[IKEA_boy]

This is something that has bugged me for a long time now.

Ever since console games have been moved towards optical media everything has been wrapped up in a nice little package. You have your case, which contains the disc, instructions, and whatever else goes with the game, all of which fits nicely on your shelf, all lined up evenly.
But, for as long as I can remember, PC games have always been in a bulky, nasty, ugly box. This box usually contains an oversized manual, (oversized compared to standard jewel cases that the discs are usually in,) and the game disc, (which 50% of the time is in a flimsy paper sleeve.) It all makes for a nightmare for the storage nut.
I have many PC games that, until recently, occupied three shelves of a big book shelf. I cut that down a lot by breaking down the boxes that could be broken down and storing them under my bed.
But I digress... the point is, PC games are a packaging & presentation terror. What you end up with most of the time is a loose jewel case or paper sleeve, (blech,) a box that has no use other than to take up space, and a manual that has to be stored separate from the disc.
Speaking of the manual, I hate buying jewel case games. Jewel case games are those that are cheaper than their boxed siblings because they are cut down significantly. You get the same game, but no “all out manual,” (PC games have always had the best manuals in my opinion,) and are distributed in just a jewel case, no box. What they usually include is a printed installation instruction sheet in the case and a “digital manual” that is included on the CD-ROM. Most of the time, even if it isn't a jewel case game, if it's not the original release you're going to get a slimmed down package anyway. Not a good thing in my book.
This doesn't happen with console games. Even if you buy the re-issued budget line version, in nine out of ten instances, the only difference is some aesthetic changes of the case insert and disc design. Everything else is the same.

Why with PC games? I wish there would be some universal design that came along with PC games. Maybe package them in double disc DVD cases, with one side for a thick, fat instruction book and the other for the disc (like many PSX games were packaged -- Worms Armageddon is one that comes to mind right now.) They could use single disc cases for those that don't require huge manuals. They could even put the DVD case in those smaller boxes they've been using lately. You'd still have the “PC look” when you pick it up at Best Buy or EB but you have the option to take it out and display the attractive case on your shelf.

Perhaps it's because practically anyone can develop and distribute a PC game nowadays that there is no universal standard. That's cool, I'd even settle for just the major publishers using my above method. I'm just tired of the inconsistencies! I hate having a stack of differently sized boxes that jut out every which way, (anyone remember the old Eidos boxes?) I hate stacks of paper sleeves and jewel cases, some of which don’t have any inserts at all, lying around, generally not fitting in with the media population at my house. I hate having to keep a box under my desk for all the oblong instruction books, having to search every time I want to know something about the game.

Give me conformity or give me death!