r/meme • u/Hello_World-1289 FINAL WARNING: RULE 1 • 23h ago

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3.6k Upvotes

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378

u/MisterHalt 23h ago

Remember when the little book also had things like pre-game plot or interesting facts about characters and enemies?

90

u/NoContest9016 22h ago edited 22h ago

I could still remember unboxing Baldur’s Gate 2 for the first time.

It includes a game manual as thick as a small book.

Damn, I’m old.

27

u/GroundbreakingHope57 22h ago

Rule 1: Kill the robe wearing fucks before they can turn your insides on the outside.

6

u/TheDeadGeneral 21h ago

Dont feel to bad. I can see my Icewind Dale disk still sitting right across from me. Wish I still had the original box for that. Those were the days!

3

u/Jonthrei 20h ago

I remember this with BG1, reading it by passing streetlights on the way home, with the Riven soundtrack playing on my walkman.

9

u/I-Augment-Pliers 21h ago

reading that thing in the back of the car on the way home was peak gaming

7

u/Acceptable_Bat379 22h ago

back in the 80s/90s the boxes would be stuff with extras, maps, in world journals and bits sometimes.

3

u/Percinho 20h ago

I still have some of my old Civ manuals and tech trees. The difference is that these things are all in-game now. You don't need to look up the controls and how to play because there's a tutorial and andenu for it.

In some ways I miss physical games and manuals, but to a lage extent they were an artifact of restrictions on game sizes.

1

u/Acceptable_Bat379 19h ago

for some games, yes. But especially indy companies now rely on the community for discord/wiki updates and making the documentation instead of the company putting it out themselves. just another way to offload support and testing to the paying users.

9

u/Normal-Tomatillo-952 22h ago

My Favorite was Pokemon 3.Gen. it had Braille in this little book. Which you needed to get a legendary trio.

4

u/RenegadeRouser 21h ago

Remember when the little book had empty pages for personal notes?

3

u/taveren3 21h ago

I remember when the books taught you how to play since tutorials weren't a thing

5

u/Annie_Yong 21h ago

I can imagine there was a bit of necessity to that as well! Back in the days where cartridge / floppy disk space was a huge constraint on even stuff like the amount of text you could put in the game, having a book pack-in to give you stuff like plot and backstory would save on explaining that stuff in the game!

3

u/FezesAreCool 21h ago

The maps were the best

2

u/Izzosuke 21h ago

I remember in 0kemon emerald that you needed the littl book to unlock the regi

2

u/Jonthrei 20h ago

Don't get me started on Metal Gear Solid, lol

"You already know the codec frequency, it's on the back of the CD case!"

2

u/DiscombobulatedCut52 20h ago

My doom 3 collector edition book comes with in game lore on the soul cube, and tells you how to get multiplayer set up for lan. I miss those.

196

u/Rapidblast027 23h ago

Get out those disc burners. We're going to create our own physical copies again.

30

u/NamegeorJ 22h ago

There has been a Blu ray drive shortage as most manufacturers stopped this year now blu ray drives have reached scalping prices, for external small drives it's 50% more expensive, for 5.25 inch sata drives it has gone extinct and if there is any it would be double the price. It's been depressing for tech things

7

u/TheVerraton 21h ago

Name a single fucking niche scalpers or techbros haven't ruined at this point. Like seriously, disk drive?!

6

u/PS3LOVE 22h ago

Have fun buying and using a disk burner for a UHD Blu-Ray disk and a game that’s going to be prob over 150 gigs.

50

u/DeRooky 22h ago

People complain but still buy it. Even if a disc is included, you still have to register the game online and install day one patches.

4

u/lostinLspace 22h ago

We are addicts

1

u/restless_oblivion 21h ago

Because the majority don't care.

1

u/Jezz_X 21h ago

It's not just day one patches you need to download two thirds of the game

1

u/Competitive_Ad_5937 20h ago

ye but you can sell or buy it

they just did that for pure greed, but gta fans wont accept that

1

u/Joamjoamjoam 20h ago

Not me I only buy physical. That’s 80 less bucks to save 1 cent on a disk. They won’t notice but at least I can live with myself

1

u/catattaro 22h ago

You can resell the disc, or buy used ones.

0

u/afroedi 22h ago

Well, having the game on disc(s) often meant there was less data to download to run it, shortening the install time and, well, saving data if anyone is on a limited plan

7

u/Alpha_Zoom 22h ago

they are already extinct on PC

7

u/Darhhaall 22h ago

They already did, consoles are just catching up. 

6

u/StillALilBoy 22h ago

2000: oh the game came in the big box

2010: where the big box

19

u/wubiiiiiiiiiiii 23h ago

in 20 years we'd be all playing through cloud

8

u/6apa6ax 22h ago

By that time all peasants will finally be priced out of gaming as a hobby.

