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[Waltorious]

I'm pretty sure that Mr. Robot and Starscape by Moonpod have boxed versions, though they are basically just DVD cases rather than full-on boxes.  Also the Sam and Max and Strong Bad games from Telltale Games can be purchased in DVD cases if you buy the whole season (and I think they include some extras too?).  Although I guess one could argue those are not really "indie" developers... but they certainly aren't big game companies.

I bought the Sam & Max one but it's just a box that has the DVD case inside it  it does have a printed manual thankfully.

I got the first two seasons of Sam and Max at a comic convention actually... they look like standard DVD cases but have a quite well done front and back cover.  I haven't actually opened them yet though so I don't know if there's a printed manual.

I should point out that while the Moonpod games are DVD cases rather than full boxes, they do indeed have quite nice art on both the case and the disc.  I don't actually own one though, so I don't know if they come with a printed manual or any other extras.

[undertech]

I know it's not nearly as cool as a real printed disc, but lightscribing would be a nice touch if you are not planning on doing 1000s of them.

On a semi-related note, I remember reading about Richard Garriott selling floppies of Akalabeth in zip-loc bags. How's that for indie?? But now, he's an astronaut.

[Craig Stern]

I was offering Telepath RPG Chapter 2 on CD for a while. It wasn't very cost-effective or convenient for most people, but I wanted to do something nice for the fans.

One particularly dedicated and artistic fan volunteered to create the cover art in watercolor. I think it's pretty fabulous, myself:

[Edmund]

Gish was boxed for retail in Russia, Germany and Singapore. Blast miner was boxed for retail in the US and Canada. but those were all through publishers.

My collection cd was self published through disc makers, and we are also going to release a special edition of No Quarter in a similar boxed form.

the cool thing about releasing your game on disc is you can pack the disc with bonus content to make it something extra special for the fans.

i highly recommend going through discmakers.com for a run of 1000+ cds the price drops to less then 90 cents a cd and thats full color printed cover/box with a screen printed cd, it looks pro and its really nice hold your game in your hand .

Ditto Alec, for ID and my other future games. It's something I want to do as well. I've been looking into it a bit and I like the idea of using mini-CDs -- they hold about 200mb or so, and are cheaper in large quantities than normal CDs, and more distinctive.

i looked into this as well, and found that mini discs are actually 30-40 cents more to print because of their rare dimensions , that could just be through the place i used though. mini discs do rock.

http://www.discmakers.com/
-Edmund

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

I've seen sites where it was cheaper than CDs too -- depends. You can get 1000 for $590 here: http://www.cdduplicationphoenix.com/Duplication_Pricing/7cd-mini-cd-plastic-sleeve-pricing.html -- which is 59 cents each. They're in sleeves rather than jewel cases though.

On the same site, it's $100 more for full CDs: http://www.cdduplicationphoenix.com/Duplication_Pricing/5cd-cd-paper-sleeve-pricing.html

If you make even only $6 profit per sale, the first 100 sales would pay for the expense, leaving the next 900 for extra. It would mean that you do have to get at least 100 sales to pay for it, though.

[Rudolf Kremers]

Gish was boxed for retail in Russia, Germany and Singapore. Blast miner was boxed for retail in the US and Canada. but those were all through publishers.

My collection cd was self published through disc makers, and we are also going to release a special edition of No Quarter in a similar boxed form.

the cool thing about releasing your game on disc is you can pack the disc with bonus content to make it something extra special for the fans.

i highly recommend going through discmakers.com for a run of 1000+ cds the price drops to less then 90 cents a cd and thats full color printed cover/box with a screen printed cd, it looks pro and its really nice hold your game in your hand .

Good stuff, I was quite impressed when I received my copy of "this is a cry for help" and have been wondering if we should do something similar for Dyson once it is finished.

Discmaker seems a good option, thanks for the tip.

[Edmund]

I've seen sites where it was cheaper than CDs too -- depends. You can get 1000 for $590 here: http://www.cdduplicationphoenix.com/Duplication_Pricing/7cd-mini-cd-plastic-sleeve-pricing.html -- which is 59 cents each. They're in sleeves rather than jewel cases though.

On the same site, it's $100 more for full CDs: http://www.cdduplicationphoenix.com/Duplication_Pricing/5cd-cd-paper-sleeve-pricing.html

If you make even only $6 profit per sale, the first 100 sales would pay for the expense, leaving the next 900 for extra. It would mean that you do have to get at least 100 sales to pay for it, though.

yeah but those come in blank paper sleeves... your basicly just paying for the cd itself. if you printed just cds alone normal sized cds cost about 15-20 cents to print on most sites.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Ah, that's true. Probably best to go with normal CDs then. I'll see if the prices changed by the time I want to do this, though.

[Edmund]

Good stuff, I was quite impressed when I received my copy of "this is a cry for help" and have been wondering if we should do something similar for Dyson once it is finished.

Discmaker seems a good option, thanks for the tip.

For sure, i really hope that more indies get on the physical special edition bandwagon . its a cool way to give fans something extra for basically the same price they would pay for digital download.  

