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New Wii boxes trumpet Wii Sports, hide jackets
A GoNintendo reader who is either a retail employee or a delivery truck robber snapped this picture of the box for the new jacket-included Wii package. On the front, it looks exactly like the old Wii box, which is somewhat of a surprise. Since Nintendo wants so badly for us to use the jackets, we assumed that every Nintendo promotional photo would show a jacketed Wiimote. Nintendo seems to have recognized the importance of their iconic Wiimote design, and put it over the potential danger of suggesting that a Wiimote could ever be used sans jacket. Speaking of iconic, the back of the box (well, we guess it's the back) has been refocused, removing the Wiimote picture (which is, in fact, already totally covered on the other side) and replacing it with a Wii Sports logo and some little screenshots in circles. Just to make sure that everyone knows that Wii Sports is in there. Could this be a precursor to future Wii packages that reflect different included games in their package designs? Probably not-- this is just Nintendo making sure the Wii Sports presence on the package is as big as possible (while still counting as minimalist).
Uncharted box art and screenshots will make you say 'wow'
Click for high-res image. Isn't that some fine box art? Nathan Drake looks like a capable gunman, shotgun casually resting on his shoulder. The green of the jungle environment and the skull juxtaposed on it give it an alluring sense of adventure. This is quite compelling box art -- some of the best we've seen on PS3.But that's not the only thing that looks good. New screenshots showcase Naughty Dog's incredible technology, taking full advantage of what the PS3 has to offer. It's undeniable: the game looks stunning, at least from a visual perspective. It won't be too long until gamers everywhere can try our Drake's first adventure.%Gallery-3209%
Trauma Center: New Blood box art keeps things simple
In the battle for retail shelf eye candy, there are some games that prefer to go the rout of foil-embossed cardboard slip covers, while others prefer a more subtle, tasteful approach. Take for example Atlus' upcoming Trauma Center: New Blood for the Wii, which replaces the anime styling of the first game's box art with a plain cross as if to say 'I'm the medicine Wii owners have been searching for.' Interestingly, the box also carries the logo for Nintendo's free Wi-Fi Connection service, though despite the addition of local multiplayer, a quick call to Atlus confirmed that New Blood's online influence will only be felt through leaderboards, meaning if you want to throw down scalpels over a patient with a debilitating hematoma, you'd best be prepared to do it side by side.
Contra 4 boxed, dated, and ready to own your face
Every single step Konami and WayForward take in their march towards Contra 4's November 13 release seems in service to the series' fans, the faithful run-and-gun followers. From its recent Nintendo Power poster to rumors about preorder gifts and bonus retro titles, our excitement, long-thought dead after the Bioware/Sonic debacle, grows stronger with each news item that comes in. NeoGAF forumite The Main Event posted a press sheet revealing Contra 4's packaging artwork yesterday, and we couldn't be more pleased. It has everything we could ever ask for -- extravagant explosions, guns firing at unseen enemies, and a menacing alien watching over the entire scene. All Konami needs to do now is bundle a bottle of baby oil with every purchase so that our shirtless muscles can glisten while we play the game. Flex and shine past the post break for a look at the scanned pages.
ASH boxart seals the deal
It's fitting that one of the most beautiful games for the Nintendo DS receives the same attention to aesthetics with its Japanese packaging design. Even if we hadn't already seen Archaic Sealed Heat's gorgeous prerendered CG scenes, spotting a cover like this on a shelf would've compelled us to pick the box up and study the screenshots on its back.The posture and headdresses of the characters lined up in the background make us think of chess pieces, an apt comparison considering ASH's SRPG trappings. Now let's just hope that Nintendo of America keeps the same arrangement for the boxart when if it brings the game to the US.
Folklore US box art revealed
Click for high-resolution image. Here it is, the US box art for the upcoming PS3 adventure game, Folklore. It does a great job of giving players a glance at both main characters, Keats and Ellen, and a handful of the Folks they'll collect in the game. The US version of the game will be available October 9th.
