Re: [SWCollect] Box Standardization
Yes, that is absolutely horrible! The charm of games is not only the virtual experience they provide but the atmosphere they create from the physical media. Thick interesting manuals, maps, trinkets, magazines, newspapers, and all of the other extras we use to identify a special game make it unique. I can name 40 space opera sagas that share strong similarities in graphics, plot, and game play, and I'm sure you can too. Can you name another game that had the same visual impact of Elite: Frontier with its story book, manual, and info cards? Can you name a game other than Hitchhiker's Guide that contained pocket fluff? Other examples for me: Starflight 1, Mines to Titan, Times of Lore, Civilization, and many others. I remember not only the gameplay but the appearance of the game itself -- and I don't mean graphics. Of course, a game can be great without any props, but it lessens the impact. The physical material is the bridge between the virtuality and the real world. Homogenizing it is offensive. Jim Leonard wrote: Unfortunately for our hobby, it looks like IEMA, Infogrammes, and Activision are working together to standardize box size and form factor. This is depressing, as it means all software will come in double-thick DVD boxes (which are significantly smaller than the current form factor, which means no room for trinkets or props). Not that there ARE any trinkets or props in games nowadays, but at least there are usually decent thick manuals in some games, and there wouldn't be any in the new boxes since they're 33% smaller. PC Gamer has an article on it; would anyone like me to republish it here for perusal? I haven't given my OCR software a workout in a while, and this would be a nice task for it. -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive historical PC gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Box Standardization
Not only that, but what fun is it to collect boxes that all look essentially the same? With the classics, you've got anything from the miniscule Adventure International styrofoam folders to the massive, hard-to-shelve Suspended and Starcross packages. Standardized box sizes may mean future generations of collectors won't need to have custom-made shelves like Hugh Falk's built, but I can see no other upside from our position. (You know it's not going to bring prices down any.) - Original Message - From: Chris Newman [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 2:49 PM Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Box Standardization Yes, that is absolutely horrible! The charm of games is not only the virtual experience they provide but the atmosphere they create from the physical media. Thick interesting manuals, maps, trinkets, magazines, newspapers, and all of the other extras we use to identify a special game make it unique. I can name 40 space opera sagas that share strong similarities in graphics, plot, and game play, and I'm sure you can too. Can you name another game that had the same visual impact of Elite: Frontier with its story book, manual, and info cards? Can you name a game other than Hitchhiker's Guide that contained pocket fluff? Other examples for me: Starflight 1, Mines to Titan, Times of Lore, Civilization, and many others. I remember not only the gameplay but the appearance of the game itself -- and I don't mean graphics. Of course, a game can be great without any props, but it lessens the impact. The physical material is the bridge between the virtuality and the real world. Homogenizing it is offensive. Jim Leonard wrote: Unfortunately for our hobby, it looks like IEMA, Infogrammes, and Activision are working together to standardize box size and form factor. This is depressing, as it means all software will come in double-thick DVD boxes (which are significantly smaller than the current form factor, which means no room for trinkets or props). Not that there ARE any trinkets or props in games nowadays, but at least there are usually decent thick manuals in some games, and there wouldn't be any in the new boxes since they're 33% smaller. PC Gamer has an article on it; would anyone like me to republish it here for perusal? I haven't given my OCR software a workout in a while, and this would be a nice task for it. -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive historical PC gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Box Standardization
I guess I'll throw my two cents into this one.
While I love the old boxes, the cool little extras that could even make
bad games good (the collector's comic book in Dr. Doom's Revenge) If
the standardized prices lead to lower prices at the store, I'm all for it.
Back in the mid 80's the Spanish gaming industry decided to get rid of
boxes and sell all their games in just plain cassette boxes (yes, they
were using tapes for most things...) and reduced the prices of games to
just about 10-15 bucks US for all new titles. What happened a few years
into this was that "Special" editions started appearing with big boxes,
extras like posters and old games bundled in. The "Special" editions
would naturally cost more (usually 30-40 bucks). Soon the normal
cassette cases disappeared and only the "Special" editions remained.
I'm afraid this new move will only lead to prices staying the same and
exhorbitant "Special" editions being released (not unlike what happened
with Ultima IX)
Just another marketing tactic to make gaming more palatable to the
masses. Whether or not things will be better is dubious, but the
newbies coming to the fold won't know the difference. That's where we
come in right? =-)
-
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