Is the Orange Box the greatest deal in gaming? Will something like it happen again?

[Max|Payne]

Imagine paying standard game price for five full games, three of them brand new, in today's gaming climate.

Valve did just that but in 2007 with The Orange Box, a package containing Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2, those being brand new at the time, as well as Half-Life 2 and HL2 Episode 1.

That's five world-class games, some of the genre defining, in a single package for the normal price of a game at the time.

Unheard of then and unheard of now.

If that isn't the best deal in all gaming to this day then I'd like to know what is.

 

[nsilvias]

UFO 50 just came out

 

[BUNTING1243]

I don't think it would make sense now. From what I remember, I think the Orange Box was at least partially a way to bundle up several smaller scale games for 360 and PS3 for retail distribution.

 

[niccoolnic]

UFO 50 just came out

Click to shrink...

This. I think it will become to be regarded as a terrific value in the same way.

 

[vixolus]

Definitely was a smart play to get people onto Steam

 

[medyej]

Hollow Knight for 15 bucks on launch was insane

 

[Plinkerton]

I think Mario All-Stars is up there too.

Two of the best and most important games ever made, plus two other games, all with re-done visuals to bring them to a then-modern standard.

Edit: and I'm pretty sure it was packaged in with SNES at some point? So essentially all for free.

 

[Max|Payne]

UFO 50 just came out

Click to shrink...

I've heard of it but haven't checked it out. Hopefully it's better than Action 52.

 

[Liodin]

KINGDOM HEARTS All-in-One Package has 7 games and 3 movies for $40

 

[Pennybags]

Even if the economic/enjoyment value is surpassed, it'd probably be pretty hard to beat the sheer impact that bundling had on the PC gaming space at the time.

 

[Omanisat]

Mass Effect Legendary edition's pretty good. 3 full games + DLC and the first one reworked.

 

[PallasKitten]

I'd say the Rare Replay collection was a better deal.

 

[Spork4000]

Whole series regularly go on sale on Steam for less than the price of a single game, maybe that counts? Especially when the latest entry was relatively recent.

 

[Nappuccino]

Hollow Knight for 15 bucks on launch was insane

Click to shrink...

What was Minecraft when it first was purchasable? 5 or 15 dollars? That has to be up there, too.

 

[Snake2024]

I'd say the Rare Replay collection was a better deal.

Click to shrink...

Wanted to write the same. The collection offers a ton of value.

 

[Angst]

The Kingdom Hearts Story so far collection is a better value imo.

 

[srtrestre]

 

[Wishbone Ash]

UFO 50 just came out

Click to shrink...

Yeah this pretty much takes the crown.

Even bringing up stuff like Rare Replay or any various publisher/retro compilation just pales in comparison. It's an entire library of brand-new games where many of them could have easily been sold as individual titles, all tied together with narrative/Easter egg/meta shit in a beautiful package. It's a fucking stunning accomplishment in the medium.

Orange Box was a marketing gimmick, solid deal nonetheless.

 

[Lotus]

Hollow Knight for 15 bucks on launch was insane

Click to shrink...

I know this isn't as good as the other examples, but yea, it rly is crazy Team Cherry just let us rob em like that

 

[Hardvlade]

Halo: Master Chief Collection

- Halo: CE
- Halo 2 Anniversary
- Halo 3
- Halo 3: ODST
- Halo 4
- Halo: Reach

- Full Co-Op Campaigns
- Multiplayer Experience across 100+ maps
- Additional Content not available in the originals
- Firefight
- SpecOps
- Hundreds of cosmetics unlockable by playing the game your way (PvP or PvE).

Halo CE and 2 run dual engines so you could enjoy the classic look and the new looks and often times goes on sale for $10

Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far would be a close second, but MCC is just too good of a package.

 

[Silvergun-Blue]

Mega Games 2 was a god send for cash strapped Mega Drive kids in the early '90s.

 

[xir]

UFO 50 just came out

Click to shrink...

^

 

[Don Fluffles]

UFO 50 has usurped this claim.

 

[data west]

Deep Rock Galactic was 20 on launch and has had 6 years of HEAVY free content updates

 

[Jawmuncher]

It's wild they fit all of that on one DVD

 

[signal]

UFO 50 needs to be played daily for a decade like TF2 before it matches Orange Box.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

UFO 50, Rare Replay, and MCC are great value.

Wish more publishers did this with their old games. I'd love for some GameCube game to come back like that.

 

[Halfstar]

Metroid Prime Trilogy was also an amazing package for the price, with one game from the same generation, and ports of two of the best games of the previous generation.

 

[JehutyRunner]

In terms of AAA (and arguably all of games, even with UFO 50 recently out), this is going to be hard to top.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition definitely comes close for me and, to a lesser extent Halo MCC, but The Orange Box gets the edge because it came out with three brand new actual games with its release in HL2: Ep 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2.

Plus, this is still for me one of the best splash screens in a game or a package of games together ever.

 

[joeblow]

OP... yup, the Orange Box is the all time gaming software value king, and it's not even close.

Suggestions like UFO 50 is almost an insult to the Valve compliation. Not one of those mini games will stand the test of time against Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2 or Portal, and that's even if it was released during the 16-bit prime years. I honestly can't think of any collection with at least three day-one Hall of Famers like the Orange Box.