Ubisoft imagines better boxart
We are pleased with Ubisoft right now. We won't lie; our goodwill is mostly the result of the incredible Jam Sessions and the fact that Ubisoft is taking a big risk in releasing it.However, even within the context of something we're not pleased about in general, we can find reason to praise the company. Specifically, the terrible, stock-photo-bearing boxarts for their Imagine series. Ubisoft has redesigned the cover art for the series, switching out the fonts, losing the bubble-based layout, and replacing the images with something presumably not pulled from an iStockPhoto preview image.Absolutely the best thing to come out of this development is the accompanying NeoGAF thread, which has been loaded with absolutely hilarious (and, occasionally, vaguely NSFW) Photoshops. Just look at those, and the new official boxarts, and not the screenshots of Imagine Babyz.
Metroid Week: Judge a Metroid by its cover (part two)
Continuing our romp through the Metroid series's boxart history, we're ending today with a look at covers from Samus's prime installments on both handhelds and consoles. We've also thrown in the packaging designs from the NES Classics releases which we neglected to include yesterday, though none of you noticed. As for music pairings, the boxarts past the post break go best with The Commodores's "Three Times a Lady." Seriously, try it.
Metroid Week: Judge a Metroid by its cover
You know how much we love to discuss boxart here at Wii Fanboy, so it seemed obvious to us that we should take a look back at past Metroid covers during our commemorative week. We've gathered up all the packaging art we could find from Samus's tenderfoot days on the NES to her later outings on the Game Boy Advance, and have posted them all past the post break for you to scroll through. Feel free to queue up Kenny Rogers's "Through The Years" for maximum enjoyment.
Europe gets the good Phantom Hourglass boxart
Perhaps as an apology for decades of delayed releases -- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass included, though only two weeks later (October 19th) than its North American debut -- Nintendo will feature the artwork used on the game's Japanese packaging for its European cover.While its U.S. boxart is mostly brown and has our green-capped hero awkwardly posed, expressionless, Europe's version shows off a smiling Link and a broad range of blue hues. Sure, it's only packaging art, but we're still jealous! You can take a peek at both Phantom Hourglass covers past the post break
The outstretched-hand-boxart club
Though publishers aren't as big on featuring these silly poses anymore as they were during the DS's first two years, the perceptive gamers at The Platformers pointed out that we'll be receiving two new members to the outstretched-hand-boxart club next month: DK Jungle Climber and Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game.Some say that the covers are meant to emphasize the touchscreen nature of the titles, but we're convinced that there's more to it. Perhaps the characters are reaching for something unseen -- a dropped banana, a tool vital to their current task, or the wrist of a fleeing love who's spurred their unwanted advances. Keep that last possibility in your mind as you look over a few more examples of outstretched-hand boxarts after the post break.
NiGHTS in white plastic
The official NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams boxart has been released, and it's pretty. Eye-catchingly, shelf-jumpingly pretty. We'd think it could actually sell some copies, if we had any reason to believe that the American gaming public had anything other than aversion for foppish, androgynous flying dream-elves.The general appearance of the box confirms what the game, so far, hasn't: that someone working at Sega has a modicum of artistic talent. The little blue logo in the corner confirms something else: that the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection will be used in some way-- we have yet to find out whether it's weather synchronization and item trading, as described before, or something more substantial. Hint: it's probably not something more substantial.
Army of Two official European boxart released
EA UK has just released the official Army of Two boxart for the EMEA region. The artwork is damn cool and drives home the two most important things about this game -- guns and co-op play. The (not so) subtle integration of guns into a city skyline gives off a cool vibe, as do the battle scarred helmets the two main characters are wearing. And surprise, surprise -- the game is rated 18 (M), so all the blood thirsty little kiddies out there are gonna have to ask their parents nicely for the game.
