The age of game collecting is almost over...Walmart wants cardboard game packaging...

[heybtbm]

What Walmart wants...Walmart gets...

http://kotaku.com/5043305/walmart-suggests-cardboard-packaging-save-games

I like game packaging. I love the whole "library" feel of game cases stacked neatly side by side on shelves in my game room. Cardboard isn't going to cut it. I'm imagining something along the lines of the terrible Warner DVD packaging from 5 - 10 years ago. Fucking Walmart.

Also: Gotta love the "save game" comments...lol

[theChad]

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7320/over9000ci4.png

I lol'd.

[dao2]

I'm sure it's not going to change just cause walmart want's it so :|

If they do go on with that I think there's gonna be a big riot with gamers ;p And how the fuck are they gonna make it tamper proof o_0

[Capybara554321]

i hate hate hate cardboard boxes. they should just put the games in cases that are slim cd cases. the only problem would be manulas wouldn't fit.

[YoshiM]

Wal-mart wanting to go green by having game companies replace plastic cases with cardboard? Yeah, right. It's more like "go with cardboard, which may reduce the cost which mean we [Wal-Mart] can come back to you in a year's time and demand you sell it to us for less than what we paid before or we don't buy as much as we used to." Or perhaps this is a way for them to sell consumers 10 packs of slim DVD cases.

[willowmoon93]

Most of the newer and more expensive games are secured inside locked glass display cases, so in a way it would be tamper proof. At the WalMart's around here, only the cheap ($19.82 and under) games are out on the shelves for anyone to pick up.

But personally I hate the idea of cardboard packaging. Not to mention they don't stack well (check out the DVDs of "There Will be Blood" at WalMart -- they're all over the place and don't display well at all.) Plus there's the concern of the discs getting scratched as well inside those things.

[Captain Wrong]

Back in my day, videogames came in cardboard boxes and we liked it! Of course, that's probably why the Master System is the oldest system I bought games for new that I still have all the original packaging. Hmm...

Anyway, I'm more than ready for the all download era. Yes, I know a lot of you are collectors, but the more time I'm spending with HDD and flash based options for gaming vs. discs and carts, the more I like it. I like not having to store the stuff, I like the "jukebox" aspect of having an entire library accessible without leaving the couch and I like not having to leave the instant access of buying a download and having it ready to play a few minutes later.

[MrSparkle]

walmart is a HUGE player so this will hold some sway. However plenty of generations of games were distributed in cardboard before this. However the going green argument isnt really valid as games are not a non-durable good. I generally dont throw my games out after a play-through. maybe they should try to focus on the 800,000 other products they distribute in plastic containers that DO wind up getting thrown out on a regular basis.

*edit* just read the article. They really cant be fucking serious about the save function. Really walmart, REALLY? save a games progress so i dont have to leave the system on...? That will never work, i know everytime i play a lengthy game i leave the system on for weeks at a time. and im not exactly sure how manufacturing plastics vs cardboard compare in carbon emmisions but saving 9000 cars worth isnt really a big deal! seriously think about the volume of games being compared to the volume of cars!? I say we collectively protest this idea!

[SegaAges]

Did you know that there were around 101 Million games sold in plastic cases last year, which translates into green house gas emissions equal to over 9,000 cars? Apparently we're killing the planet, and Walmart had some helpful suggestions on how to stop our vile murder spree.


Wait, how many cars are driven in the world today again?

101million games comparing to 9000 cars?

EDIT:
Site my source first:
http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Jul08/04_001239_Worldwide_Sales_At_Mercedes_Benz_Cars_In crease_1_8_Percent_In_June_2008.html

Mercedes Alone has sold 668,100 cars this year (and that is only 6 months of the year. One company. )

If my math is correct, that means that it will take 11,222.22 games to be one car.

As for energy and the greenhouse effect:
Site my source first again:
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3169283

Uh, yeah. This article from 1up goes into depth alot about this subject.

