glimmer's Super Duper Analysis on "Is it Worth it?" Collection series

Part 1: Crash Crate - Box

Today we will be discussing the Crash Bandicoot Loot Box from numskull and Activision, known as the "Crash Crate". In articular, we are looking at the box itself. After all, all the goodies had to come in something fun and Crash Bandicoot-related, right?

As you can see from the above image, the crate fits all of the items inside perfectly. When first opened, the mug was wrapped in bubble wrap. The piece of thick paper with a jungle image was combined with the Crash bottle opener, wrapped in a thin layer of plastic. Besides the missing plastic and bubble wrap, the above image does a good job of showing you all what it looked like when first opening the box.

Now, let's talk about the design (my favorite part of the discussion). I pulled the above image off the fan-made Crash Bandicoot Wiki, Bandipedia. God, you gotta love the names of these wikipedias! It's quite clear that the crate design chosen was that of a standard crate, or as the Wiki calls it - a "Basic Crate". These crates usually contain a low amount of Wumpa Fruit. All I ever remember getting from these little guys is one piece of Wumpa Fruit, but I'm probably wrong. I feel this design choice was smart as it is simple and recognizable. Still, I would have loved to see the "? Crate" as not only do they contain a large amount of Wumpa Fruit which makes more sense for a box trying to be displayed as a great deal, but also because a question mark implies mystery, as the Crash Crate is like a loot box. I guess numskull decided to put the products on the outside of the box making it not really a loot crate, but, oh well. 

Do you think any of these other crate designs would have been a good idea? Apparently there is a Crash Crate Mug out there too. When I searched "crash crate" on Google, it popped up immediately. Guess what? It's also made by numbskull. Man, you guys rock! I find it interesting that this crate design has Crash's face on it, like the "Crash Crate" that gives the player an extra life when broken. Trust me, in all three original Crash Bandicoot games, you need every life you can find! I would go into how it's cute that a coffee mug with this 1-UP design could refrence that when a person drinks coffee they have enough energy for another life...but, I'll save it for if/when I get this mug to over-analyze!

Moving on, the Crash Crate was actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be when viewing it on twitter, Best Buy and numskull's website. As you can see, it can almost fit in the palm of my hand. I don't have little girl dainty hands mind you (they buffed up playing too much Super Smash Bros. with those huge N64 controllers), but I took this picture to give you a size comparison. Also, I just got my nails done and they look great! <3

The color burnt orange is really nice and reminds me of the original Crash Bandicoot games, which is what I think numskull was going for. On the Wiki, I found that comparing the images of the Basic Crate from the original and the Activison remake, the original's color was closer to the loot box than Activision's. Activison's crates, at least on the Wiki, seem a bit lighter and less 90's as everything was bright and still coming off that late 80's vibe. The inside of the box is a light brown with a grey strip along the top. It's a nice extra touch of color.

You can clearly see the detail in the box from this image though. The shading and the creases! I'm geeking out over here! Wait...was that crease supposed to be there? I found three noticeable creases when expecting my box all over. Two like the picture on the left, on both the left and right sides near the lid, and one above the logo on the lid. This is most likely due to shipping, thanks Best Buy. Or should I be "thanking" numbskull? Maybe I will take an undercover job at Best Buy to see the kind of packaging these puppies came in...

The bottom of the box is black with, everyone's favorite, product placement! You aren't allowed to enjoy this Crash Crate's design without ruining the box with all the goobidy gook of who owns it and who made it. To be fair, at least this information is hidden on the bottom of the box. Otherwise, I don't have much to say about this part of the box, just that I appreciate the recycling sign on it (but, seriously, anyone who throws out this treasure is a monster)! Take note that there is a bar code here and also on the packaging strip I will discuss in a future post. Yes, there will be a quiz.

 And, there you have it! My detailed analysis of the Crash Crate box! I think, as it needs to be an eye catcher for customers at a Best Buy, the orange color does a great job solo doing that. The design of the crate is nice and recognizable to longtime fans. The logo is right there on the top too and cannot be missed.

The crate itself did not have a price, as the other items do, indicated by the packaging strip.

I will have to come up with some fun uses for the box once I start using the other products! As of right now, its doing its duty - holding the items it was meant to contain inside. I think it would be a cute tissue box or snack holder though...

As always, thanks for reading and tell me what you thought of this box analysis post!

Love,
g1immer