| Steelbooks are simply a new marketing idea for dvd's. They (the studios) have found out a long time ago that limited edition, special edition, boxed sets, multiple discs, special packaging, etc. sells more dvds. Steelbook is from a company based out of Scandonavia (sp?), and they hit the European market a few years before here, and they were (are) a big hit. I stumbled across Steelbooks not knowing much about them, but once I saw the logo inside the case, searched the net, found the company, found forums, joined in on said forums, and started seeing more out there, I started collecting them. If you don't have a tendency to collect anything, then it will be hard for you to understand the whole concept. If you do collect ANYTHING, be it diecast cars, shot glasses, rock concert shirts, etc, then you understand right away the whole steelbook thing. Granted, some movies in steelbook I would never buy, but if I know I'm going to like the movie, and there's a steelbook I can get at a reasonable cost, then I'm going to add it to my collection. Sure, it's only a painted metal case and the dvd is almost always avaiable in a regular case for less money, but it looks way cooler than a standard case with plastic to hold artwork, imho. They don't really protect the movie any better, and the cases are more fragile than plastic cases in that they can get dented or scratched easier than a plastic case, but I'll take a nice looking steelbook case for a movie I like or want to own over a standard case any day. There are some people, though, that don't keep cases at all; they throw them in the trash as soon as they get them. They keep their collection in slim plastic sleeves in drawers. They would never in a million years understand what the big deal is with steelbooks. Sorry for the long post, but you did ask. If you want the short answer, it's just something put out there for dvd collectors to start collecting. The fact that they are not made available everywhere all the time, and that some stores or regions get specific ones helps create/fuel the collector's desire to acquire said hard to find, limited edition steelbook. It's Marketing 101 at work. Look around most hobbies of collecting, and you will find trends like this all the time. |