Vista Packaging

As word and images spread around the net this morning on the Vista and Office 2007 packaging, I have to say I'm less than impressed. While I understand the argument that some people feel that $400 software shouldn't come in a simple jewel case, they are basically missing the point. Packaging is marketing. Beautiful cereal boxes are important to catch your eye to make a specific selection over a similarly priced and equivalent alternative. Operating Systems are at the other end of the spectrum here. Over 90% of Vista and Office sales will be OEM, either pre-installed by a Dell-like vendor or bought online with new system hardware for home assembly. There's no need for a nice package here. It's a colossal waste that brings back memories of the "ban the box" days when CDs first came out and had that huge vertical box. There is an argument there because the art of album covers has basically disappeared from the old LP days, but that box was just a huge was of cardboard. Here we go again with a huge waste of plastic.

Another point is the space it occupies. It will take more room on the shelf and in the back room, and in shipping crates to haul these around. And then the box will take up more precious room on my bookshelf. In all likelihood, I'll end up tossing the package for a simple sleeve anyway to save space.

Finally, the point of needing a nice box for $400 software is fairly silly from my view. After all, our cheapest product (IMSL C# developer license) is $995 and comes in a simple jewel case with two ink colors on the label. The same holds for our $3000 or $12,000 CDs. You're paying for the content and license on the CD, not the pretty package. In fact, I'm sure you'd rather have your money flowing back into product development rather than to the marketing budget for fancy boxes.