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Capcom offers box art 'redemption' for Okami Wii
Capcom has responded to the Okami Wii box snafu by offering replacement cover artwork "to better reflect the artistic nature of the game," which we presume is a more professional way to say "to better remove the reflection of the IGN watermark." Head over to the Cover Artwork Redemption page (yes, they call it redemption) to fill out the form and choose one of three designs, including a "redesigned" version of the original. Previews for the other two replacements are shown above. The offer is free and an email confirmation from Capcom states the cover art will be shipping "in the next few weeks."
Mario Kart Wii boxed, logo'd
If the official Mario Kart Wii box art tells us anything, it's that we won't be waltzing out of the local game store with a standard-issue game case tucked neatly into our back pocket. No, we'll be lugging around an actual box -- and for what? The Wii Wheel. We can't imagine Nintendo's gonna charge extra for this 2-cent hunk of plastic, but it's the inconvenience that irks us: another box to break down, another prop cluttering the coffee table. What say we round these wheels up and send 'em on a one-way rocket to the sun! %Gallery-16165%[Via Official Nintendo Press Room]
Budget prices colored yellow in Japan
The biggest problem with "Greatest Hits" line-ups is their insistence on marring perfectly good box art in horrible ways. In the US, a red banner went on top of PS2 boxes, obnoxiously highlighting their budget status. Could Japan's upcoming PS3 budget line be an aesthetic indicator for the rest of the world? We hope not, because these boxes are ugly.As seen by FolksSoul (Folklore in the US), the packaging will feature a gaudy yellow banner on the left. This is actually similar to the way PSP budget games are managed -- and neither platforms seem to benefit. We're hoping the rest of the world will get something classier. A sticker perhaps? A paper sleeve? Anything that doesn't obnoxiously reveal how cheap we are.
God of War box art: gotta catch 'em all
The American and European release of God of War: Chains of Olympus will feature the same tasty game core. But, their box arts will be quite different. The American box art is already quite familiar. However, the European art (pictured, above) focuses on Kratos' angry mug. Check out Three Speech for more pictures from the game. And, yes, as expected -- it's still pretty. %Gallery-3212%
CVG picks the Best and Worst Box Art of 2007
Regardless of your loyalties to any particular console, we think we can all agree that 2007 was a damn fine year for video games as a whole. Every system had a number of well received games over the past year, as reflected by the fairly diverse Game of the Year lists springing up around the video game blogosphere. The gaming industry has grown and further caught the attention of the mainstream business media. A video game broke the one-day entertainment sales record in the States. It was a year that all of us, gamers and professionals alike, can feel very good about.Except for you, box art designers. While the rest of the video game industry strove to bring their "A game", or rather, their "AAA game" this year, you chose 2007 to be the year when you collectively dropped the ball. Computer and Video Games has a chronicling of your failure; from Shadowrun's poorly drawn case, to the nightmarish box art for Cheggers' Party Quiz; and who could forget the decadently homoerotic cover for Fire Pro Wrestling Returns? Not us. We've tried.
New Burnout Paradise box art ditches crashes for white space
If you think about it, box art is a video game's calling card. It makes the first impression, and inspires the consumer, especially those who don't follow game news day to day, to pick the release up from retail shelves for a second look. Because of this, box art often tries to capture the essence of the game in a single picture, which only makes us scratch our heads at EA's newly redesigned cover art for the forthcoming Burnout Paradise. The new cover ditches the previous art, which featured a car being smashed like a twisted metal flapjack, and replaces it with a serene, overly white piece that looks like it just drove off the set of an Ah Ha video.The new art reinforces the series' change in direction, from a crash-centric racer to something a bit more open. While early impressions of the racer are encouraging, we cannot help but be a bit worried at the game's seemingly constant push to separate itself from its legacy. With a demo slated for both XBL and PSN next month, we'll know soon enough if the game's Jan. 22 release date will be one to keep on the radar, or if the day will be better spent playing Takedown in remembrance of the series that was.
Patapon and Yuusha box arts revealed
Japan is getting two hotly-anticipated PSP games soon. First is the rhythm + cuteness + war game, Patapon. This game has you controlling a rather vicious group of adorable cuddly things on their conquest to destroy everything in their sight. Of course, you do so with the power of music.Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikda is a RPG where you try to stop potential heroes with your minion horde. This reverse-dungeon crawler features some old school graphics, but maybe that's part of its charm.
