A Question Regarding Packaging

[Shadow Stalker]

To save the furore over last year, I was wondering if BFC could give the community a heads up, regarding physical packaging of the CM Nato and Normandy modules as well as the CM Afghanistan stand alone game.

Ie. Whether these will be DVD or Jewel case based options.

As there is no option for a poll I would like +1 for the DVD option. Personally I think the Marines module was a quality product, whereas many people including myself regard jewel cases as inferior in quality, capacity and protection compared to the hard plastic of a DVD case.

I'am sure any bones thrown in the communitys direction will be most appreciated

[MeatEtr]

My guess is NATO will be like Brits with just a jewel case, since it's the last module for the CMSF family. CM Normandy will get a full package DVD box since it's the new base game for the WWII West front family. Afghanistan will more than likely get it's own DVD box as well since it's all by itself.

[Pvt. Ryan]

Generally, titles get the full packaging treatment while modules get a jewel case. The Marines module was an exception.

Normandy is a new title and will probably get the full packaging. Probably the same for Afghanistan. NATO is a module and will likely get a jewel case.

Note that Normandy is not "the West Front family," it is one title on the West Front, as The Bulge (winter weather game) will be another West Front title.

The reason titles have more extensive packaging is to accommodate a full size printed manual. Modules don't have as much new info and the supplement to the manual is small and can fit in a jewel case or can be easily downloaded. I believe BFC has said that fewer and fewer people order the hard goods each time around as more people prefer digital download.

[Moon]

The previous replies summed it up pretty well and are mostly correct (or to be more precise, "are entirely correct about Normandy and NATO, but not quite for Afghanistan").

At this point we're unsure what printed materials "Afghanistan" will have, or how it will be packaged. Most likely DVD case, but we're unsure about the expense to print the full manual - or even any manual, to be honest. The interface resembles CMSF very much, so even though there are a TON of new weapons and units and even a bunch of new features, together with the fact that we're unsure about the appeal of the title as a whole outside of Russia, we're not sure yet what to do.

The problem with printing is that it becomes excessively expensive if you cannot do certain minimum runs. This is especially true for multi-page booklets. The cost quickly jumps to $10 or more unless you can do thousands. And what many people forget is that there are additional costs associated with it, too, that go beyond just the printing - such as warehousing, handling and transportation. We're unsure if we're going to sell thousands of Afghanistan games outside of Russia, so most likely it will be either a very small basic manual, or perhaps a DVD amaray case with the manual entirely on PDF. We'll announce this when the title goes on pre-order.

Martin