secretsofgames said:
I think the box art is among the last reasons we would buy a game so there is less effort put into it. There is no shortage of impulse shoppers but most are going to need more than one reason to buy a game and the box art is hardly going to be among them. Distributors know they can do better targeting us in other ways.
Besides, we clearly do not hate things that look good. Quite the opposite in fact. We love things that look good. Take a closer look at our cars and our women if you don't think so.
Box art... meh.
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.
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!