View Full Version : Anybody know why they changed the box art on gunsmoke? (NES)
Bronty-2
02-18-2005, 12:10 PM
You know how there are two versions of the box art? anyone know the reason for the change? I noticed that on the back of the first version the screenshots show teepees, the screenshots on the back of the second do not. Possibly something to do with native indian issues? Anybody know for sure?
rbudrick
02-18-2005, 01:09 PM
Hmm, I thought the change in box art was only regional (country) on this game (but I might be thinking of another game....memory is fuzzy). I haven't heard of a change to the art from the same region for this cart, but that really doens't mean jack. :) Would you happen to have any example pics?
-Rob
Lord Contaminous
02-18-2005, 02:01 PM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/Youkai525/GSDifferences.jpg
I own both of these.
o2william
02-18-2005, 02:58 PM
Huh, I didn't even know about this. Is the box on the left the first version?
If I may engage in some groundless speculation... that Native American looks kinda unflattering on the left box -- stereotypical "Indian savage." Maybe there were complaints.
Or, could the gunfighter perhaps be an unauthorized likeness of a real person? Capcom seemed to be tip-toeing around copyright infringement with this game anyway, inserting a period in the title to (I assume) avoid ripping off the name of the "Gunsmoke" TV series. Maybe they were worried the gunfighter looked too similar to one of the TV characters.
If the box art on the right is the first version, maybe they just changed it because it sucks. :)
Mayhem
02-18-2005, 03:08 PM
You do fight an Indian Chief in the game so the image is not out of place.
Bronty-2
02-18-2005, 03:41 PM
Huh, I didn't even know about this. Is the box on the left the first version?
If I may engage in some groundless speculation... that Native American looks kinda unflattering on the left box -- stereotypical "Indian savage." Maybe there were complaints.
Or, could the gunfighter perhaps be an unauthorized likeness of a real person? Capcom seemed to be tip-toeing around copyright infringement with this game anyway, inserting a period in the title to (I assume) avoid ripping off the name of the "Gunsmoke" TV series. Maybe they were worried the gunfighter looked too similar to one of the TV characters.
If the box art on the right is the first version, maybe they just changed it because it sucks. :)
the art on the right is the first version. And judging by the unchanged mega man box art, I would say capcom wasn't too concerned.
I never noticed it was Gun.Smoke.
Flack
02-18-2005, 04:20 PM
Maybe they changed it because that dude looks kind of goofy with one foot up in the air ...
Bronty-2
02-18-2005, 04:51 PM
Again... please see mega man box art. If that wasn't deemed goofy enough to change, there's no way this could have been.
SoulBlazer
02-18-2005, 05:15 PM
The box on the right is the first one? I NEVER saw that one. I bought the game early on and mine was the one on the left. I suspect that one is a lot more common, also.
Bronty-2
02-18-2005, 05:39 PM
It's definitely the one on the right. I agree that it's rarer.
qbertandernie
02-19-2005, 01:22 AM
just a guess, but i bet it was more likely changed because the original says 'bar' on the front than because of the crappy artwork. i bet some parents group complained...note how the newer one says 'saloon'. and why not fix the crappy artwork while were at it? find some american thats actually seen a cowboy and can actually draw...
Dangerboy
02-19-2005, 01:35 AM
I always wondered about that..have both...
And now looking, I never realized the 'real' looking one was done by the same guy who did all the SNK NES covers!
Crush Crawfish
02-19-2005, 11:12 AM
Mine's the one on the left....the right one is so much cooler! I'll have to keep an eye out for that version.
Cauterize
02-19-2005, 11:29 AM
if this helps your discussion at all, i scanned my PAL version in for you...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/gunsmoke.jpg
Master Chu
02-19-2005, 02:19 PM
Holy crap, i'm going to have to call it Gun Dot Smoke now...
Sounds like a web address. LOL
I'm currently without one because i traded mine a few months back...but it was the one on the right just for the record...
Bronty-2
02-19-2005, 03:32 PM
just a guess, but i bet it was more likely changed because the original says 'bar' on the front than because of the crappy artwork. i bet some parents group complained...note how the newer one says 'saloon'. and why not fix the crappy artwork while were at it? find some american thats actually seen a cowboy and can actually draw...
Interesting take.... it's possible.
Graham Mitchell
02-19-2005, 11:08 PM
I hadn't realized that they actually changed the artwork. When I bought the game back in the 80's, my box had the picture on the right, and the cartridge had the picture on the left. I bought it new, so they weren't switched.
I always thought that was intentional. Capcom was so sketchy anyway; I mean have you actually read any of their instruction manuals? If I remember correctly, the manual for Bionic Commando doesn't even tell you how to play the game, what the buttons do, or how the mechanical arm works...this is why it took us forever to figure out how to use the communicators. The Mega Man and Section Z manuals are just as heinous.
Ok, back on topic now.