2K Games has some huge stakes riding on the upcoming shooter Borderlands. Other 2K games like Bioshock 2, Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption have been delayed to 2010, and the holiday season already has some heavy hitters from other publishers, including Halo 3: ODST and Modern Warfare 2.
So it helps when you release a box cover like this one.
The striking image is meant to communicate that the game will “blow your mind,” but the intended consequence of such an image means the gaming blogosphere will pour over it, as has been the case.
2K Games has been proactive with a response as well, with developer Gearbox Software and its CEO responding through IGN:
“It’s certainly an extremely provocative image for a box cover and I think some will call it controversial,” [Randy] Pitchford said. “Certainly there were some people inside of Gearbox and likely also at 2k that weren’t sure about this approach and may have felt compelled to go with something a little less provocative.”
“In conversations I had with Christoph Hartmann, President of 2k Games, it was really clear to me that he really believed in the value of the risks we were taking with the game and how it pushed things forward and he really was eager to push things with the box cover as well,” he added.
“Judging from the response so far, it looks like it was the right call,” he said. “It makes me really glad that we’re in a world now where gamers want freshness and originality and people like us are being rewarded and applauded for taking risks and pushing things and that is certainly what I see happening with Borderlands.”
When was the last time you saw box art make an under-the-radar game (sorry, 2K) into an anticipated holiday shooter this quickly? Everything (even a game’s cover) matters.
