Fill the box

If today the phenomenon of collector's editions is well rooted in the head of all players whether via pre -order goodies (steelbook, magnet, key, etc.) or more massive editions containing artbook and impressive figurines, boxes were at the base filled with content for other reasons than rarity.

It was initially a question of transcending the technical limitations of the games of the time by adding, for example, a manual giving context to the game, see explaining his scenario.

It was also a question of bringing the game to life outside its original screen, giving it a palpable appearance, easily explained to the neophytes of technology.

Finally, it could be a stratagem to add an anti -powerful copy to the game. The most famous example is that of Monkey Island (1988). When the game is launched, the latter requests a password, password that you can get thanks to a cardboard wheel present in the game box. Enough to limit the pirate copies of floppy disks.

The pioneer

If the first collector's edition referenced today is that of the myst of 1993, the latter contained only screens saving and a mouse carpet that has aged to say the least.

We will therefore make a little historical sprain and consider that the first representative of this movement is Wing Commander 3.

Blockbuster of his time with 4 million dollars of budget, this game of Chris Roberts (Freelancer, Star Citizen) competes the cinema with the casting Mark Hamill (Star Wars) or Malcom McDowell (Mechanical Orange) but also sequences in Full Motion Video who plunge the player closer to history.

And for the collector's edition The Roberts team takes out heavy artillery with a game t-shirt, a making-of on VHS, a Wing Commander calendar, a book, the soundtrack on CD, all in a box replying the 35mm coil boxes.

And today ?

In 2003, when Valve released a small software called "Steam" to simplify the Counter Strike updates, the world does not suspect that the industry is taking a decisive turn.

When a year later Half-Life 2 requires Steam to work, always no awareness of the industry. A year later, the advent of the Xbox 360 coupled to the fact that Steam offers for sale, and in dematerialized third-party games, is aware of the world that physical game is perhaps a relic of the past.

Today, we consider that 5 % of players, any platforms combined, still buy games in physical format. If the Nintendo switch is today a last bulwark of dematerialization at all costs, the observation is final: the game in a box is today a niche phenomenon.

As vinyl survived the CD then at the MP3, the cinema with VOD platforms and the Kindle bookstores, the boxing video game is always the and the publishers must now offer added value to allow players to feel valued in their purchases.