Well, regardless, I appreciate you guys efforts. I love games and gaming, but at my heart I love the history of this stuff as much, if not more, than playing this stuff. I know you guys (and others) might be "hoarding" this stuff in private collections but, IMHO, that's not a problem. Anyone hunting this stuff and obtaining it from original sources are basically saving it frok future dumpsters. I know that sounds crazy but if many of these pieces of are ar simply lying around in old filing cabinets across the US, in old, possibly abandoned office spaces, there's a good chance that stuff will be lost forever when someone cleans up without looking at what is in these storage places.
Well, regardless, I appreciate you guys efforts. I love games and gaming, but at my heart I love the history of this stuff as much, if not more, than playing this stuff. I know you guys (and others) might be "hoarding" this stuff in private collections but, IMHO, that's not a problem. Anyone hunting this stuff and obtaining it from original sources are basically saving it frok future dumpsters. I know that sounds crazy but if many of these pieces of are ar simply lying around in old filing cabinets across the US, in old, possibly abandoned office spaces, there's a good chance that stuff will be lost forever when someone cleans up without looking at what is in these storage places.
thanks and yeah, its really no hyperbole as, for example, rock r roll racing was literally saved from a dumpster by the seller, all the atari stuff was chucked into dumpsters when they went under, and I've heard many other stories of things being thrown out. It happened a lot.
there's just so little of it out there. Think of it this way: roughly 10% has been found. The other 90% is corporate owned, or Japanese (which is also corporate owned), or destroyed, or a photo (no art) or just a logo (no art) or even a screenshot (no art). So... there aren't vast troves waiting to be found.... the sad truth is the vast majority is already destroyed or locked up by the companies or never existed in the first place (logos, photos, etc). We've beat the hell out of every possible lead for 10 years. Every name on the internet came from us.
Really, the idea that some of the companies ever let ANY of it out of their sight is kind of mind blowing itself.
Wow. That truly is an amazing, brief story of how this was saved. I really am amazed out how some stuff can end up in the dumpster, even when companies go bankrupt like Atari. I mean, for a time I worked for a company that engineered and manufactured medical equipment. The company was old and they had some really, REALLY old hand drawn mechanical drawings that they were considering just tossing. I basically said "what?!" I'll take it. All of it.
When I showed interest, they changed their mind. Not to spite me but it was like they realized "oh, maybe this stuff has a little worth and we should be proud of it." In that regard, the drawings weren't anything cool like automobiles or bicycles but, still, it's a lost art and a skill that I find amazing. Throwing out so much hand drawn, technical art just blew my mind. I mean, some of that stuff was complex items.
But, I digress. Nothing ever came out of the Carolina's that I'm aware of, so I doubt I'll ever find anything like this in the wild. Thanks guys for saving it. Hopefully in 100-200 years from now this stuff will be considered important since art was a major part of such new industry and marketplace.
Atari -especially- wouldn't have any appreciation for the work. They treated every employee the same, just another name on the list. Assembling carts, designing, coding and, I'd imagine, artists were all treated and paid the same. So as they were struggling as a business, all the art just became crap that takes up space
Sure. I dug this up for you as I thought you might enjoy seeing it. It doesn't compare to the actual cover adam has, but its the initial concept for the cover:
I've seen a few of you guys mention that you've been fortunate enough to collect some of the actual paintings that were used for box art to games, and some of you have found very specific ones you've wanted for your collection.
However, in all my searching I've never seen this stuff for sale. I've seen a few rare items but, IMHO, actual box art seems to be the most elusive. So, for those of you with that stuff in your collections, how and where did you find it?
I'm sure bronty and BuyAtari have a large network of connections that they have built up over many years
Sure. I dug this up for you as I thought you might enjoy seeing it. It doesn't compare to the actual cover adam has, but its the initial concept for the cover:
Well, regardless, I appreciate you guys efforts. I love games and gaming, but at my heart I love the history of this stuff as much, if not more, than playing this stuff. I know you guys (and others) might be "hoarding" this stuff in private collections but, IMHO, that's not a problem. Anyone hunting this stuff and obtaining it from original sources are basically saving it frok future dumpsters. I know that sounds crazy but if many of these pieces of are ar simply lying around in old filing cabinets across the US, in old, possibly abandoned office spaces, there's a good chance that stuff will be lost forever when someone cleans up without looking at what is in these storage places.
