09.29.06
Of Straws, and the Dwindling Number Thereof
Alas, Joystiq, you had a good run. I’m not saying that Mr. Cole isn’t entitled to his opinion. I’m saying that his opinion– that Nintendo should go back to cardboard game boxes for the DS– is freaking stupid and wrong, and there was no reason for it to completely envelop the news story of a shortage of DS cases in Europe.
Games these days are a high-quality item. Nintendo has used the same form-factor box for Game Boy games since 1989– that’s a seventeen-year legacy continuing all the way to the GBA. However, it just isn’t going to work for the DS titles. First off, making a cardboard package that big that’s solely for a 32mm by 34mm card is very wasteful. The majority of gamers do not keep their GBA game boxes– once the game is opened, the box usualyl goes in the trash. And even if the game is traded in, the store won’t take the boxes and instructions, tossing THOSE in the trash as well. A cardboard box in this day and age is destined for the trash, where it may or may not be recycled.
I took a look at the DS cases that I have. I’ll admit, I did not see anywhere on them that said they were made from recycled material, and while that disappoints me, it won’t get me up in arms about it. The cases are actually a bit more beneficial because they are more likely to be kept and reused. Furthermore, the cases are generic– that is, all you need to do is replace a paper sleeve (which can be made from recycled paper) and swap in the card and manual, and there’s no difference; this makes them much, MUCH cheaper to produce en masse. More than anything, however, they’re competitive with the other current game packaging. A DS case looks nice in between DVD cases and even jewel cases; a GBA game case looks oddly out of place.
I’m all for the environment, and I use a very nice DS bag to carry my games, preferring to leave the cases on my shelf at home. But when I have more games than my bag can carry (a rare phenomenon, but it does happen), it’s nice to be able to put them away temporarily and know that they’re safe, and won’t get lost. In short: you can have my DS cases when you pry them from my sunburned, ozoneless, crispy-fried dead hands.
And before you ask, I said that I was upset not because of the article’s opinion, but because the focus of the article was the opinion and not the actual news. It might be a dry news day what with X06 ended, but that does not mean you are absolved from putting the news first and opinions second. For the record and my own satisfaction, here is how I would have presented the piece were I to take Mr. Cole’s position:
Nintendo Switches To Cardboard DS Cases In Europe
Citing a shortage of the plastic DVD-style cases in the Benelux (that’s Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) region, Nintendo has temporarily begun shipping some of its first-party DS titles in cardboard boxes. This shortage isn’t expected to affect Japan or the US, whose DS game cases are made of a different material and are sized differently. The cardboard replacements include a note from NoE and an order form to obtain a replacement case once they are available.
Personally, I think that Nintendo should switch to the cardboard cases permanently. There’s never in history been a shortage of cardboard, and quite frankly it’s also better for the environment, as the paper’s more easily recycled than the plastic. It just seems silly to have such a bulky plastic case for something so small.
See? It gets the point across and isn’t sensational. Plus it more accurately reflects the real situation– the change is only in one section of Europe, and not all of the continent. And finally, it doesn’t bludgeon readers with the opinion first off. I’m half of the opinion that these recent articles are tests to recruit new writers for the site. Meh.
I won’t be able to run through Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for Unbelievers for quite some time. This is because I am too broke. I had to sell off way too many games for cash, San Andreas being one of them (it was more valuable than most of what I had left). Also, I did play some of it and I just can’t bring myself to mock it as much as I know I should. Believe it or not it does have an interesting and well-told story. Just not one I’m at all interested in playing through. And the final reason is that I really don’t want to get anyone truly mad at me. I mean, race is one of those things that sets people on edge, and the game is almost pervasive with remarks based on race. I hate that kind of thing. I don’t find racial humor funny in any form, and I know that I can’t say a single damn word about the game without someone somewhere saying, “He called me a WHAT?” even if I don’t actually use the word signified by “WHAT?”. So, someone else is welcome to do that. I’m really thinking I ought to re-focus Unbelievers into a blog mocking the “gaming press” and calling them to task for stunts like the last few Joystiq articles.
In any event. Almost done with the secret project. Wish me luck today and tomorrow, folks.