Video Games Box Vs. Box - Video Game Boxart Comparisons

http://boxvsbox.tumblr.com/

One of my favourites:

This is Doki Doki Panic, which is what the US version of Super Mario Bros. 2 is based on. One of my favourite games of all time, mostly for the bizarre visuals.

that one looks exactly like

weird.

as far as box art goes, doesn't get much better than psygnosis http://www.stanford....pal/?q=node/435

edit: i probably should've read your entire post instead of just looking at the picture btw.

I was gonna like your post ... but the like button is gone. But I still like it.

My personal favourite.

I used to get lost in that zero-gravity chewing gum.

"meg"

Missing a biggie on there (well it might be there but tumblr is a navigational nightmare) -

US vs Japanese -

  On 5/9/2012 at 4:17 PM, data said:

"meg"

-abyte.

I hate the American and to a slightly lesser extent European view on box art being darker and edgier. With even Kirby's expression being pissed off, whereas on Japanese cases he's happy looking. It's kind of embarassing.

I'm not some weeaboo cunt but Japanese art is usually so much better. The Perfect Dark art is just fantastic. It looks more like a movie than a game, and certainly is a bit more serious, but it's just lovely.

  On 5/9/2012 at 4:17 PM, mcbpete said:

Missing a biggie on there (well it might be there but tumblr is a navigational nightmare) -

 

US vs Japanese -

 

Oh shit, I just had to google this. That's incredible... what the fuck!?

Phalanx was a great game too

  Quote

  On 5/9/2012 at 4:17 PM, mcbpete said:

Missing a biggie on there (well it might be there but tumblr is a navigational nightmare) -

 

US vs Japanese -

 

 

Oh shit, I just had to google this. That's incredible... what the fuck!?

the fuck...

Bust A Move 2

Pal release -

US (hidden for sheer scary weirdness)

The 'super' version was equally as terrifying -

good grief. i have the PAL version. that's probably why i grew up so sane.

The Atari 2600 Activision titles are my favorite.

Yeah they're ace, you could get sew-on patches too of the box art (for your class mates to make fun of):

  On 5/9/2012 at 4:28 PM, Gary C said:

  On 5/9/2012 at 4:17 PM, data said:

"meg"

-abyte.

yes, i just haven't seen it being used anywhere by anyone since the early-mid 90's.

At the places I've worked, box art and promotional materials are exclusively handled by the publisher's marketing team, not the studio. Basically, you send off a bunch of screenshot and concept art tifs and hope for the best.

I think that's a big reason why American box art is so uniformly terrible.

IIRC, the US Phalanx art was deliberately weird and incongruous because the designers wanted to distinguish it from the 300989 other space shooter game boxes.

So in that respect, it's a pretty successful cover.

Dark souls Japanese art is infinitely better than the American art.

  On 5/9/2012 at 9:18 PM, baph said:

IIRC, the US Phalanx art was deliberately weird and incongruous because the designers wanted to distinguish it from the 300989 other space shooter game boxes.

 

So in that respect, it's a pretty successful cover.

Yeah, but how many kids you think would pick up a box with some old fart strumming a banjo on it versus a huge phallic ship blasting the fuck out of aliens?

Japanese/PAL box art

American box art

boo hiss america...

  On 5/10/2012 at 6:38 AM, Enter a new display name said:

Japanese/PAL box art

 

 

American box art

 

This one always comes to mind. I own both of these due to Beneboi sending me the US one in a secret santa years back. I remember just being gobsmacked by how bad the US art was...

  On 5/9/2012 at 4:06 PM, data said:

that one looks exactly like

 

 

weird.

That's because they are the same game with slightly different sprites.

The USA/Europe version of SMB2 was originally a Japanese game by the name of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, released in USA instead of Japanese SMB: Lost Levels which was considered too difficult for import in USA. But after the release in USA it was also re-released in Japan as Super Mario USA.

  On 5/10/2012 at 11:59 AM, mokz said:

  On 5/9/2012 at 4:06 PM, data said:

that one looks exactly like

 

 

weird.

 

That's because they are the same game with slightly different sprites.

 

The USA/Europe version of SMB2 was originally a Japanese game by the name of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, released in USA instead of Japanese SMB: Lost Levels which was considered too difficult for import in USA. But after the release in USA it was also re-released in Japan as Super Mario USA.

The Japanese SMB 2 is an awesome game too... and it is hard - much harder than SMB 1 was.

  On 5/10/2012 at 7:24 PM, Joyrex said:

The Japanese SMB 2 is an awesome game too... and it is hard - much harder than SMB 1 was.

Yeah, I think it's supposed to be for people who have played the SMB 1 through. I've tried it myself as it was included in the Super Mario All-Stars collection and it was pretty damn hard.