Gaming Cultures "Box Art Battles"

In this post I have been looking into a selection of gaming box art with a difference, the difference being that each of the VS images below are different countries representation of the same game. I thought it would be a good start to judge them of there content to see if there are any key similarities which could aid me in my project.

Uncharted Golden Abyss

The first thing that springs to mind is the title. In the USA version the title is at the top of the box whilst the Japanese version is along the bottom, I'm not quite sure this is like that but it's question that will need answering in a later post. Another key focus that I've noticed is the USA version seems to be more violent, I suppose this could be down to Americas gun culture and thirst for action in games. The Japanese cover seems to more tranquil with a more emphasis on the environment. The Japanese cover seems to be more rich in colour as well.

Dead Island

Once again, the title is at the very top on the USA box whilst the other isn't. The key thing that strikes me is how simple in style the Japanese version is over the American. The former has a limited pallet silhouette look to it whilst the latter is a highly rendered, busy looking piece.

Gears of War

The more and more I look at these differences, the more I am noticing how more violent the USA art work are. Maybe violent isn't the word but a more focus on action and weapons. Even the colourful Kirby's Adventure has an emphasise on a weapon, the weapon actually seems to be the focus as it's the biggest object on the box which kind of detracts from the main character.

Final Fantasy 13

Another key similarity that I'm noticing between the USA & Japanese cultures are within the styles. USA seem to go with a more polished, highly rendered look which can be seen within this piece below, I must admit I prefer the simple Japanese look.

So what have I learnt from this post? Well I the first thing that I have noticed is that the composition of the title seems to have a significance, why that is I can not say but is a question that will need answering. I also notice the how America seem to create a much more busy box art over the simplicity of the Japanese and European box's. USA also seem to be much more violent in terms of weaponry been brandished more which I believe is to do with there culture. This seems to have brought more questions to the table than answers, answers that will need to be looked up