Video game packaging
Computer and video game packaging refers to the physical storage of the contents of a computer or video game, both for safekeeping and shop display. In the past, a number of materials and packaging designs were used, mostly cardboard or plastic. Nowdays, most console and computer games are shipped in CD or DVD cases, with little differences between them.
Aside from the actual game, many items may be included inside, such as an instruction booklet, teasers of upcoming games, subscription offers to magazines, and other advertisements.
Personal Computers
Early machines such as the Commodore 64 were tape-based, and hence had their games distributed on ordinary cassettes. When more advanced machines moved to floppy disks, the cassette boxes stayed in use for a while (e.g. Treasure Island Dizzy for the Amiga came on a floppy disk in a cassette box).
In the late 80s and early 90s, computer games became significantly more complex, and the market for them expanded enormously. Possibly in an effort to occupy more shelf-space than their rivals, and attract attention with their cover art, games began to be sold in large cardboard boxes. There was no standard size, but most were around 20cm x 15cm x 5cm (7.9in x 5.9in x 2in). The greatly increasing box sizes may have been justified in some cases. Games such as flight simulators came with extremely large, thick manuals. Others came with elaborate copy-protection systems such as Zool's circular code-wheel, or even a hardware dongle (although these were generally more common on expensive non-game software).
Variations on the "big box" format include a box within a sleeve, such as Unreal, and a box with a fold-out front cover, such as Black & White.
Games re-released as Budget games usually came in much smaller boxes - a common format for Amiga budget games was a thin square box roughly 13cm x 13cm x 2cm (5.1in x 5.1in x 0.8in).
As PC games migrated to CDs in jewel cases, the large format box remained. However, the manuals moved from the box into the disc itself, to save on printing costs. Despite the CD jewel case format having been around since the invention of the music CD, very few full-price PC games were released in a jewel case only; the format was, however, used for most PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast games.
Around 2000, PC game packaging began to converge with that of PS2 (and later, Xbox) console games, in the DVD-case format in which to this day the vast majority of games are sold. These boxes are sometimes known as Amaray cases, after a popular manufacturer of them.
In 2004, Half-Life 2 was made available for download over the Internet, via Steam. A physical boxed copy was also sold, though it also required activation over the Internet. Valve Software hopes this method of distribution will take off, as it delivers a greater percentage of the sale price to the game developer than boxed copies. Steam also allows consumers to back up their copy of Half-Life 2 as well as other games that are downloadable through Steam onto CDs or DVDs. To compliment this feature many fans have created box coverings for jewel cases that can be downloaded and printed, giving birth to a wide variety of game packaging styles and designs.
Java games for cellphones are distributed almost exclusively via the internet. It is possible that the proliferation of home broadband will lead to electronic distribution for all games in the future, leaving physical packaging a niche market, though game developers cite the unsolved problem of digital rights management as the main barrier to this.
Console packages
Unlike PC games, console manufacturers charge a license fee to anyone developing for their machine, and exert a certain amount of influence in the style of packaging. Nintendo, for example, maintained almost completely standardized boxes for SNES games. PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox game boxes also conform to the DVD case form factor.
Games for handheld systems are usually packaged in smaller boxes, to match the portable nature of the machine. The Game Boy Advance's cardboard boxes are a little smaller than SNES/N64 packaging, and games for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP both come in small plastic boxes.
Box art
The term box art (also called a game cover or cover art) specifically refers to the artwork on the front of computer or video game packaging. Box art is usually flashy and bombastic, in the vein of movie posters, and serves a similar purpose. Historically, art featured on the box has been in excess of what the computer or console was technically capable of displaying. Additionally, screenshots on the back of the box often mixed in-game sequences with pre-rendered sections, in the (mostly justified) belief that the appearance of good graphics would increase sales.
On the cover, many things are listed, such as the name and logo of the game, what console the game is for, the ESRB rating (or PEGI for Europe and CERO for Japan), logo of the publisher and/or developer, and quotes from magazines or websites. Sometimes listed is "Only For" or "Only On", for the GameCube, GBA and Xbox consoles repectively, which indicates an exclusive game not found on any other console, although sometimes an event occurs after the official art has been released and the game is no longer an exclusive. An example would be Resident Evil 4's box art. While originally exclusive to the GameCube, it will be released for the PlayStation 2 in October 2005.
As part of the marketing effort to build hype, box art is usually released a few months before the actual game. It is one of the last things made during development, but even so it is common for screenshots to be of parts of the game which did not make it into the final release.
Some box art is memorable for being extremely poor, such as Phalanx or Mega Man.
Notable Packaging
- Some games have limited editions packed in tin boxes, like Quake III (30,000 units [1]), the DVD Special Edition of Unreal Tournament 2004 [2], the Halo 2 preorder edition, or Half-Life 2 Gold.
- All three games in the Marathon trilogy came in boxes shaped like triangular prisms.
- Flashback had several box designs throughout the world, but at least the UK Amiga version featured a half-sleeve designed to give the box art a 3D appearance.
- The Amiga version of Cannon Fodder had camouflaged box art, to fit with its military theme.
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes had shiny, "holographic" box art.
- EA Sports games traditionally have an all-white box with a live-action or athlete photo in front.
- The Thief series had a rather unusual trapezoidal box shape.