Box art - what's the big deal?

MMGN: What gives us the right, as gamers, to kick up such a fuss over something most of us will only ever look at when unpackaging a game for the first time?

[TheBatman_Fanatic]

The box art attracts people who haven't seen gameplay.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

Still no point then.. imo..

Buy a game without seeing gameplay? Sure if it's $5.

[Hufandpuf]

Boxart for the uninformed. Next irrelevant article please.

[jslash]

Read the article before posting irrelevant (to quote yourself) comments next time please.

[Der_Kommandant]

The art on the cover of a video game can be a beautiful, powerful, vital expression of the contents of the game. Or it can make you not want to buy the game.

[yog-sothot]

"We went and did a tour… around to a bunch of, like, frathouses and places like that. People who were gamers. Not people who read IGN. And [we] said, so, have you guys heard of BioShock? Not a single one of them had heard of it"

Seriously, I doubt these guys will ever buy Bioshock Infinite. Maybe they would if the titla became "Call of Infinite : Biofighter"

[Conner6742]

All I can say is that if developers were so sure of this particular box-art, they wouldn't have gone to make a reversible cover.

Sometimes, good things can come by when we actually criticize things.

[admiralvic]

I love the the N4G excerpt, since who would ACTUALLY buy a game that just said the name on the cover? I mean it "doesn't matter", since most people will never look at it again, so why waste any money / effort making it interesting.

Seriously though, is this author ACTUALLY informed? You can't just write off any problem a company does, just because I wasn't intended to like it. I think a big part of the problem with Bioshock Infinite's box art, is how it implies a shift of focus / gameplay. The original games weren't action packed, yet the cover seems to imply this one will. Naturally this doesn't sit right with fans, so they become very vocal, as with all games that "betray" the loyal fans (think Biohazard). Furthermore, no one complains about Call of Duty because Call of Duty wasn't defined by being creative (where as Bioshock did), nor does the box art imply a contradictory image of the game. Believe it or not, the Call of Duty designs are actually pretty good (considering the message), since they're all about you being a nameless / faceless solider in battle.

Whatever the case, anyone else hate these responses to the hate articles more than the actual hate articles? It seems like everyone who takes the time to write one of these, really doesn't have a point worth giving.

[jakmckratos]

Id buy an awesome looking game even if the boxart was generic and hokey as crap. For me boxart serves as more of a reference when I am looking for the game(aka I see big daddy I know it's Bioshock or a I seeJoh Marston and I now it's RDR)

[ChocolateGiddyUp]

I can't believe how much people have shat on this game's art. It's not like it's terrible or anything, just sort of boring...kind of like the original Bioshock's box art.

People didn't even give it to "10 out of 10: The Game" this badly.

[Double_O_Revan]

Where you every on the internets during that? There was plenty of talk. More of it was making fun of it then anger though. That's why it may not have seemed so bad.

Its a big deal in this case to many, because its a beloved franchise that they made look like a generic fps.

[jc48573]

because it makes a damn difference. It's like how a salesman tries to sell you his products. If packaging looks great and the price is right, then the likelihood of it selling is very high. It tries to attract people but also telling a little story of what this game may be. Like why else would they even have a study major for that then? An entire major in packaging.

[WeskerChildReborned]

Idk what the big fuss over boxarts are about, i mean boxarts look pretty and all but it's just a box, i mean i buy my games for what's inside the box, not outside.

[DigitalRaptor]

What I find weird is that there is some really iconic box art out there that people love. It's been a big part of gaming culture for a long time. Sure it's mainly always been used for promotion, but I remember when it used to be a discussion point, and had relevance as part of the whole package.

I remember when I first saw Super Smash Bros box art I was like "that's just awesome". After I played it, I thought that it represents the game really well. Same for many others.

Since gamers decided to stop caring about physical goods and turning digital, it seems a box art is irrelevant and for a physical game, nothing but a house for a disc. At the end of the day it's art. Most games contain art and if you appreciate the art of a game, then there should be a reason to care that its box art is well designed too.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.... There's a reason why people complained about the Ico boxart for the US.

[CanadianTurtle]

I don't think that the consumers of today will buy a game based on the boxart alone. We live in an internet consumed world, well at least most of us. Back when we were kids, we had to rely on the box art of a game to consider our purchase. But nowadays with all the forums, online video reviews, playthroughs, etc. Its very easy to find what we are looking for.

From a consumer's standpoint nowadays, if the game is very good, then the boxart shouldn't interfere with their decision. But back then where we had no internet, we had to rely highly on the little screenshots of the game at the back, and especially the front look.