Has video game label art gotten better or worse?

[noiseredux]

I cant think of too many covers around today that I like,I do love Deadly Premonitions

really? I think the Red Seeds Profile version of the cover is way better. Compare/contrast/discuss:

[Menegrothx]

Game manuals have certainly gotten incredibly lazy. A few pages with a picture of Xbox 360 controller with the button layouts on it on a few different languages? As pointed in the kids cant handle old school RPGs-article thread, gamers today dont expect that you actually need to read a game manual, the whole concept is unthinkable todays youth, so publishers dont bother with them anymore. As a consoquence of that, the sort of hilarious humor you found often in oldschool game manuals and different kinds of cool gimmicky game manuals that were themed after the game that you got with old computer games are long gone. Some times you dont even get a game manual at all with a brand new game.

And cover art for games like Battlefield, Mass Effect, Modern Warfare etc is straight out from action movie posters.

[ElkinFencer10]

I like modern game covers, but older ones were a lot more creative, I feel. On the one hand, they didn't have much choice. Look at the Atari graphics; you HAD to be imaginative. On the other hand, though, it still set the mood for the game regardless of how primitive graphics were.

I'm nostalgic, though, so I'm naturally going to be a bit biased toward anything retro gaming.

[isiolia]

Game manuals have certainly gotten incredibly lazy. A few pages with a picture of Xbox 360 controller with the button layouts on it on a few different languages? As pointed in the kids cant handle old school RPGs-article thread, gamers today dont expect that you actually need to read a game manual, the whole concept is unthinkable todays youth, so publishers dont bother with them anymore.

To a point, it's more environmentally responsible of them to do so. As much as it feels less substantial, having that leaflet instead of a small book means many millions fewer pieces of paper are used in producing copies. Some have a manual, just an online one (I know Gears of War 3 did this, basically just an insert with basic controls, and a URL).

[ElkinFencer10]

Game manuals have certainly gotten incredibly lazy. A few pages with a picture of Xbox 360 controller with the button layouts on it on a few different languages? As pointed in the kids cant handle old school RPGs-article thread, gamers today dont expect that you actually need to read a game manual, the whole concept is unthinkable todays youth, so publishers dont bother with them anymore.

To a point, it's more environmentally responsible of them to do so. As much as it feels less substantial, having that leaflet instead of a small book means many millions fewer pieces of paper are used in producing copies. Some have a manual, just an online one (I know Gears of War 3 did this, basically just an insert with basic controls, and a URL).

The greenie in me wants to agree with you, but the gamer in me wants to scream "BUT I WANT PRETTY PICTURES AND BACKSTORY IN MY MANUAL!!!"

Fortunately (as made evident by my driving a Ford Fiesta instead of a car with more power), my environmentalism takes priority. (See what I did there by picking the green smiley? lol)

[BoneSnapDeez]

Game manuals have certainly gotten incredibly lazy. A few pages with a picture of Xbox 360 controller with the button layouts on it on a few different languages? As pointed in the kids cant handle old school RPGs-article thread, gamers today dont expect that you actually need to read a game manual, the whole concept is unthinkable todays youth, so publishers dont bother with them anymore. As a consoquence of that, the sort of hilarious humor you found often in oldschool game manuals and different kinds of cool gimmicky game manuals that were themed after the game that you got with old computer games are long gone. Some times you dont even get a game manual at all with a brand new game.

And cover art for games like Battlefield, Mass Effect, Modern Warfare etc is straight out from action movie posters.

I hear ya on the manuals. Seems like most 3DS games don't even have a proper stapled manual, but instead a folded up sheet up paper with basic instructions. Tales of the Abyss does have a manual, but it ends abruptly at page 7, provides a URL, and tells you to read the rest online. Unbelievable! Lots of PC games don't even include manuals these days, just a sheet with installation instructions and some basic directions. Granted, there are PDF manuals on the disc, but what do they expect people to do...... read it on the screen? Print it off?

And am I the only one who hates ads in instructions booklets? Sometimes they're forgivable: Oath in Felghana has an advertisement for the other two Ys PSP games, that makes sense. But then take a game like the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus Collection. These are two beautifully crafted, minimalistic, artistic games. And what do you see as soon as you open the case? An ugly flashy ad for Sony 3D televisions. And it's not printed on a separate piece of paper, it's on the back of the last page of the manual. Totally jarring and inappropriate.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

There's plenty of new case artwork I like. I'm a sucker for old Atari box art though.

[Erik_Twice]

Well, we don't have stuff like Megaman anymore, that's a pro. But now all covers look the same. They use the same concepts, the same color theories, the same poses in the floating heads. I do not think I have seen any memorable modern covers. The movie poster comparison is accurate, videogames are becoming as bland as those.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

It's also worth mentioning that now that we have demos, reviews, and the internet, covers don't have to be nearly as eye-catching. Does anybody really go into the store and pick up a game based solely on the box art anymore? No? It's because you don't have too anymore.

[BoringSupreez]

I think box art for both movies and games were at their best in the '90s. VHS boxes always seemed to have better pictures than DVDs, and video games were still in that stage where they didn't try to imitate movies. However, I think '80s box art was even worse than what we have now. That Atari stuff was incredibly bland.