Next Gen Game Cover Art is Rubbish

Kosmiche

Kosmiche

Kosmiche

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Has anyone else noticed that a lot of the next gen games have horrible cover art?

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...all these covers look terrible. I think maybe since these are launch titles the cover art is appalling. Or trying to get people to purchase collectors editions.
 
There's less need for good cover art nowadays though. How many gamers do you know that will go in to a bricks & mortar shop, browse the games, and come away with something they've never heard of but the cover art/box has lured them in?

I'd wager that most games are bought by people that have read reviews & followed the games' development. The best selling games are all established franchises, where the gamer knows exactly what they're getting = no need for a swanky box.
 
jimferno said:
There's less need for good cover art nowadays though. How many gamers do you know that will go in to a bricks & mortar shop, browse the games, and come away with something they've never heard of but the cover art/box has lured them in?
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I'd do this with a music CD but you're right if I was gonna go to a shop that sells games I'd already know what I was going in to buy.
 
I also think the quality of plastic they use is terrible, the way the cases open is also horribly cheap and nasty..... oh wait wtf am I talking about who gives a **** play the game who looks at crap like cover art?

This is as bad as that moron on HUKD who was complaining that after buying Killzone for 85p that since it was the first digital game he had ever bought he wouldn't have the case to add to his collection so was looking for someone to sell him the case minus the disc.

Seriously I don't care if all it had was the words PS4 and the name of the game on the case and that's it. I cannot remember the last time I actually looked at cover art or anything bar the info on the back which tells you if it's a 2 player game, online multiplayer, etc.
 
They woulda looked twice as good if you had the day one editions as it says "day one" on the cover ;)
 
I don't really care either, but you remember those big boxes pc games used to come in?

For me it added to the excitement before playing a game.
 
Eames said:
I don't really care either, but you remember those big boxes pc games used to come in?

For me it added to the excitement before playing a game.
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Baldurs gate. 5 discs, huge map and a manual the size of a short novel. Those were the days.
 
Ground Zeroes is doing it right with that reversible insert though, Yoji Shinkawa's artwork is amazing.

However, I don't think that cover art is particularly bad this generation. It's always been the case, with a select few games having nice cover art for example during the PS2-gen for me it was ICO, MGS2/Substance/MGS3/Subsistence, GT4, on Gamecube it was Viewtiful Joe and Killer 7, PC had Max Payne 2. It really depends on the art direction of the game. As for cover art being irrelevant, while I've never bought a game based on its cover art, I always find it cool when publishers/developers put some care and attention into their packaging. It isn't important but you do notice if it's done well.
 
jimferno said:
There's less need for good cover art nowadays though. How many gamers do you know that will go in to a bricks & mortar shop, browse the games, and come away with something they've never heard of but the cover art/box has lured them in?
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I think you'd be surprised actually. Might not necessarily be a case of buying something they've never heard of, but there's always value in branding otherwise so much money wouldn't be spent on it. If the cover succeeds in grabbing your attention first over five other games, then it's done its job.

Psycho Sonny said:
I also think the quality of plastic they use is terrible, the way the cases open is also horribly cheap and nasty..... oh wait wtf am I talking about who gives a **** play the game who looks at crap like cover art?
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People other than you, obviously.

Personally I always find branding etc quite interesting, obviously not to the point that a crap cover would put me off a game I want though. Also odd is that, especially in the past, games have had different artwork for different regions, although that seems far less common now.
 
While it would never be a deciding factor, it's still nice when care and attention to detail is put into all aspects of a product, including the packaging in media/entertainment products.

Saying that, I don't really care either way


But what is 'good' design is up to the individual. Personally, I loved the box art for FF PS1 era as there was uniformity between titles and they were simply white, with the game name on. That to me, is much more visually striking than a full cover image with all sorts going on.

But others may find that kind of design boring.
 
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