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Konami solves "Greatest Hits" ugly box art problem!

robo_robo

Member
Wario64 said:
but why should us cheap bastards care about the GH label? i certainly dont

Well the fact we are cheap bastards doesn't mean we can't be collectors to. Not that collecting games means that you NEED the non GH games. It only depends on how picky the collector his.
 
skip said:
it's like going into a bar and overhearing people talking excitedly about their favorite sports team, and a random stranger coming up to the table and saying "I think sports are stupid." in real life, you'd get confused/blank stares, and quite possibly a punch in the face. not so on the internet, thanks anonymity
and the guy who threw the punch gets to go to jail...
 
Duck of Death said:
Trolling box art topics? Come on now.

Hopefully JackFrost isn't gone for good. :(


Mr. Vestal requested a one month ban so he could concentrate on work. I obliged him since I know how distracting GAF can be. Don't worry, he'll be back.

Out of anyone in this thread, JackFrost wouldn't be the one banned. :p
 

.hacked

Member
Sorry but I care for the esthetics of my collection. Why else would I shell out the big bucks for a silm white PS2 to match my white PSP I have preordered?

Value box art sucks, can't they just put a fucking sticker on the box? My collection will forever be marred with that god dam box for Virtua Fighter Evo!!!!!!
 

cja

Member
Dr_Cogent said:
We aren't the reason at all. It's called economics. Game devs/publishers want to maximize profits and they realize that 99.99% of the people out there don't give a shit.
Two million were willing to buy Halo 2 LE for some decent packaging and a couple of extras that cost pennies to make.

With games regularly having marketing budgets in the $10m range its perverse that these same games have photoshopped box arts that any hobbyist could produce in five minutes.

The consumer is spending $50 on a product that costs $1 to manufacture. The production costs of the actual game are by far the largest factor in determining whether the sales will bring about profitability. I don't see why the end consumer should have to put up with shoddy manuals and weak art just because some project manager was responsible for a game running a few days over schedule.
 

Dr_Cogent

Banned
cja said:
Two million were willing to buy Halo 2 LE for some decent packaging and a couple of extras that cost pennies to make.

With games regularly having marketing budgets in the $10m range its perverse that these same games have photoshopped box arts that any hobbyist could produce in five minutes.

The consumer is spending $50 on a product that costs $1 to manufacture. The production costs of the actual game are by far the largest factor in determining whether the sales will bring about profitability. I don't see why the end consumer should have to put up with shoddy manuals and weak art just because some project manager was responsible for a game running a few days over schedule.

You honestly believe there isn't significant work and reworks that go on when designing any of this? I think your line of thinking is out of whack. Some artist(s) gets paid to do that work, and I am sure it goes through revisions. Part of that production is all of the work that goes into the manual, the box art - everything. If they can cut corners on something that isn't that significant, since it obviously doesn't affect the actual game, they will.

And whats with this "put up" remark? See, this is my point. Most of us don't care. Only a handful of people actually do. If it actually affected sales, then the publisher would care, but it obviously doesn't. I'm not "putting up" with anything.
 
Dr_Cogent said:
You guys are freakin insane with as much caring you have about art.

Box art doesn't change the game one bit. Yeah, I like a pretty picture or something cool - but who gives a fuck if the game is great?


How bout you don't click in box art thread, mkay?
 

Zaptruder

Banned
Dr_Cogent.

Please end yourself, for our sake. For your sake.

Preferably by cutting open your scrotum and jamming your testes up your rectum.

Then jumping off a bridge.

Thanks,

Sane people.
 

BuddyC

Member
This thread ...hurts my head. I'm not asking that you all get along and play nice, but can't you at least be somewhat tolerant of each other's differing opinions?

Oye.
 

Tamanon

Banned
Actually Dr Cogent already apologized for his comment earlier and instead resumed just discussing the issue, looks like some people just didn't read very far in the thread at all:p Knee-JERK for the win!
 

cja

Member
Dr_Cogent said:
You honestly believe there isn't significant work and reworks that go on when designing any of this? I think your line of thinking is out of whack. Some artist(s) gets paid to do that work, and I am sure it goes through revisions. Part of that production is all of the work that goes into the manual, the box art - everything. If they can cut corners on something that isn't that significant, since it obviously doesn't affect the actual game, they will.
If there is significant work then it doesn't show in the final result. You have the utterly bizarre situation where cover art has gotten so bad that EGM think its worth their, money-making, while to give alternative inlays to its readership. A magazine with a circulation of over 500,000 and sells for $4.99 (with a significant subscriber base who pay a lot less) believe they can make more money giving new cover art to its readers who may not even own the $50 game that the full color artwork is meant for!
And whats with this "put up" remark? See, this is my point. Most of us don't care. Only a handful of people actually do. If it actually affected sales, then the publisher would care, but it obviously doesn't. I'm not "putting up" with anything.
"Most of us" hasn't been validated, in the launch month of Halo 2 as many people bought a version for $5 despite the game being exactly the same. This doesn't tally with your claim that "99.9%" of game buyers only care about the game disc.
 

