PC Game Boxes Get Smaller

The Interactive Entertainment Merchant's Association (IEMA) has solidified its new PC gaming box, which will appear at retail outlets beginning July. The new design is expected to standardize computer games packaging, and allow more shelf space to display PC games at retail during a time when more console games are entering the market. First introduced in 1999, the IEMA box, which is also called the mini box, is slightly larger than a standard DVD box. The smaller PC box allows retailers to fit 33 percent more games on store shelves. Electronic Arts, the world's largest game maker, remains on board with the new changes. The latest "Madden" game will come in the new IEMA box.

Despite the efforts of the IEMA and major PC game publishers, I still receive oversized PC game boxes regulary in the mail. This year's release of "Auto Assault" by NcSoft was twice the size of the old PC box. I do receive some of the smaller IEMA boxes from publishers like EA.

There's a major problem going on at retail when it comes to shelf real estate. Sony will continue to release PlayStation 2 games for at least another four years. This fall, it will add PlayStation 3 games to the mix, which also includes PSP games. Microsoft has its Xbox 360. And some publishers (though not many) are still supporting Xbox. Factor in Nintendo's GameCube and upcoming Wii, not to mention portable games for Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, and that's a lot of software.

When you consider the fact that the PC games business is franchise-driven, there's not much room on store shelves for games that don't have a Roman Numeral next to the name. If every PC game maker could agree on this standard, smaller box, it would give all PC game makers a better chance to reach an audience at retail.

Come this fall, there won't be much room at stores for anything but the biggest PC game franchises. And there will be too many new and existing console games aimed at a wider audience to justify giving much space to bulky boxes or non-franchise games.