While it is true that for a small company like Planetside there is cost (As there is for any software vendor) I think there must be companies out there that could help and bring it in at a good price even if the packaging design was done either in house at Planetside or opened up to the community (With specifications for whats needed duly provided) and then sent off to be manufactured.
Also there is the sense of security that having Physical Media provides from a crash recovery stand point, that is to say that should some thing ever happen to the system where TG2 is installed and you either have to use the restore disk or in the most extrema case reformat the drive and have to start again by reinstalling the O/S and then the software (Stress inducing process for many people) it is often easier to reload the software form physical media rather than have to download it again.
There are people who of course find that the inverse is true and find that downloading is easier for them, its about providing people with options; there is a down side with physical media form the IT managers stand point and that is upgrades and maintenance I have throat about a model that Planetside could use.
Proposed Model:
In this model Planetside would offer both options for online download (As now) and physical boxed media (That can by sold through retail stores to maximize revenue inflow) with options to buy multiple seats (Studios, Production Companies, FX-Houses, Educational Establishments, Non-Profit Organizations etc) have a reseller program so that TG2 can be sold via other online outlets such as Amazon.
Once people have brought their version (All major Versions TG2, TG3 etc) on physical media and have activated their software all minor releases 2.1 etc will be available free via the Internet using the built in update feature then when the next major milestone release is available people would buy that as they would any other software of course people with legacy Terragen Pipelines should be helped to transition over any custom plug-ins etc they may have so they are not stranded in the upgrade path.
Regards to you.
Cyber-Angel