Cover Art (for xbox)

[dj898]

Any idea why we got that lousy cover art in western compared to this Japanese relese cover art? wth... o_O

any other cover art variants that you are aware of...?
Xbox
lovely JPN cover arts

http://img119.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/7/5/0/shake_2222-img418x600-11214378581.jpg

http://img141.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/5/4/8/9/spirallife21-img431x600-1120414338file0005.jpg

http://img147.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/2/3/6/5/x29kc0525jp-img600x450-1121612343dscf0011.jpg

http://img107.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/5/4/8/9/spirallife21-img426x600-1120414894file0011.jpg

and here's US cover art... notice the difference???
http://img155.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/4/2/0/1/tamaokiyama-img398x560-1120881642deus01.jpg

http://img143.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/2/8/0/9/volpheed2003-img450x600-1121498902dscf1812.jpg

http://bag04pr000.ac.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/4/1/9/samechine-imgbatch_1106891429/350x508-image7.jpg

http://img137.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/7/1/4/6/nikosuzz-img600x450-1121512840ten.jpg

US version
http://img167.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/9/9/1/7/sodas1950-img600x450-1120728921a_008.jpg

and JPN version
http://img153.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/2/0/4/5/ayane00kasumi-img410x600-1115938346ayane00kasumi_dvd__11_.jpg

http://img45.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/2/6/6/5/pierrot2004jp-img600x480-1105609010x-box_kakutouchoujin_1.jpg


PS2
and for PS2 as well... lovely... :D

http://img145.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/5/4/2/3/tomomo756jp-img450x600-1119082319slps25311-1.jpg
and its guide book cover
http://img157.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/2/1/2/7/siconjp-img600x417-1119580220untitled-10.jpg

and here's god awful US cover art. Thankfully PAL got the JPN cover art...
http://img161.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/5/7/1/0/yabeha-img600x400-1115969962ps_ghostintheshell.jpg

and its JPN cover art...
http://img137.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/6/6/2/5/geomark2-img600x450-1121348325koukaku001.jpg

http://bag03pr000.ac.yahoo.co.jp/users/3/1/2/6/zacttk2-imgbatch_1110533036/600x450-2005031000136.jpg

http://img139.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/6/4/2/3/auntoubunerima-img450x600-1121572302p1010068.jpg
o_O Broken Sword...

[Evangelion-01]

o_0 i like sudeki....

[Yakumo]

Because the Japanese always get the best cover art followed by Europe who in the last 5 years seem to keep a lot ofthe Japanese cover art.

Yakumo

[dj898]

but for those three both PAL and US got the lousy cover arts compared to these... :(

[Fabrizo]

Wow! I love that spy fiction art! Actualy, im quite certain it was done by the same artist who made my avatar (Murata Range).

[Evangelion-01]

and thats why i want to get japanese versions of saturn games :)

[hl718]

It really depends on the game and the team working on it. Sometimes the Japanese cover art is better, sometimes it's worse or simply equally as bad. ;)

-hl718

[XerdoPwerko]

Yeah, and sometimes nice, elegant anime-style covers that look delicious are not deemed "marketable" by U.S. executives, and thus, we get a consumer-friendly makeover.

There's great american designers that could make covers that are equally well presented, and the japanese boxart could be kept or modified a bit for the market.

But it just doesn't happen. It never did in the 80s, it sometimes does now.
I guess there's progress.

[Perkunas]

Which reminds me, ICO's American box art was a monstrosity. ;)

[dj898]

look at the Ghost in The Shell for PS2.
The US is by far the ugliest one and PAL release got something more decent as it uses the same art style as JPN version though not the same cover art as I thought initionally...

also I love Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II cover arts for JPN...
compared to this wth happened with PAL and US? :(
consumer friendly my arse... :p

[LeGIt]

Probably because no matter how ugly the cover is over here the game will sell, but in Japan with the xbox being such a failure it's the only way they can attract customers :o

