History Main / IdiosyncraticCoverArt

* The Japanese [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]] versions of the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games all feature mostly white backgrounds with artwork of the main character(s), surrounded by various geometric shapes of basic colors (white, black, red, green, blue, and yellow). They also sometimes have English text (usually an inspirational quote and/or "[[InSeriesNickname The Most Famous Hedgehog In The World]]"). The JP boxarts for [[UsefulNotes/SegaCD Mega CD]]'s ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]'' (as well as its PC release) and UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn's CompilationRerelease game ''VideoGame/SonicJam'', as well as a few of the Sega UsefulNotes/GameGear Sonic games, also use boxarts of this design nature. Somewhat subverted however with ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic and Knuckles]]'' as that game's boxart goes for a more basic approach--it only features the "Sonic and Knuckles" insignia rather than character artwork, and makes use of only two colors (white and blue).

* The early first-party releases for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem in North America (from the launch lineup on October 1985 and up to most of the 1987 releases) featured a minimalist packaging design that featured a black background with an artwork mimicking the in-game pixel art and the game's title written underneath in a standardized font just above the NES logo (some of them, namely arcade ports such as ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' and the original ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', had a silver stripe behind the title). This was done in response to complaints about [[CoversAlwaysLie misleading packaging art]] in many pre-NES games that led to false expectations regarding the game's content, as Nintendo wanted to make sure to the customers that what they saw on the box is what they got. Nintendo later switched to more traditional illustrations (and occasional photographs) in subsequent releases.

** Early western Platform/SegaMasterSystem boxarts all had a gridded white background and consisted of crude drawings in the lower left illustrating an object or action related to the game's premise, seemingly in an attempt to invoke a "high school doodle" motif. By the time the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis launched, box artwork switched to more conventional illustrations and photos, although the "graph paper" branding would remain until the end.
** The North American covers for a good number of first-party UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn games had a slight minimalist streak, with the covers of games such as ''VideoGame/{{Bug|1995}}!'', the ''VideoGame/VirtuaCop'' series, etc. consisting of renders of the game's characters over a white background, in a manner reminiscent of the above Master System boxes but executed a bit more tastefully. This was not done as consistently, however.