This is an image I would have sworn was fake prior to July of 2008, when Microsoft and Square Enix outed Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360. It was one of the most exciting E3 announcements I've been present for, and I distinctly remember my fingers shaking as I typed up the news.

Now it's only four months away, and here we have a glimpse of what Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 will look like, at least for Europe. It's still a bit unsettling, but exciting nonetheless.

For those of you who can't handle the strangeness, I've also included the PlayStation 3 packshot. Rest assured, one of these boxes will be much lighter than the other.

In that image you can see the four different designs survey takers were asked to consider. All have the 2K Sports 10th Anniversary branding which has graced the boxes of NHL 2K10 and NBA 2K10. This tipster sent us other screenshots - including one of the NDA (which of course the tipster broke by sending this) so I'm inclined to believe this is real.

Update: Another reader points out that the top two boxcover examples appear to be taken from Longoria's appearance on the cover of the May 18 edition of ESPN the Magazine. Based on additional screenshots and other information we have, I still believe this is a real survey, even if the top two examples are not original box art. As I wrote earlier, it's not confirmation of the official cover athlete or the box's final design. But asking survey takers how the box cover makes them feel about purchasing the game is a strong indication 2K Sports has settled on its man.

Second Update: The company responsible for administering this survey for 2K Sports complained to Kotaku and Gawker Media about this leak, and asked that the post be taken down. While we respectfully decline, we view such communication as confirmation that the survey and its subject are real.

Longoria is a two-time all star in as many seasons in the league and was the 2008 rookie of the year on a Devil (whoopsie!) Rays team that won the American League pennant. He just picked up his first Gold Glove.

"It was an NCL idea," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said today, referring to the Japanese company's home office to which his office reports, during an interview at New York's Waldorff Astoria hotel.

Nintendo HQ had determined that New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which launches Sunday, would be the first Wii game to come in a red case, rather than a white one.

"New Super Mario Brothers is such a special title," Fils-Aime said, "It is something that [Mario creator Shigeru] Miyamoto and his team have been so passionate about — that when it came time for the final packaging, we had many internal discussions as to how we make it special.

"And that's where the idea of the red box came from: How do we signify to our Nintendo fans, to our greater community the specialness of this title? The red is Mario red.

"What we did differently here in the U.S., when we were looking at the final packaging, we were concerned that the Wii logo on the red, in what we call the branding bar, was a little too plain just white. So it's in our market we've made it silver with the metallic ink to make it pop more."

Fils-Aime has said that gaming retailers have been excited. As for other publisher reaction, he dismissed the idea that Nintendo's lone red box amid a wall of white Wii boxes at a game shop would distract attention from other publishers' games games. "I haven't heard any licensees concerned that the box is somehow going to overly sway the consumer," he said. "I think our licensees understand that, from a first party stand-point, New Super Mario Bros. is our biggest title for the holidays. And I bet most licensees are excited about the hardware-driving potential of that particular title."

One red box is not the start of a trend, however.

"We've been clear that this is kind of a one-time deal," Fils-Aime noted. "Don't expect to see a yellow box for x or a gold box for y."

An idea formed.... "Luigi's Mansion 2 would have a green box?" Kotaku offered helpfully.

Fils-Aime ignored that: "We wanted this to be very special and very unique which is why we went down the path with the red box."

Punchatz who also illustrated for top-flight publications such as National Geographic, TIME and Playboy, suffered a heart attack on Oct. 11 and never regained consciousness. After two weeks of treatment and tests, doctors advised there was no hope of recovery, and Punchatz's family removed him from life support.

"He never wanted to be kept alive like this," Greg Punchatz, Don's son, said to SpectrumFantasticArt, "so we are respecting his wishes."

Punchatz's iconic Doom box was just a small piece of his overall portfolio of work, which brought acclaim from luminaries such as the author Ray Bradbury. Spectrum Fantastic Art reports that Punchatz had already cut his fee to help id Software meet its budget. Id counterproposed that Punchatz accept a percentage of Doom's profits instead, but Punchatz stuck with his fee. "So how was I to know this thing called Doom would make a jillion smackers?" he laughed later.

