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Booze Training boxart (along with plenty of others) revealed
The NeoGAF forums have been flooded with a variety of boxarts for upcoming Japanese DS titles. Such titles include Chibi Robo Park Patrol, It's a Wonderful World and the above, EA's Bartender DS. Personally, we could use Bartender DS, as our mixed drinks are anything but, well ... drinkable. So, if boxart is your thing, be sure to hit up the NeoGAF thread.[Via Go Nintendo]
Wii: the final frontier
Something is strange about the Gamefly listing for the possibly-upcoming Star Trek Conquest. There's no mention of a Conquest on (apparent) publisher Bethesda's home page, nor on their Star Trek page. But Gamefly already has a pretty official-looking boxart there. How do they get these things so early? We have no reason to doubt Gamefly in this case, but we wonder why we haven't heard anything else about the game, which shares its name with a weird online collectible card game thing.But don't set your Wiimote phaser to stun just yet, Kirk. And put down your imaginary disruptor, bat'leth, mek'leth, d'k tahg, Ferengi energy whip, and that weird Vulcan psychic weapon from that one episode. The Bethesda Star Trek games are all about space combat, so it's unlikely you'll be doing any hand-to-hand zapping. [Via Siliconera]
Hottest Party boxart uses a cool color scheme
Konami has a weird idea of how to make a party look hot. It's not that this isn't a nice enough boxart-- it's attractive, and is a good color scheme for their basic "woman in silhouette on neon dance pad" boxart formula. We're not saying that the boxart suggests a bad party, although if Konami's idea of the hottest party is two people playing DDR ten feet apart in a dark room, then they must attend even fewer parties than we do.All we're saying is that it's just not hot. The colors, by definition, are really more on the cool end in all but the logo. We were struck by the cognitive dissonance between the hottest party and this very icy-looking box. The boxart-inside-the-boxart thing is also great, but they've been doing that for bundles since Charleston Charleston Revolution.
Final Fantasy Tactics boxart looks strangely familiar
Remember the Final Fantasy I and II boxart for America? Looked gorgeous, right? Well the Japanese boxart for Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions on the PSP had a similar reaction from fans. Well you can all rest easy, as it seems the US (and the UK, presumably, due to its simultaneous release) boxes will be sporting a very similar design. While the image used on the box is the same for both territories, certain elements such as the title of the game have changed position. You can see the final design for the US box on the right, but check out out Siliconera for a side-by-side comparison with the JP art. Does it look pretty enough for you all? [Thanks Spencer!]
PGR 4 box art hints at motorcycle madness
Today, Bizarre Creations released the official box art for Project Gotham Racing 4 (viewable after the break) featuring a closeup of a red vehicle sporting a PGR 4 emblem. It's quite the interesting choice for box art as we're on the fence about the design. But if you look closer you'll see something that's very interesting. Behind the PGR 4 logo is the reflection of a motorcycle blazing past the car. Does this mean that motorcycles will be drivable in the fourth edition of the PGR franchise and is this Bizarre's big exciting announcement? We aren't sure, but we'd be liars if we didn't say that we're a little uneasy about including motorcycles in our PGR franchise. Here's to hoping Bizarre Creations knows what they're doing.
Shhh ... Assassin's Creed gets cover arted
We already know that Assassin's Creed will be hitting retailers sometime in November, but now we have the pleasure of previewing what we'll be looking for on store shelves. Ubisoft just released the official Assassin's Creed cover art (viewable after the break) in all its simplistic assassin glory. Notice the subtle use of motion blur, soothing color blue, and how our assassin friend's hood perfectly shields his identity. Or maybe you didn't notice any of that and just zeroed in on the retractable and highly concealable hand knife. Oh yeah, we're going to love using that piece of hardware.
Wii Warm Up: Across the top
We haven't talked much about this since the earliest box art pictures debuted, but now that you've had a chance to get used to them ... what do you think of the look of Wii boxes? Does the white line across the top and the simple logo do it for you? How about the white boxes? Do you feel that the look suits the system? How does it compare to similar GameCube boxes? What about to the box art designs for the other latest consoles?