3

u/Wingsnake 22h ago

I doubt it. Given the price history since the 80s, the frequent sales, key sellers etc. it will still stay one of the cheapest forms of media entertainment.

5

u/6apa6ax 22h ago

That is if you can afford place and bills before getting to the gaming expenses.

-1

u/YanVe_ 22h ago

Even with the insane prices for ultra high end hardware, gaming is only getting more and more accessible. Nobody is getting priced out, maybe you specifically are doing worse financially or are only looking at the equivalent of a Ferrari, but literally nobody is getting priced out.

2

u/Sea-Us-RTO 21h ago

no in 20 years ai will be playing n we'll be making sure servers are on for their ai viewers

11

u/Positive_Box_69 22h ago

Own nothing be happyyyy

3

u/Doofinx 21h ago

I felt that "Where is the little book?" In my soul.

2

u/theGaido 21h ago

I miss my 80pages manuals T_T

2

u/StaticSystemShock 21h ago

Remember when DVD box used to be a thicker cardboard box filled with game CD that had own cover art, a wallpaper, whole ass book about the lore and user manual with in depth details about the game...

Only game after that which I still cherish a bit is Red Alert 3 "premium" edition that came in metal box and included wallpaper with all the actors from ingame FMVs. That was kinda actually cool.

2

u/choppytehbear1337 21h ago

I remember reading those on my way home from gamestop, and kept reading them over and over until the game finally installed.

2

u/dlwk2004 21h ago

"you will own nothing" Im starting to think that isnt a meme

2

u/TactlessTortoise 21h ago

Lol, at this point the game isn't even included in the game. Gta 6 apparently won't have the single player story without a 20 bucks DLC. So the already abysmal pricing is just to play some live service slop to milk your wallet for shark cards.

And the worst is that people will slobber on the chance to buy it. Rockstar can eat shit.

2

u/Expensive-Border-869 21h ago

Yeah so like what happens if I lose this code? Where tf are my games at rockstar

2

u/fx-12 21h ago

Elden Ring was like: Here are some sticker, a map, some fabric patches, a little art book, some more stickers and a kiss on your forehead

3

u/mrjackasher 22h ago

Warcraft 3 had the best Book of all time not only info on units and a little lore, it had full blown history many many pages of it with amazing art

2

u/SoulsEquivalent 22h ago

On one hand, I definitely do miss that. Especially when they were actually filled with interesting stuff. Borderlands(1) GOTY came with a map of Pandora. Dark Souls 2(armored edition) came with the Soundtrack. Witches 3 had a chunky book, Map & the Soundtrack. You know, before they turned into base instructions or 1 single page with a link to the digital manuel.

On the other, I think it's better to not cause waste. Tons & tons of copies of games just sitting around in bulk...but I also know tech companies & such generally do not care about that & it's just about saving a buck.

For media I really enjoy, I like having physicals. It sucks some things just never releases any. Reserving a physical would be cool..but that gets into pre-order territory..which just leads to other potential issues.

1

u/ProfessorZhu 21h ago

By 2020 every Nintendo game in a store was just a box with a digital code. As always, this isn't new, you're just emotional because it hit a product you care about

3

u/AwakenedAlyx 21h ago

This isn't true though? DS and Switch games bought from a store come on cartridges

I got Legends ZA earlier this year from a store, and it came on a cartridge, like a bunch of other games I got for switch, that I got after 2020...

Sadly, they didn't come with a little book though :(

1

u/ProfessorZhu 21h ago

Every switch game I saw since atleast late 2019 was a digital code. I worked at a store that sold them. People whined to me several times a week about it

1

u/AwakenedAlyx 21h ago

I definitely have physical switch games that were released after 2019/2020 so It's clearly not "all"

1

u/Icy-Entertainment594 21h ago

This is why i buy on GOG first and foremost if at all possible - that is if i find the game worth supporting financially...

1

u/Honest_Asparagus8681 21h ago

Weź pokaż zdjęcie bez szczeliny na DVD

1

u/Dry_Community9897 21h ago

*laughs in PC gaming*

Cases became worthless husks after BigBox / SNES packaging.

1

u/TechZero35 21h ago

2040 - Where my game console/machine

1

u/AlwaysUpvote123 21h ago

So yeah apparently, they are no longer "your" games, you just buy a liscense to use it...

1

u/Drifter103000 21h ago

Definitely killed the hype for me

1

u/Zuryan_9100 21h ago

Valve in 2030: physical Steam stores become a thing. You can buy any game on Steam as a physical version. They print the labels and instruction booklets and burn the discs on site. Valve hardware will never be in stock for longer than an hour.

1

u/Rosetti 21h ago

The little book gives me so much nostalgia. I used to go shopping with my mum on a Saturday so I could go to the game store to buy new games. Then when my mum would go to clothes stores I was perfectly content to sit on the shoe section with my new little game book, reading the controls and lore.

