Are there any examples of good American box art?

[dragongit]

Just something that tickled my mind for a moment. Looking up Final Fantasy 14, and compared to both Japan and Europe, our box art is rather simple and lame. (sorry if the images are large)
Japanese:

Spoiler

Europe:

Spoiler

And of course, America:

Spoiler

I just don't understand why we couldn't simply have either the Japanese box for the most part, or at least come up with something that feels a bit more artistic. Is there some marketing reason behind it all? Is the American public at large to a point where we need to shove poorly made art that often triest to tell the plot of the game or else they won't want to buy it? It's been pretty universal that American gamers often don't like the comparison. I'd dig up a few more examples but I'm lazy, and I'm sure many of you can recite by heart notible examples (Ico, Megaman, Amnesia dark Decent, Resident Evil 4 )

Has there ever been a time where the American box art sort of topped other countries? I can't think of any examples honestly. And not just art that actually was shared through all regions, times were America actually had the best. Yea I know the box doesn't matter, it's the game. but it's still sad to think there has to be a reason to the madness. I doubt Amnesia would have sold have as well if it was only sold via boxed copies with no help through steam.(it wouldn't have anyway, but I feel it would even be a fraction of that.)

 

[Elijin]

So More = better?

Because I would say Japan got the shitty box art for your example. Im still deciding preference between Europe and America, but Im leaning America.

 

[Nouw]

Errr I'd say the American box-art and the Japanese box-art are on par. Both could have been executed better but one ended up being a mess by having way too much going on and the other is kinda boring. They're both cool, but they fall-flat after a few glances.

Anyhow, none come to mind right now. I'm sure there are some obscure examples people are dying to post though.

 

[DoPo]

The Japanese cover reminds me a bit of Josh Kirby's artwork for the Discworld novels - both in style (a bit) and in putting lots of details there. However, while I like Kirby's work, really like it a lot, the Japanese cover doesn't do it for me - it's just a lot of characters, Kirby interweaves scenes and details from all over the book. What the game's cover tells me is that there are a crapton of characters. And that's it. Well, maybe they are at a dance party, dunno.

Now, the Eurapean cover has much cleaner detail and looks much better to me. OK, I've not played the game, haven't really heard of it, nor have I played any other FF games, however, just by looking at the cover, here is what I can find right away - there is a big (pun, lol) bad guy who looks like an armoured goat and there is a team of heroes who seem to be setting out on a journey to oppose him (also pun, lol). Also, there will be dragons ahead. If I combine it with the title, I can guess that the BBEG is an evil ruler, and the good guys want to reclaim the realm. Or something like that - he may have destroyed a land, dunno. See, I already know stuff. OK, if the story depicted wasn't like 90% of the stories, it would have been more interesting. Also if the good guys didn't look like 100% of the good guy groups. Seriously, I mean, they probably don't want to put too many characters, however, they could have tried - I can see the warrior and the wizard, I'm pretty sure the guy in front should be a priest and the one to the right...well, OK, looks like a bard more than a thief, but it's still The Most Generic Band Of Heroes®©?. I mean, you could at least put the silhouettes of a larger band of people - you don't need to be able to distinguish each of them but I don't think any of the people from the Japanese cover look like the ones on the Eurapean version. Well, maybe the chick at 11 o'clock seems a bit like that bard figure but whatever.

And the US version...meh - some dude with a sword. It reminds me of Dark Souls for some reason. I'm given no context and can't work out anything. Well, maybe that vague background is supposed to be the realm, so maybe he's the one who wants it reborn?

 

[jnixon]

They'll change the box art to suit the different culture, in japan there is a huge fan base in anime styled games so the box art there is going to emphasise that, in my opinion americas got the best deal on this game however

 

[Lieju]

I find that Japanese cover too busy.
European is OK, and the US is just weird.

It's just some dude.
And the pose is weird, I thought first he is falling backwards. It just looks like a random screen shot to me.
It certainly doesn't tell me anything about the game.
I'm guessing you fight a dude in a forest?
If he is supposed to be the Big Bad, I'm not impressed.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Well, I have nothing to add in terms of examples (especially considering I don't see much American box art), but I will say I adore that Japanese cover, EU comes second and US third by a long way. I just love the style. Like concept art. The EU one is a bit generic but at least establishes that the guy who's the outline is the big bad and you'll be defeating him with a party of various other characters. The US one is all washed out and depicts the guy in a forest, like that's meant to tell us something.

