If you really look at this box art and think about it you will find it matches the themes perfectly. This is a series that is about this kind of man, the hero of the Gilded Age. It is like they mixed Teddy Roosevelt, Carnegie and John Galt and this is what we are left with. Am I really the only one that sees how perfectly this box art fits with this series?
It's hard to see that way, but besides being part of the marketing campaign, cover art is art, as well as the game itself. Of course, it won't stop anyone from buying and enjoying the new Bioshock, but everyone has the right to criticize a generic, boring box art.
From a commercial point of view, the box art is very important, and I'm sure you can understand that.
But we're not making money from Bioshock! The worst thing that can happen is to misrepresent the game and/or be uninteresting to potential consumers who are not looking for Generic Shooter 3: The Shotgun Strikes Back.
I don't really care much for box art myself, but I agree that they could've done better. I really loved the placeholder box art of a clear blue sky with the title only.
Really? You're sitting complaining about the box art? Will people whine about anything? When you get the game do you sit and play the game, or sit and stare at the box art? Get over it.
No offense, but box art can be a pretty big factor in whether you buy games, especially if you haven't heard of them beforehand.
For example, "Lost Odyssey" is considered to be a pretty good and, in a sense, almost "classic" JRPG. I passed that game over a hundred times while walking through the local blockbuster (back when they still had blockbuster) because the boxart looked more like an eyesore then anything else. I knew nothing about the game, but I took a look at it and thought "Yeah, this isn't for me."
Here's the European/Japanese Box Art.
While the red around the eyes is a bit... Unnerving, it looks like a fine piece of art none the less.
...Here's the American one.
Can you see why I avoided it? There is so much puke green and yellow colors on the cover, that it practically looked disgusting. The back was no better, with all the ingame screenshots being pictures of grey and brown and overall "dark" and "dreary" places.
Well, eventually I got the game and decided to play it. And you know what? I haven't run into a single bleak or puke green filtered area yet. The box art lead me to believe that the game would be an eyesore, that it would be pointlessly dreary and dull colored. It wasn't, plain and simple. And I put off getting the game for so long because the box art misled me.
Yep, it sucks. My only hope is that the Ultimate Edition has a special case or something. or that maybe it has a reversible image like Dishonored or Skyrim. I can settle. :/
But seriously, who designs those? Who says "Oh, well that box art looks awesome! "? Isn't there someone in the WHOLE team who says "Hey, guys, stop! This sucks!". I know the reason is money but still. They could have done so much better.
We don't need a fucking awesome rendering, just something decent and accurate. hell, I could do better and I'm not a full fledged graphic designer yet.
What does this mean, for I do not understand. I am not certain that this is a thing.
Though that is a seriously nice boomstick, since you bring it up. I want it. >:3
OT: The only thing that really bugs me about game packaging nowadays is the lack of manuals. The tech-savvy's creed has always been RTFM for as long as I can remember, and even if I never read the bloody thing, I'd like to have the option. Yes, even if I have my laptop sitting right next to me while I'm playing.
But as far as the cover is concerned? As long as the title is plainly readable I could give a shit. Though I'll level with you; when I saw the title of this thread, I was sure you were complaining about all the AMERICA on the box art and I was all geared up to deliver a blistering "************ have you seen this game at all in the last year that they've been telling us about everything that's in it" rant. Imagine my chagrin when it's just a thread about the dude on the cover looking all somber and gun-toting.
I've got internet fight blueballs now. It's really uncomfortable.
Okay, so....if it doesn't matter what the boxart looks like, as many people here keep saying, then, why choose that particular cover? If it doesn't matter, then they could take free reign to do whatever they want, and quite honestly I don't think they'd take that opportunity to do something so...bland? Why not take that chance to have some fun and make something cool? The Irrational peeps don't seem like the type to go "aw darn, we can do anything we want, how boring".
As for those who say it doesn't matter because digital haw haw you're all so old,umm...surely the very fact that they still need to make and sell physical copies is telling you something? Yeah, okay one day we might all move to complete digital downloads but we're not there yet. And surely some of you must work at some kind of gaming outlet, and realize that not all games are bought by the people who are going to play them? Or am I just being ever-so-quaint again?
And maybe some of us just enjoy jolly good boxart.
I bought the first Bioshock not really knowing what I got myself into. It just looked and sounded like something pretty new, and interesting enough to want and grope at and play around with. I found it to be one of the best experiences since, say, Halflife 2. Shooty-shooty stuff, a story worth mentioning, some twists, some unexpected moments, a bunch of so-so ending, but the ride was very well worth the price of admission. The box cover you ask? If I remember correctly, 'twas just some rendering of a Big Daddy of sorts? Mysterious enough for the uninitiated, a welcome memory-inducing trigger for the battle-hardened, spliced-up players. Because this first one was such a darn pleasing ride, I pre-ordered the second one in the nifty butterfly box edition. Super ultra nice sweet box, but the game was rather... OK, with a sprinkle of 'meh' added. It felt more like BioShock 1.5, or a mod of sorts. Female, swift, death-from-above enemies to contrast the lumbering, charging, very earthbound Big Daddies? OK. Replace the male mortal enemy with a female one, with a thick accent? Uhm... not quite that original, is it.
