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Sega/Nintendo of America had terrible taste with graphic design in the early 90's, didn't they?

Zog

Banned
ps5.jpg
Toys R Us Canada also has an NES Demo Kiosk?
 

.Pennywise

Banned
Old designs had personality. Now everything it's the same with different colors. From box template design, to box art where every single one has a guy that's probably holding a gun.
 

nush

Gold Member
Old designs had personality. Now everything it's the same with different colors. From box template design, to box art where every single one has a guy that's probably holding a gun.

Marketing found the optimum design elements for a game.
 

nush

Gold Member
So because a Toy store carries game consoles, they are toys?
I've never said they were toys, just that I've seen them in toy departments and TOYS R US sell them.

You're so insecure that your game box might be considered a toy by someone. Go and buy a big boy PC.
 

Zog

Banned
I've never said they were toys, just that I've seen them in toy departments and TOYS R US sell them.

You're so insecure that your game box might be considered a toy by someone. Go and buy a big boy PC.
I have one but if I only use it to play games, is it also considered a toy?
 
Very much disagree with OP with that first example. The white on blue is too samey. White and blue on red pops.

Plus that gold for the license is way cooler than the tiny text.
 

nkarafo

Member
Yes.
Nintendo went out of their way to make that distinction.
They did it so retailers would think it's not a videogame console but a toy. After the videogame crash, retailers would not want more videogames on their shelves. Nintendo camouflaged the NES as a toy, by using this big plastic robot.

But it was a trick you see.
 

MacReady13

Member
I remember being a teenager (born in 1980) when the NES and especially SNES was big. I never had a Master System or Mega Drive but god I was jealous of anyone who did. The box art especially for the Mega Drive games were unreal!

Now that I am older and prefer the older games from my youth, I've decided to get more into the Mega Drive and god do I love it. And the box art is sensational!
 

Zeroing

Banned
Nintendo only did that because retailers wanted nothing to do with game consoles and computers after the crash. In other words, Nintendo was tricking the retailers to get them into stores. I would say that this is a really bad example.
Yes and no, Nintendo was indeed a toys company at their inception, they did advertise it for children as a toy even in Europe. So my point is still valid. That is the perception people had back in the 80's - Consoles were high tech toys. Of course the name NES tells it all, it is entertainment. But I was just trying to explain why there's this confusion.
 

nkarafo

Member
Yes and no, Nintendo was indeed a toys company at their inception, they did advertise it for children as a toy even in Europe. So my point is still valid. That is the perception people had back in the 80's - Consoles were high tech toys. Of course the name NES tells it all, it is entertainment. But I was just trying to explain why there's this confusion.
"Entertainment" covers a lot of stuff. I feel videogames are in the same category as other forms of "home entertainment" like movies and music. At least that's how gaming evolved as it became more "cinematic" and all.
 

Zeroing

Banned
"Entertainment" covers a lot of stuff. I feel videogames are in the same category as other forms of "home entertainment" like movies and music. At least that's how gaming evolved as it became more "cinematic" and all.
I am just talking about how advertisement shapes people's perception of the product. Back in the 80s it was being advertised as a toy. But It is not a toy.

Games make the viewer interact. On cinema or art, the viewer is passive. That is why video games are the higher form of entertainment, they can be interactive art, interactive narrative etc. so many possibilities.
 

Zog

Banned
Games are supposed to be art like movies and music. So that would make game consoles entertainment products like DVD Players and Stereos.
 
Games are supposed to be art like movies and music. So that would make game consoles entertainment products like DVD Players and Stereos.

Except those things aren’t created for the specific purpose of play like video games like other toys. Video games are interactive entertainment toys.
 
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cireza

Banned
Those designs were indeed pretty ugly, especially when compared to what we had in Europe.

I find that the Sega Saturn PAL games, with the Plastic Boxes, are the prettiest ones. Cardboard boxes (Saturn first gen) tend to go apart because the glue dried, and of course as the cardboard is directly exposed, it gets used pretty quick.

And then second place, the MegaDrive first generation boxes. They had a great design, and were resistant and practical.

From the US, I do have a soft spot for the Sega-CD and Saturn boxes. They are huge, which allows for a very pretty artwork. but they are extremely fragile and will break easily.
 

8bitpill

Gold Member
I don't know how this wasn't posted in this thread yet,
360-1.jpg



This was the official cover and some how, someone said this was acceptable to be the art work for a mass produced game.
 
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