Shareware box that came first

[wisas62]

I've been searching for the past few weeks and I can't find anything definitive about which version of the shareware box came first.

https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/doom/cover-art/gameCoverId,194557/

https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/doom/cover-art/gameCoverId,282983/

I was hoping either someone already had the source info, or if someone has open copies of these they could get the directory dates off the floppies and we could figure it out.

[Alex S.]

The first shareware boxed release was distributed by GT Interactive. I have a copy of the CD-ROM version. Since GT were the official publisher, I consider their version to be the canonical original and other dealers copied the disc and put out their own artwork. 

[wisas62]

Both boxes I linked are distributed by GT interactive in 1993 and are the first versions of the boxed game. I'm just trying to figure out which one was "actually" first. The CD version you mention came out in 1995 as version 1.9 as a part of the mail order set.

[Alex S.]

10 minutes ago, wisas62 said:

Both boxes I linked are distributed by GT interactive in 1993 and are the first versions of the boxed game. I'm just trying to figure out which one was "actually" first. The CD version you mention came out in 1995 as version 1.9 as a part of the mail order set.

Good to know! We should check out the database at ReDump and see what can be found. 

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

The version without the border is advertised in the DOOM II manual, implying it is the later version. However, I saw a copy of the version with the border on eBay that contained Shareware Version 1.2 with a copyright year of 1993-94 (the seller posted images of the disks' installer). It's possible both editions of the box were updated to contain newer shareware disks.

 

One thing I noticed is the difference in product codes on the boxes:

• No border: 04-30592
• Border: 04-30704

Oddly, all the boxes I've seen contain disks with labels that say 04-30592 and are copyrighted 1993. Perhaps this means the borderless 04-30592 box was the first one produced, and that the disk labels were simply never updated to reflect the newer shareware releases?

[wisas62]

On 4/13/2022 at 11:12 PM, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

The version without the border is advertised in the DOOM II manual, implying it is the later version. However, I saw a copy of the version with the border on eBay that contained Shareware Version 1.2 with a copyright year of 1993-94 (the seller posted images of the disks' installer). It's possible both editions of the box were updated to contain newer shareware disks.

 

One thing I noticed is the difference in product codes on the boxes: 

• No border: 04-30592
• Border: 04-30704

Oddly, all the boxes I've seen contain disks with labels that say 04-30592 and are copyrighted 1993. Perhaps this means the borderless 04-30592 box was the first one produced, and that the disk labels were simply never updated to reflect the newer shareware releases? 

Thank you for this information! The no border one is in the Doom 2 manual. Based on my knowledge of economics, if they had a bulk supply of labeled disks it wouldn't be financially beneficial to update the labels just for a version update so it's possible the same disks could have several versions.

[wisas62]

On 4/13/2022 at 11:12 PM, TheUltimateDoomer666 said:

One thing I noticed is the difference in product codes on the boxes: 

• No border: 04-30592
• Border: 04-30704

Oddly, all the boxes I've seen contain disks with labels that say 04-30592 and are copyrighted 1993. Perhaps this means the borderless 04-30592 box was the first one produced, and that the disk labels were simply never updated to reflect the newer shareware releases? 

This has got to seal the deal. Makes perfect sense to me.