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Several high profile gaming blogs posted stories earlier this week about an issue with the box art of Capcom's critically acclaimed Wii game, Okami.
Turns out someone at the Japanese publisher forsook the company's own database of game art for a high-resolution image posted on the popular video game review site IGN.com. Of course, nothing ever would have came of this minor bit of artistic laziness—had the employee not neglected to remove the watermark IGN places on all of its game images, which can clearly be seen on the finished product (see picture above—the wolf appears to be biting a ghostly IGN logo).
The gaffe was made to seem even worse due to the fact that the game has been praised by critics for its highly original artistic design and visual style.
While this is indeed an embarrassing mistake, it hardly seems worth the resulting Internet clamour. As Wired's game blog pointed out (with help from its readers) Okami is hardly the first game to make a box art blunder.
And really, how important is a game's cover anyway?
Still, understanding the obsessive and fickle nature of its customers, Capcom has wisely decided to treat the issue with some gravity. Last night it made a post on its web site stating that gamers who felt ripped off about their not-quite-perfect box art can request a free replacement. They can get the original cover sans watermark, or choose between a pair of beautiful, text-free Okami canvases that will make the box of this gorgeous game itself look like a work of art.
I say good for Capcom. It's unfortunate that they felt they had to kowtow to upset fans over such a niggling issue, but, in the end, they turned a minor PR mess into a value-add for their customers.
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