Video Game Pictures

Let LoveToKnow Video Games sift through the mess for you and hand pick out a few sources where you'll surely find the perfect set of video game pictures for you. The following guide is for both online and offline sources.

Video Game Pictures

Video game pictures can be seen everywhere. I have a Mario t-shirt and a 1Up baseball cap. I've been known to use Street Fighter themed video game pictures as my avatar on MSN Messenger. Their usage can essentially be broken up into two types:

Video Game Pictures For The Web

If you've got your own website or even a MySpace page, you may want to look into what video game pictures are readily available on the internet so that you can customize your internet destination. One major issue with use of video game pictures on the 'net, though, is that you have to consider copyright issues.

Generally speaking, unless the image has been watermarked by a particular website or company, video game pictures are free to use because they are assumed to be promotional material dispensed by the original video game developers and publishers and as it does not detract from the actual playing experience (which is what you pay for), the images become "fair use." You still have to tread with a careful foot, of course.

There are four kinds of video game pictures that are readily available:

• Box Art
• Screenshots
• Fan art
• Promotional renderings and other images

Here are a few sites that are worth checking out:

• VG Museum is a pretty good source for retro images as the library of pictures dates all the way back to even the ancient Atari systems. The selection within each game, however, can be quite limited and the frame-based navigation can be a little cumbersome.

• Google has a great image search tool that you can use to find video game pictures. Simply click on the tab or button that reads "Images".

• Starpulse has a good collection of video game pictures, including all the latest games like Fatal Inertia and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Collecting the Real Thing

Are you an avid collector? Do you like getting rare hockey cards and other memorabilia? The same enthusiasm should easily transfer to video game pictures and other video game collectibles. The issue with finding unique items here, though, is that video games are inherently digital so they never really had a "physical" form. The major exception to this is if you can find yourself some original concept sketches.

Many video game artists start out with character sketches with the traditional pencil and paper. These can be difficult to find, but if you manage to score one from a popular video game, you should really treasure it. Although you can try looking for video game sketches on eBay, it can be difficult to ensure its authenticity. At the same time, if you go to dedicated memorabilia stores, the same place where you'd find baseball cards for example, you may discover that the prices can be quite high.

Video Game Posters

Want to show off your love of video games? Why not take a less expensive route and opt for video game pictures in the form of posters? These oftentimes come free with certain magazines or can be found for less than ten dollars at many retailers. Display Lumines 2 or Nintendogs, Pokemon or Quake. There are literally posters for every kind of gamer.