[dj898]

well to attract the customer, M$ should start to put pretty young girl in school uniform or rather risky costumes on every JPN xbox titles...
that will move them by tons I will tell ya! :p

either that or along this line... he he

naughty pic (http://img43.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/7/3/8/0/snetproper-img391x567-111345775513id-020.jpg)

gotta luv when they use "f" word on the cover... o_O

[Topic Archive]

^Rofl

:smt043

:smt045

:smt042

[Mr. Casual]

I definitely like the Anime styling on those Japanese box arts. I used to judge games by their cover, until the bad boxart thread started. So many gems, some with scary boxart, and "Porno Charlie's angels shooters" games. :smt042

[GaijinPunch]

It really depends on the game and the team working on it. Sometimes the Japanese cover art is better, sometimes it's worse or simply equally as bad. ;

If only that were true. Japanese cover art is always better except for very rare flukes.


but in Japan with the xbox being such a failure it's the only way they can attract customers

The theory holds true for any system though. There's a multi-page thread in OT with many examples.

[Alien Workshop]

No, Japanese box art isn't always better. Not at all. Some people are just in love with everything Japanese, so they say that, but US box art isn't bad. In fact that's what I prefer, US box art.

http://www.toysnjoys.com/xbox/metalslug3.jpg

or

http://www.ambogiochi.it/images/xbox_metalSlug3_jap_b.jpg

The first one is clearly better.

[Mr. Casual]

I agree 100% on that one. :smt045

[Johnny]

Well, 90% of japanese art covers are better than the US ones.

Examples:

Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams -> PS1 longbox
ICO -> PS2
Tekken 4 -> PS2
...

[Mr. Casual]

Any pics?

[Alien Workshop]

Well, 90% of japanese art covers are better than the US ones.

Examples:

Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams -> PS1 longbox
ICO -> PS2
Tekken 4 -> PS2
...

That's your opinion not mine. Don't say "well 90% blah blah blah" like it's strait fact, because it isn't. It's an opinion.

[The VGM]

Their Breakdown cover doesn't look better....

[Johnny]

That's your opinion not mine. Don't say "well 90% blah blah blah" like it's strait fact, because it isn't. It's an opinion.

Well, i expressed my opinion. Just because i said that it doesn't need to be a fact.

I thought that a message board was to people share and discuss their opinions. Am i wrong? :rolleyes:

[Evangelion-01]

Their Breakdown cover doesn't look better....yeah, looks very americanish :smt083

[Mr. Casual]

Well, i expressed my opinion. Just because i said that it doesn't need to be a fact.

I thought that a message board was to people share and discuss their opinions. Am i wrong? :rolleyes:
You "expressed your opinion" like it was fact.

Well, 90% of japanese art covers are better than the US ones. (WRONG WAY)

Well, I think 90% of japanese art covers are better than the US ones. (CORRECT WAY)
:smt023

[Kron]

Its more likely 98% of Japanese covers are better than the US counterparts anway.

Quite funny to see the J Sudeki cover, Especially considering the game has some of the most generic western in game design thats ever been used, I'd love to have seen the faces of any J consumers who powered it up for the first time (either of them).


No, Japanese box art isn't always better. Not at all. Some people are just in love with everything Japanese, so they say that, but US box art isn't bad. In fact that's what I prefer, US box art.

http://www.toysnjoys.com/xbox/metalslug3.jpg

or

http://www.ambogiochi.it/images/xbox_metalSlug3_jap_b.jpg

The first one is clearly better.

Much better use of colour on the J cover, And the art style is a better representation of the actual game.

[Johnny]

You "expressed your opinion" like it was fact.

Well, 90% of japanese art covers are better than the US ones. (WRONG WAY)

Well, I think 90% of japanese art covers are better than the US ones. (CORRECT WAY)
:smt023

No shit?!?!?

:boobies2

Ok, next time, i'll put the I THINK in big letters and underlined ok. :-D

[Evangelion-01]

Its more likely 98% of Japanese covers are better than the US counterparts anway.

Quite funny to see the J Sudeki cover, Especially considering the game has some of the most generic western in game design thats ever been used, I'd love to have seen the faces of any J consumers who powered it up for the first time (either of them).