Don Ivan Punchatz (1936-2009) [Spectrum Fantastic Art via bit-tech.net]

Perhaps too subtle. Rarely do we see North American games veering from the standard box art path. But considering Sony's PlayStation 3 box art preference of focusing on the face—see Killzone 2 and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time—and the God of War III cover showing up on Amazon.com and Sony's retailer extranet, it could happen.

And if it does, just how far will Sony zoom in for future games? Will The Last Guardian just feature a giant retina?

How do you judge this cover, Kotaku readership?

Thanks to Veton and Jason for the heads up!

The Cyberbike comes from European publisher Bigben Interactive, who generally deal more in video game accessories than they do full0-fledged titles, and when you get right down to it, the Cyberbike contains a lot more accessory than it does game. The game that comes packed-in places you in the role of an eco-citizen, using your head and legs to clean up the planet. You clear pollution by riding over land, sea, and air, powering your strange vehicles with your feet.

The game is due for release in January 2010, and in case you are worried about only having one game to use it with, the Cyberbike is also compatible with Mario Kart Wii, so there is that at least. I'm not seeing any word on pricing, but I'd estimate the European release will run somewhere around more than you are willing to pay.

Scroll down for a look at the bike next to a rather petite woman, as well as a screenshot of what you'll be doing with the bike once you have it.

Sure the game is out in 12 days, but it's Majesco's title and they can set aside a whole month if they want to. Each week they'll be showing off new screens, trailers, and concept art for the game, kicking things off with some concept art showing off the title's lovely hand-drawn art style, along with the official box art. Stay tuned for more A Boy and His Blob as Blob Month continues.

Says one tipster wit: "Not the first time Gran Turismo used Forza art ..."

Thanks to Anonymous GameStopper #1, #2 and #3 for the pics. Three different pictures, I'd say this must be rumor-confirmed territory, right? Right?! So run down there and ask to reserve it. It beats asking if they have Battletoads.

While details on what that extra content thrown in for free will be aren't specified in the Amazon.com listing, the lower price and extra goodies really should convince you to pick up a copy of LittleBigPlanet already. I mean, have you seen how cute these Sackboy things are? Seriously. Just precious.

The original report on the LittleBigPlanet re-release indicated that "much" of the downloadable content already available would be bundled with the core game. Whether that includes the dozens of available downloadable costumes or simply some of the game's user-created levels is unclear. The "valued at" makes us wonder.

Amazon doesn't offer a date, but it's making it available for pre-order. Keep a button open for more details.

In the meantime, feel free to debate whether the GOTY edition box art is better or worse than the original.

LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year [Amazon - thanks, Carlos!]

The only thing we don't really care for is the stink eye that Shephard appears to be giving us. You're understandably upset, sir, but that angry glare directed at the consumer instead of some alien menace just off-cover is intimidating.

Less-obscured PC version awaits you after this.

Too bad the game was recently pushed back in North America, because it was one of the titles I was most looking forward to this fall. If Sega opts to region lock the Japanese release of the game, due October 29th, expect one, possibly two, unhappy Kotaku editors.

Sony also released Uncharted 2's final box art, reminding us of Mr. Drake's expert ability to hang from ledges and platforms with just one hand. Combine that with his expertise at maintaining a shirt that's half-tucked, half-not and you'll see why the stubbly treasure hunter's adventures warranted a sequel.

Oh, and speaking of pre-orders, Sony laid out its retailer plans for a quartet of downloadable exclusives with Amazon.com, GameStop, Game Crazy and BestBuy. Golden guns, right after this.

Yes, those are the golden Barettas that Drake can wield in multiplayer, adding a bit of flash to your online death match and "Plunder" competition. They're exclusive to BestBuy, meaning that if you're into sporting golden AK-47s, that should be your pre-order retailer of choice.

Other retailers are getting downloadable exclusive bonuses too, should your preference for weapons be a little more understated.

Here's how it works out elsewhere.

