Bah!
Count me in with the "minority" who don't miss boxed sets.
Boxes wear faster than book covers and take up more space. Most of the boxed RPGs I bought back in the day were just boxes with a saddle-stiched rulebook, a flimsy GM's screen, a character sheet, and
maybe some really poorly-made dice.
Heck, anyone remember 3rd ed. RuneQuest? The cursed Avalon Hill had a "Player's Box" and a "GM's Box." Basically, it was the core ruless split into five books, two in one box and three in the other, and each box was $25 or something... and this was in 1983! I eventually sold them and picked up the softbound rules book they released in the early 90s.
As another poster said, Chaosium did produce some amazing sets, though I think they worked best for adventures: Borderlands, Big Rubble, Thieves' World, etc. Individual booklets for the players and the GM, visual aids, maps, reference sheets. Those were cool.
However, I'll take a hardbound book over a box any day. If the product needs big maps, stick them in the back cover with some of that plastic goo WotC uses for Dragon inserts. Character sheets and handouts can be downloaded (and, thus printed as many times as I need).
(BTW, I was really pissed that OA didn't use the goo. Tearing that map of Rokugan out of the binding was the worst.
)