My main interest was initially rooted very similar to yours. Not only were we seeing and perhaps even potentially saving material that was buried in closets for years but in some cases we were making discoveries unknown to other gamers. It was a rush to first discover previously unseen unreleased game covers or notice figures that were out of frame or hidden by logos etc. Finding the initial pencil sketch of Street Fighter II Turbo finally put the long standing argument of a possible hidden figure to rest once and for all.
However, today I have to say that I look at all of these pieces differently. While I still consider these pieces to be one of a kind blueprints for every manual, cart and box image ever made, my interest has slowly morphed in time. It now allows for a greater appreciation for the image and visual design process. Sure if you had asked me in 2002 I would had said that I enjoyed the art but I didn't really appreciate it in the same way as I do now. As a game collector I just didn't spend the time that I do now staring at gameboxes. These past few years, talking with those involved in this process and staring at these works for hours on end has inevitably changed the way that I see the artwork. I don't even look at a box of cereal the same way I used to!
You are right though, more than once when I contacted someone I was too late and some or all of the artwork had already been disposed for of.
In 2007 20+ pounds of artwork was destroyed in a train derailment on its way to me. It included important pieces like early concept NES covers never before seen by anyone outside ofa handful of people and the final Atari arcade artwork for Tempest. The shipment was fully insured. That didn't matter to me. I was so upset that I felt sick for weeks if not months. This wasn't what I saw as a personal loss. I still consider this to be a real loss of history for anyone who cares or will care about the history of gaming.
Buyatari... That last paragraph is killing me. that might have been 10 years ago but man, that's still hard to believe. Saving that stuff was so close...
Unrelated, were you, or did you try to contact the Smithsonian to loan some of your stuff back when they had an exhibit on video game history? I really wanted to get up to DC to view but I never got a chance. Curious if you were able to contribute. No doubt you have some stuff that would have been perfect.
Buyatari... That last paragraph is killing me. that might have been 10 years ago but man, that's still hard to believe. Saving that stuff was so close...
Dug around on my hard drive and found a few of the pieces that were lost. There was a lot more than this but it gives you some idea. Most of these images besides Muppets and Tempest are early concept images.
Comments
Well, regardless, I appreciate you guys efforts. I love games and gaming, but at my heart I love the history of this stuff as much, if not more, than playing this stuff. I know you guys (and others) might be "hoarding" this stuff in private collections but, IMHO, that's not a problem. Anyone hunting this stuff and obtaining it from original sources are basically saving it frok future dumpsters. I know that sounds crazy but if many of these pieces of are ar simply lying around in old filing cabinets across the US, in old, possibly abandoned office spaces, there's a good chance that stuff will be lost forever when someone cleans up without looking at what is in these storage places.
thanks and yeah, its really no hyperbole as, for example, rock r roll racing was literally saved from a dumpster by the seller, all the atari stuff was chucked into dumpsters when they went under, and I've heard many other stories of things being thrown out. It happened a lot.
there's just so little of it out there. Think of it this way: roughly 10% has been found. The other 90% is corporate owned, or Japanese (which is also corporate owned), or destroyed, or a photo (no art) or just a logo (no art) or even a screenshot (no art). So... there aren't vast troves waiting to be found.... the sad truth is the vast majority is already destroyed or locked up by the companies or never existed in the first place (logos, photos, etc). We've beat the hell out of every possible lead for 10 years. Every name on the internet came from us.
Really, the idea that some of the companies ever let ANY of it out of their sight is kind of mind blowing itself.
When I showed interest, they changed their mind. Not to spite me but it was like they realized "oh, maybe this stuff has a little worth and we should be proud of it." In that regard, the drawings weren't anything cool like automobiles or bicycles but, still, it's a lost art and a skill that I find amazing. Throwing out so much hand drawn, technical art just blew my mind. I mean, some of that stuff was complex items.
