The general idea is that modern gamers don't buy physical copies.

However, the problem seams to be that it's not about gamers not wanting to buy boxed games, but that those boxes (especially PC versions) do not provide anything beyond a game disc that doesn't even have the whole game on it. Or heck, I saw empty DVD boxex with a code inside (Tekken 7) or even just a Steam Installer file on the disc.

In the end it's mostly publishers wanting to kill of the used games market and maximize profit by all means necessary.

I'm maybe an old fart but give me nicely designed box, all the game files (optical disc, SD memory card or whatever) a manual that provides some insight in the game and maybe a poster or something similar and I will buy that $hitt up.

Basically the Wither Games box sets.

Yes, I used to be a big collector, rooms full up with boxed games and collectors stuff. I have been through a big process of downsizing as moving it all is a pain, and to be honest I never really looked at it. I still have one room full of books, cds, games from various platforms, but far less than it used to be.
The problem is twofold, as you point out there is nothing of any value with the boxes, no short stories, no cloth maps etc. Another problem is cost, it costs a lot to produce boxes and manuals and such like, and it's easier and more profitable to just push out digital products. The future is completely online, give it a few years and streaming will be the norm - it already is for music and tv, games are just a bit more intensive in terms of internet.
Gamers have changed as well, it's all about dressing up and showing off to other hyper-narcissistic gamers.

I never understood why reselling used games has to be tied to having them on a physical media. Isn't storing a GOG standalone installer on a hard disc also a physical copy? Where is the difference between an optical disc, an SD memory card, and SSD disc, a magnetic disc/tape, something else...? Can it really depend on the exact physical way the software is transported to you?

What really killed used sales was DRM and online authentications (like the Galaxy or Steam client for example do). The only real way out is having a copy stored somewhere. The term "digital copy" is kind of bullshit though. Every copy is always a "physical copy", no exception there. The only thing that keeps you from selling your GOG installers is the license which is personal and non-transferable (you cannot even legally let someone else play GOG games on your computer).

My guess is, that even the nicest box art cannot remove DRM from the content inside. On the other hand, if you really like nice boxes, the companies selling DRM content will be happy to provide you with one for a little premium.

What you probably want is a change in law regarding selling ownership of software licenses, digital DRM free downloads and dedicated artists making nice boxes. I have not so much space at home and could live without the boxes, but the other stuff I would like to have very much too.

I share your sentiment, Yeshu, although I admit that for me bix box (plus additional stuff inside), while nice, is not necessary, as long as I have disc with game which is allowing me to install and play in mentioned game, without any additional software, online verification etc. And some manual. Manuals are cool.

(although I admit, that I personally hate Blue-Ray boxes, they're hideous and "artificial" for me).

Sadly, nowadays plenty, plenty of developers/publishers are releasing their games only on Steam. Smaller, because it's cheaper for them and they're considering steam as most profitable place to put their games. Bigger... They're still releasing games in "physical form", but they're useless since the only thing which matters is steam code inside.

At this moment only Slitherine is offering "true" physical releases on their website. PLus some occasional initiatives like IndieBox, which is currently working rather "from time to time", they've left monthly release some time ago.

At this point, I'm thinking (it's about 3 or 4 years when I've started and I still didn't begin :P) about "making" my own physical versions of some games I own on GOG. There are companies which are making ordered labels for both CD/DVD and CD/DVD cases. Nothing special, but it's a good start to "feel" once again that I own those games.

I stopped buying physical copies due to DRM, prices not being competitive compared to digital sales, and the expectation that the game discs will be outdated pretty soon as several updates/patches/DLC content are to be expected after release. And if I look at the number of games I own digitally, I'm really glad they don't take away physical shelf space. Then again, I was always the type of customer to go for the "nice price" / bargain bin games, not fully priced collector's edition boxes, so the development on the digital market is kind of catering to my preferences.

I agree though that gamers not buying physical copies anymore is due to physical copies not offering any real benefits anymore compared to the higher prices.

^ That's exactly what it's been about all along (far more than "piracy"). See Bethesda's "digital" Morrowind / Oblivion being typically triple the price vs Very Good Condition 2nd hand copies on Ebay (that came with nice printed A3 sized maps).

