Digital distribution is a touchy subject, especially on a website that's home to so many collectors. But in fairness, downloads have been great for some of us. There's no denying the certain rush that comes from instant gratification. In fact, thanks to digital distribution, I've vastly cut down on my game purchases. The thought that a game is (generally) going to be available to purchase and play whenever I'm ready to play it seems to trump even the allure of stocking up during sales. And there's certainly no denying that this cheaper form of distribution means that many games by smaller developers are finding their way into the hands and hard drives of gamers that would be near impossible otherwise.



But now lets switch gears and talk about the downside to digital distribution. Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you're visiting this site then the chance is good that you're a collector. And collectors hate it when there's nothing to collect. If you've visited your local GameStop, Best Buy, or Target lately, you may have noticed that far fewer new PC releases are appearing in physical form. Don't get me wrong, we still get some, but it's not like it was before Steam was the powerhouse that it's become. And of the games that do come out physically, it's not uncommon for this release to basically be just an installer and a Steam-key; even the presence of an actual manual is fifty-fifty. For the most part, gone are the olden days of big boxes and "feelies."

So there you have it. DLC has killed your precious game box, right? Well, no not really. Let's not get carried away here. And in fact, there's a secret renaissance of boxed PC games that have even started to emerge. What's further surprising is that many of them are coming from indie studios. Indie games getting some sort of (usually limited) physical release isn't unheard of. For instance, the Doujin scene is huge in Japan, and even in the U.S., we've seen titles like Unemployment Quest get a disc-based release. However, these games are generally packaged in your typical CD or DVD style cases with perhaps a manual included. But what about the old 'big box' PC games that came bundled with all kinds of extra swag?


Gone Home was a first person, indie darling released in 2013, whose gameplay required the player to explore "their" family's abandoned home. Though it got a lot of discussion along the lines of "is this even really a game?," it also became a surprise hit and sold nearly 250,000 copies in less than a year. To celebrate this milestone, the game saw a re-release in the form of a Retail Special Edition. Much like the loving, nostalgic detail put into the game itself, this retail release came in a box mimicking a SNES game case, and also came with extras such as stickers, posters, and a book outlining the development of the game.

While Gone Home's retail release may have come to a surprise to some of us PC gamers in the US, the physical release of indie games seems a bit more common in the UK. For instance, Binding Of Isaac was released there as the Most Unholy Collector's Edition while other favorites like Awesomenauts, Terraria, Monaco, and Limbo have all received collector's editions if you're willing to dish out the import shipping to add them to your gameroom shelf.


In the US, there is a new hope for indie game collectibles. Earlier this year, an upstart called The Indie Box (https://www.theindiebox.com/) launched and has been nothing short of amazing. For a small subscription fee, each month The Indie Box sends out a surprise box of an indie game that they've curated for their subscribers. These range from new releases (such as Escape Goat 2) to cult classics (like Brutal Legend). The boxes themselves tend to ape Genesis-style artwork, but what's actually in the boxes is what's so incredible. Most games have been released on special USB thumb drives (only Brutal Legend has been on a disc thus far), and each box is crammed with surprise goodies. So far, all releases have included a full color manual and CD soundtrack, and each has had an assortment of oddball extras such as posters, stickers, pins or paper crafts to cut out and assemble. It is truly a brilliant service and the subscription model helps you discover games that you may not have otherwise.

Seeing The Indie Box start to gather steam with subscribers and publishers alike is a great thing for the indie scene and perhaps this is only the beginning. Heck, in recent years we've seen vinyl make a huge comeback to music fans. With any luck, these big box style retail releases of indie games will continue in a similar way.

Permalink | Comments [15] | Digg This Article | Tweet