Bioshock Infinite: The latest victim of the Stupid-American-Box-Art Virus.

[Sepko]

I know this is gonna be a pretty gosh-darn nitpicky subject, but I suppose a problem can't be dealt with unless we talk about it.
Assumedly we all know by now that America is pretty notorious for its truly terrible box art for games, for the most part. Thankfully, we outside the star-spangled borders are (mostly) lucky, in that most will get Europe's contributions to Box Art, sometimes Asia's, which are by comparison infinitely better designed.

Anyways, Bioshock Infinite's box art has just been revealed, and...well...

Spoiler: Spoilers: So Nathan Drake decided to visit the sky from his singular hot air balloon while simultaneously doing a douchebag gunrocker pose and burning a flag behind him.

Really, 2K/Irrational? Really? Of all the imagery from [URL="http://images.wikia.com/bioshock/images/a/ac/E32011Songbird1.png" (title,target)]something[/URL] as [URL="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121022142659/bioshock/images/f/f6/Oct22-Screen03.jpg" (title,target)]vivid[/URL] as [URL="http://www.wouldyoukindly.com/wp-content/uploads/bsinfiniteangels.jpg" (title,target)]Columbia[/URL] that could've inspired something truly amazing to look at, you end up with...essentially nothing on a box. It looks like a Call of BattleHonour cover, with its one redeeming quality being that there's at least a clear blue sky. The previous Bioshock entries had wonderful box art, hinting at an incredible world in Rapture in the background, along with provocative imagery with the Big Daddy and Little Sister in the foreground.
This just looks like Booker's wondering why he's suddenly floating 10,000 feet in the air but trying to keep cool about it.
The only thing I like about it is the burning flag; it's hinting at something, I know that much, but I can't seem to care when I can't even see a hint of what that flag is attached to.
I really hope there's a European version of this that doesn't look like the Art Department was staffed entirely by Advertising drones.

Any thoughts on this?

EDIT: I'm not implying that this is swaying my decision on whether I'm getting the game or not, for I certainly am. I'm merely saying Bioshock's previous entries have both had incredibly well-made art for their covers, so to have such low...standards for Infinite seems incredibly jarring. They can and should have done better.

EDIT THE 2ND: So the full box art has now been released.

Spoiler: It looks like this

Corset-defying and most-important-part-of-the-game lady Elizabeth is relegated to the back cover. Oh hey, there's a picture of Columbia and a Handyman that probably should've been front and centre if the marketing department had put more than two brain cells into this.

 

[Jorec]

Hmmmm can't say that I necessarily like that. A better image maybe would have just been a Handyman staring down the buyer, I dunno. Still gonna buy this game though.

 

[Zhukov]

Ah yes, another entry from the prestigious Man With Gun Walks Toward Screen school of box art design.

Heh, I wonder if the burning US flag will net them some free publicity from Fox News or the like.

Personally, I would have hoped for something along these lines:

Ah well. No big deal. 99% of video game box art sucks donkeys anyway. No class whatsoever.

 

[Isshiresshi]

Yeah it does look like, as you put it, "Call of BattleHonour cover", which is most likely the idea since those games do sell pretty darn well!

I suppose it's all a marketing strategy, however, I do get the feeling they might be unsure how well it will sell and going with a safer solution, because those millions and millions of people who bought Call of Duty and Battlefield can relate to this as something they're having a good time with already, and therefore this is a "safe-buy" for them.

 

[hazabaza1]

If you look closely, you can see that his left hand has a slight orange tinge to it...

Spoiler

Ingenious!

 

[Rawne1980]

You know you've watched too much Evil Dea when the first thing you think when looking at that box art is "oooh ... nice boomstick".

 

[Nonomori]

i'm trying really really hard to care about boxart, but digital distribution is keeping me from caring. Damn it i wanna live in the past. Now im off to complain about itunes not stocking cassettes.

This. I agree, the cover is awful, but thankfully I'll never put that on my shelf.

 

[TrevHead]

American Boxart

Japanese Boxart

Thank god I live in the UK where many games have the Japanese cover. Although Japan does have more cartoon tits though.

BTW is even PAL getting that Bioshock Infinite boxart?

 

[Sepko]

BTW is even PAL getting that Bioshock Infinite boxart?

