I think I might have figured it out. The American release gets uglier covers with the game in its least edited form and other countries get good looking covers and heavily edited games.
American Box Art Sucks
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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I've actually wondered about this looking at the covers for Tekken. Especially the last one. It has the Mishima family on it with King and Nina right behind them. Nina I kinda understand because she's Jin's bodyguard now, but why King?
EDIT: Don't even get me started on God of War 3's cover.
EDIT: Don't even get me started on God of War 3's cover.
Because Americans sell movies, not games.
Most American advertisers are not aware of how games function, the simply see it as a movie you push buttons to. So the logical advertising method would be to make the box look like a movie poster.
Most American advertisers are not aware of how games function, the simply see it as a movie you push buttons to. So the logical advertising method would be to make the box look like a movie poster.
Well mostly we don't get a say in what the cover looks like. Just like how you didn't make your local box art nice and pretty, we didn't make ours ugly. Thats how it's handed too us. And it's not like I'll ignore heavy rain because the box art is shoddy.
The purpose of Box Art like a lot of advertising isn't to get you to buy it but to let you know it exists. Think about McDOnalds comemrcials. They spend HUGE amounts of money advertising. Does McDonalds think you're goign to forget they exist if you don't see an ad for them everywhere you go? Do they think it's going to make you buy their food as soon as you see it? Probably not.secretsofgames said:
The goal is to put it in your head so the next time your hungry you'll think of McDs first.
Sort of the same with Box Art. You probably have a laundry list of games you might want when you walk into a game store. By putting something attention grabbing on the box you're more likely to pick it up which increases your chance of buying it over other games you didn't look at first.
How often have you gone somewhere with a view items you planned to get, forgot the list and left with maybe a few of the things and something you didn't plan on buying? Even if you haven't the vast majority of people do it all the time. Hell, I'd say a decent chunk of people don't even have a list to begin with.
THEY'RE IN OUR HEADS, MAN!
Probably because i dont design them. Of course I'm not sure if you would like the box art better, it would most likely just involve a picture of tits 90% of the time, even for games that dont even have women in them. They'd sell well though I think.
Basically, Europe and the rest of the world like atmosphere, or the mysteriousness of it, while Americans like a feeling of epic-ness and knowing who the characters are. To be honest, I prefer your guys' artwork. The American ones are too busy.
I think those who do marketing are under the impression that Americans only play games for the action, or are nerds who drink red bull and swear all night while playing Call of Duty in their Mom's basement. And for some reason they think we have a thing for disembodied heads.
I think marketing is just being insecure with having to "compete" with Hollywood. They have to insinuate that the game is an action movie with "intense" relationships. Although i really like how they try to portray Kirby as being intense. It's like they're trying say Kirby games are actually difficult and have some sort of drama.
I think those who do marketing are under the impression that Americans only play games for the action, or are nerds who drink red bull and swear all night while playing Call of Duty in their Mom's basement. And for some reason they think we have a thing for disembodied heads.
I think marketing is just being insecure with having to "compete" with Hollywood. They have to insinuate that the game is an action movie with "intense" relationships. Although i really like how they try to portray Kirby as being intense. It's like they're trying say Kirby games are actually difficult and have some sort of drama.
This statement is so wrong I'd call it hilarious if I didn't know there were a bunch of similarly misinformed people nodding their heads in agreement when they read this. Just FYI, you don't know much about cars and it shows.Poisoned Al said:
It's sad that we live in an era where people get their news from John Stewart, their history from Howard Zinn, and their autojournalism from Jeremy Clarkson. Just sad.
By the way, what is it with foreigners constantly harping on this or that aspect of America? Is their own existence so sad, dreary, unengaging that they have to do this to make themselves feel important, or are their native cultures so bereft of dynamism and life that for them to seem relevant it's necessary to tear down one that is? It's kinda pathetic. I feel sorry for them.
Ughh, I feel like emigrating for box art (and PAL Metroid Prime Trilogy).
ICO's American cover made me genuinely angry. The Japanese one is phenomenal and actually based on art! If Americans really thought that it was boring, I'm sure that what they actually got was SO much more exciting. Same goes with Twilight Princess. The Wolf/Link thing looks cliche to me but t he Japanese cover is pretty nice. Metroid: Other M had a pretty unique multi-layered Japanese cover that shows that the game would be about characterization in a nice way (although it didn't actually do that in a nice way), but WE MUST COLLAGE SAMUS SAMUS (and Adam)in the US. Same goes for Metroid Prime 3. Is that, 3 Samuses?
ICO's American cover made me genuinely angry. The Japanese one is phenomenal and actually based on art! If Americans really thought that it was boring, I'm sure that what they actually got was SO much more exciting. Same goes with Twilight Princess. The Wolf/Link thing looks cliche to me but t he Japanese cover is pretty nice. Metroid: Other M had a pretty unique multi-layered Japanese cover that shows that the game would be about characterization in a nice way (although it didn't actually do that in a nice way), but WE MUST COLLAGE SAMUS SAMUS (and Adam)in the US. Same goes for Metroid Prime 3. Is that, 3 Samuses?
It's relative to the country...Japan love vast worlds, often in anime or their culture, the stories are simple but the worlds are vast and imaginative...Europe like pushing boundaries and making metaphors of everything (it's fun you should try it) and America just like characters they can project onto. Look at the boxart now and try to see this theme...not always true I admit but it's a good rule of thumb...
This article pisses me off... I WANT BETTER BOX ART! damn you all box art designers.
On a more serious note, I do appreciate it when I do see box art that doesn't look like someone just messed around in photoshop. The best example I have right now in my game collection is the cover for crackdown 2
http://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1279851222-00.jpg
The cover conveys the concept of this game very well, loud, messy, chaotic violence. And it does this without photoshopping the characters over some bland background and having them stare you in the face like some irritating fairy saying "hey! over here! look!"
On a more serious note, I do appreciate it when I do see box art that doesn't look like someone just messed around in photoshop. The best example I have right now in my game collection is the cover for crackdown 2
http://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1279851222-00.jpg
The cover conveys the concept of this game very well, loud, messy, chaotic violence. And it does this without photoshopping the characters over some bland background and having them stare you in the face like some irritating fairy saying "hey! over here! look!"
It's not entirely our fault, every person in marketing (whether they reside in the US or otherwise) has gotten it into their heads that Americans are a bunch of unsophisticated baboons. So they have decided that the best course of action was to remove any depth that could have triggered a neuron or two.
Its because the American box-art/movie-poster/advertising-industry has a business model of "Lie to the customer." http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CoversAlwaysLie Why is there a hillbilly on the cover? WHY?!?
If we could change it we would. I don't know who is in charge but I flip most my box art inside out and write the names on the side. Better then S***.
BTW am I the only one that thinks Capcom should make a GTA style sandbox game starring the Bonne family?
I mean, robbing banks with giant robots, IT WOULD BE $%^#&ING AWESOME!
I mean, robbing banks with giant robots, IT WOULD BE $%^#&ING AWESOME!