the other day i was looking through a box of old video games when i stumbled across one of my favorite games of times gone by, baldurs gate. the first thing that struck me was the packaging.

a huge cardboard box with high quality graphics and, inside the box, a fancy cardboard sleeve, a map, printed installation instructions, and a thick printed manual on high quality paper. oh how things have changed. or have they?

If you look back 10 years, you may remember that all pc game boxes were like this. huge cardboard affairs with big printed manuals and as much literature as could possibly be stuffed in them. over the past ten years packaging has come in numerous different shapes and sizes but these days its different. pc game boxes are simple dvd cases with a single dvd in them. identical to their dvd movie brethren with similarly sparse literature.

console game boxes on the other hand have always been relatively diminutive. the original playstation cases were jewel cd cases. nintendo cartridges were in simple small cardboard cases. once again, these have progressed slightly to become fairly standard dvd size cases with relatively little literature.

and this is where the pc game and console worlds collide, and its a good thing. we’re now at a point where all of our console and pc games can sit snugly next to one another on a shelf regardless of which console they are for. and hey, i can fit a decent number of them on my shelf too thanks to their standard size. best of all they can sit next to my dvd movies. so whilst we may miss some of the flash and quality that comprised our old game boxes, it makes sense to standardise the packaging. all is well.

but the story doesn’t end here. what does the future hold. it seems that this is where we’ve begun moving backwards. i’m talking about limited editions. it seems that limited editions are becoming increasingly more common. publishers seem to want to create fancy boxes filled with limited edition statues, soundtrack cd’s, “making of” dvd’s, and helmets (would you believe). it doesn’t stop there either, games like rock band, guitar hero, buzz, and the forthcoming lips game have non-standard packaging as default.

so whats wrong with this? well not a lot i suppose but, aside from being difficult to dispose due to lots of non-biodegradable parts, its also difficult to find space for.

so as i look at my shelf of games, what was once a nice slimlined collection of movies and games all sitting happily together, is now an awkward mishmash of various shapes and sizes all dumped together.

whats your opinion? are limited editions a good thing or should publishers stick to standard sized packaging?