David Jaffe: Miyamoto not as popular as Spielberg due to lack of boxart credit
Speaking on his blog in an extended post, video game designer David Jaffe vociferously claimed that Shigeru Miyamoto – and even Will Wright – is not as well-known as Steven Spielberg because there is no mention of him on box art, for the games he creates. “…Plus, granted Miyamoto and Wright are not as big of names as Spielberg. BUT THAT IS BECAUSE MIYAMOTO AND WRIGHT DON’T HAVE NAMES ABOVE PRODUCTS and they don’t have ability to negotiate for the sort of press treatment and PR perks that movie folks get (which, in turn, turns them into brand names).
There does seem to be some sense as to the prospects Jaffe discusses. I believe Boom Blox had Spielburg’s name on the front of the box, which may prompt some to buy his game. Now, if Miyamoto began to leave his name all over his games, would they eventually sell better, too? After someone notices that Miyamoto had a hand in…Let’s say, a Metroid game…Wouldn’t he/she be more interested in picking it up after knowing the creator Mario had a big hand in the production of the game?