This is the important part


Even more surprising, however, is how much power per year an MMO player may be consuming. According to a Wired column from back in May, Julian Bleecker of the design think tank Near Future Laboratory calculated the power use of having a Second Life avatar, concluding it takes 1,248 kilowatt hours per year (1,095 kWh on your PC, 153 kWh for the servers). In terms of the amount of carbon dioxide that amount of power emits, it comes out to 1,685 pounds -- roughly equivalent to driving 1,800 miles in a BMW 750Li.


Doing the math, that comes out to 862,118,400 kWh a year for Second Life alone to have shape.

Another source:
http://www.holon.se/folke/worries/oildepl/energy.shtml


A second large energy user of this four person family is the car. Assuming an average use of the car of 15 000 km/year, using 0.6 - 1 litre of gasoline per 10 km, the difference in energy use in the two types of cars is about 6 000 kWh/year. (The more energy-efficient car uses about 9 000 kWh of gasoline/year, the other about 15 000 kWh. Assuming the same indirect energy use, the difference is about 6 000 kWh/ year.). Thus, the potential for increasing energy efficiency in the car is about 6 000 kWh/year for a family of four.


Now for only half of the year, and rounding way down, let's say that a mercedes consumes 7000 KWh a year (rounding down by 2000 kWh in case Mercedes has insanely good energy consumption), this would mean that for one car company for only the first 6 months of car sales (assuming that somehow magically nobody bought another mercedes for the rest of the year), they are consuming 4,676,700,000 kWh a year through just the first six months of car sales, and this is just company. This is a difference of 3,814,581,600 a year for a very extreme example. This is not counting companies that sell a buttload of cars like Ford, Chevy, GMC, Honda, etc.

Uh, I used Second Life even though it is not talking about video game plastics because it is easy to get an extreme example from that. I was trying to get a very extreme example for showing video games vs cars since that is what wal mart is doing

I am not trying to twist number in my favor. I was actually trying to bring out solid proof.

So wait. What was their argument again when comparing games to cars?

[Clownzilla]

Actually, I do like the idea of a universal "save state" function. If not for the environment, it would be nice for the gamer with a life other than gaming.

[MrSparkle]

savestates are a double edged sword. It takes away the developers ability to choose how to handle saves. The choice of when to allow saving is part of the balance of a game. It has a direct effect on the difficulty of a game. that being said they can make that impossibly hard shoot em up beatable ;) (you god damned cheaters!)

[heybtbm]

However plenty of generations of games were distributed in cardboard before this.

The analogy doesn't hold for the simple fact that cartridges protected the media inside. The cardboard packaging was just that...packaging. DVD/Blu-ray cases actually have a function beyond packaging. Discs scratch easily unless their held in place with some sort of protective housing. Anyway, do people really want their entire game collection contained in a 128-disc CD folder? I don't.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Has Wal-Mart been talking with Al Gore? Seriously, this is the most retarded idea since Global Warming and Ice Caps melting. Screw the grandkids, I'm cold now!

[Nophix]

I don't know about you, but I don't own a single next gen console that allows me to save games, and I KNOW my 360 doesn't go into a power-save mode! BLASPHEMY!!

[Clownzilla]

savestates are a double edged sword. It takes away the developers ability to choose how to handle saves. The choice of when to allow saving is part of the balance of a game. It has a direct effect on the difficulty of a game. that being said they can make that impossibly hard shoot em up beatable ;) (you god damned cheaters!)

Lol, I don't think game saves should be regulated but I Do think that game companies should have a suspend system on their consoles like some handhelds do. Stay on the same game but go into a suspend mode to play the same game later. It's like using a DVR on a TV. It's the same show, but you just watch it later. Game companies would be wise to start to take this mentality of shaping a game system around the fact that people DO have jobs, school, spouses, kids, etc.. This approach could only help the game companies, not hurt them.

[Rob2600]

DVD/Blu-ray cases actually have a function beyond packaging. Discs scratch easily unless their held in place with some sort of protective housing. Anyway, do people really want their entire game collection contained in a 128-disc CD folder? I don't.

