Mario Kart Wii Box Art Analysis
February 15th, 2008
The above image is the confirmed final box art for Mario Kart Wii (it comes packed with the Wii Wheel, hence the large box). We can assume the actual case for the disc has the same artwork on it. I can’t say I’m entirely sold on the image. The logo is acceptable even though the ‘Mario Kart’ has some sharp lines that contrast a bit with the Wii logo. The blue circle is a nice touch as it matches the back of the Wii Wheel itself (and reminds me of the Wii Shop Channel’s blue loading ring). I think the huge Wii Wheel in the background is overkill though. If someone was curious about why the box was so big, they’d see the logo in the corner explaining that it comes with a Wii Wheel. Plugging the peripheral so prominently on the cover seems like a waste of space (and this box has plenty of space). And that brings me to what is most wrong with the box, Mario & Luigi. While Luigi fans may be happy to see that the less famous plumber is getting a pretty notable spot on the cover, it’s still pretty lame that they are floating in a driving position holding a…oh, for crying out loud, more Wii Wheels?!?!? I’m counting 4 Wii Wheels on the front cover alone, not to mention the symbolic blue circle that can be interpreted as a reference to the wheel. So we’ve got 4 Wii Wheels and 0 Karts. It seems to me that with the minimalistic box art, Nintendo is going after the casual market a bit with this game. Mario & Luigi aren’t really driving karts, they’re playing the game, holding the controller, pretending to drive karts. The only karts on the box art are the shadows of karts under the floating drivers which a lot of people won’t even notice. My biggest problem with this is that the actual game includes all-new vehicles like motorcycles, and has mid-air tricks too. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, these new additions should get some sort of attention on the box as they are firsts for the franchise. And let’s not forget that this will be the best looking Mario Kart game to date as well as the first online console version of the game. A game with 12-player online races should probably have more than two characters on the screen…and actual vehicles…and less Wii-mote accessories…and a real background. I see what they’re trying to do, but it just doesn’t work. Imagine Super Mario Galaxy with just a white background with Mario shaking a Wii remote. Boring, just like this box art. What are your thoughts?
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