Metroid Prime 3 boxart revealed
You know, I was sitting here and enjoying a nice bowl of oatmeal, when suddenly a small and frightening object came crashing into my office here at Wii Fanboy Estates. It was none other than Joystiq's Ludwig Kietzmann. "I have something for you, David," he said, shortly before slapping me in the mouth. As the universal Joystiq greeting, I felt obliged to return the gesture, but so hard was Ludwig's smack, I found myself on the floor before having time to react. Clearly, he had put some time in with the company."We've got Metroid Prime 3 boxart!" he said, slamming a sheet of paper down onto my collection of milk crates I call a desk. As I picked myself up off the ground and looked the sheet over, I stroked my chin in a manner that most people do when they're looking over a sheet of paper. "So ... what game is ...?" I ask, only to find myself slapped again before the last syllable escapes my mouth. Then, Ludwig jams another piece of paper in my face, one that shows off boxart for a certain Sega title called Sonic Adventure 2. "We must warn the people!" he screamed, as he jumped out of the window like a flying rodent escaping a dark underworld. I wondered if he was dead (my office is on the 73rd floor), when just then I saw him atop a flying hyena, off toward the sunset. "That Ludwig," I think to myself. "He sure is one awesome dude." I then realize my wallet is missing. And so is one of my kidneys.%Gallery-3355%[Via Joystiq]
Metroid Prime 3 box art battles evil twin
There's just no trusting those terrible twins, duplicitous doppelgängers and conniving clones, is there? A word of warning to those who may encounter them: If you're striking a dramatic pose in space, chances are your evil double is doing the same... right behind you. The full Metroid Prime 3: Corruption box art is right after the break.
Potential Drawn to Life boxart is really cute
Good boxart is sometimes a rarity. We hope that this image is what THQ really plans to use for Drawn to Life, because it's perfect. The hand-drawn character featured not only demonstrates the main gimmick of the game, he's adorable. The color scheme is great, and the box is eye-catching in general. We're rooting for Drawn to Life because it looks great and because we need more original side-scrolling platformers. A visually appealing boxart may not affect sales hugely, but it would at least attract the eyes of shoppers. We don't want this one to slip through the cracks. [Via GoNintendo]
NES/SNES cover collector is cooler than us
... assuming a very specialized definition of "cool." We are aghast. Agape. We don't know what to say. We're just overcome with jealousy of AtariAge forum user BuyAtari and his collection of original game boxart paintings. We never even thought that these would be out there. It's not that surprising that companies would be hesitant to throw out original artwork, now that we think about it. It's just so weird that the Mystery Quest cover is a real artifact in the real world.Boxart that we thought was terrible suddenly becomes breathtaking when it's alone on a big canvas. Look how cool the Burai Fighter art is! We've got to start selling stuff extra cash, then trolling eBay. This is too much. Too bad about those watermarks-- we would have enjoyed using these as desktop backgrounds.[Via Insert Credit]
Taiko no Tatsujin DS boxart
Releasing on the 26th of next month in Japan, Taiko no Tatsujin DS (Taiko Drum Master) finally reveals its box art. Of course, if we weren't so interested in music-based games, we probably wouldn't have already known about the dual-stylus gameplay (the extra stylus is included in the package). We're dying to import this game ourselves, to tell the truth, but what about you? Any readers plan on having this shipped over from the land of the rising fun?
Halo 3 box art nearly confirmed
As we continue the "what will the Halo 3 standard edition box art look like?" saga, we believe we just got one step closer to confirming what the cover will look like. Previously, we reported on both Amazon.com and Xbox.com posting two very different yet official looking box arts for the game, so we weren't sure which (if any) were correct. But now Amazon.com has changed their tune and updated their product page to reveal new box art that matches Xbox.com. So, we're betting the "emotional" box art will be the final design for Halo 3's standard edition as both websites are using it. Super sized Halo 3 box art after the break.[Via Digg]
BioShock box art puts Big Daddy up in your grill
If super-sexy minimalism like that seen in the BioShock Limited Edition doesn't float your bathysphere, we humbly present the alternate "regular edition" box art that was released by 2K Games today. Unlike the LE art, it doesn't exactly say "thinking man's shooter" so much as it says "Oh snap, that giant water robot's about to punch you," but we suppose it gets the job done. We wish we had thought to put the 360 box on front, because that's the one where the Big Daddy is wearing a drill on his hand ... and nothing else. It's sexy and unnerving, like the video for When Doves Cry. But it's also a little NSFW. Feel free to track it down, but don't say we didn't warn you.
