewing pleasure.

If you would like to view a spreadsheet of the available games and the components of them that have been scanned, please view the Cover Art Archive Status Spreadsheet. Not all archives will be complete in box, and this spreadsheet will tell you exactly was has and has not been scanned for each item.

Below, directories for each console are listed, with links to each game archive within them.

Consoles

Computers

Windows PC • Macintosh

Nintendo

NES • GameBoy • SNES • VirtualBoy • Nintendo 64 • GameBoy Color • GameBoy Advance • GameCube • Nintendo DS • Wii • Nintendo 3DS • Wii U • Nintendo Switch

Sony

PlayStation • PlayStation 2 • PlayStation Portable • PlayStation 3 • PlayStation Vita • PlayStation 4 • PlayStation 5

Microsoft

XBOX • XBOX 360 • XBOX One • XBOX Series X

SEGA

Master System • Genesis • SEGA CD • Game Gear • Saturn • Dreamcast

 

Submissions

Would you like to submit entries for the Cover Art Archive? I am currently accepting entries from the preservation community. Please check the spreadsheet above to view which games have been preserved before making your scans. However, there are a few parameters which will need to follow when creating your scans.

SCANNING PARAMETERS

• All scans must be 600DPI or more. Most modern scanners and printers support 600DPI. Although I know this limits the potential userbase, the high quality of these scans is integral.
• All scans must be lossless from the scanner. That means PNG, TIF, or RAW file formats. Your scanner will almost certainly export in TIF, and more recent scanners may support PNG. JPEG and PDF scans will not be accepted (even when converted to a lossless format after scanning!).
• All scans must be done on a flatbed scanner. Although feeder scanners are efficient, they introduce errors in the scan quality, even when using a high quality document feeder.
• When scanning pamphlet media bound with staples, they must be dismantled when scanning. As the purpose of this archive is not just for digital preservation but for physical replicas, to replicate the manual, it is vital that each page be scanned as they were printed. You can restaple the manuals following the scanning process. In my experience it does not harm the materials to have the staples removed if you are very careful.
  • NOTE: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE YOU DO TO YOUR OWN COPY.

FILE FORMATTING PARAMETERS

• The root file will be structured with the abbreviated console name, game title, region code in parentheses, followed by the internal game code in brackets.
  • Ex) A Japanese copy of Wii Sports for the Wii: "[WII] Wii Sports (JPN) [RVL-RSPJ-JPN]"
  • Ex) An American copy of Brave Fencer Musashi for the PlayStation: "[PSX] Brave Fencer Musashi (USA) [SLUS-00726]"
  • Ex) An American copy of Sneak King for the XBOX 360: "[X360] Sneak King (USA) [X13-04785-01]"
• The scan files will be named with the game title followed by the media depicted in the scan. Each consecutive item will be suffixed "1" and increase with each new item. The following are a list of terms for these media types.
  • A DVD, CD, GD, BR, CDI, or any other disc media: Disc
  • Any cartridge or other non-optical storage media: Cart
  • The primary documentation for a game: Manual
  • Any secondary paper materials included with the game: Insert
  • The paper insert on the exterior of a plastic case: Cover
  • The paper insert on the reverse of a CD jewel case: Back
  • The cardboard box containing the plastic case: Box
    • Ex) The second disc in a copy of Final Fantasy VII: "Final Fantasy VII Disc 2"
    • Ex) The 7th scan of the manual of Super Mario Galaxy: "Super Mario Galaxy Manual 7"

SENDING PARAMETERS

• Place all scans within the labelled root folder and zip it before sending.
• All scans must be in the PNG format when submitted. You can convert your lossless TIF or RAW files to PNG by using software such as XnConvert.
• In the body of the email, copy and paste the name of the file into the email body, and label the header as "Cover Art Archive Submission".

If you have followed all these parameters, please email your files to nahte@yamasztuka.com!