Games you bought just for the cover art?

[Randoman01]

I would like to know, was there any game that you just bought because the cover art looked awesome?

Here is an example of mine: Universe at war: Earth Assault. I thought that game would be awesome because of that huge alien walker on the front. So I thought that the game would be awesome. It was good but not awesome but still had fun playing it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

No, never. That'd be like buying a book for its cover. Or catching a movie for its poster. Not something I would ever do. An interesting cover art might drive me to look up the game on the internet, tops.

 

[shrekfan246]

Does that include the back cover?

If so, at least two of my PS2 game purchases were made almost solely off of what I saw on the box: Okami and Shadow of the Colossus.

Spoiler: Okami

Spoiler: Shadow of the Colossus

Yeah, I got those without knowing a single thing about them. And I didn't regret a single moment of it, either.

That was before I was really following any kind of gaming news or websites, though (with the exception of X-Play, actually). Most of what I was interested in at the time hinged on what I saw commercials for or what my friends were talking about, and lord knows that back in high school nobody knew about either of those games. I'm probably one of about four people in the entire state of Vermont who actually bought Okami for the PS2.

 

[Stg]

Back in the day before the Internet was useful for the everyday person, all we had to go off was the box art. Although, I'm sure that really only applied to the generations leading up to the PS1 era. Since I grew up in the desert an hour from the nearest town, my family didn't get a computer until I was 14 and we didn't get the internet until a year later (good ol dial-up). Even when we got the internet, I had never thought to use it for gaming advice.

So, I'd have to say that all of my PS1, N64, SNES, and NES games were purchased based solely off their cover art. Although, now that I think about it, a good portion of my N64 and PS1 purchases were probably from demo disks and in-store displays.

 

[Jason Rayes]

Does that include the back cover?

If so, at least two of my PS2 game purchases were made almost solely off of what I saw on the box: Okami and Shadow of the Colossus.

Spoiler: Okami

Spoiler: Shadow of the Colossus

Yeah, I got those without knowing a single thing about them. And I didn't regret a single moment of it, either.

That was before I was really following any kind of gaming news or websites, though (with the exception of X-Play, actually). Most of what I was interested in at the time hinged on what I saw commercials for or what my friends were talking about, and lord knows that back in high school nobody knew about either of those games. I'm probably one of about four people in the entire state of Vermont who actually bought Okami for the PS2.

Boy you lucked out there, two absolute classics

OT: I've never bought a game for its cover, I prefer to know something about it before I jump on in. I have bought a game cold just because I saw who the developer was.

 

[shrekfan246]

Does that include the back cover?

If so, at least two of my PS2 game purchases were made almost solely off of what I saw on the box: Okami and Shadow of the Colossus.

Spoiler: Okami

Spoiler: Shadow of the Colossus

Yeah, I got those without knowing a single thing about them. And I didn't regret a single moment of it, either.

That was before I was really following any kind of gaming news or websites, though (with the exception of X-Play, actually). Most of what I was interested in at the time hinged on what I saw commercials for or what my friends were talking about, and lord knows that back in high school nobody knew about either of those games. I'm probably one of about four people in the entire state of Vermont who actually bought Okami for the PS2.

Boy you lucked out there, two absolute classics

Yeah, pretty much. XD

Okami was one of the few games I've ever let a friend borrow too; I loved it so much that I convinced my best friend he had to play it, so he borrowed it for a few weeks over the summer and he ended up completely 100%-ing it before giving it back to me.

OT: I've never bought a game for its cover, I prefer to know something about it before I jump on in. I have bought a game cold just because I saw who the developer was.

I actually did this just recently too, with Klei's Invisible, Inc. I don't particularly like Steam Early Access as a matter of course, but I absolutely love most of Klei's previous work and they've proven themselves to be committed both to their games and their community with Don't Starve, so once I saw a video or two of the game on Youtube just to check out what kind of genre the gameplay was this time around, it pretty much guaranteed them a purchase from me even before it has a full release.

 

[Jason Rayes]

I actually did this just recently too, with Klei's Invisible, Inc. I don't particularly like Steam Early Access as a matter of course, but I absolutely love most of Klei's previous work and they've proven themselves to be committed both to their games and their community with Don't Starve, so once I saw a video or two of the game on Youtube just to check out what kind of genre the gameplay was this time around, it pretty much guaranteed them a purchase from me even before it has a full release.

