I remember the one for the Bard's Tale for C64... and the two sequels
came in the same packaging. But although I think those are awesome
for nostalgic purposes (why I typically buy games on ebay now before
diving in to a new game that I "always wanted to play")... I think
they are very much a thing of the past. Instant gratification is the
rule of the day now. Put it in and turn it on. Read? ummm, no. In
a way I think that's a good thing.. it forces game designers to slowly
ramp games up during a "tutorial" period instead of just throwing you
headfirst expecting that you've read the manual cover to cover. But I
also still have an undeniable excitement flipping through the manual
of a new game just to get an idea.. I bought the chains of promathia
expansion for final fantasy xi at 10 bucks more than normal and 3
weeks before I was high enough level to play it just so I could get a
crack at the manual that was included to see what was new to the game.

What I really would like to see is a more solid return of interesting
items that come with a game, something that adds to the game but isn't
clearly a copy protection "what's word 3 of page 7" crap. Cloth maps
are a great addition to any game. Working Designs ports PSX games
from Japanese to American, and they did a pretty good job with the
Lunar PSX addons.. you get a pendant, a paper map, a couple other
goodies. I found them completely useless while playing the game, but
still interesting bonuses. But the skill charts that come with
Star/warcraft, or the cloth maps that came with the Ultima series are
perfect examples of "good" add-ons that I think could still show up in
modern games. The Links golf game expansions once upon a time used to
include scorecards from the specific golf course, which is good bonus
- i don't know if they still do. Useful, not dull, potential
deterrants to piracy as well, but not required to play the game.

But of course, all these cost money, and game companies seem to be
struggling like mad to survive as it is. So I doubt we'll see
anything like this again for some time to come, except in the REALLY
big sellers (i.e. the garbage that is Myst).

I am preaching to the choir here I know.. but I got on a roll, sorry
;-) And speaking of Lunar for PSX.. to date this is the 2nd game that
has ever made me cry. The first was when Floyd died in Planetfall.
Check it out if you haven't already. ;-)