Judging a video game by its cover
by Blake Snow 
{ Oct 4th 2006 at 4:00PM }
1UP examines the history of box art design and the importance of localization to sell games. The piece notes poor translations of early pixelated NES covers and bland Sega Master System grid boxes during the Japanese to US adaptation process, including the turning point for video game cover art. From the article:"One of the first truly excellent examples of American box-art design was The Legend of Zelda for the NES. The Famicom artwork pictured a cartoonish depiction of Link against the backdrop of a dark Hyrule, while the American box featured gold packaging and a shield divided into four squares... This highly professional design made Zelda seem far less childish than many other releases of the time, accurately reflecting the complicated nature of the game. This box design was so successful, in fact, that all subsequent Zelda releases in America have kept the same motif."
[via Slashdot]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Boba Fett @ Oct 4th 2006 4:50PM
Why not show the Japanese Box Art for The Legend of Zelda instead of making me look it up.
SuperChuck @ Oct 4th 2006 4:42PM
SEGA's box design was pretty hip in the 80s.
It's pretty bland by current standards, but that clean, geometric look was cool back then.
gameclu @ Oct 4th 2006 4:18PM
I bought Zelda (technically pops bought it) soley based on its cover. There was something about that little bit of gold shinig out of the box that grabbed my attention. Felt like there was magic inside. Upon playing it, I discovered there was indeed magic inside.
crono141 @ Oct 4th 2006 4:29PM
same with Zelda 2. Solitary sword lying as if on the ground. Beautiful.
And is was that awesome 80's fantasy art style too.
CJC @ Oct 4th 2006 4:29PM
That Intellivision Donkey Kong might just give me nightmares.
Raynre @ Oct 4th 2006 4:35PM
What can I say? Zelda is the epitome of quality in the game industry.
MetaHuman @ Oct 4th 2006 4:31PM
There were some classic boxes, and there are still are. Though art is always nice, we mustn't not forget the comic book industry in the mid-'90s that almost destroyed itself selling comics with holographic-ultra-variant-collectible properties on comics that really meant very little. There was a lot of success for a short time but everyone just bought the comics for their 'collectibility' and didn't really stay for the long run for the more standard, monthly comics.
One of the companies that sort of cashed in on this was Valiant, who also published Nintendo Comics System. I don't think there were any "ultra-special" Nintendo comics though, just for their original series. :P They're pretty valuable for their fun writing though. :)
There's a YTMND that reveals that the two guys on the NES Contra box are actually traces/tweaks of Arnold Schwarzhenegger.
http://contrarnold.ytmnd.com/
Despite it saying Stallone as the second person (the YTMND creator's decision), the guy to the right is a trace of Arnold from Predator. :P
Raymond @ Oct 4th 2006 4:53PM
I have Zelda II: Link adventure on Famicom Disk System. Its all in Japanese, so Its kinda hard to play. I have the english version too though.
Miharu @ Oct 4th 2006 4:59PM
Yes, Master System boxes are "cool"...
http://www.kidfenris.com/wbcover1.html
And that's not even the most horrible one...
A good cover can sell the game. At least I like to stare at nice covers.
funkonaut @ Oct 4th 2006 4:55PM
Here you go, Boba Fett:
http://zs.ffshrine.org/album/legend-of-zelda/cover-scans-packaging/z1j-box3-0-front.jpg
crono141 @ Oct 4th 2006 5:00PM
Nice art,
That takes me WAY back.
Enycma @ Oct 4th 2006 5:05PM
I found this game mint state in a electronics store in Panama, I just had to buy it... even though it cost me 60 bucks... =0S
Blue @ Oct 4th 2006 5:10PM
On the flip side, one of the worst transitions was Rockman, cute robot to Mega Man, 40 year old pervert.
Rein @ Oct 4th 2006 6:30PM
One of my friends used to buy games solely on the cover. After we saw The Omen we went to a nearby EBgames and looked around. She kept on picking up really horrible games with nice looking boxart... I had to teach her not to judge a game by it's cover, because she might end up extremely disappointed in the end.
Pal @ Oct 4th 2006 6:18PM
America sure botches a lot more than making things better, that's for sure. Look at Final Fantasy III for the SNES and compare it to Final Fantasy VI for the SNES. What a difference!
Anakin @ Oct 4th 2006 6:43PM
I still loved the way that blue text looked on the gold cover of Zelda 2.
ruleshikki @ Oct 4th 2006 7:10PM
what can i say? zelda kicks ass.
macandpcuser @ Oct 4th 2006 8:24PM
"1. I bought Zelda (technically pops bought it) soley based on its cover. There was something about that little bit of gold shinig out of the box that grabbed my attention. Felt like there was magic inside. Upon playing it, I discovered there was indeed magic inside."
Amen..
h2c @ Oct 4th 2006 10:56PM
I'm with #11 (crono141) - this pic takes me way back. Back too far actually. Bleh, where did the time go. :-(
Capt. Castellanos @ Oct 4th 2006 11:31PM
ahhh the US Megaman box art.
frightening.
but fun.
K @ Oct 5th 2006 1:25AM
The article seemed to be well-argued up until the Shadow of the Colossus/Nausicaa comparison. To say that the font-faces are similar is like saying that Arial and Verdana are similar, both are san-serif typefaces to be sure, but anyone can tell the two apart.
S Munn @ Oct 5th 2006 11:35PM
Hey, why is the upper left square on the seal of the Zelda cover blocked out like that? Looks like a staticy TV. It's the same in the Joystiq article. Isn't there supposed to be a heart in that quadrant, just like in the lower right?