I think the only way of making physical games more attractive today is to offer something physical. Eg, large complex open-world games could do a nice properly printed A2-A3 size game fold-out map (like the game equivalent of an "ordnance survey map" for Skyrim, Witcher 3, etc). People can download a PDF map, but very few have an A2-A3 sized printer to actually print it themselves. Music CD's don't get much love anymore vs MP3 downloads, but professionally printed glossy art-books have fetched quite a bit 2nd hand on Ebay for some games. I loved the printed "Unit Counter Guides" that came with Age of Empires 1-2 & Mythology. Really helped to ease into the game as a newbie. ALT-TABbing back & forth between Wiki pages is a poor substitute.

As nightcraw1er said though, at best it's a very small niche today. At worst, the obsession with "control, control, control" by modern publishers pretty much guarantees the direction is the exact opposite.

There is no way to bring back physical games any more, for many reasons, i.e:

- Most computer users don't have optical drives any more.

- Publishers & devs choose not to make physical copies available because doing so means less profits for them (they have to print the discs, then give a cut to the retail store middlemen), etc.

- In the last few years before physical PC games stopped being sold, most of them were useless garbage anyway because the physical copies still were tied to the cancer that is Steam DRM, which made their technical existence as a physical copy an irrelevant moot point.

- In the years before that Steam infestation, instead of big beautiful boxes featuring glorious artwork, all physical boxes started to become tiny & underwhelming & not shelf-worthy.

- Ditto for devs/publishers skimping on manuals, which also used to be big & beautiful and full of lore and extraneous fluff that is not just about playing about the game. Instead they devolved either to having no manual at all, or a useless one that is only a few pages long.

I'd love for DRM-free physical games to be a thing, but that's simply never going to happen in reality. History went a different way, and it can't be reversed.

I mean, there are sites like IndiBox that sell physical, DRM free versions off games, but allot of people seam to not know about them.

https://theindiebox.com/

Your grudge against Steam has got to be one of the saddest things I've seen in a long while. What's the next excuse? The Russians did it?

Do they have to be DVD's though? We have cheap SD cards technologies. Wouldn't it be possible to transition to those kind off physical media?

IndiBox sell most of there games on "USB Cards", which are credit card like things that have a usb connection pop up from the side. Most PC user do have a USB port in the front right?

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I miss the boxes.

The Tomb Raider ones were a pain in the ass because they didn't fit on the shelf but they were SOOOOO cool! I ended up buying the first one because of the box. They had it on display at the store, with that large flap up so you saw Lara there glaring at you. I couldn't refuse

'Which is funny. All digital media was supposed to reduce the cost of games, but they're still $60 on the AAA market despite the lack of printing physical media and shipping to a retailer. The retailer cost is still there (Steam or GOG or whoever) but those other significant costs are gone. Instead of passing the savings on to the customer as many promised, they decided to gobble the savings as profit. And NO ONE complained loud enough to make the problem heard.

Completely 100% agree. This argument gets flown around every time someone talks about benefits of digital distribution but the results are nowhere to be seen. In many cases, the digital distribution is even more expensive that boxed games.

BACK TO TOPIC
They are still by far the most appealing to me and that will probably not change. There are also still editions that contain tangible bonus stuff. True, newer games are not as appealing as they used to be, but just this week, I got Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine from Amazon (normal box) and Drakan: Order of the Flame (Big Box edition, sealed) from some Netherlands e-shop. Both boxed versions and I couldn't be happier. Also whenever possible, I look for a boxed version first.

That is one of the biggest reasons to still buy boxed games. Collecting. I'd much rather look at my physical library than some uninteresting 300 lines of game names on some platform. It is a hobby as any other and still very valid. And if you wanted, you could sell some of them for a pretty penny in the future. But the more people that fully dive into the digital only stuff, the higher the chance for me to get hands on a boxed version so by all means, fall for the mainstream.

EDIT
Also, screw orange boxes. They look horrible and have retarded dimensions. The one who designed them should be punished for such a disgrace.

I used to love physical releases. Age of Mythology's Collector's Edition was the best: https://ocolecioneiro.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/age-of-mythology-collectors-edition-2002-pc-uk/

But in this day and age, digital releases are just too practical. I still see potential in limited luxury physical editions for die-hard fans (special anniversary edition, a reward for bigger than usual crowdfunding backers...) including a lot of goodies.