Instead of using the traditional plastic DVD cases, what if game discs came in recycled cardboard/plastic Digipacks?

Wikipedia - Digipack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipack)

"Manufacturers have sought to reduce environmental impact and improve functionality by introducing recycled components into its trays; one has announced a 100% post-consumer tray made from recycled water and/or soda bottles... Many printers use recycled or sustainable material for the board stock."

[kewlrabbit]

Walmart has done so much to fuck up the enviorment that they have no room to talk.

[Trebuken]

Do they want all the other media types (CD's, DVD's, etc.) to come in cardboard as well?

Don't they know that all the money-hungry business men want to move exclusively to digital distribution?

[TonyTheTiger]

There are pros and cons to everything. I still have fond memories of the styrofoam containers Big Macs used to come in.

Regardless of the fact that I have a preference for cases that are more solid than cardboard, I don't see how this will impact collecting in the least aside from possibly increasing the number of loose discs on the market.

[DigitalSpace]

http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/536/buynlarge1wq3.jpg

[diskoboy]

Okay. It seems Wally World forgot.

We HAD cardboard packaging in the past. The enviro-kooks had it taken off the market.
I still have my collection of audio CD longboxes from every pre-1994 CD I ever bought.

Kinda glad I kept 'em...

[s1lence]

I don't see a problem with this what so ever.

I don't buy anything from Wal-mart anyway, especially videogames.

[OMF2097]

I don't buy anything from Wal-mart anyway, especially videogames.

Same here, I try not to walk into a Wal-mart. Wal-mart's selection sucks and the ones I normally go to are usually a wreck. I wish they kept tidy like Target.

Even if this does take off, people will find a way to properly display their titles. Take a look at Neo-Geo MVS games. They originally came in cardboard boxes and can be stored in homebrew like cases (shockboxes with choice of custom artwork). The cardboard boxes with matching serials are also important to some collectors.

[Therealqtip]

walmart has always sucked nuts, I've hated it since forever....

[MrSparkle]

know what else would save 9000 cars worth of carbon. if walmart laid off 9000 employees, and since i dont have shelves of walmart employees in my room that would have much less of an impact on ME.

[Ro-J]

Making gamers angry is like shooting fish in a barrel. Don't worry about this, within 10 years you'll be downloading all your games.

[modest9797]

OMG 9,000 cars! That'll save the planet.

[MrSparkle]

Heres an idea for a profit breaking protest. if/when they make the switch buy 10 games and scratch them up. Return said games complaining new cardboard sleeves are to blame. Continue to do so ALL THE TIME. I expect that this will be an actual issue if we make it that much worse they'll see how much their losing on returns (besides cost of manufacturing it costs them money to employ people to handle returns, costs them money to employ people to mull over them and see whats wrong with them, and it will cost them money to recall all products packaged with them once it gets bad enough.). Should probably protest the idea before it happens though, Otherwise its kind of a dick move to pull even if it is walmart.

[heybtbm]

Heres an idea for a profit breaking protest. if/when they make the switch buy 10 games and scratch them up. Return said games complaining new cardboard sleeves are to blame. Continue to do so ALL THE TIME. I expect that this will be an actual issue if we make it that much worse they'll see how much their losing on returns (besides cost of manufacturing it costs them money to employ people to deal with them, costs them money to employ people to mull over them and see whats wrong with them, and it will cost them money to recall all products packaged with them once it gets bad enough. Should probably protest the idea before it happens though so that this isn't an evil thing to do in practice.

I like this.

[SegaAges]

know what else would save 9000 cars worth of carbon. if walmart laid off 9000 employees, and since i dont have shelves of walmart employees in my room that would have much less of an impact on ME.

Don't temp them to do it

[MrSparkle]

Haha if a random forum thread on a video game collectors forum convinces them to lay off 9000 employees they have bigger problems than cardboard packaging.

