I don't mean to be a cheerleader, because I've argued quite a bit for them to change these boxes in some way- players obviously don't value them the same way they value boxes like say, the stranger box. I even wrote a forum topic as to what OOO could do about it, giving them what is hopefully constructive criticism.
First, the prize boxes are a good way for the game to make money in general. Someone pays.. to look cool for donating to the game. Doing so does not effect the game in any other negative ways, and that, is golden.
These prize boxes in general however tend to be reskinned, which causes a great deal of commotion, but what people fail to realize is that they don't have to even consider buying half of them. You want less prize boxes? Well here you go. Now there's a real prize box once a month and the background noise of the mineral boxes. Maybe you don't like ruby, because it doesn't fit your color at all.. well that's fine now, because there are 11 other colors for you to choose from, should you choose to partake.
Another common concern is that prize boxes aren't content and people need content so that the game doesn't feel dead 100% of the time. This is logical, and for the most part true- content updates would be wonderful. The untrue part of it however is that prize boxes, especially these prize boxes that are simply recoloured, don't typically interfere with the creation of content. If anything, these sorts of prize boxes speed up content by creating more promotions better suited for a wider grouping of players (more colors over time), along with less work for developers, artists, everyone.
So please, try to be more understanding.
These boxes require a negligible amount of work by Three Rings. And they add a negligible amount of value to the game for most players. Therefore they are neutral. They are neither good nor bad.
People complain because they don't want neutral. They want good. They want to see progress, not just lack of regress.