The setup i went with for the Cry for Help disc was the "Eco-wallet" it came to about $1 a disc for a run of 1000. But they also have a deal that's basically half of a wallet for about 80 cents a disc.

once i sell through my first run of the cry for help discs (probably xmas of next year ) im going to upgrade to the 6 panel digi packs because they just look cooler (they go about 1.40 a disc).

oh also all of introversions games have also been self published of their site. they do the dvd pack setup... and it seems like they are doing some crazy deal on dvd packaging (90 cents a disc) so thats also a really good option, since they fit nicely with your other pc games.

-Edmund

[alexandersshen]

I feel like those with a tight budget can go the Lightscribe route.  I like the discs and you design what goes on top of it (be it a design, serial number, etc.).  Even if you have to go the jewel case route (as the OP described), at least the disc will look nice.

Granted, if you do have a shiny $1000 bill laying around, Disc Masters really is a great place to get it done.

[Edmund]

well the 1k is an investment, you just have to figure out how many games youd need to sell at what price, at 10 bucks a pop 100 copies sold will pay back your investment and have 900 copies to make money off of.

i didnt actually "have" the money i invested in the printing, but i was able to make it back and that was my only real goal when printing the cds.

Credit cards ftw!
 

[Craig Stern]

But really, if 1000 people want your game, they'll buy it whether it's in a box or downloaded from the internet. You're just adding on pointless costs by selling it on physical media. There's no point unless you have some means of distributing the game to retail outlets.

[Edmund]

im not at all saying that digital isnt the way to go, it totally is obviously. but theres something to having something to hold in your hands thats just makes the game feel reel. im not saying it should be what everyone does, but i think its def. something special that you could pack full of bonus content to make up for the buck spent on making it. Imagine Braid or Cave story released on CD by the designer with special bonus content only available on the disc, id buy those in a heartbeat.

but im only basing this off personal taste/experience when it comes to boxed games.

[Rudolf Kremers]

But really, if 1000 people want your game, they'll buy it whether it's in a box or downloaded from the internet. You're just adding on pointless costs by selling it on physical media. There's no point unless you have some means of distributing the game to retail outlets.

Sorry I disagree about the "pointless" aspect. It isn't pointless to those people that prefer to have a tangible physical copy. I am case in point, I would not have bought "this is a cry.." as a purely digital download. Edmund would have LOST a sale if he hadn't offerred this format. I think the way to look at it is that if you offer both you just add to the chance of more people buying it, and you offer a service that people value. It isn't all about money, some people are grateful for a format which is more suitable to have an emotional connection with.

I couldn't care less about most of my mp3s, but my viny colection is worth an enormous amount to me on a personal level. Same thing with indie games and music (And other items) I buy, some of them I appreciate more that way. :-)

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

I'm a comic publishing guy when I'm not doing comics, and I have a number of comics in print in floppy or anthology (paperback) format, and I love it. There's something very desirable about a physical product like this.

I've often thought about how I would make a boxed version available of games I make if I sold them, and there have been titles that I'm fond enough of that I would be thankful to buy an 'official' product version of.

For example, I bought the soundtrack to Ico mostly because I wanted any collectible I could find for my favourite game, and this is the only thing I could get (other than the japanese guide book, which I also have).

I think the desire for physical media is limited now though, so it had better be NICE! I want to see elaborate 'limited edition' boxes, bonus content, filled with artwork and for the boxed product to be something the player is happy to own. Oh, and I want it to use mini-DVDs too, because those are much more desirable.  And a beautiful comic-style manual.  People can pay extra for the disc version, and they'll get their money's worth.

(of course, with this all said, I'll probably just make browser based games for the next 5 years and by that time no-one will have DVD-drives in their machines...)

[Lucaz]

Physical presentation is a big plus in my opinion. I bought "This is a cry for help", and the few times I get to buy a game, I try to find some interesting game in a box, but I've never paid for a digital download. There is a huge difference to me between having a file, and having a box, with a nice cover, a DVD and maybe a manual.

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

So, how often do you find yourself actually using the disk? Do you just install it once and leave it until next time your build a PC, or are the games designed to run from the disk? (which is probably a bad idea!)

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

I prefer when games run from the disk actually. I don't have a whole lot of hard drive space to spare, and wasting 1.5 gb or whatever just for a game is insane. Why not keep that all on the DVD and just let me play it from there?

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

Well, yeah... in a magical happy world it would be nice if PC games worked like console games, and it would certainly be nice as an option in some cases, but it doesn't really seem relevant any more.  Also, lots of people run games on laptops now and heavy disc access is a bad idea with those things.

...but yeah, packaged games are cool, especially if you want to give them as gifts. 

[team_q]

See, Im the opposite, I hate having to Juggle around my physical Media, I love going to school, logging into Steam with 8 of my friends, and downloading Garry's mod. I've used my Halflife2 CD's once, and I've installed Half life 2 countless numbers of times, legally. Also, Harddrive space is something I have in abundance, RL space is limited. I've moved 5 times in the last 6 years and every time it was a pain in the ass to move my CD, Vinyl, DVD, Book, Console and Computer libraries. If it wasn't for copy right laws, I would probably ditch about half of those collections, but because I don't want to rebuy media for a new medium, and I don't want to loose use of it, I can't bring myself to offload them.