[otoko]

Well I know my two cents will get lost amongst the crowd but I will agree with everyone. I prefer my hard plastic cases so much so to my cardboard ones. They destruct so easily that usually is the reason I don't play them as much to my loose ones. I know what you may think, but I love the look of the bos in my selving unit, but I don't have the space for the boxes. The only other way is to either get rid of them or flatten them. I dislike the idea of flattening them because then they're never the same.

Summary: Boxes=bad in my book.

[otaku]

I can't even remember the last time I shopped at walmart. Certainly not for games ( i support local indies) we don't need cheaper cases we need nicer cases (like the stuff snk neo geo shock boxes and sega put out on the genesis) oh and manuals to I'm sick of only getting digital manuals

[TonyTheTiger]

I think the DVD cases and Blu-ray cases are perfect. They're durable, hold everything together, and are relatively space efficient. I wouldn't want giant boxes due to space concerns nor would I want something as flimsy as a thin cardboard folder.

[FrakAttack]

A few months ago, the local Wal*Mart went "green" by turning off half of the overhead lights in the store. Lasted about a week.

[MrSparkle]

hopefully if they're looking to soften their corporate image they don't take their pictures to an in-store photo tech those guys suck!

[Half Japanese]

Too lazy to quote, so here are some broad replies:

@ Digipacks

No. Unless you're a very careful collector, digipacks start to look like shit over time (and often not all that much time). In addition to this, once the spindle in a digipack breaks, you're pretty much fucked. The only exception are the newer cases (see: 20th Century Masters series of $10 greatest hits compilations) that have a cardboard/form-ish spindle, and those cases are too damn flimsy.

@ CD longboxes

Apples and oranges. CD longboxes came with jewel cases inside, meaning the longbox itself was just extra trash that shouldn't have been there in the first place. All they were good for was taking up space and driving collectors mad on eBay.

Personally, I don't want anything less than a thinpak case. Of course, in the case of those, cheap-ass public domain discs have been issued in them so long as to make them feel aesthetically shitty outside the confines of a DVD box set. Also, they're too thin to really hold an instruction booklet, which leads to another discussion altogether: if companies are getting so lazy with their manuals that they're in black & white and don't tell you shit, why not just have a fold-out diagram of the controls and other brief info?

[Rob2600]

@ Digipacks

No. Unless you're a very careful collector, digipacks start to look like shit over time (and often not all that much time). In addition to this, once the spindle in a digipack breaks, you're pretty much fucked. The only exception are the newer cases (see: 20th Century Masters series of $10 greatest hits compilations) that have a cardboard/form-ish spindle, and those cases are too damn flimsy.

I have CDs from the mid 1990s that were released in Digipacks and they're still in great condition. I've ripped the audio from them onto my computer, so I have no need to touch them anymore. That means, unless my apartment floods, they're not going to suffer any damage.

The thing is though, which is truly more important: keeping video game collectors happy or taking a step to help protect our environment?

People complain when companies are wasteful and environmentally unfriendly. That's great. But then people complain when those companies take small steps to be less wasteful. Why? I admit, what Walmart wants to do might not seem like much, but if every retail company made those same changes, that would add up to a huge difference. Remember, things like this happen in baby steps.

[TonyTheTiger]

Well, it's all about finding a balance. If you want to be super eco-friendly then don't sell cases at all. Sell the loose discs in those white paper slips and make the manual a digital one within the game itself. If something like that happened people might bitch and moan but just like everything else after enough water passes under the bridge they'd fall in line and just deal with it. But how eco-friendly can you get when discs require a decent enough storage case to avoid damage? Maybe if they weren't so fragile it wouldn't be such a big deal.

[Nikademus1969]

I find it odd that a company that has foisted so much quasi-disposable plastic crap on the public over the years has suddenly decided it was up to them to save the planet.