Dr_Cogent

Banned
cja said:
If there is significant work then it doesn't show in the final result. You have the utterly bizarre situation where cover art has gotten so bad that EGM think its worth their, money-making, while to give alternative inlays to its readership. A magazine with a circulation of over 500,000 and sells for $4.99 (with a significant subscriber base who pay a lot less) believe they can make more money giving new cover art to its readers who may not even own the $50 game that the full color artwork is meant for!

"Most of us" hasn't been validated, in the launch month of Halo 2 as many people bought a version for $5 despite the game being exactly the same. This doesn't tally with your claim that "99.9%" of game buyers only care about the game disc.

Lets have a GAF poll on this. I would love to see the results.
 
JackFrost2012 said:
First editions of books are worth more than later printings - do you think that's equally silly? The "original" form of something is generally considered purer and more desireable than later revisions. I'm not deadly serious about game collecting, but I do like for my games to look aesthetically pleasing at least. Of course, you're welcome not to care, but that doesn't mean other people are insane for doing so.

Yes first prints are worth more, and the second print are "usually" worth less. The thing to remember is the "greatest Hits" line is the second print, so the original editon is what a collector would want. Let's put it this way, you collect games for value, you as a collector would want the second print or "Value edition" to have some mark to help you distinguish between editons. Books have dates and sometimes different covers, so games should have differences in editions too. As a collector one would want the original copy, and not wait for the $20 edition. It seems alot of these collectors here want thier cake and it it too. If you wait you should get an edition that is different. If one collects for value, a person would hope later editons are different.

Link316 said:
its not silly at all, look at comic books, 2nd printings have the same story & art as the 1st printings, but nobody wants the 2nd printings

You are correct for the most part. The only other variable is limited editon. Of late comics have a 2nd or 3rd printing, but they will be limited in numbers but with a different cover. Often the Variant cover are Sketch covers, these covers can be worth more then the original.

Too me it seems thier less collectors here, and more people that just want the original cover, but at a cheap price. Collecotrs would want the original package, and that is contains more then just the original cover. Also collectors like it when you can tell the difference between print runs. Yes, putting the original cover on the opposite side would help distinguish between runs just as much as a "greatest hits" label, but to companies that a lot of effort and money. Alot of you say it would be cheap, but how sure are you?? The publishers has to pay for the paper, ink and the printing press time. The "greatest hits are menat to be budgets titles, adding an extra cover world wide would cost too much, and force the price to go up. You and I may be willing to pay $5 more, but not average joe.

For the record, I don't care either way about the greatest hits cover, play games not the box. Also allmay boxes have the spine goting forward.
 
Maybe this is the place to ask, maybe not: which is more important to you folks, a game that has the original box art or one that's sealed? I prefer the original, but I will choose a sealed GH copy any day over a used one.
 
FortNinety said:
Maybe this is the place to ask, maybe not: which is more important to you folks, a game that has the original box art or one that's sealed? I prefer the original, but I will choose a sealed GH copy any day over a used one.
I prefer sealed. If I can avoid it, I prefer not to buy used games.
 

Miburou

Member
Heh, kinda funny seeing his reply considering his frequent condescending replies to people who have an opinion he doesn't share. And only one poster (3rd post) "questioned his sanity" (with two others agreeing), hardly "the next 10 replies". But whatever.
 

Tarazet

Member
Dr_Cogent said:
You guys are freakin insane with as much caring you have about art.

Box art doesn't change the game one bit. Yeah, I like a pretty picture or something cool - but who gives a fuck if the game is great?

