Does Wii boxart capture Nintendo's new vision for gaming?

by Blake Snow { Sep 20th 2006 at 1:55PM }

Gamestop, EB Games, and Amazon have all updated their websites with what appears to be official Wii box art (i.e. no "for display purposes only"). If legit, the asymmetric white bar looks top-heavy like it wants to roll right. That's a long-winded way of saying it looks ugly, subjectively speaking.

I can only imagine, however, that some fancy shmancy branding agency helped Nintendo design the new box art and starting asking all these "Who am I?" questions for the Wii to answer. The ad group then determined that Wii provides a different take on gaming and decided an asymmetric box design should be used as well.

So does Wii box art succeed in reflecting Nintendo's new take on console gaming? Do you dig the look?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

doogiestyle @ Sep 20th 2006 2:00PM

uh, who cares?

Occasio @ Sep 20th 2006 2:00PM

New vision?

This looks kiddy as normal to me.

Ayein @ Sep 20th 2006 2:01PM

I don't care what's on the outside, it's the inside that I care about.

Karki @ Sep 20th 2006 2:01PM

Ugly? It's minimalistic and clean looking. I'd rather not have [ONLY ON XBOX] or [XBOX LIVE] stamped all over the top. If you're looking for ugly, find a PS3 box.

. @ Sep 20th 2006 2:02PM

Wii will be for kids. Zelda is the only game that might be remotely interesting. Too bad its a Nintendo exclusive.

vidGuy @ Sep 20th 2006 2:02PM

Not ugly at all. Actually, I think it's the best design for any console cover, yet. Simple, yet not as simple as a rectangular top. Elegant.

I especially like the 1st edition gold version of LoZ:TP.

exstns @ Sep 20th 2006 2:02PM

egh.. at first it looked allright, but after 30 seconds of looking at it, the top part starts bothering my eyes.

Seifer @ Sep 20th 2006 2:02PM

Looks fine to me. It's a nice change in pace from the standard "flat bar" along the top or side we've seen so much of for the past few years. Anyone who thinks this will make or break the system is a few gold coins shy of a 1-up, if you know what I mean.

J-son @ Sep 20th 2006 2:03PM

They look fine to me. However, each box could have a close-up picture of a giant hairy ass on it and I wouldn't care as long as the games are good.

Moogle @ Sep 20th 2006 2:03PM

Wii is (intentionally) such a short name it'd look strange all alone in the middle of an even box-wide bar. So I think, anyway. Looks fine to me.

Wild Homes @ Sep 20th 2006 2:04PM

the Tony Hawk one isn't real, or it's very old. aside from the RP rating, which is whatever, but a while back Neversoft confirmed that the game would not feature any online connectivity, remember?

Tsk @ Sep 20th 2006 2:04PM

Stop trolling for comments, the boxart has nothing to do with "Nintendo's new vision for gaming".

Beeves @ Sep 20th 2006 2:04PM

Anybody notice the Nintendo Wifi logo in the top left of the Tony Hawk DJ box-art?

And remaining on the subject, the box art looks fine. I don't see why it should define Ninty's vision for gaming.

jordan @ Sep 20th 2006 2:05PM

seriously, what have they done right? i mean gosh, they just can't make anything look good at all, i mean Wii is by far the ugliest system they've ever made in Nintendo's history.....seriously joystiq, what else can you say to put a spin on things, and the xbox 360 boxes look great??? at least it offers a change from what every other boxart looks like

jordan @ Sep 20th 2006 2:06PM

joystiq is really searching on this, must be a slow news day...

V. Watermelon @ Sep 20th 2006 2:06PM

Sure it looks pretty bad but don't you think that you're readin waaay too much into this.
An asymmetrical box design does not have to be a symbol of a major change in the face of gaming

If anything it's symbolic of how Nintendo need better designers. At least the Twilight Princess box looks Awesome...

Zo� K. @ Sep 20th 2006 2:07PM

I don't think I'm being too much of a fangirl in saying I think they look fine.

Wii and PS3 have somewhat ugly boxes. Is it not what's INSIDE the boxes that counts?

Andrew @ Sep 20th 2006 2:09PM

You guys are getting very desperate to find things to complain about.

Shamonue @ Sep 20th 2006 2:09PM

I think it's a nice break from the square, symmetrical, bland logos stamped on every box. It looks playful and fun. I like it.

dann @ Sep 20th 2006 2:09PM

I like it. It fits the whole wii style well.

sonyRox @ Sep 20th 2006 2:10PM

They look kiddy and stupid. I'll laugh at anyone who picks one of those boxes up at the store. Not like its gonna matter, Wii is gonna be gone after a couple months of the PS3 mopping things up

Derbeste @ Sep 20th 2006 2:10PM

Meh....I don't think it's awe inspiring, but I don't think it's "ugly" either.

