Well sometimes it does work and it works well:Mr.PlanetEater said:
Other times not so much...>>
Why does American game box art suck.
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Other times not so much...>>
Happens in other countries. Left4Dead 2 was changed over here as the 2 fingers up here is swearing in the UK. A bit like the middle finger is swearing in USA.
I like artsy covers but guess in some cases they don't work as well as having the main characters on the cover.
I like artsy covers but guess in some cases they don't work as well as having the main characters on the cover.
I don't buy the 'Americans are accustomed to faces' line. Everyone is accustomed to faces in advertising. I mean, advertising is basically faces.
I guess a better argument would be: Americans aren't accustomed to minimal imagery or abstract images when it comes to advertising. Even that is a pretty lame and general swipe though. I see the change in box art to be more of a following of tradition rather than an inability on the Americans' part. Games with faces sell there, so why stop?
The most extreme ones were always the FF games for me. The Japanese and European versions tended to have just the Logo on a white background. That's all you need.
I think we are slowly starting to see a trend that box art is getting better. With the internet culture and NeoGaf designing their own box art, professionals are slowly warming to the idea of making them more risky. Covers like the new GoW (which I really thought would simply be a bust shot of Kratos) and Heavy Rain are nice surprises.
The image you are using is not the final Heavy Rain box art, I think. It's this:
I guess a better argument would be: Americans aren't accustomed to minimal imagery or abstract images when it comes to advertising. Even that is a pretty lame and general swipe though. I see the change in box art to be more of a following of tradition rather than an inability on the Americans' part. Games with faces sell there, so why stop?
The most extreme ones were always the FF games for me. The Japanese and European versions tended to have just the Logo on a white background. That's all you need.
I think we are slowly starting to see a trend that box art is getting better. With the internet culture and NeoGaf designing their own box art, professionals are slowly warming to the idea of making them more risky. Covers like the new GoW (which I really thought would simply be a bust shot of Kratos) and Heavy Rain are nice surprises.
The image you are using is not the final Heavy Rain box art, I think. It's this:
Those aren't american and overseas boxes, one is resident evil 4 wii and the other is the gamecube version, we have the same boxart over here.ramik81 said:Here's another example:
Oversees Resident Evil 4
American
We uhmureecans require a lot of stimulus. We don't understand the concept of "subtly" in advertising. If we can't see who we're supposed to relate to, we're just not interested.
I think this might have to do more with story telling. American story telling is always very centered around characters in the story rather then the elements of the tale. But many other cultures have a more "lesson" based style of story telling, where the overall message that the story has to tell is more important.
Maybe this is why Kirby is always so pissed off in American covers as opposed to the happy, cheerful self he is in Japanese covers...
Most of the time, boxart can show you how much a developer cares for their games. I once read an article about how long it took VALVe to decide on their Left 4 Dead cover. When games are shipped overseas it means the American side hasn't personally developed the game. Without that personal connection, the boxart might suffer.
Most of the time, boxart can show you how much a developer cares for their games. I once read an article about how long it took VALVe to decide on their Left 4 Dead cover. When games are shipped overseas it means the American side hasn't personally developed the game. Without that personal connection, the boxart might suffer.
Yeah!Sir Ollie said:Maybe because its all about boobs in Europe.
Don't forget Americans are pretty much puritans compared to the rest of the world, you can expect violence before sex when it comes to ads, the idea of sex still being considered dirty in this country...>>
I don't know about video game boxart, but I find it highly compatible to how movie posters are these days. Old movie posters were very artistic. Let's take Indiana Jones, for example.
Notice the facial expressions? How about how Indy is raising his whip, looking ready for action? How about the Ark in the background, partially covered almost like it has an aura of mystery to it? Or the villain pointing a gun directly at the viewer. So many words pop into mind when you see the poster. Adventure, danger, shocking, mysterious, grand. It not only serves as an ad for the movie, it also tells you everything you need to know about it. Now let's take a typical movie poster from today:
An extreme close up of a character's face...yep. Tells you a lot, doesn't it?
Not that the poster really matters in the end, of course. And neither does game box art. Still though...
Notice the facial expressions? How about how Indy is raising his whip, looking ready for action? How about the Ark in the background, partially covered almost like it has an aura of mystery to it? Or the villain pointing a gun directly at the viewer. So many words pop into mind when you see the poster. Adventure, danger, shocking, mysterious, grand. It not only serves as an ad for the movie, it also tells you everything you need to know about it. Now let's take a typical movie poster from today:
An extreme close up of a character's face...yep. Tells you a lot, doesn't it?
Not that the poster really matters in the end, of course. And neither does game box art. Still though...