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Nintendo revives PSP style interior box art for Switch and it is gorgeous

Cerium

Member
We have a thread dedicated to the back of Switch game cases, but while these other images were eventually added to it the title was never updated and the lede buried. The world deserves to know that possibly the greatest game boxes ever are being iterated upon! Shots taken by Gaijinhunter on Twitter.

So basically, PSP game cases are a contender for my all time favorites. Sleek, classy, and some publishers uniquely took advantage of the translucent plastic to include box art visible only from the interior. My personal favorite, the Dracula X Chronicles (thanks to the androgyne!):

Mrgjsyul.jpg


First, a side by side comparison with both cases:


So, thinner and shorter but clearly inspired. Now the real interesting part is what they look like on the inside; I personally believe the translucent PSP cases were not initially meant to be used this way and it was just something that innovative publishers started to do. Many (probably most) PSP covers were just blank white on the inside, even first party Sony games. With the Switch cases, however, the plastic is more transparent to better view the art and it seems that every single game will take advantage of this. Behold:


These might just be the most beautiful game cases ever designed.
 

Eolz

Member
I love it, but I'm waiting to see if
1) it'll be the same in the west
2) publishers will do that every time.

I remember how they did on 3DS too for some games.
 

mj1108

Member
Not to worry, NoA will completely fuck it up by putting MyNintendo ads on there instead of beautiful artwork.
 

Roo

Member
Weird how they went for the lower side of the case instead of the center to place the gamecard holder.
 
Damn this is only getting me more excited for launch. I absolutely love when extra effort is added for curating beautiful covers/insides.
 

Atheerios

Member
Also note how the paperwork is now above the cartridge.

Looks like they purposefully left the other side of the interior to display artwork.
 

ekgrey

Member
That's awesome, but I thought the first pic was a Switch case for a moment and got super excited about a Castlevania announcement I'd missed. :(
 
On the bright side, a lot of the JP interior boxarts seem to be used as a substitute for the basic setup/controls inserts we'd see from time to time on Wii U/3DS
in place of traditional manuals
, so maybe these will make it West after all.
 

fronn

Member
Love their choice of boxes. Small and clear!

PSP, Vita (to a lesser extent, but bonus points for really small size), and Switch win on best boxes of all time.
 

TheMoon

Member
Remember that these are promotional (pre-order) boxes and not actual game boxes. Expect publishers to cheap out on it after a while and go back to blank ones.

So Switch will use the same cartridge as 3DS?

No? have you not seen either video or pictures of one? They look totally different.
 

thefil

Member
One of the many irrational reasons I'm super excited for the Switch is the return of PSP cases. I just love the aspect ratio for cover artwork. They look so stupid on the inside with that tiny game cart.
 

dallow_bg

nods at old men
makes it bottom heavy so it sits on the shelf more stable

That extra weight from the cart and plastic holder is nothing.
It's still a good design choice at it gets the art and manual info a better viewing window.

edit: hehe, caught the before the edit
 

LaserHawk

Member
Weird how they went for the lower side of the case instead of the center to place the gamecard holder.

I'll bet that's for the sake of readability when looking at the inside art... which gives me hope that it's not just Japan getting this little perk.
 

Cuburt

Member
People really can't help themselves from immediately jumping to the "Can't wait for Nintendo to fuck it up" shit posting, huh?
 

depward

Member
AWESOME!

I love PSP game cases. It's why I've hung on to PSP physical games that I've purchased - they really are beautiful.

This is cool!
 

Ratrat

Member
I dont like how they just look like pages from the manual. The psp cases were usually just artwork like a reversible cover.
 
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