Pack this! PS3 box style revealed [update 1]

by Ross Miller on Sep 11th 2006 2:15PM

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.]

Dark Kingdom side-by-side with Dead Rising for Xbox 360. Note how Dead Rising markets its exclusivity and online capabilities, while the location of the ESRB rating and publisher logo are identical:

Also note that PlayStation 2 games also had a logo for showing off online play:

Source

Tags: box, box art, BoxArt, package, PS3

Reader Comments (76)

That shade of blue looks ugly as sin combined with the high-tech black and silver look.

Sony really wants the consumer to know that they are using a blu-ray disk. Look at how much room that sucker takes up.

Well, it certainly adds to the "PS3 is only a Bluray Trojan Horse" theory quite nicely. They may as well be calling the system Bluray, with PS3 capabilities. When you look at a display case, you're going to see a lot more Bluray than PS3, that's for sure.

Overall, it seems a little jumbled with the top and sidebar.

Gross

A bit off topic (who cares about box design other than advertising and graphical design wonks anyhow?), but is the writing in the PS3 Untold Legend's game going to be similar to the PSP version? I liked the gameplay of the PSP Untold Legends game, but every time a character spoke, it felt like it was written by a 9 year old.

The blu-ray thing on top is the same when you buy a dvd in blu-ray. That's just how br does it, not just Ps3 titles but it's like that on dvd w/br as well.

if anything, i'm a Sony fanboy. And it's not like I really give a shit about the box... BUT DAMN

That is one ugly ass box.

Wow , Exciting , NOT! , looks boring , looks crappy , $600 way too expensive for the same thing all over again.

I just want to know how much the games are going to cost. I'll be very suprised if they're not MORE than $60.

I hope this is an early mock-up cause this is UGLEE!

Imagine if every Xbox or PS2 game came in a giant case that read "DVD" across the top inch. Duh!

Sony: Nobody cares what format disc the stupid game is on. People care about the goddamn games!

Also, from the promo martieals and kiosks I've seen, the PS3's marketing color scheme is black and red, like the PS2's was black and blue. How will the black/red marketing materials look with giant blue cases?

i dont know about you guys, but to me it looks fugly. those spiderman letters are a turn off. i think it would look better without the spiderman letters and without the BlueRay logo. just leave the art and will look better

ugly box.

I don't know what it is about that tone of blue, but it looks extremly cheap and tacky.

If you buy games based on the box art, you get what you deserve.

I suppose there's plenty of space on the top bar for placing additional logos, like "online play" or "online content available". Or they might put such icons on the bottom, next to the publisher icon - which is what they do with PS2 games, as you can see here:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0007L8GPI.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Here's something I want to know. Quite a few PS2 games are on CDs, simply because they'll fit on them. Naturally, not every PS3 game will be huge and thus could fit on a DVD. Think Sony will mandate the Blu-Ray logo on the games that are on normal DVDs (presuming they don't force developers to stick everything on a Blu-Ray disc simply to force the format down everyone's throat)?

Mmm. Breasts.

I think the box art says it all about how Sony thinks of the PS3. It's all about Blu-ray. Sony is putting every thing they have behind this format. Just look at the size of the PS3 logo in comparison to the Blu-ray logo. The fact that this is a game comes secondary to the fact that it is printed on a Blu-ray disk.

The reason this bothers me is because they took a similar approach with the PSP and they handled it very poorly. The PSP was supposed to be a multimedia device based around a new media format. The problem was that they ended up ignoring the games in the process of trying to make it everything else. I can't imagine that Sony would make the same mistake with the PS3, but the similarities are still there.

I still cant get over the Spiderman font... Sony needs to hire new designers cuz this is just horrible... could they borrow some designers from the Ericsson devision at least???

(CAPS)GUYS.... IGN MOCKED UP THAT PIC WITH THE BLUERAY LOGO... READ THE ARTICLE... THE REAL PS3 GAME CASE IS THE SAME BUT WITHOUT THE BLUERAY HEADER!!

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/731/731787p1.html

32_footsteps:

haven't they already confirmed that ALL ps3 games *MUST* be on blu-ray? ...wish i had a source link for that, but i swear i remember reading it.

-"superfan" tactics.

Then spider-man font isn't a big deal. Joystiq screwed up big time. The pic with the blue case is a "mock up" of what they think it'll look like. The actual pic is real... But the blue case isnt.