Because I like cover art? If collectors can pay unholy amounts of money to look at a picture on a wall, then I can pay a little bit more to look at the best possible cover art.
 

cja

Member
Dr_Cogent said:
Lets have a GAF poll on this. I would love to see the results.
GAF is full of enthusiasts, it wouldn't be a representative study of the "average" gamer. Yes, I'm giving you an excuse to use if any such poll took place. ;)
 

cvxfreak

Member
I've recently been collecting RE and BH games, and I won't settle for the value boxarts. It just ruins the shelf.
 

DDayton

(more a nerd than a geek)
I collect video games.

I have a pile of old video games WITH NO BOXES OR COVERS.

(organ plays dramatically)
 

NotMSRP

Member
It's smart economics on the consumer side to get original cover games at $20-30 prices. Prices fall for most games if you bothered to observe pricing patterns in this industry. The sweet time to get the game on the cheap is when it is announced as a GH title. That way the games are at the lowest possible point on a nationwide basis and stores still stock the original versions before restocks become GH versions. Getting your cake and eating it is entirely possible this way. Only mental deficiency can block one from what is otherwise clearly comprehensible.

Gamers, non-gamers, collectors, non-collectors, etc. Draw a Venn diagram or interpret characteristics in terms of sets, subsets, and supersets so you can understand better since for some there seems to be difficulties in where the boundaries lie.
 

Solid

Member
i too refuse too have a greatest hits/platinum game in my collection.

i'm actually so much against that i recently bought a used copy of RECVX, but the disc was so scrapped i was afraid to play in my pstwo. so i bought a platinum version as well and exchanged disc with my used copy. then i threw away the hideous platinum box. you people bitch over ONE lable, platinum games are totally changed in to silver!

e3_1_b.JPG


now that's hideous.
 

Amir0x

Banned
I wish everyone did it like that Sly Cooper greatest hit I purchased from K-Mart. It didn't have a reversable cover. Instead, the actual plastic wrap on the outside was the only thing that had a greatest hit red bar. So once you unwrapped the game, it was completely clean.
 

NotMSRP

Member
I'll hunt down a sealed, original non-exorbitant version before buying a GH version. One, it is more satisfying for me to get what I want rather than submit and get a substitute, and, two, I have patience. If you just want the game, then there is the internet.
 

Dr_Cogent

Banned
cja said:
GAF is full of enthusiasts, it wouldn't be a representative study of the "average" gamer. Yes, I'm giving you an excuse to use if any such poll took place. ;)

I'm willing to bet that I wouldn't need any such excuse :)

Solid said:
i too refuse too have a greatest hits/platinum game in my collection.

i'm actually so much against that i recently bought a used copy of RECVX, but the disc was so scrapped i was afraid to play in my pstwo. so i bought a platinum version as well and exchanged disc with my used copy. then i threw away the hideous platinum box. you people bitch over ONE lable, platinum games are totally changed in to silver!

e3_1_b.JPG


now that's hideous.

You bought the game twice? :lol

I guess I have a hard time understanding this mentality because I don't have money to spend like that. I have far too many things I have to spend my money on like a house payment, 2 car payments, a kid, ... the list goes on and on. When I hear people complaining about their box art - I start to wonder.

I'm more concerned about the game itself and not it's artwork on the outside. Like others have said, if you want the original box art, but the original run of the game. Not the GH version.
 

john tv

Member
Hrm. Came real close to banning a whole buncha people for a week... then just Dr Cogent... but for now, I'm not going to ban anyone.

But if something like this happens again, you will be permbanned, no questions asked.

It's awfully nice of you to apologize for being a jerk, but the damage is already done. Next time, it would be better to stay quiet until you have something constructive to say, otherwise just don't say anything.
 

jenov4

Member
Amir0x said:
I wish everyone did it like that Sly Cooper greatest hit I purchased from K-Mart. It didn't have a reversable cover. Instead, the actual plastic wrap on the outside was the only thing that had a greatest hit red bar. So once you unwrapped the game, it was completely clean.

They only do that when the store has overstock of games that goto the GH label. I've managed to score a few 1st gen PS2 stuff because of that. :)

And yes, I'm one of those folks who prefer the original stuff.
 

b_dawk

Member
well. i thought i was the only one who hated how box art gets changed or squashed when a game becomes a "greatest hit" or whatever. i have silently grumbled as i said out loud- oh, yeah, now i can buy that completely random game my poor ass couldn't afford at full price. i think that reversible art is a nice way to solve this, i'm surprised anyone ever thought of it. as an aside, i did go into a video store and ask for the copy of "the life aquatic" with the cartoony cover only to be told- yeah, that cover is reversible. opps.
 
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