Beyond: Two Souls developer Quantic Dream was encouraged by marketing agencies to include a picture of protagonist Jodie Holmes – played by Ellen Page – holding a gun on the cover of its upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive in order to bolster sales. However, in an interview with GameSpot, executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumière has revealed that the studio “categorically refused” the idea.
“We have to be very careful,” he said. “We’re working closely with the marketing folks at Sony to portray the game in the right light, to be able to talk to that diverse audience that we hope we will be able to reach with Beyond.”
Fondaumière added that while picking a traditional “action” box art may help to appeal to traditional gamers, it could also push casual players away. “If we, for instance, put a pack art that’s solely featuring action, first of all it’s not going to be truthful to what the game is, and then, your wife for instance, is not going to feel attracted to this. She’ll say, ‘Ok, well that’s not unique, it’s one of your video games.’”
He concluded that the studio needs to be careful about the messaging that it conveys. “So yes, we need to be careful and to make sure that whenever we communicate on this game, whenever we market it, that we manage to get across this variety in themes and this uniqueness that the project beholds.”
Earlier in the year, Naughty Dog revealed that it was asked to push The Last of Us’ female lead to the back of the box for similar reasons. What do you make of this topic? Was Quantic Dream right to stand its ground? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source uk.gamespot.com, via neogaf.com, vg247.com]
Comments 7
Absolutely. Im tired of every game featuring a gun pose on the cover, especially when its not really that kind of game.
I don't think box art has ever ever ever factored into my decision to buy a game 1 way or another. Not saying it can't be good or bad or representative of the game or not, I just don't see it as a factor in the purchase decision. I may have purchased Kiss Destroyer for the cover though. http://www.amazon.com/Destroyer/dp/B000VZR75K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1363955939&sr=8-3&keywords=kiss+destroyer
Just because it's contextual, here's a comparison of Heavy Rain's NA/EU covers:
It's probably people that know very little about the actual game...
@get2sammyb I really prefer the EU one
The EU Heavy Rain cover is gorgeous! I wouldn't mind something like that sitting on my shelf
@Big_Gamer I agree completely!
Tap here to load 7 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...