Sony is set to give physical PlayStation games the axe in 2028, and it’s a safe guess that other console manufacturers will follow suit. But PC has already been effectively digital-only for decades, despite the platform arguably having an even greater legacy when it comes to physical media. Now DRM-free storefront GOG is stepping up its efforts to preserve the good ol’ PC gaming experience with a new way to enjoy the classic big box experience.
As part of GOG’s Preservation program, Myst, Descent, Hitman: Codename 47, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, and Armikrog each now include “an interactive 3D scan of its real, physical box art,” according to the announcement. “We had the actual boxes scanned – front, back, spine, the works – and turned into rotatable 3D models you can download after purchase and open right in the 3D viewer that’s already built into Windows and Mac. No extra software, no plugins. Just spin the box around on your screen like you’re holding it.”
If that kind of thing sounds familiar, you might have seen Big Box Collection. This is a fanmade website dedicated to letting you look at extremely sharp 3D models of big box PC games right from your browser. Frankly, I’m constantly astounded by just how much fun it is to spin these digital boxes around. Those scans look real good.
And GOG isn’t just lifting Big Box Collection’s concept wholesale. It’s also working with Benjamin Wimmer, the creator of the project, to offer “flat, printable versions of the same box art, so you can cut, fold, and glue your own physical big box at home. A proper papercraft project for anyone who misses shelves full of PC game boxes.”
Game preservation isn’t just – or even primarily – about making sure the games themselves remain available on modern stores. Preserving the full context around those games, including their packaging and the items included in the original box. That’s especially important for the old-school PC games that GOG specializes in, since those titles often included all kinds of essential books, maps, and supplements that were part of the full experience.
“What we definitely need are heroes to step forward and take good care of our games,” Wimmer says in an interview for GOG. “Christopher Nolan stepped up to have Kubrick’s 2001 unrestored and thus preserved for us to experience it as envisioned and I’m sure there are gonna be heroes doing the same for games.”