Okay, Ubisoft didn’t actually say that, but if pictures are worth 1000 words, they wrote a 2000-word essay on the subject. Take a look at the EU box art for The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom:
Okay, now take a look at the North American box art. Can you spot the 8 differences?
This isn’t anything new – many are referring to the discrepancy as “Kirbification” (see:Kotaku), in reference to the angry Kirbys whichappear on Western, but not Japanese, box art.Christian Nutt (former GR editor, and currently and editor atGamasutra)has avery thorough examination of the Kirby trend, which was originally noted onNeoGAF.
The Settlers transformation, which wasalso pointed out on NeoGAF(they sure are good at making fun of box art), however, is particularly drastic. Are the audiences really so different? Are American strategy gamers that much more attracted to stubbley men? While we may make fun of the EU version for looking like a box of Fisher-Price toys, it ismore indicative of the game’s graphics:
Tell us what you think in the comments. And, of course, this isn't the first time we've explored box art disparity - we've especially observed the differences between Japanese and Western box art. In“Why Japanese box art is better”, we discover:
That Westerners are impervious to subtlety…
And that Westerners hate smiles…
Mar 8, 2010