Instead of relatively minor stuff like game cases, they need to focus on all the made-in-China-for-walmart-shit-that-breaks-right-after-you-buy-it crap they sell. When they get that problem fixed, THEN they can work on saving the rest of the planet *rolls eyes*

[Push Upstairs]

Haha if a random forum thread on a video game collectors forum convinces them to lay off 9000 employees they have bigger problems than cardboard packaging.

I can never find anyone in a Wal-Mart store *NOW*, if they can 9,000 emlpoyees will I really notice much of a difference?

Three checkout lanes open instead of the usual four @ 5 o'clock rush?

[G-Boobie]

No one panic. It's not going to happen, at least not this console cycle: part of the 'brand identity' for each platform is at partially tied with their game packaging(white for Wii, that ugly ass clear green for 360, the weird blu-ray box for PS3). The game cases will stay just as they are.

By the time it could become an issue, we'll be happily downloading most of our games anyway. Hell, if it were feasible to do so right now on consoles, I'd have already jumped on that bandwagon.

[boatofcar]

To me, this is just another nail in the coffin for non-DLC games...

[MrSparkle]

i have a great eco friendly idea guys! get this.... no more games! they can still release the systems, but imagine how much carbon emissions could be cut if they just stopped producing games!

seriously though on the topic of save states and whatnot. I would support a low power suspend mode as long as you cant use it like an emulator save state and continually reload it. Basically like a suspended pause function, rather than a user restorable save state.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

People complain when companies are wasteful and environmentally unfriendly. That's great. But then people complain when those companies take small steps to be less wasteful. Why? I admit, what Walmart wants to do might not seem like much, but if every retail company made those same changes, that would add up to a huge difference. Remember, things like this happen in baby steps.


Although we have disagreed a few times in the past, I agree with you on this point. While the whole cardboard idea may not be a definitive answer, and there may be a better solution- I like that Wal-Mart seems to be trying. If this idea truly does reduce green-house emissions by 9000 automobiles a year, then I'm for it.

It seems anytime someone makes a suggestion that any part of gaming is envirnomentally unfriendly, a lot of people get up in arms about it. The typical responses of "Why gaming, why not (fill in the blank with various other industries) before gaming. I mean seriously? Are plastic cases really that important? While I agree that the impact may be minimal by itself, the video game industry is not the sole target towards corporate greening.

[courtesi96]

Idea:

I think it's a brilliant idea (if) they cut down on the prices a little. Lets face it, lots of kids and what not throw all that shit into the trash anyway. It breaks my heart but it's true. Instead video game companies such as Atlas, etc. can sell "Collector" boxes available through mail order or what not to pack your game with.

Walmart/eBay/etc can seriously fuck off. I'm really getting to the point where I will only buy a videogame at a fleamarket or con.

[walrusmonger]

What has walmart done to reduce the amount of plastic bags in their stores? Hmm... selling those "reusable" bags that every other chain tries to sell isn't a good enough answer.

How many cars worth of emissions do the millions and millions of plastic bags that walmart packs purchases in equal to? Stupid walmart.

[PentiumMMX]

I wouldn't mind too much if the cases where like the cardboard\plastic Longbox used by some PlayStation games. However, if it's more like those crappy cardboard DVD cases that some Warner Home Video releases came in, then I'd have a problem with it.

[boatofcar]

What has walmart done to reduce the amount of plastic bags in their stores? Hmm... selling those "reusable" bags that every other chain tries to sell isn't a good enough answer.


Walmart is the only national chain that offers plastic bag recycling.

[fpbrush]

Making gamers angry is like shooting fish in a barrel. Don't worry about this, within 10 years you'll be downloading all your games.

Couldn't agree with this more. I feel fairly indifferent to what happens to game packaging these days. With every couple of gens the packaging just gets slimmer and less substantial. With the way things are going, I don't expect to see games on shelves 10 years out either.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Walmart is the only national chain that offers plastic bag recycling.

Yeah, the only I am aware of. There is a chain of grocery stores in the south called Publix that offers plastic bag recycling. Publix also has offered it's own line organic and environmentally products for some time now.