• Amazon.com - Exclusive UNCHARTED 2 Treasure Map
  The exclusive UNCHARTED 2 Treasure Map allows players to discover hidden treasures throughout the game.
• 
  
• Game Crazy - Exclusive Currency Multiplier for multiplayer online use
  The UNCHARTED 2 Currency Multiplier allows gamers to gain in-game currency and unlock bonuses faster than their opponents for a limited period.
• 
  
• GameStop - Exclusive first access to the Multiplayer Demo and the downloadable Revenge Attribute
  The Revenge Attribute is one of the last boosters that you can unlock in the multiplayer campaign. This bonus allows you to unlock the "Revenge" booster right from the start of your multiplayer campaign.

That GameStop exclusive access to the multiplayer demo will run from September 9th to September 29th, giving folks who pre-order at that location a two week head start on the demo. It will open to the public on September 30th and wrap-up on Uncharted 2's release day.

Also, if you really like to plan ahead, these downloads will be available to those who pre-order until December 31, 2009. So don't sit on that downloadable gold assault rifle, kids. Grab it day one, if you can.

Games Radar collected 100 recent games at random, threw them in a pile, then broke down exactly what was on the cover. Men, women, guns, not guns, the works.

Their findings? 54% had a man on the front. 10% had a woman on the front. 36% had a man/woman combo. Most men were holding weapons, and looked mean. Most women also held weapons, but were smiling. Only 7% featured somebody that wasn't white. Only 2% had an elderly person on the cover. And finally, only 3% of the covers featured a half-naked woman, with only Runescape, Onechanbara and X-blades flying the sexist flag.

What are the favourite 'types' of people used on video game box-art? [Games Radar]

By more, we really mean a paper sleeve in which to slide the Metroid Prime Trilogy tin in and out of. We could also mean all new presentation for two of those Metroid Prime games, which feature updated 16:9 aspect ratio visuals and new Wii controls for the original GameCube duo, Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Check out the back of the box after this.

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions are due to ship stateside in less than two months, but Ignition hasn't firmly decided on which King of Fighters characters will appear on the game's box art. You get to decide. Err... again. The publisher is offering up another round of box art voting, pitting the previously voted upon version against the more coveted by nature of being Japanese designs.

Of course, if you want the exotic CERO rating and lone SNK Playmore logo, you can still import. But that would be kind of silly, don't you think?

I'm putting my vote behind "Whatever has meaty Athena not offering upskirt visibility on the cover."

Rock the Box Round 2: Vote for your favorite King of Fighters XII PS3 box art! [Ignition Forums]

Agent B and B Miggs are back on the case, whipping up this first class homage to sixth-rate design. It looks like 12th century religious iconography drawn by Mrs. Dudley's 4-year-old kindergarten class. Which is to say, it's hilarious.

Mega Man Box Artist Commissioned to Remake Halo 3 Cover [GameSpy, thanks Bialia and others]

Unfortunately, my theory is blown when one realizes that the same box art is being used for the PlayStation 2 version. Arguments about it being employed on the Wii and PSP versions will have to be made amongst yourselves.

Say what you want about Michael Bay's take on the Transformers, but at least the video game adaptation of the movie sequel's box art hides the goofy mouths on Optimus Prime and... is that the Fallen back there? Afraid I can't say the same for the Nintendo DS versions, which feature a snagletoothed Megatron and a deer-in-the-headlights look from the Autobot leader.

No attempts to re-brand Klonoa as some sort of party, no garish freak out utilizing every color in the spectrum.

It even drops much of the original PlayStation game's title, whittling down Klonoa: Door To Phantomile to the simple Klonoa. Not that the name seems to carry much weight with gamers, as I find that very few of the folks in my own circle have ever heard of the series. Fortunately, that hasn't stopped Namco from giving the package some tender loving care. And including a free fish taco.

Even the manual is in color! That makes Klonoa the second third-party Wii game in my library to get the full color treatment. (The other is Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure.)

The dual-language instruction booklet is dense with details, similarly not half-assed like other Wii game manuals. And look! A free fish taco!!

Bizarrely random? Maybe a touch, but when one remembers Klonoa's penchant for "wahooing" and the "Wahoo Stomp" from Klonoa 2, the free taco from Wahoo's makes a little more sense.

On the left, the European art, while on the right, the Japanese box. Love it. Publishers, take note! When scanning an endless desert of garishly-coloured game boxes, this is just the kind of oasis we like to stumble upon.

[via Go Nintendo]