Waldorf and Statler Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 If you're complaining about the cover you were already gonna buy it. When dudebro goes to Gamestop and sees it he'll say "aH FUCK YEAH ANGRY GUY SHOOTING GUNS" and buy it. When mama or girlfriend walks into the store, gets recommended the game and sees it she'll say "Oh yeah bobby likes these games" and get it. They can only increase sales. If somebody swears off the game because the Box Art is not Picasso buttfucking Happy little trees and clouds then that's even more shallow than what they did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) I say we forget this box/cover art business and watch the VGA premiere trailer a few more times. MMM, SO GOOD! 1. Elizabeth has 9.5 fingers. 2. HANDYMAN! Edited December 9, 2012 by Atomsk88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldorf and Statler Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Honestly characters with personalities and companions are always a plus for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 When mama or girlfriend walks into the store, gets recommended the game and sees it she'll say "Oh yeah bobby likes these games" and get it. This is a very valid point that I hadn't thought about. Though I will say that I'm definitely not in the "was already going to buy it" category. Though I am more interested in it than I was in 2. I couldn't stand the gunplay in the first one (which I know was not the point of the game, but it was bad enough I just couldn't do it), and since the second was a continuation of the same story I didn't want to start it without playing the first one. But since this one's a reboot I'm intrigued again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 I'm somewhat curious on the point of making a cover that's to draw in the guys that like "dudebro shooters" if the game itself isn't a dudebro shooter. Surely they're now going to end up with a ton of people that are going "this Bioshock stuff is shit, no multiplayer either", thus turning off other potential sales? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 It seems deceitful but, really, you might as well try and 'convert' other gamers from non-sales anyway. And, again, we're talking about people who aren't linked into the greater gaming culture, so wouldn't really have that big an impact if they did want to complain. One of the Dishonored devs retweets what sounds like lots of people surprised at how much they liked the game after being drawn in by the marketing. Everyone else will be already be buying it based on its other merits. Plus, from what I've seen, it looks to have made the shooting more satisfying without sacrificing anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 Well that's a bit like saying american cheese now tastes more like cheese. I don't get why they just can't have the TV adverts shooty shooty? If folks are saying that the cover wouldn't turn you off when you see it there on the store shelf all genericy then surely the reverse is true? Even more so as not spending £40 over a cover is a lot easier than spending £40 based off a cover. Especially if these are people that only buy a few games a year, they'd surely bit a lot more selective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 You think the TV adverts won't be shooty shooty? It's clearly a calculated marketing move that doesn't affect the content of the game. And if the people are selective then they are, by that very definition, not at whom the cover is aimed. Levine doesn't even say that they expect people to base a buying decision off of the cover, just that they want people to at least pick up and look at the back of the box, too. From there, it can go either way but at least it has generated interest among people who may not have even given it a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldorf and Statler Posted December 9, 2012 Report Share Posted December 9, 2012 They'll see it'll catch their eyes, they might ask their friends if anybody has heard about it (chances are one will) and they'll tell him it is a fantastic series. They'll give it a shot, see there's no multiplayer and maybe get angry. But once they start playing it, they might love it. I have a friend who is by no means a dudebro but he hangs out with the pretty athletic guys in my university. He played Bioshock 1 entirely based on intellectual and gaming merits. I mean sure lots of dudebros will hide their intelligence and tastes from the others, but many can still like stuff that isn't alcohol and beer. There's a whole frat in here where I live full of those people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 If you look at the new trailer, I doubt any shooter fan is going to deny that Infinite looks to have great "gunplay." You're going to be doing a lot of insane stuff, and not just summoning ravenous crows and setting people on fire either. Ethan, while BioShock 2 didn't have as engaging and strong of a story/narrative as the first BioShock, it most definitely improved combat. If you ever get PS+, the game is FREE to subscribers. The first game I would unintentionally forget I even had weapons and went throughout most of it using powers instead. You dual wield in the sequel, which adds so much to the gameplay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Okay, but that doesn't change that it's building on the first one, which I haven't played through because the controls just felt wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorgiShinobi Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) The second isn't a continuation of the first BioShock. It has entirely different characters (with the exception of Brigid Tenenbaum) set 10 years after, though you do get some scattered references to what happened in the first game, mainly summarizing what the protagonist did and how Andrew Ryan was a self-centered dick. Edited December 10, 2012 by Atomsk88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldorf and Statler Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 In the second one you play as the very first big daddy tryng to rescue your own personal, now grown, little sister. You get a drill. If you want the game to be easy mode then upgrade the drill straight away, especially with the ice-power. Any Big Daddy you meet will die within seconds. If you don't want it to be easy mode, then wait until later in the game to upgrade it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Hmm, I'll have to try it then. I thought it was a direct sequel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Back to the box art: I still think there's no excuse for how boring and bland that box art is. Something based on this would have given the exact same shooty badass vibe, but looks so much better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 The guy's face doesn't stand out as much in that pic. Anyways, I still can't believe we're having this discussion, and continue to have it for every single piece of box art. Mass appeal and familiarity wins out over artistic value for shit like this. They don't want to turn people off more than they care about turning people on to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 They don't want to turn people off more than they care about turning people on to it. But they do turn people off to stuff. There have been a bunch of times (granted when I was younger and not as informed about games) that I ignored a game on the shelf because the cover made it look bland and crappy, only to (sometimes years) later find out that it was actually a really good game. If I saw that cover and didn't already know what Bioshock was I'd assume it was some shitty knockoff shooter and ignore it. That WAS the reaction I had to Uncharted 1, for example. Obviously Uncharted 1 sold fine, but can anyone here say whether that was because of or in spite of the box art? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldorf and Statler Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 I got the perfect cover for you guys wanting something artistic and exciting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 They don't want to turn people off more than they care about turning people on to it. But they do turn people off to stuff. There have been a bunch of times (granted when I was younger and not as informed about games) that I ignored a game on the shelf because the cover made it look bland and crappy, only to (sometimes years) later find out that it was actually a really good game. If I saw that cover and didn't already know what Bioshock was I'd assume it was some shitty knockoff shooter and ignore it. That WAS the reaction I had to Uncharted 1, for example. Obviously Uncharted 1 sold fine, but can anyone here say whether that was because of or in spite of the box art? Yeah, and now look at you, you're not some 19 year old dude bro who only plays call of duty and madden now are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/the-art-of-commerce-why-bioshock-infinites-cover-doesnt-matter I'd be pissed of Mumford & Sons fans crashed a show I was at... what does he have against Limp Bizkit fans anyways? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldorf and Statler Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Huh. Maybe I'm too used to Kotaku but it's nice seeing a community that largely as a group isn't spitting white foam from its mouth. Kudos to PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 (edited) http://penny-arcade....r-doesnt-matter I'd be pissed of Mumford & Sons fans crashed a show I was at... what does he have against Limp Bizkit fans anyways? Pretty sure he was just trying to pick two things that don't ordinarily go together. *Edit* - Also, where I still get hung up is the premise that the bland cover will actually attract anyone. Everyone just seems to be taking that as a fact, without giving any reason to believe it. Edited December 11, 2012 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldorf and Statler Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 I'm sure they've done some sort of observational study. Like maybe a group of people who know nothing about video games needing to choose between an artistic cover and say, Black Ops II. If they're guys buying for themselves or family members getting gifts I'm sure they'd choose the guy with two guns looking away from the portrait. Mass Effect 2 and 3 basically had shitty covers too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Yeah, but the collector's editions of ME2 and 3 had badass covers, so it balances out somewhat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Wasn't the ME2 CE cover just the n7 logo? That's a terrible fucking cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.