Victorious Boxers boxart, for real this time
We threw in the towel last week when we mistakenly identified GameFly's Victorious Boxers: Revolution mockup as the finalized design, but now we're scrambling into the ring to retrieve the surrendered cloth. "Uh, sorry about that! It must've slipped out of our hands!"Dynamite Glove, a community site for the Hajime no Ippo series, received a first look at publisher XSeed's actual packaging, and it is a thing of beauty. This is the sort of box that we could run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art's steps with, holding it above our heads once we've reached the top, hopping up and down in slow-motion as the training montage fades out.Those of you who would still rather have Ippo's fighting figure on the front will be happy to hear that the jacket is reversible, the opposite side using artwork from the Japanese cover. Jump past the break for a better look at both boxart designs.
Not So Victorious Boxart
Publisher XSeed will be bringing Victorious Boxers: Revolution to the US (Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting Revolution in Japan), but the boxing game's manga-tastic cover won't be coming along for the trip, at least according to the packaging design on GameFly's product page.Instead of the crowd of expressive faces -- determined, vengeful, and contemplative -- that we saw with the Japanese boxart, we'll be getting this victory pose silhouette and a ho-hum logo. While we understand that Hajime no Ippo isn't as popular in North America as it is across the Pacific, it would've been nice to have at least seen Ippo, the series's hero, on the cover.Victorious Boxers hits store shelves this September. Bob and weave past the post break for a look at the game's dramatic packaging art in Japan.
Lair box art swoops down from the heavens
Sony has just released the official box art for Lair, and it's looking pretty hot (no pun intended). Featuring the armored mug of Rhon, the main character, glaring off into the distance while a battlefield of guys get the marshmellow-in-campfire treatment, it's got classic look to it. Interestingly, the game got a Teen rating -- which seems a bit low for a title that rewards in roasting people alive. But whatever, as long as the game isn't being made by Rockstar, nobody cares.
Official Ratchet and Clank box art revealed
With the imminent release of Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction coming in the next couple months, Insomniac has released the final box art of their highly anticipated title. Sporting the now iconic image of a Ratchet looking out over the Metropolis level and a terrified Clank reacting to an attacking monster, it looks solid but is not really anything special. With almost all of their screenshots and hands-on demos being in the Metropolis level, it just seems a little played out. I mean, there are other parts to the game... right?[Via N4G]
The day the music died: Jam Sessions' EU boxart
We were kind enough to call out the emperor on his new clothes, tapping Ubisoft's shoulder and explaining how we felt about its awful Jam Sessions advertisement, but the company ignored our advice and went on to use the promotional photo for the game's packaging art across the Atlantic. In short, Jam Sessions' European boxart is absolutely repulsive.It's already unfortunate that all titles under the PEGI's rule must bear the rating system's unsightly standard, but Jam Sessions' cover has to also suffer this guy's contorted expression. As excited as we are about the guitar trainer, we can't believe Ubisoft would use this for its boxart. Jump past the break to compare the design with Jam Sessions' North American and Japanese covers.
DS Daily: About a box
When shopping for games, how much do you depend on the boxart? We're sure you also read reviews and check out a synopsis or two, but we have to admit that sometimes, a crappy box can turn us off a game if we weren't fully invested in the first place. Sure, maybe it seems a little superficial -- maybe it is a little superficial -- but the box is, after all, among our first physical interactions with many games. It does make an impression. We've included the Brain Buster Puzzle Pack here as an example, as it's quite pixelated and rough up close, but as far as puzzles go, it's so worth it. Sometimes, it's rewarding to take a chance!
Wii Covermaker dresses up your CD cases
While Kenney Vleugels developed Wii Covermaker to help with designing packaging art for "back-ups" -- a practice we don't endorse -- this little application can still be pretty useful for easily creating CD jackets for games that aren't pirated.Wii Covermaker allows you to import images and attach to them a number of elements common to Wii game covers: ESRB and PEGI ratings, logos for several prominent developers and publishers, and a header strip. There are also options for you to drop in the "CD Type" and a credit for the boxart's author.We would like to see a few more features, like an option for DVD covers and a header strip that better resembles the official one, but those will probably come with future updates. For now, we'll settle with this ersatz Zombies Ate My Neighbors CD case we've put together, wondering to ourselves when we'll ever be able to fill its empty plastic. Leave us to our sorrows and jump past the post break for a Wii Covermaker demonstration video.
