motsm: I was just trying to decide what to buy in the sale, then I saw this story, and decided to buy nothing. Guess I'll be browsing my shelf of big box games and installing something off of a disc, instead.
I love big boxes. I got into buying games after they were much of a thing but remember them from when I was a kid. The original Age of Empires has such a wonderfully large and detailed manual. It is probably a little out of date but it serves as a good primer for studying the ancient world. Age of Kings is similar although not quite as good. The Total War Eras box collection has a great manual for actual information on history, although it too is not a replacement for actual history books it is well worth browsing.
They also look really good on a shelf and give you something physical to have if nothing else.