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While there are many instances of video game box art being altered from territory to territory - typically to give Kirby ANGRY EYES or to stick a gun in somebody's hand - the case of Konami's 1998 masterpiece Metal Gear Solid has been something of an outlier.
While the Japanese and North American box art is relatively comparable, both featuring the iconic font promising Tactical Espionage Action for all, the Japanese edition is printed vertically, not only perpendicular to most JPN box art, but perpendicular even to the cover's PlayStation and Konami logos. Of course, this is abject madness which, naturally, makes perfect sense to Metal Gear's esoteric creator, Hideo Kojima.
Speaking on Twitter this week, Kojima explained that the vertical lettering is simply a matter of engagement. Potential buyers would see the game on the store shelf and then pick it up - either to get a better look at the title or, in some cases, to politely place the case the "right" way up. Once the game was in hand... well... as retailers are aware, that's half the battle won.
And so, like so much of Kojima's work, the weird lettering is an eccentric blend of unique design and smart showmanship, with a little silliness added into the mix. As to whether it actually increased MGS' sales, it's really neither here nor there, as Metal Gear Solid became a global bestseller, rocketing up the sales charts in Japan, North America, and Europe, and closing out 1998 as one of the year's best-selling titles, with a fistful of awards to boot.
Today, that success seems predictable, but MGS was an untested title and genre to a mid-'90s audience, with even Kojima himself fearing that his game might have been mostly unsellable outside of a niche, stealth-loving minority. Whether the famous, head-turning cover font had any part to play remains a mystery.
One thing's for sure, though: Silverburgh's codec was ringing off the damn hook. Meryl, don't change your number... 1-4-0-Point-1-5....