 

[Caiphus]

What do you know? Art is subjective.

Europe > US > Japan for me in this case.

The Japanese cover reminds me a bit of Josh Kirby's artwork for the Discworld novels

Yes! Although, like you said, not as good.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I don't know about 'better' but it looks to me like the American box art is trying to appeal to the Skyrim audience.

 

[Woodsey]

The Japanese one is fucking ugly, if it helps.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

Going into it blind, I'd never even check the back of the box on the Japanese cover. The EU one, I would. And let's not talk about the American one anymore. It is stupid.

So the lesson here is... "buy your games from Europe" I guess.

Dead Rising is my favorite game to point to whenever box art discussions come up. I loved the covers from other markets. The one from America isn't bad either though, I just felt like the other ones had a more overwhelmed defeated kind of feel to them. And I mined those foreign covers for avatars and blog banners for years.

But as has been said, it's just a cultural thing. It's the same reason movies get their endings edited to be more upbeat (even though the fans often hate that). There's a perception among those in charge of this sort of thing that different is bad and that they should not take a risk. So American companies often go with what has worked in the past. And all too often that means something safe and banal rather than different and exciting.

Meh, it is what it is. And in the information age we live in today, it's not like we can't look up stuff like this. Hence this post. We all win because we all get to see each version if we're so inclined.

 

[Arkaijn]

The European box art fits the title nicely

 

[The_Echo]

Ick, that NA boxart is atrocious. We don't even get the full logo for the game!

I think the only time the American boxart for a Japanese game is good is when they don't change the boxart.

Although, I do like both the American and Japanese covers for Digimon World 3.

Spoiler: Japanese

Spoiler: American

 

[Comocat]

I'd say the EU and US box art convey an actual message, whereas the Japanese box art looks like something you'd give a kid. Both the EU and US art seem sort of tense, suggesting a conflict to be overcome in the game. The japanese cover actually hurts my eyes trying to figure out whats going on, making the message muddled and annoying.

Furthermore, the solitary cover on the US art seems to reflect our values of independence and self-reliance. I cant speak much to EU values, but I think having a team confronting the menance is probably telling.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I've never really felt that box art was very important. Just as long as the game hasn't been drastically changed between regions, it doesn't matter, especially when we are the types of gamers who have access to trailers, previews, and reviews. That doesn't mean I want bad box art, but as long as the game is just as good in the U.S. as it is in Japan or Europe, it doesn't really matter in the end.

 

[MasterMasamune]

A trend I've seen with Japanese box art for RPGs compared to American box art is that Japanese art tends to focus on the group and American art tends to focus on the self. This tends to result in the Japanese box looking like a cluttered, ugly mess since it tries too hard to show every major character in the game, and the American box being dull, dark, and washed over, not at all conveying the actual tone of the game. A perfect example of this is the Disgaea series. Here's the box art for Disgaea 3.

Spoiler: Japanese

Spoiler: American

The Japanese box art shows almost all of the main characters alongside some of the generic classes, while the American box art (which was also used for the European release) only shows Mao, the main character. The Japanese art is noticably brighter, and the American art is darker. Cultural differences and such.

BTW, I think the best cover for FFXIV is the European cover; the American and Japanese ones are equally awful.

 

[Glongpre]

The american one is trying to appeal to the COD crowd, I remember reading about how a lot of games feature a single person in an action pose in the centre like a "badass". I remember how Infinite got some flak for doing that just for marketing purposes, they even added an alternate cover because Levine didn't like the original or something.

 

[sextus the crazy]

European is the best hands down; the japanese one is too busy and the US one is too boring.

 

[piinyouri]

I wish there were more minimal style covers, like the European covers for Resident Evil 4 and Dragons Dogma.

Spoiler: RE4 in Europe

Spoiler: Dragons Dogma in Europe

Spoiler: American covers for comparison

US always has the protagonist on the front, with some kind of weapon, looking angry/'badass'. It just gets really tiring after awhile.

Also the US cover for DD is far too busy, both the original and Dark Arisen.

 

[Da Orky Man]

No-one brought up ICO yet?

Spoiler: Left is European, right is North America

EDIT: Apologies, forgot to add suitable sarcasm. The NA ICO looks awful (No sarcasm).