Professional "official" boxes for Homebrews

[r_type2600]

This issue has been brought up regularly before, and I'm of course aware of the financial constraints to a "regular" release of boxed homebrews, as many threads on AA have made clear.

 

However, here's a thought which I had after seeing the professional boxes board members like Marc Oberhäuser and CPUWIZ are regularly offering on demand. (Marc seems to be particularly specialized in this regard, as his website illustrates.)

 

Couldn't Marc or CPUWIZ in the same way offer "officialy licensed" boxes for homebrews?

"Official" because those boxes would then be designed by the respective label artists and sanctified by the programmers, ensuring the integrity of the whole package.

 

Collectors would still buy the basic set (cart & manual) from AtariAge at an affordable price, and could then complete it by buying an "official" box from Marc/CPUWIZ (for instance). I believe there is a solid base of hardcore collectors (I guess at least 50-100) willing to pay a fair price for such professional on-demand-produced boxes.

 

That two-fold approach would:

a) minimize financial risks

b) warrant affordable prices for basic gamers (cart+manual)

c) satisfy collectors by providing the option to purchase an all-around package

 

Worth to consider?

[decypher]

I would be in that is for sure!

 

Jim

[Mayhem]

Curiously enough I have already asked Marc about the possibility of being able to produce boxes for games where they don't already exist. As you state, it would probably lie with the person who produced the game and the artwork. Beef Drop for the 5200/7800 for example, a game with no box currently, whereas almost all the rest have them.

[Pixelboy]

It's a very nice idea, but only in theory. I believe most people perceive a product as something that comes with OR without a box. No one sells stuff saying "hey, here's the basic product, now if you want to buy the cool "official" packaging that comes with it, you have to pay extra and buy it from another source."

 

A lot of collectors are not hardcore collectors, and those that are not hardcore will look at the price of the product first and foremost, and will buy just the cart if given a choice, especially considering that a box alone can add 20$ to the price of a game. This leads to confusion in the collector's arena: Can the box really be considered "official" if the product was originally sold without a box? From a hardcore collector's point of view, is the game incomplete if it doesn't come in the "official" box? If the box is included, is it truly genuine, or is it a knock-off made by someone else than Marc or CPUWIZ?

 

I may be the only one who thinks this, but selling a homebrew in a box, with a manual that's more than a cheap photocopy, sends a particular message to the retro-gaming, homebrew-purchasing crowd. It give the product a certain "extra aura of seriousness". Adding this "extra aura" costs a lot of money, but as a homebrew author, if shows how much love you put in your homebrew creations. So even if the box looks insanely cool, if it's made and sold by someone else, it's just not quite the same, especially if the box is completely optional.

[r_type2600]

Well, maybe I should have used the term "classic gamer" instead of collector, since the later one seems to be overloaded with a bunch of misleading associations.

 

Very clearly, the appeal of a box for a post-market release lies in its additional aesthetic/practical value or, shortly, added professionalism (what you call "extra aura of seriousness").

Not the least in any kind of added/stipulated "rarity".

 

The concept of (creating artificial) rarity for post-market releases is anyway nonsense IMHO - and if a collector is seeking that in homebrews, he has unfortunately completely missed the point of these creative efforts...

Edited June 22, 2008 by r_type2600

[+Psionic]

Couldn't Marc or CPUWIZ in the same way offer "officialy licensed" boxes for homebrews?

"Official" because those boxes would then be designed by the respective label artists and sanctified by the programmers, ensuring the integrity of the whole package.

 

Collectors would still buy the basic set (cart & manual) from AtariAge at an affordable price, and could then complete it by buying an "official" box from Marc/CPUWIZ (for instance). I believe there is a solid base of hardcore collectors (I guess at least 50-100) willing to pay a fair price for such professional on-demand-produced boxes.

I always thought something like this would be a good idea. Especially since Marc is located in Europe...it would be easy for just about everyone who wants them to get quality boxes at a decent price.

[ten-four]

I can see pixelboy is a diligent user with Marc

 

I can see that also retroillucid has already made many of the boxes as "missing" from the market,

but in which quality I do not know.

 

I'm missing a lot of boxes and manuals, so it would be great to be able to order them again.

I refer not only to homebrews.

 

Whether you are a hardcore or not, it is always nice to have a complete game.

 

The problem is the box quality and for me the artwork. -And of course the price.

 

Definationen the price is always difficult.

But homebrew games will always could cost $ 30 for the game, $ 20 for the box and again $ 10 for the manual.

 

It will never could be calculated in money, although I have made a draft above.

[the.golden.ax]

I wish Marc offered boxes on demand. All I know is his are the best.

 

Now that I have his ear I need to make a list of what I need.

 

AX

Edited July 2, 2008 by the.golden.ax

[nonner242]

I wish Marc offered boxes on demand. Ive asked around 6 times, the dude does great work but ignores me.

 

I think he may be rich, very busy, or underestimates how much I'd buy. Who knows.

 

All I know is his are the best.

 

AX

 

I LOVED BOXES! And making them too!

I got my first 2600 coming this week when I get the time to build it! But been working on so much Jag stuff, its hard to stop!