DS Daily: Battle of the boxes
It's been a while since we've done one of our wacky "versus" topics for daily discussion, and when we saw these two boxes posted over at GoNintendo, they just seemed too perfect to resist. They have some similarities and yet are pretty distinct. Which would be more likely to catch your eye? Is that also the game you think you would prefer?
Grand Theft Auto IV mock boxes for retail
Although it's great of website XboxFamily.com to think they got six copies of Grand Theft Auto IV's final box cover art -- and it's very nice of them to share the three different images (pictured) -- it just ain't so. Apparently someone at Take-Two shipping thought the site was a retail outlet, because what they actually received were mock boxes intended for retailers to put out.A representative at Rockstar wrote back to Joystiq saying, "Those are NOT final box art ... [they] are actually mock boxes provided to retail outlets." Don't expect the final box art to be revealed until closer to release. Rockstar just wants consumers remembering that GTA IV is expected next year as they are browsing the game section this holiday season.
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 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.
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]
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]
Official Japanese Wii box!
Everyone knows that the incredible console, innovative controller, mind-numbing list of launch games and extra features pale in comparison to the all-important box design of a new console. So, without further ado, we present to you: The Box of the Wii!One thing Nintendo failed to mention (or, at least, we didn't catch) were the colors available at launch. White is the obvious default, but hopefully, we can score at least black for the option. Do you guys like the design? Or can you not stop to worry about this trivial little detail, after all the insanity?
Pack this! PS3 box style revealed [update 1]
IGN has managed to get a glimpse of the PlayStation 3 case for The Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom (you can tell by the IGN logo they so elegantly plastered on the cover girl's left breast). The PlayStation 3 name, Spider-Man typeset intact, aligns the left side of the case, as it did during the PSOne era, so as not to intrude upon Blu-ray's dominant upper banner. The PS logo has undergone a minor alteration, now showing up against a white backdrop.The rest remains unchanged -- an ESRB rating located in the bottom left corner, the publisher's emblem in the bottom right. Since the title is made by Sony Online Entertainment, we're unsure how other titles are going to market each game's online capabilities or exclusivity. The Xbox 360 case, for example, has the Xbox Live logo emblazoned in the top right corner of every title, and stamps "Only for Xbox 360" on the upper middle. Will Sony push its online capabilities on its title's box art, or just rely on other outlets to advertise its features?Continue reading for more side-by-side comparisons.[Update: it should be noted that, while the graphic itself is legitimate, its inclusion on the Blu-ray box is a mockup done by IGN. However, note the dimensions of the graphic -- it matches that of the dimensions of the cover art on a Blu-ray movie. Also, Sony producing a custom Blu-ray box when it already is manufacturing Blu-ray movie boxes is not cost-efficient. It may be conceptualized, but we believe the final case will not look much different.That said, sorry if we confused anyone.]
GTA: Vice City Stories boxart
So, what does it mean when PSP Fanboy resorts to putting up box art and "Top 5" lists? One of two things: The game featured is the sequel to the best selling PSP game so far: Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. That game has made over $51 million in revenue. You could buy a lot of hot coffee with that kind of money! It's a slow news day. Okay, so both might be true. Regardless, now we know for sure that the game will release on October 17 and come with the same premium price tag of $50. Rockstar knows that you'll buy it no matter what they charge you. You can pre-order it on their pretentious official website.[Via Gamespot]
Retail boxart for Xbox Live Arcade: Unplugged
German site Gamefront.de managed to bag some shots of the relatively uninspiring retail packaging of Xbox Live Arcade: Unplugged. The pack includes offline versions of Geometry Wars, Texas Hold'em, Wik, Bejeweled 2, Outpost Kaloki X, Hardwood Backgammon, a free 1-month Gold membership, 100 free Microsoft points, and should be available in early September.We realize that trying to package six games together limits the freedom you have to be creative, but maybe the design team should have taken a look at Microsoft's parody of their own box designs. Simple? Yes. Attractive? Noooo!!![Via BritishGaming]
Gears of War: the box
We're still not sure when this so-called 'Emergence Day' is ... but at least, now, we know what the Gears of War box is gonna look like: My Marcus, what a big gun you have! You wouldn't be compensating for any shortcomings, would you?Check out: Hands-on with Gears of War multiplayer.