But, I digress. Nothing ever came out of the Carolina's that I'm aware of, so I doubt I'll ever find anything like this in the wild. Thanks guys for saving it. Hopefully in 100-200 years from now this stuff will be considered important since art was a major part of such new industry and marketplace.
That buyatari fella is the one to talk to!! :-)
Yeah, he and I have been chatting. He's been a good source of info. Public "thanks" to him.
I take exception to that!
I take back what I just stated (edited it out.) You don't own, it buyatari does. Thank you for posting a better picture of the Yo Noid! cover.
Maybe I'll at least get to see it one day.
I've seen a few of you guys mention that you've been fortunate enough to collect some of the actual paintings that were used for box art to games, and some of you have found very specific ones you've wanted for your collection.
However, in all my searching I've never seen this stuff for sale. I've seen a few rare items but, IMHO, actual box art seems to be the most elusive. So, for those of you with that stuff in your collections, how and where did you find it?
I'm sure bronty and BuyAtari have a large network of connections that they have built up over many years
Wow, that is pretty awesome. What size is that? About 8.5"x11"?
smaller. 6 inches? 8? don't recall or have it in front of me.
Sure. I dug this up for you as I thought you might enjoy seeing it. It doesn't compare to the actual cover adam has, but its the initial concept for the cover:
Wow, that is pretty awesome. What size is that? About 8.5"x11"?
smaller. 6 inches? 8? don't recall or have it in front of me.
Man this so going to end up in the quotes of out context thread.
Well, regardless, I appreciate you guys efforts. I love games and gaming, but at my heart I love the history of this stuff as much, if not more, than playing this stuff. I know you guys (and others) might be "hoarding" this stuff in private collections but, IMHO, that's not a problem. Anyone hunting this stuff and obtaining it from original sources are basically saving it frok future dumpsters. I know that sounds crazy but if many of these pieces of are ar simply lying around in old filing cabinets across the US, in old, possibly abandoned office spaces, there's a good chance that stuff will be lost forever when someone cleans up without looking at what is in these storage places.
My main interest was initially rooted very similar to yours. Not only were we seeing and perhaps even potentially saving material that was buried in closets for years but in some cases we were making discoveries unknown to other gamers. It was a rush to first discover previously unseen unreleased game covers or notice figures that were out of frame or hidden by logos etc. Finding the initial pencil sketch of Street Fighter II Turbo finally put the long standing argument of a possible hidden figure to rest once and for all.
However, today I have to say that I look at all of these pieces differently. While I still consider these pieces to be one of a kind blueprints for every manual, cart and box image ever made, my interest has slowly morphed in time. It now allows for a greater appreciation for the image and visual design process. Sure if you had asked me in 2002 I would had said that I enjoyed the art but I didn't really appreciate it in the same way as I do now. As a game collector I just didn't spend the time that I do now staring at gameboxes. These past few years, talking with those involved in this process and staring at these works for hours on end has inevitably changed the way that I see the artwork. I don't even look at a box of cereal the same way I used to!
You are right though, more than once when I contacted someone I was too late and some or all of the artwork had already been disposed for of.
In 2007 20+ pounds of artwork was destroyed in a train derailment on its way to me. It included important pieces like early concept NES covers never before seen by anyone outside ofa handful of people and the final Atari arcade artwork for Tempest. The shipment was fully insured. That didn't matter to me. I was so upset that I felt sick for weeks if not months. This wasn't what I saw as a personal loss. I still consider this to be a real loss of history for anyone who cares or will care about the history of gaming.
Unrelated, were you, or did you try to contact the Smithsonian to loan some of your stuff back when they had an exhibit on video game history? I really wanted to get up to DC to view but I never got a chance. Curious if you were able to contribute. No doubt you have some stuff that would have been perfect.
Buyatari... That last paragraph is killing me. that might have been 10 years ago but man, that's still hard to believe. Saving that stuff was so close...
Dug around on my hard drive and found a few of the pieces that were lost. There was a lot more than this but it gives you some idea. Most of these images besides Muppets and Tempest are early concept images.
It's interesting how tag team says sports series on the front as though it were a first party game
I also like how they tried to slightly rotate the seal of approval to intensify the action.