Somebody, seriously, please tell me what process occurred that resulted in such a dramatic and hideous change. Honestly, somebody in the industry here has to know of cases like this, and why exactly they occur.
What was wrong with the original cover? What about the new cover looks more "American" or less "Japanese" than the JPN cover?
The new box art looks beyond teh kiddie, and (although the JPN one is the same about this) it doesn't give you any indication whatsoever of what kind of game is inside. Granted, Katamari's box art was equally "WTF-inspiring" but at least it was funny and had a cool color scheme.
For the love.