I'm not a fan of Early Access either, I feel like I'm paying to beta test. When it's a developer you know and trust though its a bit easier to take the leap. And Don't Starve is awesome

My real worry with Early Access games is when it's an unknown developer, you really don't know if you will ever actual get a proper full release.

 

[shrekfan246]

I actually did this just recently too, with Klei's Invisible, Inc. I don't particularly like Steam Early Access as a matter of course, but I absolutely love most of Klei's previous work and they've proven themselves to be committed both to their games and their community with Don't Starve, so once I saw a video or two of the game on Youtube just to check out what kind of genre the gameplay was this time around, it pretty much guaranteed them a purchase from me even before it has a full release.

I'm not a fan of Early Access either, I feel like I'm paying to beta test. When it's a developer you know and trust though its a bit easier to take the leap. And Don't Starve is awesome

Klei's pretty awesome, if you ask me.

My real worry with Early Access games is when it's an unknown developer, you really don't know if you will ever actual get a proper full release.

But yeah, I feel exactly the same way. I don't like the lack of oversight currently shown to developers on Early Access, it's just not conducive to a healthy development cycle. I mean, sure, they'll get bad press from the people who bought the game and that could very well harm them if they ever do finish it and then try to move on to a new thing, but they still get the money... oh well. That's why I do generally research pretty heavily into games/developers before buying these days. I definitely haven't made an impulse buy on something I knew nothing about in years.

 

[Jason Rayes]

I definitely haven't made an impulse buy on something I knew nothing about in years.

Ditto on impulse buys, I've been burned before and there is nothing quite like that depressing feeling you get when you get home and this great looking game is actually...........really really awful.....

 

[Malpraxis]

Starcraft for the N64.

Never. Again.

 

[Axelotus07]

Not too long ago I picked up 'Time and Eternity' for PS3. I had never seen or heard anything about it, and I made the purchase based solely on the box art.

The fact that the game was entirely hand drawn seemed appealing, and the way that the box art presented itself I thought it would be an alright RPG to say least. Unfortunately, I thought it was pretty bad, despite how original the graphic design was. I guess you could say that I learned my lesson on impulse buying from now on.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

Rainbow Six Vegas and Saints row 1. I was young, but those were games I will never regret buying!! So good!

 

[MeatMachine]

Not from box art, no - but I spent about $100 on The Elder Scrolls Online after watching the trailers and Harry Partridge's video.

"Hey hey! Skyrim was awesome - so this must be Skyrim WITH MULTIPLAYER!"

...

As a man who's Team Fortress 2 inventory is worth over a thousand dollars in COSMETIC ITEMS ALONE, I can safely say I've never had buyer's remorse this bad in my life until now.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

Bought a game? Nope. Become interested in a game? Sure, plenty of times. Like my friend says, I'm a sucker for good art.

 

[FPLOON]

Just these two:

Spoiler: Hyperdimension Neptunia

http://operationrainfall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Neptunia_premium.jpg

Spoiler: Fate/EXTRA

http://media.animevice.com/uploads/3/33062/593107-fate_extra.jpg

One introduced me to some awesome characters and the other introduced me to another VN game that I really should get a chance to play already... Although, the latter I mainly bought because it came in a limited edition version with an art book and soundtrack...

 

[Happiness Assassin]

I have never bought a game based on coverart, but there are some that really impressed me. Most box art I just find super boring or bland, but some are really cool. The most recent one would have to be the Dragon Age: Inquisition boxart, if only for amazing use of negative space.

Spoiler: Original

Spoiler: Negative

 

[Corven]

I'd have to say pretty much all my sega genisis games that I ever bought as a kid since they were all 2nd hand and all I had to go on to gauge its quality was the art on the cartridge.

It usually didn't turn out too well, good thing the store I bought them from had a good 7 day return policy.

 

[PureChaos]

If there was a game I saw and was interested in I'd always do some research to find out what it was like before buying it. I'd never buy one purely for the cover art, if I wanted a game for that I'd buy a poster instead

 

[Monsterfurby]

Suikoden 2 - and then it turned out to be the best JRPG I have ever played, even to this day. Funny how things go.