Box Art and Release Dates - Which styles came first?

[TerryMasters]

Apologies if this topic has already been discussed, I've tried going through a few different threads but things got a little confusing.

 

I'm trying to determine which box art style came first. Take Moon Patrol for instance; There are at least 3 different box art styles for this game - One red, one silver (matching the style of other similar Atari boxes), and a second silver with its own full-cover sized artwork. The release dates are one thing, but then they could be NTSC/PAL boxes which brings in an entirely different question.

 

Does anyone know the order in which these were released? Thanks in advance!

Edited January 12, 2017 by TerryMasters

[+save2600]

Can usually tell by the copyright info on the lower left of the backside, but goes something like this...

 

 

1) Silver box w/ large artwork and no international stuff on the back.

 

 

2) Silver box w/ large art and international stuff on back.

 

 

3) Silver(more like grey) box w/ title in thick red band and smaller art.

 

 

4) Grey box with black and white art.*

 

 

5) Red box/red label re-released titles by the late 80's.

 

 

 

*not all games were re-released with grey box/black & white art.

 

**Could be wrong about this, but do not believe Mario Bros. was ever released in the U.S. in that red box config. Believe that is a late 80's PAL only release. Just showing for illustration purposes.

[TerryMasters]

Ah, thanks so much!