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We <3 Katamari -- US boxart (bizarff)

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
credit to joystickz, who can't make a new thread yet...

114995e.jpg


BIZARF


and the comparisons:


JPN
PA.06615.022.jpg





KOREAN
PA.37340.001.jpg
 
so bad.

so sooooooo bad.

sooooooooooooooooooooooooo so so so sooooooooo bad.


purple and yellow.

disgusting.

I've had the pleasure of finishing the import over the last few weeks....
fantastical game.

great Japanese box art....
great booklet design....

even korea's box art wasnt that bad....

and...
AND...

there was a black and white comp floating around for the past two months as a placeholder that wouldve been just fine.... the one with the ball and the black type...


even that wouldve even been fine...

but what do we get?

this crap.
114995t.jpg

this utter terrible crap.

bravo namco.
bravo for shaq-fuing it up.
 
anyone else expecting a Viewtiful Joe 2 situation here?

I think it wont even sell half of what the first one did, especially with the higher price.

and this boxart.. blechh
 
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.
 
olimario said:
Are we sure this isn't a placeholder?
I could make a better boxart in minutes in photoshop.


pretty sure this will be it....

they actually had a place holder for the past two months....

(cant find it anymore..... the image URL has been universally replaced by THIS piece of crap)
 
Holy Jebus!

I normally don't care for such things, but Namco seems to want to take the throne from Megaman as worst cover ever.
 
heres a bigger view of this turd... from Gamefly's images...

(check gamestop... gamefly... everyone.... this image is EVERYWHERE)


114995e.jpg
 
man... I wonder why we didn't get the version with 35 Japanese people on the cover?!?!

....

oh well, guess we just have to deal with it when all of our kickass, hip friends come over.
"DON'T LOOK AT THE BOX, D00D!"
 
Prospero said:
I don't usually participate in boxart threads, but I have to say that boxart is horrible.

Word. I don't mind the art on the box at all, EVER, but this one here... the colors and contrast are so... OFF it hurts my eyes.
 
Wow.. talk about uglyness. Katamari's box art was really cute. This is vulgar :(
I would rather have a box art looking almost like the first's only modified so put together side by side it looks like the continue each other and have a new setting on the front.
 
Wario64 said:
the focal point of the box is a huge friggin house.


are they trying to use some kind of visual reference to the king and princes noses with the triangle houses?

if that's what they were thinking...

they've failed miserably.
 
I don't see how the US boxart is any worse than the POS JP boxart. I'd take simplistic art over a lame photograph of the dev team standing in front of a building, anyday.
 
Mr_Furious said:
I don't see how the US boxart is any worse than the POS JP boxart. I'd take simplistic art over a lame photograph of the dev team standing in front of a building, anyday.

THERE'S A FUCKING GIRAFFE ON THE ROOF.

God, how terrible the US art is.. :(
 
That is absolutley HIDEOS. The font, the house, the colors. I don't think they could have made it any worse. That's just painful. The Japanese boxart is easily the best but that wouldn't work in NA. The Korean boxart is good too and that would work better. They should have just used that one. Doesn't seem like a placeholder either.
 
That's pretty terrible box art. I mean, *really* terrible. I get it when sometimes a company licenses a game from a different jpn publisher and can't get new art assets, but it's Namco... they can't just tap someone on the team to make a new box? Just use the soundtrack CD art or something.
 
i've thought about it......

and now i'm going to say it.

this design is by far....

WORSE than the US Massacre or ICO's cover.


We all know that ICO had a beautiful cover in Japan and Europe.... but was massacred int he states.... right?

JAPAN/PAL (beautiful)
ico_box.jpg



US (Eww..)
ico.jpg





Thing is.... as BAD as the US version was.... as it misprepresented the visual aura and blatantly showed character designs nowhere near representing the actual game models...

at the very least it made it clear that it involved a young hero on a quest to save a (female) tourtured soul.


What does THIS say about We Love Katmamari?
257150.jpg



I doesnt even remotely begin to represent anything having to with the game whatsoever.
Nothing.

Its just...

It's just shaq-fuing terrible.
It's vomit.
It's emarrasing.
It's not creative.
It doesn't say "wacky"

It doesnt say "Love"

it doesnt say anything.

it says....
it says.........

TRY AGAIN NAMCO!
 
What the?!!!

They stole my kid's painting, scribbled on it, put We <3 Katamari on the top and made it the box art! I'm suing!
 
While Jack Tompson is busy marching on 622 Broadway New York, NY in an effort to hault Rockstar from releasing a game he's never played because he thinks it will be harmful to america....

(total bullsh*t by the way....)


I say we rally on 4555 Great American Parkway Santa Clara, CA!!!!!!!!!

The instant this cover hits the shelves, more american Katamari fans will be pushed closer to the edge of suicide.

This is obviously more harmful......

Viva la slap Namco in the face for this!

FOR SHAME!
 
Honestly, I don't see why yall thought the Japan cover was the second coming of Jesus. It's just a bunch of guys! It's barely even eye-catching.
 
fennec fox said:
Honestly, I don't see why yall thought the Japan cover was the second coming of Jesus. It's just a bunch of guys! It's barely even eye-catching.


oh believe me....

i thought is was just great.... but not the second coming.....

and nowhere NEARLY as great as the first games cover.....


the problem is that we're dissapointed that it isnt even remotely good...

it's terrible....

it's....

it's a disgrace.

it's an obvious attempt at rebranding the franchise toward parents of younger consumers looking for something harmless ofr their children under 8 years old.

Namco... knowing that they've got a devoted core fanbase of the original... knows that rabid fans will buy it anyway.... but since its such an obscure game to sell to average joe... they're copping out and aiming for an infintile target.

man that sh*t is fugly.
 
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