Much better use of colour on the J cover, And the art style is a better representation of the actual game.the japanese artwork is more like the game artwork, american is more like THIS IS FUCKING HARD CORE, BUY IT!

[Mr. Casual]

I think the J cover for it is messy and unorganized. Even though it "doesnt represent the game", I think it looks cool. I also think the hot color on the USA version is better than the cool color on the J version. It is an action game after all.

[dj898]

Quite funny to see the J Sudeki cover, Especially considering the game has some of the most generic western in game design thats ever been used, I'd love to have seen the faces of any J consumers who powered it up for the first time (either of them).


probably bloody ripped off I'd say...
I would if I picked up Sudeki on its cover art and finding the in game characters not even look similar... he he

[Alien Workshop]

Well, i expressed my opinion. Just because i said that it doesn't need to be a fact.

I thought that a message board was to people share and discuss their opinions. Am i wrong? :rolleyes:

Yeah, but you were still throwing that statement around like it was strait fact.


Its more likely 98% of Japanese covers are better than the US counterparts anway.



That's still your opinion. In my opinion, 99% of US covers are better than the JPN counterparts.




Much better use of colour on the J cover, And the art style is a better representation of the actual game.

I still think the US box art is better. What about Sudeki, the US cover is a better representation of the game, but you wouldn't dare say it was better than the JPN cover would you.

[Jasonkhowell]

It depends on the game. For example, I like the US boxart for MGS3 then the alternate Japanese and PAL versions.

[Fabrizo]

Sometimes pal box art, not just the jap one, is the best version, ex: Resident Evil 4 (imo)

[XerdoPwerko]

I like the purple Metal Slug 3 boxart.
It's better composed and the characters look better. But to each his own. The other one's cool too, but the colour is too unbalanced for my taste.

Let's not throw statistics around. It's a matter of taste.

[dj898]

isn't it ironic that with MS people don't say about its cover art where as on Xbox/PS2 ports the opinions are divided.
personally I like JPN one coz that characters art is based on original NeoGeo one and US art though look fine does not have any relationship to original NeoGeo characters art...

btw this is my opinion anyway and only for MS... :p

[GaijinPunch]

I think what can be agreed upon is that the opposite region often fucks up the cover art. Japanese do it with movies quite often. The US does it with (what little I've seen of) anime covers. As stated before, America's style is much more "in your face","this is hardcore, buy it or your a lamer" whereas the Japanese side often goes for the "less is more" look (and is by design standards better, IMHO). This is an anamoly as Japan has some bloody awful design out there.

Why is every Japanese DC cover better than it's US or UK counterpart? B/c 25% of the cover isn't covered up by a crappy logo.

[dj898]

Why is every Japanese DC cover better than it's US or UK counterpart? B/c 25% of the cover isn't covered up by a crappy logo.


i will second that! :D
and whoever thought the case design was good should be dragged out and shot!

[Alien Workshop]

I think what can be agreed upon is that the opposite region often fucks up the cover art. Japanese do it with movies quite often. The US does it with (what little I've seen of) anime covers. As stated before, America's style is much more "in your face","this is hardcore, buy it or your a lamer" whereas the Japanese side often goes for the "less is more" look (and is by design standards better, IMHO). This is an anamoly as Japan has some bloody awful design out there.


Yes, well that's just the game company catering the cover design for the intended audience so their product will sell. The fact is, if the US covers featured the same, anime style art, they wouldn't sell as well. Although anime has become more widely accepted, it is still considered by the majority to be gay, because anime is still associated with pokemon and Dragon Ball Z. Also, the gaming world is comprised mostly of casual gamers who basically live for that "in yo face" style. They don't want the game if it isn't "cool". That is why the US cover art is "in you face".

One example I can think of right now where I like the JPN box art better than the US box art is Doom for Sega Saturn.

[PhantasyStar]

It depends on the game. For example, I like the US boxart for MGS3 then the alternate Japanese and PAL versions.

