Box Art Characters. What do you think?

[Liquid Fire]

I've been meaning to ask this for quite awhile. I haven't seen anyone else ask it, so here it goes. What do you think about characters being shown on the box art(the front)? I bring this up because persona 3 didn't show the characters but persona 4 did.

Personally I really don't like it when the characters are shown on the cover of the game(besides the main character). I like to experience games (especially persona 3/4) as though they are new and I know nothing about them. That includes not knowing the characters. Personally I think meeting the characters for the first time, in order, while playing the game is much nicer than knowing them in advance.

It really stunk back when I did my best to completely shield my eyes from any persona 4 news(aside from it being announced), only to have the box have all the characters I didn't want to know yet right there on the front. I had to not take a good look at the cover until I had finished the game.

Well that's my thoughts. What do you think?

[persona3rocks]

It really didn't bother me much I liked knowing who the main characters were. I also had the art book for P4 like a week before so it spoiled the whole game. And if you got the original copy of P3 the back of the artbook had all of the characters on it aswell. So...

[Crabman]

Didn't bother me. I'm fine with knowing someone exists. The cause, motives, interaction; box art doesn't tell you that much.

[Cloud737]

Never thought about this. I can see where you're getting at, though. I haven't finished P3 yet, but I really like the fact that I'm surprised by new characters joining (of which I knew nothing about before). I even avoided the intro FMVs when I started it, so that I would be pleasently surprised. However, I kinda spoiled my surprise by looking at them half-way through the game (I've looked at them before, but then I could tell voices apart and recognised the voice of the bad guy in the movie and realised it's the new guys that appeard half-way).

Now, I haven't played P4, but I can imagine that I won't be a surprised for seeing some people join the party. Bummer that, but oh well. I really couldn't stop myself from watching a few trailers...

I guess I kinda want to follow the life of the protagonist like it was my own, not knowing anything in advance.

[Orphnoch]

I think it's fine, but I'm just the type that prefers more minimalist covers.

[Blizz]

I like the covers that show something epic I guess you can say. Anything that really draws your attention like explosions or something very dramatic or sad.

[Dango!]

I liked P3's sort of "in the darkness" take on introducing characters, and I guess the box art reflected that... P4, you knew who was joining from the beginning, but not really from the box art. [And it had a pretty easy trend after your main party.]

Does it even matter? o_O;; I mean, when you first get the game, it'd not like you're going to know the characters on the box art and their importance to the game. [Unless you've geeked out on the game before its release.]