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A Box is not just a Box: Game packaging in the course of time

by Beat Suter

Packaging for video games has become obsolete. Today, 90% of all games are streamed as data or downloaded via the internet. Only a small proportion of video games are still packaged and placed on shelves in electronics stores. It used to be very different.

A video game had to attract attention through its packaging, as it was lined up in stores on shelves in large rooms full of boxes. And potential players had to enjoy and somewhat laboriously rummage through stacks or well-sorted long rows of tables. The early packaging did not show the gameplay of a game but conveyed a stimulating idea of the game world. Professional graphic designers created covers with expressive, realistic heroes and scenes that went far beyond the pixel world of the game.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the standardization of such boxes was not such a resounding success. There were different types of packaging. Retailers tried to introduce standardization and, for example, did not include oversized packaging such as the large Kaiser box (1989) from Swiss publisher LINEL in their range because it did not fit on their shelves. But as soon as such a game sold well elsewhere, it was included anyway. It was not until the year 2000 that the Polybox really established itself as a standard for packaging.

This text outlines the development of game packaging over the decades with a special focus on Swiss video games that were available on the open market.

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LINEL – a Swiss Game Publisher 4: The Publishing Business

by Beat Suter

LINEL – a Swiss Game Publisher:
Part 1 – A comprehensive list of LINEL’S games
Part 2 – Collaborations and unreleased games
Part 3 – People and Work at LINEL
Part 4 – The Publishing Business

The following text originally appeared here.

LINEL was a software developer and publisher based in Switzerland. The label was active from 1987 to 1995. Part 1 of this essay established a complete list of all games that were published and distributed by the Swiss company LINEL. Part 2 pieces together LINEL’s international collaborations with other publishers and developers and uncovers the games that were never released. Part 3 takes a closer look at founder Markus Grimmer and the developers, studios, and distributors Grimmer’s LINEL worked with in those years.

Part 4 will focus on the publishing business with the physical production of the commercial games, distribution and marketing strategies and communication efforts by LINEL.

Continue reading LINEL – a Swiss Game Publisher 4: The Publishing Business