You're not taking Bioshock 2 as any indicator of Infinite's quality, are you? It was an obvious cash-in made (mostly?) by different people. If you really liked Bioshock there should be no doubt about buying Infinite.
It's hard to see that way, but besides being part of the marketing campaign, cover art is art, as well as the game itself. Of course, it won't stop anyone from buying and enjoying the new Bioshock, but everyone has the right to criticize a generic, boring box art.
From a commercial point of view, the box art is very important, and I'm sure you can understand that.
But we're not making money from Bioshock! The worst thing that can happen is to misrepresent the game and/or be uninteresting to potential consumers who are not looking for Generic Shooter 3: The Shotgun Strikes Back.
Exactly, we're not making money from Bioshock, that's not our problem. Generic box art will not hurt them in the pocket, quite the contrary.
But we're off the subject. To answer your original question, the box art matters because it is the first sign of identity for the product, part of the package for those who purchase physical copies and the work of someone who has received money to do something decent. Consumers deserve more than lazy box art, don't you think? Just by knowing the franchise, I'm sure the development team is working on something more vivid and original than Uncharted 4.
The Japanese box arts sums up the theme of ICO pretty well as a nice way to give you a good impresion. 2 GENDERLESS shadows helping each other by the hand in a big and uncaring world.
When you can extend your themes of the game to evan a simple box art, then that my friend, its art.
Hm, with Magicka: Vietnam, I always assumed that cover was meant to be a parody.
OT: I do not like this box art. It is cliche. But I wouldn't say it weights heavily on whether I'll but Bioshock Infinite or not. For the record, I'm still unsure. First Person games give me headaches. That's the biggest factor.
It's hard to see that way, but besides being part of the marketing campaign, cover art is art, as well as the game itself. Of course, it won't stop anyone from buying and enjoying the new Bioshock, but everyone has the right to criticize a generic, boring box art.
From a commercial point of view, the box art is very important, and I'm sure you can understand that.
But we're not making money from Bioshock! The worst thing that can happen is to misrepresent the game and/or be uninteresting to potential consumers who are not looking for Generic Shooter 3: The Shotgun Strikes Back.
Exactly, we're not making money from Bioshock, that's not our problem. Generic box art will not hurt them in the pocket, quite the contrary.
But we're off the subject. To answer your original question, the box art matters because it is the first sign of identity for the product, part of the package for those who purchase physical copies and the work of someone who has received money to do something decent. Consumers deserve more than lazy box art, don't you think? Just by knowing the franchise, I'm sure the development team is working on something more vivid and original than Uncharted 4.
Again, I don't think that box art is very important. Consumers deserve a good game not good box art, compared to the rest of the product the box doesn't really matter. The important thing is how good the game is, sure a cool or good looking box art doesn't hurt but I don't think it's important and it's not something I take in consideration when buying a game.
It's hard to see that way, but besides being part of the marketing campaign, cover art is art, as well as the game itself. Of course, it won't stop anyone from buying and enjoying the new Bioshock, but everyone has the right to criticize a generic, boring box art.
From a commercial point of view, the box art is very important, and I'm sure you can understand that.
But we're not making money from Bioshock! The worst thing that can happen is to misrepresent the game and/or be uninteresting to potential consumers who are not looking for Generic Shooter 3: The Shotgun Strikes Back.
Exactly, we're not making money from Bioshock, that's not our problem. Generic box art will not hurt them in the pocket, quite the contrary.
But we're off the subject. To answer your original question, the box art matters because it is the first sign of identity for the product, part of the package for those who purchase physical copies and the work of someone who has received money to do something decent. Consumers deserve more than lazy box art, don't you think? Just by knowing the franchise, I'm sure the development team is working on something more vivid and original than Uncharted 4.
Again, I don't think that box art is very important. Consumers deserve a good game not good box art, compared to the rest of the product the box doesn't really matter. The important thing is how good the game is, sure a cool or good looking box art doesn't hurt but I don't think it's important and it's not something I take in consideration when buying a game.
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.
Even though I disagree with your view of digital distribution, I have to agree that box art is the last thing I worry about when buying a game.
To me it just seems silly to get all wound up about box art, especially when it comes to a well established franchise like Bioshock. The box art isn't going to either sell, or prevent the sale of this game. Those that want to buy it have most likely already decided to, if not already took vacation time from work to play it the week that it comes out.
It could be worse, but I'll never understand why they always feel the need to mix up or crap on some lovely artwork just to attempt to appeal to some ill conceived "american" sensibilities. It's the Final Fantasy boxes that annoy me more than anything else. All final Fantasies since 7 have had that lovely stark artwork, white with one prevalent theme from the game on the box. And when they've relreleased old games they've made artwork in that style for the box, giving them a unified but separate feel. It annoys the hell out of me that the EU version of FF13 subscribes to US rules and has Lightning on the box, maybe it's an attempt to distance itself from the other games, but it just ruins the nice theme I've got going on on my shelf.
It's a Final Fantasy game, if you want it you'll buy it, and if you don't, whacking a girl on the cover isn't going to change peoples minds, they're not that thick.
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"? Isn't there someone in the WHOLE team who says "Hey, guys, stop! This sucks!". I know the reason is money but still. They could have done so much better.