Yeah, the MGS3 US cover is awesome compared to the other two.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Any idea why we got that lousy cover art in western compared to this Japanese relese cover art? wth... o_O
It's done to piss off 100% of wannabe "otakus" and give 98% of them something to whine about on the Internet.


...word is bondage...

[Yakumo]

Why is every Japanese DC cover better than it's US or UK counterpart? B/c 25% of the cover isn't covered up by a crappy logo.
Right on bro :smt082 I hate all that in your face shite. Remember when almost ever add in a US magazine featured some dope with his face close up to the camera in a fish eye lense type of way? I hated that so much. In your face doesn't do anything for me what so ever.

Yakumo

PS: And yes there are some shitty Japanese covers out there but not that many.

[Johnny]

It depends on the game. For example, I like the US boxart for MGS3 then the alternate Japanese and PAL versions.

Gotta agree with you in this case.

[XerdoPwerko]

Yeah, one thing is taste, and another different thing is whether something, even in bad taste, sells.

From a design perspective, Japanese design is better balanced and more discrete, and American design is more Marketing In Your Face. Sometimes, though, the marketing department really screws up, while trying to adapt design to their imperfect interpretation of a stereotype, that is their target audience/consumer. They give it elements that can be associated in the typical consumer mind... but even if there's a target consumer, I don't thing everyone is this average with which the marketers underestimate all of us - and it's simply an aggregate made to boost sales that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but always looks ugly in the process.
Thus, we sometimes get art that's a little too obvious in its changes to sell. I don't know. It might. But from an actual aesthetic perspective, it does not look successful.
I'm not saying some art isn't great. The american version of ZOE2 still looks great, the Working Designs versions of Gungriffon and Silpheed as well.
It all depends on how much a company can balance the aesthetics of a cover and a game, and still have a little marketing that doesn't screw anything up. It's not really about nationality, it simply happens that american marketing is sometimes way too in control. I'm sure it'd happen down here too.

[Taemos]

I love the Deus Ex cover :). Most of those do look better, although I can't say I wouldn't get sick of Japanese covers. I'm not a big anime person :p.

[Funkstar De Luxe]

Life is too short to complain about a video games cover art.

[GaijinPunch]

I've not really seen a lot of recent game covers as I don't really go to those stores, but I couldn't help but noticingin borders that the US market (for movies, dvds, etc.) can't help but write what other people think about the product right on the front. Who fucking cares?

[Taemos]

I've not really seen a lot of recent game covers as I don't really go to those stores, but I couldn't help but noticingin borders that the US market (for movies, dvds, etc.) can't help but write what other people think about the product right on the front. Who fucking cares?

I haven't seen that too much. I've seen it on plenty of movie boxes (damn them for putting it on the Crow), though...

[Fabrizo]

I don't mind them quoting people on the back of game cases, but having them on the front is unacceptable. Just one of the reasons I refuse to buy Ikaruga for Gamecube (i've played it on DC, and will probably get my own copy of that ver at some point).

[Mr. Casual]

I don't mind them quoting people on the back of game cases, but having them on the front is unacceptable. Just one of the reasons I refuse to buy Ikaruga for Gamecube (i've played it on DC, and will probably get my own copy of that ver at some point).
When I read Gaijin's comment, thats exactly what I was thinking about!

[XerdoPwerko]

Funny stuff, about imitation. Pirates in Mexican copies write their own "reviews" and "comments" on the bootleg covers of DVDs and games - sometimes without even seeing the movies or playing the games.
Boy, are they embarassingly bad...

Of course, this is copying the american way of selling movies through covers. I think it sucks, as well.

There's been good comments on the back. One of them would sell you FF7 -

"Quite Possibly, the Greatest Game Ever Made"

That was one hell of a quote.

[theravemaster]

It depends on the game. For example, I like the US boxart for MGS3 then the alternate Japanese and PAL versions.

I see what you're saying, the Japanese version is a little plain, and the PAL version also isn't a bright as the US cover. But how about the PAL Metal Edition ;)

http://users.tpg.com.au/miller11/mgs_tin2.jpg