[GM80]

I'm sure it's not going to change just cause walmart want's it so :|

Wal-mart demanded "small box" PC games, instead of the delightful bigger (and varied) boxes we used to get, and *poof* it happened.

Depending on how staunchly they "suggest" it, I imagine it will happen sooner or later.

[j_factor]

Walmart is the only national chain that offers plastic bag recycling.

All major grocery chains (Safeway, etc.) offer plastic bag recycling, as does Costco.

[debian4life]

Personally, I really liked the cardboard boxes that the Atari 2600 games came in. They were easy to stack and it looked really cool displaying them on a shelf in the living room. Plus cardboard boxes are much cheaper to make so it might help cut the cost of games. I am trying to go Green anyway to help conserve.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I'd actually like this to happen. (To me, anyways) It would bring back the good old days of NES boxes and such. I actually really don't like the way all the 360/Wii/PS3 boxes present themselves. I mean, yeah, they look tidy, but so do NES boxes when they are presented nicely.

/runs and hides

[Tupin]

Why do I feel that they would make slip cases, not the old boxes that cartridges came in?

[MarioMania]

Glad I shop at target..the music section is alot better

[Zing]

It does seem rather ridiculous for them to use "9000 cars" for comparison considering their stores alone incite at least 500,000 cars to drive several miles to their stores.

http://www.grist.org/comments/soapbox/2007/03/28/mitchell/index.html
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/2/5/121348/3744

[neuropolitique]

What a bunch of babies.

If anything, a move back to cardboard would make collecting more fun. It will be harder to find nice copies of games, specially in the wild. The true fun of collecting is in the hunt, not in having it all. Also, I would imagine that the discs would be in a cardboard case similar to old DVD cases. These still had a plastic holder inside and a plastic clasp while using much less plastic overall. Remember, the manufacture of the plastic cases may be equal to 9000 cars, but those cases will be with us for much longer. They'll sit in a landfill for 1000's of years, and don't kid yourself, that's where they are all going to end up.

As for the save issue, I'd love what they suggest. Again, in my imagination, what they suggest is similar to how Apple handles sleep mode on the newer Mac Books. When in sleep you can remove all power, plug it back in and your machine will still be in sleep, with no loss of data. The same could be accomplished with a menu selection on a console.

This wouldn't affect actual game saves, as once you continue on that 'save state' is gone forever. Think of it basically as a pause button that allows you to turn off the console.

The moral of the story - It's not the end of the world, quit crying.

[heybtbm]

What a bunch of babies.

The moral of the story - It's not the end of the world, quit crying.

Ah, the inevitable "quit crying" post. What would a discussion on the internet be without one of these dependable gems? Any complaint or concern = crying. Got it.

Anyway...the cardboard DVD cases you refer to are the exact thing I referenced in my original post. They were terrible. They don't last. Sure, the average DP'er will keep theirs looking brand new, but used games...ugh. You're right, it will be more of challenge to find cases in decent condition. I don't see how this is a good thing, just annoying.

[neuropolitique]

I've already said why it would be a good thing. Some people enjoy working for things instead of buying them wholesale from eBay or where ever.

And complaining about what packaging a game may come in = crying. Sorry. Here's a tissue.

[Muscelli]

Am I the only one who wants to see this happen? It is just game packaging..

[Captain Wrong]

Am I the only one who wants to see this happen? It is just game packaging..

No you're not.

I just wanted to say, in addition to Wal-Mart swinging the PC publishers around to the smaller boxes, those all cardboard digipacks that the 20th Century Masters CDs Half Japanese mentioned up above? Also Wal-Mart's pressure. If Wal-Mart had the pull to get the largest (I think) of the big four major recording labels, part of a huge multinational company, to change their packaging, don't think for a minute that they won't have some pull on the video game side of things.

I don't shop there, you don't shop there, but a lot of people do. If they threaten to not stock something, you better believe the manufacturer is going to listen. In fact, I'd bet money that Wal-Mart already has more influence on games than most people realize.

