Prompted by a friend I recently bought SimCity 2000 on Good Old Games for $4. The conversation turned to PC gaming packaging, which reminded me I probably still had the original games. I was happy to find the below. I particularly miss the large manuals, I remember the SimEarth manual (click on link for full copy of the 236 page publication) was particularly dense, in physicality and content, sadly I no longer have it.
Generally speaking, as the PC game boom continued the packaging got larger and more creative in an attempt to take up more shelf space and grab consumers attention. My collecting of PC physical game media ended in 2013, when I went out of my way to buy the latest Tomb Raider game in physical form, only to get home and find nothing more than a Steam download code within the box.
I hope you enjoy these pictures,
Phil Fogg
