Retail cover screen shots: scan vs new

[djshok]

Just want to see what everyone thinks about this.  Personally I like new screen shots a lot more.  Scanned screens never look that hot, especially on the more retro systems (8 and 16 bit) where the games are already blurry to begin with, even with really good quality scans the screen shots just get blurrier and with a game that's not so graphically impressive they just turn into a barely distinguishable mess. 

Also, would you still consider it a "retail" cover if the screen shots have been replaced but everything else was kept accurate?

[juan0tron]

I think having new screenshots would be a great touch, though not necessary. Part of the fun of looking at some old boxes is seeing the screens the developer/publisher thought would market the game best. Look at the box for Rock Band 1. It's still got screens from when the game still used circular notes and had a noticeably different graphic style. It depends, but I think it's all up to the cover artist.

[irvgotti452]

I personally play a rom to the point of the same image and make sure its exact.
Example: http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=5086

Played to each exact part and photoshoped parts that didn't quite line up. But thats a little too hardcore to do for every cover. You have to be a true perfectionist to do that for every cover. Otherwise scanned one will do just fine lol

[tiktektak]

I personally play a rom to the point of the same image and make sure its exact.
Example: http://www.thecoverproject.net/view.php?game_id=5086

Played to each exact part and photoshoped parts that didn't quite line up. But thats a little too hardcore to do for every cover. You have to be a true perfectionist to do that for every cover. Otherwise scanned one will do just fine lol

This or use the retail shots. Otherwise it should be labeled custom although I too sometimes don't see this and label it retail.

[Arseen]

If the originals are good I prefer those, but if they are crap then I accept new ones altough they should be close as possible to the originals or represent the game better than the originals.

Also, would you still consider it a "retail" cover if the screen shots have been replaced but everything else was kept accurate?

If the you can capture 100.0000000% same images then yes otherwise no.
But on the other hand I don't care is the cover Retail or custom.

[djshok]

Thanks for the replies everyone.  I agree that capturing screen shots that 100% exact to the ones used on the original is the best way to go, but I don't think it's always possible.  I'm pretty sure that the people who make the box art often have access to the developer tools like debug versions and such that allow them to take screen shots that might be otherwise impossible to do in actual gameplay.

Anyway, I'll just stick to labelling all my covers as custom since they use captured screens.  Some lucky admin is gonna get sent a big zip file with about 21 32x covers really soon. 

[ShoothimNow]

I youtubed videos for close pictures of the location of the original pictures if the originals are that bad

[BadChad]

I prefer original screens to keep covers 100% retail.