Which console had games with the best cover art?

[leatherrebel5150]

My vote goes to the SNES the art on the boxes for those games were always bright and colorful and everything about them screamed awesome to me. Even the crappiest of games seemed to come with cool box art.

[Shulamana]

I'm tempted to say SNES but for the sake of not getting into a personal rut I'll mention that I think the US PlayStation jewel cases had a simple, yet pleasant layout to them.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61CW9FT405L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[killersquirel]

I will say the initial atari vcs games had awesome cover art.

Different box color - check
Awesome hand drawn art - check
Cool, simple layout - check

They have everything!

-mike

[Collector_Gaming]

double post

[Collector_Gaming]

for me the best were a toss up between

NES and Atari 2600

The cover art you'd find on some of those games almost sucked you into their world cause the artist would put so much detail

http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/b_SpaceInvaders_Color_front.jpg

http://pics.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1108691169-00.jpg

i mean what isn't there to love in that art work?

[crazyjackcsa]

The larger the case normally the better the art, looking at a stack of 360 games though, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I think the 16/32 bit era was kind of the sweet spot.

[Natty Bumppo]

The larger the case normally the better the art...
I have to go with the sega cd (U.S.) for the size and the generally really bright artwork. And nothing looks nicer on a shelf IMHO than those nice blue spine labels lined up in rows.

Laseractive games look pretty nice although there just weren't that many of them.

[treismac]

I have to nod my head to the 2600 for the best cover art. They just made every game seem so deceptively epic on their cover. I mean, just look at this:

http://www.8-bitcentral.com/images/reviews/atari2600/missileCommand2600_g.jpg

Now compare that to this:

http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/missilecommand/missile_2.png

I'm unsure why someone decided to photoshop a scantily clad woman onto the cover art of Missile Command. All I can do is repost the photo and shake my head.

[T2KFreeker]

I actually really liked the 3DO cases. Most of the Long Boxes looked really damn cool. Check it out, man!

http://pics.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1112063033-00.jpg

http://www.videogamegazette.com/3do/3dostreetfighterfc.jpg

http://www.videogamegazette.com/3do/3dostarcontrol2fc.jpg

http://www.videogamegazette.com/3do/3doguardianwarfc.jpg

http://www.videogamegazette.com/3do/3dowayofthewarriorfc.jpg

[Gapporin]

Sega Master System. Trust me on this.

[Yago]

I'm going with the Atari 2600 as well. As said above games didn't have graphics or sound to help sell them. It was all about the box art and the theme of the game.

My favorite game box of all time:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/atari-2600/berzerk/cover-art/gameCoverId,36710/

Just for grins:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/atari2600/585279-x-man/images/box-38210

[substantial_snake]

I would have to say the clamshell Genesis/Mega Drive cases were the best. All the goodness of still using imaginative cover while being a box that actually protected the game, instructions manual, and cover art.

[MachineGex]

Mine would be the 2600 or the NES.
Here is one of my favorites on the 2600:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/atari-2600/outlaw/cover-art/gameCoverId,205517

[Battlehork]

Sega Master System. Trust me on this.

I like the serif-fonts-and-graph-paper theme. Uniform and minimal.

Also the dude getting punched on the Vigilante cover who looks like he's laughing is a classic.

[Kevincal]

my favs are neo geo aes, atari jaguar, playstation 1 longboxes, nes.

[Rob2600]

Atari 2600, hand down.

[StealthLurker]

Super Famicom although I think Sharp X68000 had some impressive painted cover art on games. However the X68000 was a computer system not a console.

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/7725/phalanxnl4.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6L-JqLwAoN4/TDcQv1g3vyI/AAAAAAAAA50/ruxQolrmUOA/s1600/09072010039.JPG



.

[Emperor Megas]

I actually really liked the 3DO cases. Most of the Long Boxes looked really damn cool. Check it out, man!

http://pics.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1112063033-00.jpg

http://www.videogamegazette.com/3do/3dostreetfighterfc.jpg

http://www.videogamegazette.com/3do/3dostarcontrol2fc.jpg

http://www.videogamegazette.com/3do/3doguardianwarfc.jpg

http://www.videogamegazette.com/3do/3dowayofthewarriorfc.jpgI think most of those covers hurt your case for the 3DO. Three of them (SFII, GW, WotW) are probably the worst posted in this thread. The Killing Time one is pretty awesome though.

[Famidrive-16]

Loved the black-box Genesis covers. Something about them being presented in that format gave it a much more "cinematic" feel.

[old_skoolin_jim]

Genesis had some awesomely atrocious box art in its heyday, but I think one of my favorite labels/premises that seals it for the 2600 has to be this:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/atari2600/585028-revenge-of-the-beefsteak-tomatoes/images/box-37970
'nuff said.

[Haoie]

If only Atari games actually remotely resembled their covers.

[Nebagram]

I'll probably give another vote for the VCS. Mega drive games had potential- the black grid pattern was elegant and cool at the same time and the logo- well, the PAL logo, anyway- is timeless.

Shame most of the actual cover art was below par...

[Parodius Duh!]

As far as vintage gaming goes, can you really pick? I mean, just about every system has its fair share of bad ass artwork and total shit.

[Steve W]

One system that people tend to overlook when it comes to cover art is the Atari Lynx. I've always liked the small box size too. Sure, there's a few duds and some amaterish looking art (like Battlewheels), but in general the art was great and the stylish box layout and design really framed it well.

[retroman]

Neo Geo had good box art

[Shulamana]

Sega Master System. Trust me on this.

That grid pattern makes me think of Tron or something, like you're looking at an infinite empty void and then when you plug the game in you see an entire universe being born.

I don't think it stands the test of time though, they look really ugly to me when they're faded/dirty.

[exit]

The 2600 hands down, even tho some of the games left more to be desired, the cover art usually more than made up for it.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c220/neuan/atari_2600_defender_box.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c220/neuan/_-Haunted-House-Atari-2600-VCS-_.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c220/neuan/_-Yars-Revenge-Atari-2600-VCS-_.jpg

[Shulamana]

Is it strange that I've never really liked any cover art that didn't remotely resemble the game? I suppose that disqualifies pretty much any game made before the mid-90s but for at least for RPGs and such covers were often made using concept art used in the development of the game.

A lot of those 2600 covers make me think of some sort of "artist's rendition" of their concept of the game, as somebody not really involved with the design process, rather than the world the game designer(s) themselves were thinking about when they thought up the game in the first place.

[swlovinist]

Sega Genesis for me, loved the original black label releases.

[SonicBoom]

The NES. Even say, Color Dreams, Which produced crappy games had amazing cover art. *Coughs* Battletoads, Castlevania, TMNT.

[tom]

VCS also was the first console to feature an actual screenshot as the cover, game: Boing! by First Star