Yeah, one thing is taste, and another different thing is whether something, even in bad taste, sells. From a design perspective, Japanese design is better balanced and more discrete, and American design is more Marketing In Your Face. Sometimes, though, the marketing department really screws up, while trying to adapt design to their imperfect interpretation of a stereotype, that is their target audience/consumer. They give it elements that can be associated in the typical consumer mind... but even if there's a target consumer, I don't thing everyone is this average with which the marketers underestimate all of us - and it's simply an aggregate made to boost sales that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but always looks ugly in the process. Thus, we sometimes get art that's a little too obvious in its changes to sell. I don't know. It might. But from an actual aesthetic perspective, it does not look successful. I'm not saying some art isn't great. The american version of ZOE2 still looks great, the Working Designs versions of Gungriffon and Silpheed as well. It all depends on how much a company can balance the aesthetics of a cover and a game, and still have a little marketing that doesn't screw anything up. It's not really about nationality, it simply happens that american marketing is sometimes way too in control. I'm sure it'd happen down here too.
I love the Deus Ex cover . Most of those do look better, although I can't say I wouldn't get sick of Japanese covers. I'm not a big anime person .
I've not really seen a lot of recent game covers as I don't really go to those stores, but I couldn't help but noticingin borders that the US market (for movies, dvds, etc.) can't help but write what other people think about the product right on the front. Who fucking cares?
I haven't seen that too much. I've seen it on plenty of movie boxes (damn them for putting it on the Crow), though...
I don't mind them quoting people on the back of game cases, but having them on the front is unacceptable. Just one of the reasons I refuse to buy Ikaruga for Gamecube (i've played it on DC, and will probably get my own copy of that ver at some point).
Funny stuff, about imitation. Pirates in Mexican copies write their own "reviews" and "comments" on the bootleg covers of DVDs and games - sometimes without even seeing the movies or playing the games. Boy, are they embarassingly bad... Of course, this is copying the american way of selling movies through covers. I think it sucks, as well. There's been good comments on the back. One of them would sell you FF7 - "Quite Possibly, the Greatest Game Ever Made" That was one hell of a quote.
I see what you're saying, the Japanese version is a little plain, and the PAL version also isn't a bright as the US cover. But how about the PAL Metal Edition