As for whether it "capturing their vision"....it's box art. Haven't you ever heard of not judging a book by it's cover? ;-)

Evan @ Sep 20th 2006 2:11PM

At least the box tells us what system the game is for, and not just the kind of disk the game is on.

Zertoss @ Sep 20th 2006 2:12PM

Looks like a tabbed browser (Firefox, anyone?) to me.

I'll wait until I get my hands on the final box before I pass judgement. My initial impression, however, is that it looks fine. Not as slick as the (fake?) PS3 game boxes, but I'd still buy them.

jbhalper @ Sep 20th 2006 2:15PM

It's fine, i don't think there's any really GOOD box-art design happening for anyone out there, it's just branding.

When you look at the contour of the Wii design though, it's like an inverted Wiimote contour, which is kind of cool.

But really, it's not worth reporting this.

All Your Lost Socks @ Sep 20th 2006 2:16PM

I think this is kind of a dumb subject for a blog post, but okay. I like it, though it seems a little too white and clean for some of the crazy box art going on underneath it - a little distracting. Also, I wish they could vary from the norm a little and complement that beautiful LOZ:TP box art with something more worthy =/ But I think it will be a nice effect when you have twenty or so of them lined up on a shelf.

shinneri @ Sep 20th 2006 2:16PM

Probably one of the best looking designs for any platform yet.

Ian M @ Sep 20th 2006 2:17PM

I think it looks great. Much better than the cluttered PS3 boxart.

Drew @ Sep 20th 2006 2:17PM

Activision states that the Tony Hawk box art is not final and the final version will not have the wifi logo on it.

"Those are pre-final images, and the final box will not have the wi-fi logo. Activision’s in the process of updating the retailers with finalized images."

See http://gonintendo.com/?p=5801

Zo� K. @ Sep 20th 2006 2:20PM

If I may, the "Wii" stamp on the box needs to make a clear point while being as bland and minimilist as possible. A little, gray "Wii" on a little, white flap in the upper left corner. Hard to mistake it for a "Gamebox" or "Xcube" game, right?

If it was made to grab any more attention that that, then it'd end up taking away from the art and the title itself. The more I think about this trivial issue, the more I think it was probably the smartest way to go about doing it.

Alkaiser @ Sep 20th 2006 2:21PM

That design's going to hamstring deisngers.

You can't really use that space in the upper left, so it's effectively dead.

It forces the game logo to the middle of the box or the bottom of it. This is going to be really annoying to cover designers who are working on a game that goes cross platform from the 360 or PS3 to the Wii.

Raynre @ Sep 20th 2006 2:21PM

I think they were leaning a little heavy on the Japanese side of box design since they read from right to left over there. It would make sense if they just didnt want to change the box for Western consumers.

swampdonkey @ Sep 20th 2006 2:21PM

Ok retards ... please explain how the hell a box looks kiddie and stupid? Stop trolling and grow the fuck up.

MSaccarello @ Sep 20th 2006 2:21PM

who the hell cares joystiq? i doubt i'll be thinking about the Wii logo on the box while i'm totally immersed in the video games.

Cottonball @ Sep 20th 2006 2:22PM

I think it looks as good as it possibly could, given that a logo is always going to incongruous with the boxart itself. Minimal, clean, very Macish, which is in-line with the Nintendo design ethos of late.

If anything, I think it's the boxart itself which isn't particulary good for either of those three games. Would've have thought Nintendo would have done a better job with the Zelda box.

Apoklypse @ Sep 20th 2006 2:23PM

"21. They look kiddy and stupid. I'll laugh at anyone who picks one of those boxes up at the store. Not like its gonna matter, Wii is gonna be gone after a couple months of the PS3 mopping things up

Posted at 2:09PM on Sep 20th 2006 by sonyRox 0 stars"

I just wanted to re-print this comment to make sure everyone read it. All Nintendo did is put a white line and wrote Wii in the corner (SEGA and Activision design their own box-art thereafter), and they are "totally teh kiddie, amirite?!?!"

Thanks Joystiq for making this post almost solely so we can bask in the glow in responses like the above. Do you understand that this guy is going to be at the store laughing at people for the game purchases? Can you imagine that? What are you like the Comic Book Guy? Could you imagine being at the supermarket laughing at a guy for buying Lucky Charms? They are fucking delicious.