I hope not, though I'm pretty sure with the last two Bioshocks it was the same box art everywhere.

 

[Shadowstar38]

Meh. The cover looks well enough. It's going to be sitting on a stand with only the name on the side being readable. So yeah.

This is actually the first I've heard of this "Americans make bad boxart" issue. But I can hardly give a fuck about boxart at all. Name a game from the past 5 years and I couldn't recall what was on the front. Why? Least important part of the whole package.

 

[Nomanslander]

Wow, this box art is almost as bad as ME2. It suffers the same problems: horrible composition, bad angles, pretentious. It's such a forgettable pose. I mean fine, I get it! Here in the US the Walmart shopping brainless masses want some gun totting badass on the front, oozing machismo, and with his girl on the side.

But if that's the idea, THAN WHY WASN'T THIS IMAGE SELECTED.

Spoiler

There, it's macho as fuck, but at least it has good composition and good poses. It's memorable and eye catchy, plus we see the love interest on the side showing some cleavage, and isn't that what the marketing team wants?

Yeah this is a coming a pet peeve of mine. But at least it's not as offensive as the Heavy Rain box art came to be. =/

Spoiler

Don't you just love how a supporting character in the game is bought up front just so we wouldn't miss her lovely jugs while trying to read title of the game which is superimposed over them?

Now that was just shameless.

 

[Cabisco]

You know you've watched too much Evil Dea when the first thing you think when looking at that box art is "oooh ... nice boomstick".

Such as thing as "too much evil dead" does not exist, but yes I too thought it was a nice boomstick.

It seems very standard,generic man with gun. kinda boring really.

 

[DJjaffacake]

It's not that bad. Bit bland, but it's got nothing on Heavy Rain or Ico.

Spoiler: Look at this

American box art

European box art

Japanese box art

Spoiler: But that pales in comparison to Ico

 

[mParadox]

Doesn't look that bad, it could be the american heavy rain box art, man did that suck...

Never could I imagine such an atrocious box art such as that one. I mean, it looked more like an episode of Miami Vice than anything. >_>

 

[The Wykydtron]

Shouldn't Elizabeth be on the cover? She's so important to the game you'd think they would have put her somewhere. I like the idea of dual protagonists in a game where you can only control one. Sounds cool. I am biased though since I love dual protagonists in general. Death Note and Code Geass for example


Ah it makes me yearn for the Catherine box art again. Reversable covers depending on which Catherine you prefer. Fuckin' Atlus XD

Thinking about it a lot of box art lately has been "let's cover the box with random shit and/or scores" or "Man with gun tries to look cool"

Why no single iconic images anymore? Posing the entire cast in a cool way on the box?

Well, at least nothing could ever be as bad as the Batman: Arkham City: GOTY edition box art... New low doesn't even describe it. It speaks volumes that I saw a fan imitation of the box first where it's all exaggerated and tacky then thought it was better than the original.

Wow I just had a proper look and so much stuff is "man looking cool" even without guns. Darksiders 2, Dark Souls, Dishonoured, Borderlands 2 (I always disliked the Borderlands guy who tries to look crazy on the front) Mass Effect 3 etc etc maybe because quite a lot of main characters are male? So it's all guys looking badass all day.

Speaking of ME3, is the new Omega expansion good? I still can't bring myself to put ME3 back into the disk tray :/

Wow, this box art is almost as bad as ME2. It suffers the same problems: horrible composition, bad angles, pretentious. It's such a forgettable pose. I mean fine, I get it! Here in the US the Walmart shopping brainless masses want some gun totting badass on the front, oozing machismo, and with his girl on the side.

But if that's the idea, THAN WHY WASN'T THIS IMAGE SELECTED.

Spoiler

There, it's macho as fuck, but at least it has good composition and good poses. It's memorable and eye catchy, and it's that what the marketing team wants?

Yeah this is a coming a pet peeve of mine. But at least it's not as offensive as the Heavy Rain box art came to be. =/

Spoiler

Wasn't the first Heavy Rain box one single origami crane in the rain? The fact I remembered that speaks for itself considering i've never even touched the game before. Yup, devs be crazy! This is David Cage though, he's a bit of a wild card. A wild card who can't write.