[Raedon]

As long as portables use some for of 'cart' I will continue ever on.

[Malon_Forever]

I really don't mind at all. I just hated the cardboard boxes because I was so careless with them. If it saves me money (probably wouldn't) I wouldn't mind it at all.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I don't like this.

I mean. Cardboard has the issue of... mold. And it will eventually rot. Plastic doesn't.

This isn't cool. Fucking Walmart. :(

[Icarus Moonsight]

G-Boobie nailed it. I don't see this happening. Wal-Mart used to get what they wanted and even how and when. Not so much anymore. I'm not worried.

[Cryomancer]

Cardboard just means more trees will be cut down instead of oil used to make the plastic or however it goes. Switching away from one resource just means you'll be using another. plastic cases LAST and actually stay as what they are. People are more likely to give away/sell plastic cased games and continue their use as an entire product, whereas cardboard will get thrown away and be cart/disc only before long, thus creating more garbage. The car number is also very laughable considering how amny things walmart could do themselves internally to improve their eco-friendlyness or whatever that doesn't involve screwing over the consumer with inferior-lifespan packaging.

tl;dr plastic 4 life

[Norizo]

I've been so sick of how PC games have been packaged for most of this decade anyway. Only recently have SOME PC games started to be packaged in regular DVD cases.

Does anybody know why NA has had PC game boxes packaged like this for so long, when regular DVD cases instead of the double sizes would be more resource-efficient? I know companies like Wal-Mart were the largely the reason bulky cardboard boxes were dropped, but why have not go the extra mile with regular cases?

Hell, what about blu-ray and PS3 disc cases? Those are about the size of a typical jewel case, yet are built much more durable and stream-lined. Why is it that only blu-ray media is packaged like this?

[joshnickerson]

People are more likely to give away/sell plastic cased games and continue their use as an entire product, whereas cardboard will get thrown away and be cart/disc only before long, thus creating more garbage.

Judging by how I almost always see Genny games complete and not NES/SNES games, that theory is pretty sound.

Honestly, Wal-Mart's suggestion is admirable in theory, but I wouldn't know how well it would work in practice. The Futurama movies came out in "carbon-neutral" cardboard cases, and they are flimsy as hell and the ones in the store were already starting to crush and bend.

[MachineGex]

I could see them making the switch to "encourage" everyone to buy their games new. This would definately hurt the used game stores. Imagine going into a used game store and only the disc has been traded in(like nes carts). Cardboard boxes always got tossed into a closet or the garbage. I for one don't buy too many games(disc games) if they dont have the case. The ones I do buy without cases are cheap. I would never buy a used game that came without a case(or instructions) for $40-45. I would just buy it new. Great way to get gamers to buy new instead of used.

[otoko]

Walmart is the only national chain that offers plastic bag recycling.

Albertsons/Supervalu Does too. I work for Jewel and we recycle bags. We even have benches outside made from our plastic bags.

The last four times I have been into our various Wal-Marts they do no have bins nor support bags for recycling.

Maybe it's location?

[boatofcar]

The more I think about this, the less likely it seems. There's no way DVD or Blu Ray are going to go cardboard across the board, so why would games?

[neuropolitique]

Cardboard just means more trees will be cut down instead of oil used to make the plastic or however it goes. Switching away from one resource just means you'll be using another. plastic cases LAST and actually stay as what they are. People are more likely to give away/sell plastic cased games and continue their use as an entire product, whereas cardboard will get thrown away and be cart/disc only before long, thus creating more garbage. The car number is also very laughable considering how amny things walmart could do themselves internally to improve their eco-friendlyness or whatever that doesn't involve screwing over the consumer with inferior-lifespan packaging.

tl;dr plastic 4 life


Tress can grow back. You don't really need to protect your games for 10,000 years. Also, aren't you the guy with the disc case of games? ;)

[Cryomancer]

Disc case? you mean like a spindle/stack thing I had at Kamino's? that was just some gamecube burns.