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To get back on track, the purpose of this entry was to bring to light the worst suggestion listed in that article:
Returning to the dreaded cardboard boxes for retail games.Now this is a website for collectors of all types. Some of you may not care, some may hate cardboard boxes as much as I do. Wasn't it nice when after the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo decided to switch to clamshell cases for their DS games? Or the UMD cases for the PSP? Or the DVD cases for the last couple of generations? Don't the SCD/Sat/PS1 longbox cases look slick neatly arranged on the shelf?
Now just imagine an industry where your games come in Sega 32x boxes, or those easily crushed N64 ones. Are you interested in buying loads of CD binders and Tupperware containers so you don't rip, tear, bend, crease or otherwise de-value your $60 games? Once that starts, you know DVDs & music aren't far behind. You also know that the packaging won't make games cheaper, if anything downloadable games and content has shown that much already.
Listen, I live as green as I can. I recycle, conserve electricity, car pool, hang dry my clothes, you name it. It isn't really a conscientious effort, it's a matter of saving money and having grown up in a more environmentally conservative educational system than that of my parents.
I don't hug trees but I don't waste either.
How many of you remember buying games in the 80's and 90's before collecting really took off? Remember how those spring loaded shelves would crush the last couple boxes on the rack? Remember how crappy and hard buying a mint NES or SNES game was used? Have you dug through a GBA bargain bin lately and seen the shrinkwrapped games with crushed sides?
I for one am not ready to inconvenience myself with such poor retail packaging. I'd almost prefer downloadable over cardboard again. It's hard enough walking into EB/GameStop and buying a new game that isn't opened and gutted as it is, imagine flimsy cardboard and the horror of those terrible stickers all over them!
Now this published entry isn't only what got me concerned about my future purchases. It was the fact and I quote:
We had the opportunity to bring in folks from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony as well as Electronic Arts, Activision and American Game Factory for a “green gaming summit.” It was truly eye opening. We also had a representative from the Natural Resources Defense Council to assist us in this process. We talked about a lot at this meeting about packaging, power consumption and education. There is a lot of work to be done and I am really proud that Sam’s Club is helping to drive this change.
Such participation by most of the main industry leaders means the wheels are slowly turning. So my question in the form of a poll is whether your ready to embrace this change, or can we allow ourselves some latitude in our efforts to curb environmental problems and continue doing things the way they are and enjoy our games in their present form?
OK, it's 4am, I'm cranky, tired and Walmart can kiss my ass. I'm going to bed now. 
[/rant]
http://checkoutblog.com/e...28/green_gaming__yup.aspxhttp://kotaku.com/5043305...oard-packaging-save-games
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Unfortunately not every consumer is a collector. I mostly see loose DS carts for sale at pawn shops and game stores in spite of those handy game cases.
At the same time storage devices are ever expanding and falling in price, and more consumers are connected via broadband connections meaning that downloadable games are more feasible. This would push gaming closer toward a "green" ideal with far less waste outside the initial hardware purchase and regular energy consumption.
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"Hi, welcome to the 1980's pal." LOL great quote!
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Cardboard boxes should never return. They're unhandy, wear much too easily and get thrown away by 95% of gamers. (I know; I threw away my Game Boy boxes myself when I was younger)
DVD cases (or DS cases) that are used now are the perfected storage devices. They stay pretty mint and don't break after a fall like jewel cases do.
Despite being pretty green-minded I wouldn't like to see all games becoming downloadable-only. The collector within myself likes to hold a game in his hands, read the manual, etc.
However, all hardware should be made so it's made of 100% recycled materials and use as little power as possible. That's an evolution I'd be glad about. But no cardboard boxes please!
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"I don't hug trees but I don't waste either."
Amen, brother. Same here.
But yeah, returning to cardboard boxes would drive me nuts, for many of the reasons mentioned above (people just toss them out, many people who keep them take horrendous care of them, etc.). I, for one, would keep mine in pretty good condition (I've got cardboard boxes that I myself purchased in mint condition from as far back as 1999 or so, and they're in really good condition. It's only when my siblings decide to interfere that any games of mine begin to get ruined. So I myself wouldn't be worried about my game degradation over time. I'd be worried about OTHERS' game degradation.
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I wouldn't care because to me, the game itself is much more important that what it comes in and/or how it is delivered.
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I'm all for going green when it's possible, but switching back to cardboard doesn't make any sense.
A lot more people save the plastic cases than they ever did with the cardboard boxes, so right there, you'll be making more waste if your using cardboard. Even though cardboard is recyclable, so are the plastic cases. Plus, there's no guarantee people would recycle the cardboard boxes anyway.
And the article said that by switching to cardboard, would be equivalent to taking 5,000 cars off the road. But 5,000 cars is nothing in the grand scheme of things. It would probably take a lot more energy to create new manufacturing plants to make the new boxes than it would be to keep the current plants making the DVD style cases.
Finally, paper/cardboard making is sometimes worse than making plastic with all the chemicals they use to bleach and then color the paper/cardboard, and the process requires huge amounts of cool fresh water (which it usually turns into hot, unusable water).
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