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I've noticed recently that boxes for computer games have gone from the traditional large sizes to the small, very handheld-able ones today.


Is this change pretty much permanent?

Shinova wrote:I've noticed recently that boxes for computer games have gone from the traditional large sizes to the small, very handheld-able ones today.

Is this change pretty much permanent?

I hope so. It's stupid to have a giant box which only holds a booklet and a CD.

I believe so. I like the new boxes. They fit on a bookshelf. Since the old days of getting cool trinkets with your game are long over I think the small boxes are a good idea. I used to keep all my boxes, but just dont have enough space to keep it all. I finally threw most of them away.

My closet is full of game boxes because I didn't want to throw them out.

I think it's about time I did.

Dalton wrote:My closet is full of game boxes because I didn't want to throw them out.

I think it's about time I did.

It is amazing the crap you collect. If I had a big home, with a room just for a library I would have kept all my stuff. But now I throw most of it away. I figure if it has sat in a closet for 2 years and you never looked at it. You dont want it or you dont remember you have it. For me it is usually the latter.

I used to keep burnt out lightbulbs in my desk...

Around here they have been like that since last year, at least.

Probably about that for me, too. I really like the new, smaller boxes.

I don't like them.
I have a collection of the Ultima-series, that reminds me of times, when big boxes mean big things in it. All games of the series got big instruction books, cloth maps and other extras. That were times....

Darth Wong wrote:

Shinova wrote:I've noticed recently that boxes for computer games have gone from the traditional large sizes to the small, very handheld-able ones today.

Is this change pretty much permanent?

I hope so. It's stupid to have a giant box which only holds a booklet and a CD.

The only explaination I've heard for the huge size is that noone can steal the big boxes. There are pockets big enough (and people stupid enough) to try and steal the small ones.

Yeah, the little DVD cases are good, but I still don't like the way many publisher's take this as an excuse to not relese a decent manual with the game.

Tribun wrote:I don't like them.
I have a collection of the Ultima-series, that reminds me of times, when big boxes mean big things in it. All games of the series got big instruction books, cloth maps and other extras. That were times....

Games were little more expensive back then too..

Ugh. I want my old-school manuals! Alas, the manufacturers discovered that you can relabel it as a strategy guide...

Falcon 4.0's manual comes to mind, that thing was awesome.

Shogoki wrote:Falcon 4.0's manual comes to mind, that thing was awesome.

Civ 2, MOO2 and SC2K had excellent manuals as well. Civ3's was decent.

My favorite was HWs manual, plain gunmetal gray, with a little logo toward the bottom. Inside, strategy, history, research tree, shiplist, and stats. Beautiful.

Dalton wrote:My closet is full of game boxes because I didn't want to throw them out.

I think it's about time I did.

Hey! One day, my original Xwing gamebox will be worth a fortune. It's a good investement, I tell you! And the Tiefighter one, it's so pretty even after all these years! I will never throw them away, damnit!

I've still got my Red Alert Collector's Pack box, which came with RA, audio CD of the music from RA (worth it just for Hell March), a poster and a T-shirt!

I've got a big stack of old game boxes, with their cardboard inserts in. I don't know why I bother though. To much work to haul them all to the trash can I guess.

SHODAN wrote: Games were little more expensive back then too..

No not really, I can remember paying 25-30 USD for countless games, which had a nice thick manual with along with a bunch of other stuff like posters and maps and keyboard charts. Now you pay 50-60 for something with a shitty staple bound manual and maybe an advertisement or two.

I assumed they were going to be a permanent thing ~3 years ago when they fist started doing it (C&C: Renegade was one of the first, iirc). It's a much more convenient size, thought I hope htey dont switch exclusively to something smaller like DVD/CD cases in the future.

Colonel Olrik wrote:

Dalton wrote:My closet is full of game boxes because I didn't want to throw them out.

I think it's about time I did.

Hey! One day, my original Xwing gamebox will be worth a fortune. It's a good investement, I tell you! And the Tiefighter one, it's so pretty even after all these years! I will never throw them away, damnit!

Was there anything special about the X-Wing and TIE-fighter boxes? I got the games as part of one of those LucasArts Archives collections, so no box for me.

SHODAN wrote:

Tribun wrote:I don't like them.
I have a collection of the Ultima-series, that reminds me of times, when big boxes mean big things in it. All games of the series got big instruction books, cloth maps and other extras. That were times....

Games were little more expensive back then too..

Actually....I seem to remember most were cheaper than the 40 quid you will pay these days....ironic no?

PC games in Europe have been sold in DVD cases for about three years now. Old carboard boxes are all but gone nowadays.

http://members.lycos.nl/gerdal/kuvat/games.jpg

No more big boxes for us Europeans!
(don't ask me why I put that Blackhawk Down dvd case there as well)

Drooling Iguana wrote:Was there anything special about the X-Wing and TIE-fighter boxes? I got the games as part of one of those LucasArts Archives collections, so no box for me.

Nope. They were just ordinary boxes, if I remember correctly. I should have my TIE Fighter Collector's Edition CD box somewhere....

I remember when I first saw those, over a year ago. I walk into the store. WHAT THE FUCK!! What did they do to all the games! There were no more big boxes.

Ah, the nostalgia I get when I look at my limited edition shiny gold-type thingy embossed X-Wing Trilogy box.

Game prices have varied over the years but in general have not kept up with inflation, IIRC. IIRC, the old Wing Commander games being the $50-60 price range (WC1, 2).