/vr/ - Retro Games

But the Famicom games also used minimalist uniform designs. You have to keep in mind that the western NES box art were pretty much made in the same time frame.

>>10205154
>>10205065
>>10205037
Most of these box art designs look pretty bad compared to the US/PAL versions. The only exception being the Bomber Man and Dragon Ball covers. But these look like VHS movies. You'd not be able to tell they're a video game from far away.

>>9624869
>this just isn't true
except it is. up until the 80s, there was a dogma for minimalism in design. later it slowly faded away, but then returned anew after Apple. still to this day there's a deeply instilled belief in designers in the West that "minimalism = classy good design", and that slapping Helvetica Bold on blank space is peak aesthetics, when in reality it looks like store brand products half the time.
>it's not just about making something minimal for the sake of being minimal, it's about what you can communicate through the minimalism.
I agree 100%, but tell that to everyone else. Especially today in the heyday of minimalism, they do exactly that: minimalism for the sake of minimalism.
>but the idea of creating a consistent design for a console's games is interesting and there's no reason why it can't work.
it hardly worked ever for art in general. it didn't work too well for albums, for example. it simply looks soulless, like a furniture catalog.
I agree SOME unification can be good (pic very related), but with vast libraries of distinctive titles, it just won't work too well. not surprising that Nintendo mostly dropped it once they allowed 3rd parties on Famicom.
Most of all, the #1 rule of design is that it should fit the context. They're making games for kids, so they want beautiful and exciting artwork, not drab minimalism of a book for grownups. Notice how everyone on this thread said the same.

>>9498004
I specifically mentioned that Famicom sports games were an exception though. See >>9497914 , I fully agree those early 1983-1985 titles like Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Mahjong, Soccer, etc. sold a shitload.
Wikipedia says there was just 28 games released on FC from 1983 to 1984. It was also a different time—remember that gaming was just moving from Atari times, when stuff that sold big was simple sports games. Much like Atari, Famicom started from stuff like that. Even having Mahjong on your telly was big enough. So no, it's not just "dumb normies".
You won't find that on SFC, go and check >>9495772 . Last time I checked, it only has Famista and Derby stallion games in top 50. No football, tennis, golf, mahjong or anything like that. Doesn't mean it didn't sell, just didn't make it to top 50.

>>9475306
I really liked that early Famicom Nintendo titles cover art style with thick black outlines. Was even better that every game had it, so they felt like a part of a whole collection.
as for the game, it's funny how with all the Nintendo jerking over past 2 decades, neither DK Jr. or DK3 get much to any recognition. even from Nintendo, because you will only find those games remembered in titles like WarioWare (maybe Smash too, but I don't play smash).

Set of "small box" first Famicom games from 1983 to 1984. I should really give more of these early Nintendo sports games a go.