Actually, the blue outline isn't part of the actual box art - that bit is a mockup of what IGN would _think_ it looks like if it was in a standard Blu-Ray case.

I've never actually seen a Blu-Ray case myself (since we don't have it over here in the good 'ol UK), but I would hope it's not quite the garish blue that IGN have used in their picture... that would be horrible...

Did anybody read the article?

"Also, dimensions exactly match that of the art used in a Blu-ray case (which has a large blue header on top), hinting towards want kind of physical box it will incorporate. IGN has mocked up how we think the final box will look in a BluRay box, which is linked below."

The actual design doesn't have the blue header. So Sony may decide to go with something else on the top... but if they do use that BluRay logo bar, it will look horrible.

Oh well, pretty package or not, it doesn't affect the gameplay. I wonder how the general consumers will react, though?

Wow, you guys really can't let go of the font can you? For God sakes, how come I don't hear anyone bitching about "Wii"?

yuck, no good. The amount of space left for cover art is uninteresting. And, the vertical "playstation 3" type set is no good either. I dont think the PS3 box looks as good as the PS2 format.

I think Sony can be rest assured that consumers will indeed know that they are buying a Blu-ray DVD. This will, of course, be realized not by the ugly blue top of the box with the Blu-ray logo, but by the actual price of the game. If you spend $600 for a game system, you have to expect the games will be way more than the typical $40-$60 range. Remember kids, game companies don't make profits from selling the consoles, they make profits from the games and licesning of the games. However will Sony make back all the money they've lost by selling at the usual base game price?

Are those size comparisons, Because PS1 box to cd case then ps2 case look like they are at scale, then you have a huge PS3 case. Is that all scale?!?!?!?! If so, EB is going to be using a lot of room for display of a few games. (I just thought of something, it looks like the size of the fake display boxes that EB and GS put out on shelves for big games.!!!HAHAHAHAHA)

Indeed, it is a mock-up, but note the dimensions of the Untold Legends graphic. I believe it has the same ratio as the graphics present on Blu-ray movie box art, which leads me to believe a very similar case would be present. Why would Sony mass-produce custom-sized Blu-ray cases? It's not cost-efficient when they already have manufacturers for Blu-ray movies.

The imagery is correct, the box is tacked-on ... but so many factors lead me to believe that the final version is not far off at all. However, I'll add a note in the post.

That blue looks like the default XP start bar :-D

http://agentmoo.com

@20

That's exactly what Blu-Ray cases look like. Though in its defence, HD-DVDs don't look much better.

http://dvd.themanroom.com/images/covers/hddvd/large/2966.jpg

I wish they used good 'ol DVD cases... Oh well.

Nothing new here people. Move along, move along.

I don't really like the whole Spida-Man text thing, but eh whatever.

I'm betting that some stores will put Blu-Ray movies in the game section with PS3 games, and not in the movie section with DVDs. They already do this with UMD movies. And with identical blue banners on games and movies, consumers could be confused and some will probably assume the movies are only for the "Playstation 3".

Anyway, the packaging just proves how Sony is using the PS3 to drive Blu-Ray.

Everyone is complaining about the case when it's not that bad. Get over it. At least their not using the crappy HD-DVD cases.

"Anyway, the packaging just proves how Sony is using the PS3 to drive Blu-Ray."

Blu-Ray is meant to improve the disc format for games... And that's not how the case will look. It's a mock up. Read the article next time instead of just looking at the image.

The blu-ray logo is actually photoshoped in by IGN according to their original article:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/731/731787p1.html

owned.

The Blu-ray box having the tab protruding out of the top is a bit strange, can understand having it on movies, but on games it seems pointless. However, I still think they will go with it, people love the tactile feedback of new things, even just something as simple as opening a new style of case. Feels new and exciting, like getting hold of and opening a DVD case for the first time. A colour change would be nice, but at the end of the day it is just a box.

Well, I sent in a link last week to the *original* box art story before it got into IGN's hands. It was posted by an Australian site that *didn't* mess with it in Photoshop.

I guess Joystiq doesn't consider things newsworthy until IGN does. Enjoy having their logo on your site, guys.

I have a feeling that while they will use the same cases, especially based on the proportions of the case art, they will probably be black, and have the Playstation logo as well as the Blu-ray logo emblazoned on them.

