First impressions are key, and part of the reason why custom cardboard boxes are so essential for many luxury goods is that they help to shape this initial unboxing experience.

Whilst the concept of unboxing was largely solidified at the end of the 2000s, the unboxing experience has likely existed for as long as the concept of gift wrapping and affects most luxury products.

Perhaps the most fascinating evolution of the concept of boxes as a marketing tool as opposed to a necessity for holding products might possibly be found in the world of computer games, where necessity quickly gave way to somewhat unique marketing techniques and back again.

The Earliest Examples

The first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey was sold in 1972 and would indeed be sold in a huge cardboard box, but this and the sale of other similar electronic gadgets in boxes was less a marketing decision and more out of necessity.

Not only was the console itself huge, but it also shipped with multiple game cards, several decks of physical cards, boards, money, dice and plastic overlays for the television screen. 

The overall experience more closely resembled that of a particularly elaborate board game and the resemblance may have been deliberate.

There were separate “games” which activated different logic modes, but they were long packages containing not just the game cartridge but also new overlays, game pieces and instructions, looking more like a board game expansion pack.

However, the first video game console with meaningful interchangeable games sold separately was the Fairchild Channel F in 1976.

The so-called “Videocarts” went the opposite route to the Odyssey, fitting the game into a snug, small box only large enough for the game itself and its instructions.

Whilst Magnavox had been inspired by board games, Fairchild appeared to have been influenced by the packaging of 8-track cartridges and VHS cassettes in the United States, both of which used very thin cardboard sleeves to reduce space and packaging costs as much as possible.

From Necessity To Experimentation

These were the two firsts, but as computer and video games became more popular, every company and system had their own approach that would become increasingly elaborate throughout the 1980s.

Some games were sold on music cassette tapes and used the same combination of plastic boxes and cardboard sleeves, although games on multiple tapes would sometimes be sold in cardboard boxes instead.

Other games would be sold in plastic bags, and some were even sold in cardboard sleeves similar to vinyl records, something that was initially the selling point of Electronics Arts games such as Pinball Construction Set.

By the end of the 1980s, outside of budget cassette games, most games would be sold in cardboard boxes, either to a standard size large enough for the cartridge or disks themselves or increasingly in what became known as the big box standard.

The Big Box Era

Whilst in the early 1980s games would typically fit on a single cassette or floppy disk, by the late 1990s games became more complex, more expensive and more popular.

This led to the rise of the standard “big box” format of a 20 cm x 15 cm x 5 cm cardboard box. They typically had a removable lid but sometimes would feature a set of flaps at the top or bottom, a cover flap or consisted of a sleeve which acted as a dust jacket.

Whilst part of this was due to games fitting on multiple disks, requiring thicker instruction manuals and featuring additional added value features and copy protection tools, another part of this was the result of marketing.

A big box allowed for more contents and, just as importantly, more space on store shelves to be accommodated by a single game, which when combined with increasingly elaborate and eye-catching cover art reminiscent of vinyl record sleeves, created a distinct purchasing experience.

By contrast, console games such as those made for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES used smaller boxes large enough to store the games within a cardboard sleeve for added rigidity and safety.

This created the impression that computer games for PC were premium products or even works of digital art that would merit a premium price.

Some games had unusually shaped boxes, such as the trapezoid boxes used by Eidos in games such as Tomb Raider or Omikron: The Nomad Soul. 

The Collector’s Era

By the end of the 1990s with the standardised use of the CD jewel case and later the DVD keep case, computer game boxes began to shrink due to pressure by retailers to reduce their impact on store shelves. Eventually, they would disappear almost entirely.

However, with the rise of physical collector’s editions and the popularity of the unboxing, cardboard boxes have seen a comeback in a more unique, luxurious form.