Ugly Logos Ruin Classy and Artistic Resistance 3 Box Art

[John Funk]

Ugly Logos Ruin Classy and Artistic Resistance 3 Box Art

The Resistance 3 box art is everything that normal videogame art isn't - it's minimalist, classy and even artistic - but those damned logos ruin it.

It's no secret that when it comes to box art for videogames, America North American counterpart [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8631-Extra-Punctuation-American-Box-Art-Sucks], and you'll see what I mean.

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Not so with Resistance 3. Insomniac community manager James Stevenson unveiled the art that would be used on the box for the upcoming PS3 shooter a bunch of "classy" videogame art [http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/18/resistance-3-box-art-revealed-demo-with-battle-los-angeles-blu-ray/] back in 2009 - created a minimalist and striking piece of art that communicates much without being overwrought and tacky.

The skull is obviously inhuman, suggesting to a viewer that Here There Be Aliens, or monsters, or whatever. The teeth on said skull form the New York City skyline, which tells us where the game is set and also implies that the aliens are destroying it (and by consequence, destroying us). And finally, in an alternate version of the box art, protagonist Joesph Capelli walks wearily towards the image of NYC, showing us his destination and that the act of resisting the Chimera has taken its toll.

Everything about this box art is fantastic ... except for all the logos. "Only on PlayStation." "PlayStation Move Compatible." "3D Compatible." Sony's logo, Insomniac's logo, PSN's logo, and the ESRB rating - they all mar this lovely, subtle piece of artwork. It's frustrating, really.

I get that Sony wants to be communicating as much about the technical capabilities of the game as it can - and the publisher and developer both want credit at a glance. So I can't really blame Sony or Insomniac for all the logos; that's just how things are done.

But man, what a shame.

(PS Blog [http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/18/resistance-3-box-art-revealed-demo-with-battle-los-angeles-blu-ray/])

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[Ekonk]

I think we should get rid of those big-ass logo's anyway. When was the last time a pretty book cover was demolished by thousands upon thousands of logo's?

That's right. It never happened.

 

[Korten12]

Still looks fine imo.

 

[gigastar]

The answer? Put the logos on a plastic overcover for the box, like with (the European) Killzone 3 and the Premier Edition of Red Alert 3.

That way the silly logos and age rating arent actually on the boxart. You can even displace the title like this.

 

[Irridium]

Do they really need the PSN logo on there? Really?

 

[Braedan]

The labels look pretty bad. Anyone who cares who made the game will either know anyways, or check.
The playstation game case itself is good enough to let people know what system. Also a sticker with "playstation move compatible" over top of the plastic, and a footnote on the back would suffice.

That said I'm not really offended, I'm just giving opinion on what could be done with covers, there's too much shit on all of them.

 

[Truly-A-Lie]

I think the art in this case is great enough to overcome logo damage. I cannot express my love for that box art. The ideal scenario for me would be a card slipcase that simple has the artwork and a little "PS3" at the top right, not unlike the Heavy Rain special edition.

 

[Canadish]

It does seem to ruin the whole look they were going for. As you say, a waste.

It's a shame the franchise itself lost all its charm and originality after the first one.
Now it's just pulling the same crap that Roland Emmerich does with his movies;
"Ohhhh look, its that building you know! And now its blowing up! That means you care! Pay attention to my movie/game!"

Seriously, has anyone else noticed how many games lately have been set in a blown up New York?

 

[standokan]

Somewhere, the box/art designer is crying, I feel your pain bro, we all do.

 

[Orange Lazarus]

I think we should get rid of those big-ass logo's anyway. When was the last time a pretty book cover was demolished by thousands upon thousands of logo's?

That's right. It never happened.

Well that's because people don't really care about who published the book, or on what typewriter the book they are buying was written. Once the same isn't true of video games, then I'm sure we'll have no problem with logos mucking up the front cover.

 

[theriddlen]

Reminds me of this video:

 

[Delusibeta]

Here's hoping an unobstructed version will be printed on the reverse of the label (after all, if Nintendo can do it with the forthcoming Xenosaga game, and if EA can do it with Red Alert 3...)

 

[beema]

ugghhh the worst offender has to be the big stupid blue Move blob at the top.

they could have at least made the row of logos at the bottom smaller in size.

as a graphic designer, seeing stuff like this sends me in to a murderous rage

 

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

Can't say I'm exactly digging this.

It's pretty monochrome for one thing (which could suggest that in turn the game is, and from what I've seen that's not the case). Furthermore, there really isn't enough going on to catch my interest. It's not bad by any means, but... meh from me. Resistance 2 had a much better box art, imo (at least the European version, I don't know and don't wanna know what you poor sods in the US got).

Also, I think I'm alone on this, but L.A. Noire has badass boxart.

 

[nohorsetown]

I agree, the logos (and abundance of them) are terrible, and I'd add that I think the font is pretty terrible too. Why have multiple Statues of Liberty? The font is just too shaky and "badass" for the relatively graceful cover art. Also, Man-Walking-Towards-the-City (2nd image) is an improvement; Gnarly-Skull-and-Crossed-Guns (3rd image) is not. And I don't like that shade of orange. And the cover should be made of Rorschach-Mask-Material. And it needs more cowbell.

 

[GeeksUtopia]

wow this art work looks nice and gets the message through, what needs to be done with the logos is to put the logos on the back of the cover or as previously mentioned put the logos on a plastic cover

 

[Blanks]

double post eh?

 

[Blanks]

You think that's bad? have you seen the Batman Arkham Asylum GotY edition boxart? 5 companies, and nothing but word all over it.

 

[Woodsey]

I think we should get rid of those big-ass logo's anyway. When was the last time a pretty book cover was demolished by thousands upon thousands of logo's?

That's right. It never happened.

Yes, its not like books and games are different things.

OT: Aye, 'tis a shame.

(Not that I can remember the last time I looked at box art.)

 

[WouldYouKindly]

It's kinda gaudy, yeah. Still not as bad as the gap which basically makes people pay to be walking billboards.