Phantom Hourglass Japanese boxart FTW
It's stylish. It's classy. But we here at DS Fanboy think that Link is getting a little too cute, even yon cel-shaded version. This cuteness is only made more creepy by the fact there is an old man with oddly-styled facial hair standing right next to him. Damn sailors.This boxart reminds us heavily of Wind Waker, and it makes us wonder how big a component sailing is going to be in this new adventure. Crossing the ocean became a bit tedious in Wind Waker, so here's hoping the process has been streamlined (LOLpun) a bit.[Thanks, Braden!]%Gallery-3279%
Somewhat more Sedate Truck found at Gamestop
This profoundly limited-edition copy of Excite Truck was spotted on the shelf at GameStop. Evidently, an employee drew this charmingly quaint alternate boxart instead of using the default GameStop display box for loose games. You can see from the little motion lines that the truck is clearly excited, which is a much subtler approach than the usual bright colors and EXTREME explosions.We totally prefer the lunch-break line art shown here to the real boxart, but we're still a little shocked that they're selling this copy as a new game with no discount.[Via Siliconera]
Behold! Awesome Final Fantasy remake box art
What? The US finally gets better box art than Japan? Final Fantasy III on Nintendo DS launched with some spectacular box art in Japan, but American gamers received boring white box art that looked worse than most Chinatown bootlegs. PSP gamers need not worry about the packaging for the upcoming Final Fantasy remakes. We're delighted to present these two glorious packages made for US audiences.Let's hope that Square Enix continues bringing us some love: we want our copies of Final Fantasy Tactics to launch with the Japanese box art. Or else.[Via Forever Fantasy]
Comparing Square Enix's Japanese and US boxart
In a recent interview with 1UP, Square Enix's marketing communications manager gave us some insight on the process behind adapting Chocobo Tales' packaging for the US. We happen to prefer the Japanese version's modest artwork over North America's chaotic cover, but we understand that the company had a younger audience to appeal to and a different message it needed to convey. We've collected DS covers from Square Enix's Japanese and US releases after the post break for you to compare and decide which one you like best. To its credit, the company hasn't completely mangled its DS boxarts so far (The same can't be said about Nintendo's bastardization of Hotel Dusk's cover). How do you feel about Children of Mana's simplified design? Does Final Fantasy 3's stripped packaging appeal to your western tastes? And do you agree with 1UP that publishers have been doing a better job with dressing their products?
Ouendan 2's epic boxart
Due for release in Japan this May 17th, Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2's packaging art has two-stepped its way onto the internet. The cover features the sequel's two rival cheer squad team leaders with their arms outstretched, magnificent rays of light bursting behind them. Their eyes and expressions are brimming with determination, as if to say, "If you don't dance, well you're no friends of mine."With a partial songlist, screenshots, and boxart now out on the internet, unchained, all that's left to cast loose is the actual cartridge. We've already put in our pre-orders for the rhythm game. Have you decided whether or not you'll be importing Ouendan 2 yet?
GameStop shows us Manhunt 2 boxart?
GameStop is hardly the most reputable source for gaming news, but the boxart they're showing off for Manhunt 2 looks the part. Not the usual placeholder image fare they usually employ (black image with the game logo, y'know that kind of deal?), the image (which is too the right, if you hadn't noticed) looks the part and presents the style of Manhunt, if you ask us.Anyone else want to offer their critique on this proposed boxart? Good lookin' or bad taste in your mouth? Chime in and tell us what you think!
