Naughty Dog "Flat-Out Refused" to Change Last of Us Cover

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Naughty Dog "Flat-Out Refused" to Change Last of Us Cover


The creative director of The Last of Us says it's a "misconception" that videogames need a male-dominated cover in order to sell.

The box art for The Last of Us sparked no small amount of discussion in certain quarters of the internet because the central character on the cover is - gasp! - female. That's kind of a big deal when you consider how few box covers have been led by women over the years (very few) and particularly interesting in light of Ken Levine's recent comments [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121007-Ken-Levine-on-BioShock-Infinites-Bro-Tastic-Cover-Art] about why the BioShock Infinite cover is so utterly generic and dull.

Ashley Johnson, the actress who plays Ellie - the girl on the cover - acknowledged that publishers put men on the front of games because they believe that's what sells. "It's all gamers really know - and I don't want to be sexist by any means - but I get the feeling, generally, that they think game won't sell as well with a woman on the cover, compared to some badass dude on the front," she told VG247.

Creative Neil Druckmann agreed with Johnson but disagreed with the concept, and also let it be known that Naughty Dog faced pressure to slap a more conventional, male-dominated image on the front of The Last of Us box. "I believe there's a misconception that if you put a girl or a woman on the cover, the game will sell less," he said. "I know I've been in discussions where we've been asked to push Ellie to the back and everyone at Naughty Dog just flat-out refused."

Good for Naughty Dog, and even better if the game is a hit, or at least not so much of a flop that executive-types can scapegoat it as the root of all their problems. That may (or may not) be a bit extreme, but in such a heavily male-dominated industry, even a small move like this can represent a significant risk for whoever makes it.

The PlayStation 3-exclusive The Last of Us [http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Us-Playstation-3/dp/B007CM0K86/ref=sr_tr_sr_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355326362&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Last+of+Us] comes out on May 7, 2013.

Source: VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2012/12/12/the-last-of-us-acting-out-the-end-of-the-world/]


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Souplex

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I'm worried about Naughty Dog. First they don't release Uncharted Racing, now they move on to a game where a racing game wouldn't fit.
 

chaos order

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Souplex said:
I'm worried about Naughty Dog. First they don't release Uncharted Racing, now they move on to a game where a racing game wouldn't fit.
WHERES THE LIKE BUTTON!

but seriously people had a problem with the cover of this game? REALLY?! i mean if people complained about a kid having a gun then ya maybe i can see a point (id disagree, but at least its more reasonable) but having a problem with a girl on the front?
 

Jorec

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Naughty Dog, making strides in the Industry at every conceivable level. Nah but seriously that's cool I guess? I didn't think this would be a big deal in the first place honestly, and it's not like she's in a tutu dress doing a pirouette. She's shouldering a rifle for goodness sake!
 

synobal

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Souplex said:
I'm worried about Naughty Dog. First they don't release Uncharted Racing, now they move on to a game where a racing game wouldn't fit.
well lets be fair Crash Team Racing was pretty freaking awesome. Damn fun even.
 

Eclipse Dragon

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Oh Naughty Dog you're always impressing me.
You make great games and now I can add respect to the list of reasons why I like you so much.
To be fair, there's still the guy on the cover, but he's not the main point of interest in the design.

I wasn't planning on buying The Last of Us, this might have just sold me the game.
 

Djaevlenselv

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At the risk of completely missing the point, I thought I should point out that female dominated covers have always been accepted and even common-place in the industry... as long as they were sexualized.
 

gardian06

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Souplex said:
I'm worried about Naughty Dog. First they don't release Uncharted Racing, now they move on to a game where a racing game wouldn't fit.
don't worry I can see a couple places where racing can be introduced (your running from bandits, and then they come out in there own vehicle, and there you go) remember that racing was kind of tacked on to Jak & Daxter, and was actually kind of the really annoying part of the game.

OT: haven't there already been female dominated covers before (Lara Croft: Any, Beyond Good and Evil, and Metroid) though I am having trouble thinking of a game where the main character (or the possibility of a mail character) that had a female in the forefront of the cover.

though I do feel that the main character shouldn't even need to be there on the cover, I mean remove the guy from the cover, and you actually have a lot more interesting image to deal with. you would have the ruined city scape, a anxious if not scared young person (in this case female), who looks that "I have this riffle, and I hope that I can use it to protect myself"

not only do you break away from the "women are weak" sentiment, but you also deliver something interesting, and almost cinematic on its own, but I could see some backlash that "there is only a girl on the cover, and I am playing as a guy without the option of playing as the girl."
 

bafrali

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Hmm. A case where I can utter the words artistic integrity with a straight face. I approve.
 
Sep 14, 2009
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good on them, i was already really interested in this but damn if that doesn't add to the list of why i like them and want to buy from them.

also, so much awesome stuff is happening those few weeks in may, really need to save up money...
 

Smooth Operator

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So there still are those with standards in the industry, too bad we seldom get to see them.
That being said tho they do still have a 30s white guy with gun standing in the middle of an orange background, and flat white text spelling out the name... you aren't exactly going nuts with creativity here.
 

purifico

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Oct 29, 2009
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Is that even a thing? Or are they just trying to get some easy PR riding Bioshock's back?
 

X10Unit1

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It is a great cover. It would have also been a great cover if the characters were in the opposite positions. I say this because the cover fits the theme of the game. From all of the information I have heard about the game, this cover seems to portray it quite well.

Honestly, that is what sets it apart from Bioshock's new cover. From all of the information I seen, I guess I didn't picture the main character like that at all. It is a blatant and generic "I am a bada**" shot.

For me personally, AAA game covers are not a factor when deciding on purchasing or looking at that game. I get all the information I need from websites and/or friends. The game covers only come into effect with indie games. I will admit, I will browse though steam and will be more likely to like on a nice cover that interests me than one that doesn't.
 

ColdinT

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purifico said:
Is that even a thing? Or are they just trying to get some easy PR riding Bioshock's back?
That's what I was thinking. They see Bioshock Infinite having PR issues with their cover, so they come out and tell the world that they're better than that.

Personally, I don't see why people are so hung up on box art anyway.
 

Casual Shinji

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Maybe I'm really out of touch with what the general public is into, but is this really considerd "risky" box art? Honestly it looks like the usual generic depiction most games have, except there's a little girl slightly infront of the badass dude.

Naughty Dog seriously had to put their foot down for this this cover? For Christ's sake... I can't keep up with this world anymore.