Battle with faceplate packaging ends with bloodshed
Wired Magazine answers a question that has boggled, and ultimately bloodied, consumers the world over? Why the hell is the packaging on electronics-related stuff so ridiculously hard to open? The gory knife wound at right resulted from a near death struggle to free a simple Xbox 360 faceplate from it's vacume sealed plastic prison (You know, the kind that requires a box-cutter, a blow-torch and a plasma donation to scratch). As you might expect, sharp objects and over-eager customers make for a dangerous combination. Emergency room physicians report an anecdotal surge in packaging related injuries as frustrated fanboys slice and dice themselves in a futile attempt to reach their precious cargo. It figures that this river of spilled blood flows toward the almighty dollar:
The bottom line is the bottom line. Retailers demand the hard-to-open packaging to avoid "shrinkage," or shoplifting, a problem that cost U.S. stores more than $10 billion a year or $25 million a day, according to statistics from the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention. They also want the item to be visible to customers and capable of withstanding the rigors of long-distance shipping from manufacturing plants in Asia.
The worst part is that Moms finally have proof that video games cause violence. Have you ever bought a 360 bundle at Costco and stabbed yourself in the thigh with a steak knife trying to open it?
[Via digg]
