Videogames Cover Arts

Creating a cover image of a videogame is a very tricky task: graphics and illustrators must balance the contents of the game with the promises of action and entertainment to attract the attention of the player. If a player has never heard of the game, but notice an interesting cover, he will most likely take the box off the shelf and take a look.

Below are some interesting covers from the 80s, patiently digitally restored. Let us know if you have the desire to see something that is missing!

Double Dragon II

Title: Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Developer: Technos Japan Corporation
Producer: Technos Japan Corporation, Romstar
Platform: Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, NES, PC Engine, Sega Mega Drive, ZX Spectrum
Year: 1988
Genre: beat ’em up

Forgotten Worlds

Title: Forgotten Worlds
Developer: Capcom
Producer: Capcom
Platform: Arcade, Sega Genesis, Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Master System, TurboGrafx-16
Year: 1988
Genre: horizontal scrolling shoot ’em up

The Hunt for Red October

Title: The Hunt for Red October
Developer: Oxford Digital Enterprises Ltd.
Producer: Argus Press Software Ltd., Datasoft, Inc., Grandslam Entertainments Ltd., Software Toolworks, Inc.
Platform: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Mac, MS DOS
Year: 1988
Genre: submarine simulator
Designer: Steinar Lund

Project Stealth Fighter

Title: Project Stealth Fighter
Developer: MicroProse
Producer: MicroProse
Platform: Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
Year: 1987
Genre: military filght simulator

RoboCop

Title: RoboCop
Developer: Ocean Software
Producer: Ocean Software
Platform: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Arcade, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, IBM PC compatible with DOS, MSX, NES, TRS-80 CoCo, ZX Spectrum
Year: 1988-89
Genre: run ‘n’ gun and beat ’em up

Salamander

Title: Salamander (Life Force)
Developer: Konami, Sharp, Imagine Software
Producer: Konami, SPS
Platform: Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Famicom/NES, Mobile Phones, MSX, PC, PC Engine, PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network), PlayStation Portable (PlayStation Network), PlayStation Vita (PlayStation Network), Virtual Console, X68000, ZX Spectrum
Year: 1986
Genre: scrolling shooter