 

[BrickArts295]

God of War Saga for $30 with all Greek games sans Ascension and the Mobile game was a crazy deal back in 2012.

And the MGS Legacy Collection for $50:

• Metal Gear
• Metal Gear 2
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
• Metal Gear Solid 4

 

[Amibguous Cad]

Tbqh I'm not sure why Orange Box is held in such reverence. It's a first-person shooter with a single-player camaign, a multiplayer mode, and a side mode. Structurally it's identical to most shooters of the era, like e.g. Halo 3, with its campaign, mulitplayer, and Forge mode.

Of course, Half-Liffe 1 and 2 are some of the best shooters ever made, TF2 is really, really good, and Portal was incredible too, so I guess I understand where people are coming from. Still, I'd desccribe this more as that the Orange Box wasx better than its competition, not that it delivered more value than it. It'd be weird to say FFVII was a better value than Legend of Legaia just because most people agreed one was better than the other, right?

 

[Fossora]

OP... yup, the Orange Box is the all time gaming software value king, and it's not even close.

Suggestions like UFO 50 is almost an insult to the Valve compliation. Not one of those mini games will stand the test of time against Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2 or Portal, and that's even if it was released during the 16-bit prime years. I honestly can't think of any collection with at least three day-one Hall of Famers like the Orange Box.

Click to shrink...

Same here. I love UFO 50 but let's be sensible here, HL2/Portal/TF2 are legendary titles that have stood the test of time.

 

[slothrop]

OG humble bundles were a better deal. A lot of similar bundles through the years for charity too. They were just short term though, so maybe you don't count them

 

[skeezx]

Click to shrink...

for the time was a mindblowing value. today i prefer the OG games (aside from All Stars SMB2), because of the physics/gfx style/soundtrack ect but as a kid it was hard to believe it was even real

 

[FTF]

Yeah, amazing package and wish an updated version for current consoles would come out. Could throw in Portal 2 and whatnot.

Hollow Knight for 15 bucks on launch was insane

Click to shrink...

Seriously. It's like only $1 per year when spaced out till the sequel.

 

[CalmYeti]

UFO 50 just came out

Click to shrink...

I've already logged more hours in UFO 50 than TF2+HL2 (and it's episodes) combined. Not everyone loves online shooters and some single-player shooters don't demand more than one or two runs to see all the content.

 

[thewienke]

Orange Box probably wins because Portal was a gaming cultural lightning rod. TF2 spawned a ridiculous number of internet memes and was really well loved. Those two were also entirely brand new games.

Then throw the entire Half Life 2 story on top of that.

I think in 2024 those are three separate games for $39-69 each.

A lot of the other examples here would struggle to be split up in the same way.

 

[Fossora]

OG humble bundles were a better deal. A lot of similar bundles through the years for charity too. They were just short term though, so maybe you don't count them

Click to shrink...

I remember Humble Indie Bundle 4 specifically. Jamestown/Bit.Trip/Super Meat Boy/Shank/NightSky for a dollar. Gratuitous Space Battles/Cave Story+ & all the games in HIB 3 for beating the average.

 

[Reflecting Sky]

The Orange Box and Halo: The Master Chief Collection are indeed of outstanding value.

 

[Sirank]

Insane to think you had Episode 2 and Portal release in the same package. 2 of the best campaigns of all time releasing together.

Not to mention TF2, one of the most popular multiplayer games of all time. lol

 

[Iadien]

Nothing comes close to Orange Box for me personally. I have more hours played in TF2 than every single other game I've ever played combined though.

 

[CountAntonio]

It won't. That was the greatest deal in the history of gaming and 3 of the best games in their respective genres.

 

[ClarkusDarkus]

Nothing will beat it, Ever. It's the greatest value pack ever released.

 

[Stibbs]

That Valve Ultimate pack of whatever that goes on sale for like 3 bucks every major Steam sale is up there tbh

 

[PLASTICA-MAN]

I think that leaked GOW Greek saga remaster having all Greek games will be a bigger deal.

 

[ClickyCal']

Tbh Prime Trilogy at the time. $50 for all three, including a very new Prime 3 still.

Metroid Prime Trilogy was also an amazing package for the price, with one game from the same generation, and ports of two of the best games of the previous generation.

Click to shrink...

Edit-beaten lol, agree though.

 

[Cheesecake]

UFO 50 is definitely a more insane deal because its all 100% original content. Someone described them as mini games but that's a realy disservice to the games, they are full fleshed out 8-bit games.

Rare Replay, Master Chief Collection, Super Mario All-stars. All of these are great collections with great games but its all stuff you had a chance to play before. UFO 50 is all original.

I think that leaked GOW Greek saga remaster having all Greek games will be a bigger deal.

Click to shrink...

Bigger deal than Half-Life? Seriously?

 

[Necron]

Is the Orange Box the greatest deal in gaming? Yes.

Will something like it happen again? No.

 

[PLASTICA-MAN]

Bigger deal than Half-Life? Seriously?

Click to shrink...

Bigger in number of games, yes: 6 including 3 and Ascension, if they add Betrayal then it is 7.
This has never done for any Sony franchise so far. So far only that MGS deal beats it.