Re: [SWCollect] Box Standardization
> Personally, I don't think it's worth "collecting" any games made past 1994 I'd agree, with the exception of Masterpieces (and maybe a few others, to a much lesser extent). > Now as a gamer (not a collector), I think this would suck. I love a good > manual. And I'm especially ticked off when I buy a RPG or strategy game, > and I have to buy an extra "strategy guide," which is really just > information that should have been in the manual in the first place (tables, > charts, etc.). If they standardize the boxes, this will be the norm. Agreed, nothing beats a superbly written manual. Who can forget the great stories that came in the front of the Infocom browsies (often having very little to do with the game, but they sure got you in the spirit). Other faves of mine include the docs for Wasteland, its quasi-sequel Fallout (which I'm currently playing), and -- this one may surprise you -- Archon. (Read it sometime if you haven't, it is SO cool. B-) -- 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
Personally, I don't think it's worth "collecting" any games made past 1994
so for me it's not a big deal from a collecting standpoint. I'm not saying
games after 1994 aren't worth buying...I've got hundreds, and I love to play
them. But they're not worth much from a collecting perspective. They don't
have historical significance, and once CDs became mainstream, PC games
became big business. Almost every game since 1994 is relatively common.
Certainly, any game that would be affected by this standardization (in 2002
or whenever) would be even less collectible. In 10 or 20 years (when 2002
seems like a long time ago) I might change my mind, but that's my story for
now.
Now as a gamer (not a collector), I think this would suck. I love a good
manual. And I'm especially ticked off when I buy a RPG or strategy game,
and I have to buy an extra "strategy guide," which is really just
information that should have been in the manual in the first place (tables,
charts, etc.). If they standardize the boxes, this will be the norm.
Hugh
-Original Message-
From: Trantor [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2000 7:54 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: 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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Y ,--._I".-==- "###,
| Y ~-. }. ...###^\
| | }: ( O ) "#( )
.~ (__,.--" .^. #: |
He who troubleth his own house (/ | ? "\ )
shall inherit the wind. \, / ; ; =/
^ \__: )]
-- Someplace in the bible| |T ~\[~~l
| |l _ _ _#!}
| l \/V V V _ _/;#! !
Visit:l \ \|_|_|/|## |'
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http://www.trantornator.com \ `^_^_^l'##"
\@#. ###
Home of the TRANTORNATOR! \. ### ##;
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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? =-)
-
_ ___ _ __ _ __ ___###,
/_ _// | /// \ / //_ _// __ // \ _,.--"###*.
/ / / // // // // /\ / / / / / / // // /,-~(##-.
/ / / _// _ // / / / / / / /_/ // _/ ,^___{###^.
/_/ /_/\_\/_//_//_/ /_/ /_/ /_//_/\_\ /~" ~" }##""###%.
Y ,--._I".-==- "###,
| Y ~-. }. ...###^\
| | }: ( O ) "#( )
.~ (__,.--" .^. #: |
He who troubleth his own house (/ | ? "\ )
shall inherit the wind. \, / ; ; =/
^ \__: )]
-- Someplace in the bible| |T ~\[~~l
| |l _ _ _#!}
| l \/V V V _ _/;#! !
Visit:l \ \|_|_|/|## |'
\ \[T T T ___;'##;!
http://www.trantornator.com \ `^_^_^l'##"
\@#. ###
Home of the TRANTORNATOR! \. ### ##;
"^-._"###.###
"##;
"#;
--
This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to
the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to
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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 think there's enough interest in modern collector's-edition (real collector's editions, not shovelware packages) boxes that we'll not see complete standardization (there have been a small flood of these lately, actually -- C&C Tiberian Sun, C&C Red Alert 2, Diablo II, Baldur's Gate II). OTOH, these were/are often available only for order straight from the manufacturer, so maybe you're right. (I don't know enough about the Wizards and Warriors and Escape from Monkey Island limited versions to comment on them.) While I'm on the subject, does anyone know what the collector's edition of Starcraft is supposed to have inside? I strongly suspect its contents are the same as the incredibly common regular version (time to get another Blizzard notepad, heh) but I don't know for sure. I'm also wondering about the copy of C&C Red Alert 2 -- I got my copy straight from the store, and all the stuff it mentions on the package is there, but I get the sinking feeling there's a reference card missing. -- Stephen -- 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
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/
[SWCollect] Box Standardization
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/