Z-247 @ Sep 20th 2006 2:25PM

Actually, I'm curious, what's considered to be the best box layout? And did that box design have anything to do with the system it was for?

Trevor @ Sep 20th 2006 2:26PM

13: "Anybody notice the Nintendo Wifi logo in the top left of the Tony Hawk DJ box-art?"

Good eye there. It looks like this game is still slated for a launch release, yet someone at Activision told IGN that 3rd parties have yet to receive the needed libraries to get their games online. Moreover, I thought no launch games would be online to boot.

Has something changed? Report on that, Joystiq, instead of trying to philosophize box art.

spaceboy @ Sep 20th 2006 2:26PM

i suppose you think Apple's box art is ugly too....maybe there should be system specs from top to bottom! or better yet, snippets from reviewers dumbass comments!!! a laught riot would be sweet on the front of super monkey ball adventure. do it!

Vincent @ Sep 20th 2006 2:26PM

"Wii is gonna be gone after a couple months of the PS3 mopping things up"

la mayo!

*erm*

lmao!
-----------
"I think this is kind of a dumb subject for a blog post, but okay."

Actually, this is just fine for a blog post, if I saw this on gamespot or IGN (like I actually go there, ha!) I'd laugh so hard I'd... well, I dunno, I've never laughed that hard, and I can't come up with anything clever.. oh well..

Todd @ Sep 20th 2006 2:26PM

Personally I feel the box Wii logo would fit better along the side of the box. I think Tony Hawk, or the developers, could have created better looking box art.

However I'm not spending the money for fucking box art, it isn't Van Gogh people. I'm looking for the fun.

Designerbradr @ Sep 20th 2006 2:26PM

Blake,

Even though you're clearly showing your distaste for the design, you answer your own question here.

"If legit, the asymmetric white bar looks top-heavy like it wants to roll right."

Exactly.

Wii is arguably about movement, and a minimilast yet asymmetrical element helps convey this idea. And take note that not only does the bar help convey this movement, but the diagonal (less than lateral) implied lines in the artwork bring a sense of dynamism to the box as well.

I personally like the look. But aside from the aesthetic, you can see how the idea of movement can be achieved.

Of course, the fact that you feel the box wants to "roll right" could also be a clever visual cue – that is, if it seems to "roll right" off the shelf and into your hands.

Brody Brooks @ Sep 20th 2006 2:27PM

I love the look of the Wii boxart design. It's minimal and provides more room for publishers to put the real artwork on the box rather than company logos and what format the game is in (cough, PS3, cough).

Oh, and I hate it when people say the Wii and Nintendo are for kids. It's not. It's just not directly aimed at an older audience like PS3 and Xbox 360. It's aimed at everyone, yes including kids.

Tillman @ Sep 20th 2006 2:29PM

If they had stretched out the curve then it would kinda look like the silhouette of a Wii remote

32_Footsteps @ Sep 20th 2006 2:30PM

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see any effective difference between the tab look or the solid bar that's on game boxes for the current generation of systems. The only difference I could see is a bit more acreage for actual box art compared to other boxes, but it's off to the edge where they're unlikely to use the extra space.

Designerbradr @ Sep 20th 2006 2:30PM

"39. 13: "Anybody notice the Nintendo Wifi logo in the top left of the Tony Hawk DJ box-art?"

Good eye there. It looks like this game is still slated for a launch release, yet someone at Activision told IGN that 3rd parties have yet to receive the needed libraries to get their games online. Moreover, I thought no launch games would be online to boot.

Has something changed? Report on that, Joystiq, instead of trying to philosophize box art."

GoNintendo has already debunked this and it has been stated by a rep that the Wi-Fi logo should not be on the packaging. The art is just preliminary.

spaceboy @ Sep 20th 2006 2:30PM

nintendo makes everything for kids? ha. right. nintendo makes games for a variety of gamers. not just D & D nerds who still live in their parent's basement. as a graphic designer, i think the Wii box is about 40 billion times more elegant than PS3 and about 30 billion times more than xbox 360.

Silver R. Wolfe @ Sep 20th 2006 2:30PM

I'm not feeling it. I don't like how much real-estate it takes up just to highlight that three letter word.

DG @ Sep 20th 2006 2:35PM

I kind of get carsick looking at those boxes right next to each other. Blake is right, there is some movement to the design.

However, I can't say as I hate it. Ever since the SNES and Genesis had standard box designs, we've all been used to seeing standard art wrapped by some sort of banner or frame for the system.

I wouldn't mind seeing something completely different, like back in the early days of the NES, where the box art was dependent on the publisher. But alas.