While Star Wars video games have come a long way since the first Empire Atari 2600 cartridges released 25 years ago (remember those pixilated AT-ATs lumbering across the screen like glorified Pong paddles?), the art of advertising its successors in the years since has remained pretty consistent. Posters with bold, colorful graphics have long been the standard for marketing games at the store level, materials not often collected and saved like, say, movie posters. With video games slowly merging into the entertainment space traditionally held by movies, however, these in-store posters may soon become the theatrical one-sheets of the gaming age, touting technologies and platforms alongside a celebrity roster of actors and designers.
It's been argued that Star Wars jump-started the movie poster collecting hobby 30 years ago. Before then, a few savvy collectors were able to pick up vintage titles like King Kong and Casablanca for a few bucks from old theaters and poster warehouses. Star Wars, with its flashy poster campaigns and revitalizing effect on the film industry, changed all that. Old collectors were confronted with an influx of film fans and investors competing for the same titles, driving up demand and diminishing supply. Nowadays, those King Kongs and Casablancas go for tens of thousands of dollars, arguably the result of Star Wars' effect on film fandom.
For people new to poster collecting, Star Wars video game posters present a diverse range of collectible art that is both displayable and affordable. Virtually ignored by film poster enthusiasts, gaming posters can still be had for a few bucks apiece, and often offer a variety of different designs on a single title. The posters for Episode I Racer, for example, depicted different graphics in Australia, England, and the U.S., with many more likely still undiscovered. Many find this diversity refreshing in an age where movie posters by-in-large exhibit the same image across most international markets.
The accompanying slideshow represents just a handful from the full gamut of Star Wars video game posters, some of which were highlighted in The Star Wars Poster Book. Several of these have been released or discovered since that book was published two years ago, and appear here for the very first time. Posters to look out for include:
- Slides #1-3: Trio of early Parker Brothers posters for the first Star Wars game cartridges. This trilogy of games actually opened with Empire since it was the latest film to be released at the time these cartridges began being offered in 1982.
- Slide #4: Certain posters are prized for their ability to preserve the era in which they are released. Wire-frame vector graphics was state of the art in 1983, as evidenced by this early Star Wars arcade poster.
- Slide #6: Famed Star Wars illustrator Ralph McQuarrie painted an explosive image of an X-wing and Luke Skywalker for Broderbund's home version of the Star Wars arcade game.
- Slides #7, 13, and 29: Magazine insert posters can have artistic merit as well, though they traditionally are not as sought after as the in-store posters.
- Slide #10: This unusual two-piece poster from Japan exhibits identical information on each half, allowing the two to be displayed separately if desired.
- Slides #11-12: The U.S. Rebel Assault II poster was one of the first to emulate the traditional movie poster with similar formatting and lower credit block. The Australian version used a totally different image for its campaign.
- Slides #16-17: Another example of how poster images often change over international lines. Here, background details have been altered between the U.S. and UK posters for Rogue Squadron.
- Slide 20: A rare UK transit station poster for X-wing Alliance exhibits stunning dogfight graphics in a larger-than-life 40x60-inch format.
- Slides #21-23: At least three totally different images were used to promote Racer in the UK, U.S., and Australia.
- Slide #24: This poster for Force Commander is one of an inspired set of campaign posters designed in the spirit of WWII propaganda posters.
- Slide #28: This French poster for Bounty Hunter chose to eloquently convey the quiet menace of the game's lead character with a spare design.
With The Force Unleashed now readying for release, fans can look forward to what is sure to be a striking image campaign promoting the game. Marketed like a Star Wars movie, these posters will further close the gap between advertising art destined for the movie theater or the video game retailer.