"Wow, you guys really can't let go of the font can you? For God sakes, how come I don't hear anyone bitching about "Wii"?"

Um... were you paying attention to the Internet immediately after Nintendo announced that name? Did you not see several hundred jokes about Nintendo and the word "penis"? Heck, there are still people who go around calling it the Revolution because they can't bring themselves to say "Wii".

If there's one thing that's been a constant, it's bitching about the name of Nintendo's upcoming console.

everything about the ps3 is proving to be busy, crowded and ugly

that box design is horrible

You know, this does it...

Joystiq is consistenly late with their news... but that's ok.
What's not OK is the degree of inaccuracy in their posts... that's INEXCUSABLE, considering how long it takes them to catch on to news. I could understand if they were throwing it up in a hurry, to break some news. But they are almost always hours (sometimes days) behind other blogs. If you're gonna take this long to put something up, at least use some of that time fact-checking/editing...

This is all in addition to their "major breaking news" post.

if only the other gaming blog whose name starts with K and ends with U (and has OTAK in between) didn't have such an awful layout, I would've quit coming to this site a long time ago.

The "breaking news" post almost made me switch (what a great idea that was!!) This really does it. I'm tired of you guys posting such obvious flame bait just in the name of getting more hits from fanboys.

Bye bye, Joystiq. it's been real (more often, not so real).

cringer8 --

I never saw your tip, mate -- I even just searched my inbox for it. Sorry. That said, I guess it's a fitting punishment then that we're forced to replicate IGN's immature labelling joke.

"Hey, we gotta watermark this Untold Legends box. Where should we put it?"

"the BOOB!"

"tee hee"

I don't see what the problem is, sounds like more Joystiq sony bashing for any reason. It is important for customres to know they are getting a bluray title, some poeple don't understand all the benefits PS3 and HD gaming, just like they don't understand you need to use an HD signal to get the best out of your HDTV, so the bluray thing makes it easier for them to follow when they are getting a trueHD game or a normal game, that way if they don't have an HDTV yet they can buy normal PS2 games for now and save some $$$. MS can't do this because they would get slammed for false advertising, since htey aren't using a next generation disc format.

"Bye bye, Joystiq. it's been real (more often, not so real)."

You know, we could count the number of people who give a shit on one hand.

And still have five fingers leftover.

Blu Ray movies have that blue part, so why wouldn't the games? It makes no sense to make a new box, plus Sony is making damn sure that everyone knows these games on on Bluray discs.

after seeing this, MS has announced that they will be changing the 360's box art to combat that of the PS3. MS has stated the reason for the change being "it is more important for consumers to know what kind of disc our games are one than the title of the game and the console they are for"

http://www.imageviper.com/displayimage/54387/0/ps3parody.jpg

hahaha. just kidding.

that is one ugly box though. although I highly doubt alot of PS3 fans will steer clear of a PS3 game just because it has a big ol' blu-ray logo emblazoned on the top of it.

At least they're not using the hd-dvd box?
What?
Have you ever seen an hddvd and blu-ray case next to each other? They're exactly the same, except that hddvd boxes have a nicer subdued red color, and blu-ray cases are "THIS SHIT IS MOTHERFUCKING BLUE MOTHERFUCKERS" blue

While anyone who judges a book by it's cover is an idiot, a great many casual gamers are, in fact idiots. The capture of the retard fratboy demographic is quite important. What this might do is erode Sony's mindshare. By making all their stuff bulky and bothersome and ugly, they are giving a slight edge to their opponents.

Boxart draws people in. That's one of the reasons why the master system was such a failure. It's box art evoked math class, not fun. If Sony uses hyper ugly boxes, they may very well inadvertantly drive casuals onto the two cheaper consoles, who provide a much cleaner, sleeker look.

More news out of thin air...

A guy comes up with what he thinks something will look like 2 months from now, Joystiq rushes and promotes the thing into a news item.

Hey, Joystiq, my dog thinks those boxes will be bone-shaped, can you post an article stating the same?

you guys need to see the promo sites for both hd-dvd and blu-ray.

hd-dvd: www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com
blu-ray: www.blu-raydisc.com

one is done very well and tastefully. the other is just damn obnoxious. guess it's reflected w/ the boxes they use. hd-dvd, subtle red with rounded out smooth edges. blu-ray, obnoxious blue and boxy.

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Pack this! PS3 box style revealed [update 1]

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