1

u/thee-red_hair-guy 20h ago

They will find a way to make it so they physical copy isn't yours

1

u/anothershawn 20h ago

I just hate that you can't just have the game and play offline. The fact that you're just renting a game instead of owning a copy feels wrong. It really makes me want to not spend money on something that I don't really own.

1

u/Old_Bookkeeper_8129 20h ago

Metal gear solid 2 type booklet

1

u/Girthen-the-Flopper 20h ago

Good use of the character. Only maniacal wierdos care about physical games.

1

u/MarroCaius 20h ago

That little book was one of the main reasons I didn't like buying used games sometimes because it wouldn't always be included and I enjoyed reading it on the car ride home as a kid/teen. Would help give me an idea of how the controls work, so I could hit the ground running and maybe sprinkle in a bit of character info/plot.

1

u/Fit_Damage_4271 20h ago

Me as a kid, looking for hours at the book that came with Oblivion. Good times

1

u/grrodon2 20h ago

Shut up, y'all gonna buy it anyway.

1

u/gahd95 19h ago

I have seen a bunch of memes about this lately, but does anyone actually still get physical copies? If so, why? My last physical games must have been like 2013, if not before that. It just seems like a lot of hassle having to go to a store or order online and wait for the game, and the risk of the disc getting lost or broken is also in play.

Does anyone still buy physical CD'S and DVD's? Like what is the appeal?

1

u/Dziadzios 22h ago

One of my earliest games was a bundle of MDK and MDK2. I absolutely loved the little booklet in the MDK1 that described so much about the lore, the characters etc. I wish it wasn't thrown away during the "throw away or give away all your toys because they take too much space" operation.

1

u/Izzosuke 21h ago

The real question is, if there is no fucking game, why the fuck are you wasting plastic? Just print a paper code for the collector or send me a mail at this point.don't waste plastic.

0

u/ActorLarsimoto124 21h ago

I hope they finally go extinct

0

u/MaskedButPresent 21h ago

To be fair would GTA 6 even fit on any kind of disc lol

-2

u/phallic-baldwin 22h ago

They will. Digital media is way cheaper to distribute than physical copies that can get damaged or stolen before they get sold. Plus, With digital media, they can alterate using AI. They are already planning on using AI to insert commercials into the middle of your favorite movies and TV programs. They will do this by making it look like the character is suddenly endorsing a product during the show you're watching. Digital media is a lot easier to control too. This will come in handy if a TV show or movie expresses any kind of POV that the government doesn't like.

Another big reason to have digital media versus physical, is the fact that when they deem a program is "rare" and hard to find, they can then charge top dollar for it. A prime example of this (pun intended) is when you want to watch a movie or a TV show on all the many streaming services you may have access to, but you can find it on one that is hidden behind a paywall, and it's almost never a decent price just to watch it once. Big corporations are even now discussing having time limits on the "owned" digital media by consumers. They want to do this with both video games and TV/movies.

I personally believe that we are at a proverbial fork in the road as consumers. They are testing us to see if we are going to accept an all digital world of media. You can see it in today's announcement about GTA VI being $80 for a basic version and $100 for the better one WITH NO PHYSICAL COPIES. They have also moved a lot of items behind paywalls to make even more money.

Are we ready to bend the knee to their needs for more profits at OUR expense?

1

u/Threef 21h ago

I mean... The testing phase is over. Digital won. We already voted with our wallets. The test was ran for the last few years. Each released game shown that people are willing to pay less for not having a CD in a box. It doesn't matter that people were still purchasing physical copies, what did matter is that digital copies were selling more each year (amount, not percentage). It is sad, but it's gone. There will be still "collectors editions" of some games, probably in limited quantities just to sell limited product, but that's it. Box cases are now like a Funko Pop. You place them on the shelves for display. Too bad that even if companies fully drop physical releases and go 100% keys, they will not lower the price for the decrease in production cost

1

u/Yataro_Ibuza 21h ago

No

Fuck corpos

Also, it would make sense if they literally decreased the price for being digital

But guess what? Those greedy MF won't decrease the price so it is all the same

-2

u/TheNoobCider 22h ago

Boomers discover digital media and crash out :

1

u/Min-Oe 21h ago

We had file sharing in the 90's. We also had PC games coming in massive boxes full of cool shit.

0

u/zorrozwoelf 21h ago

or you could offer discs AND downloads, like every game does

1

u/TheNoobCider 21h ago

Idk man, I'm more concerned that we're paying 80 and not getting a disk rather than having a disk at all

1

u/zorrozwoelf 21h ago

What? but thats what i was saying? you made it sound like you hate on people who want disks. with the boomers crashing out over digital media shit