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  • Greg Winters (b. 1956)


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    Greg Winters is an internationally recognized illustrator and artist. He graduated from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California in 1982 and immediately transitioned into being a sought after illustrator, illustrating for the video game industry as early as 1984 with the Gremlins for the Atari 2600, along with Asteroids for the Atari 7800. 

    He illustrated more game boxes than any other artist of which we are aware: well over 100 titles, not including digital works. Greg worked not only prolifically but also on the box art for some of the most high-profile projects in the video game industry, particularly for Nintendo branded consoles.  No other artist illustrated more Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) boxes than Greg 16, tied with Frank Cirocco — including some of the most classic images released for the console.

    OVGA has included below Greg Winters' full NES box art catalog:

    1. Cabal (Milton Bradley | June, 1990)
    2. Street Fighter 2010:  The Final Fight (Capcom | September, 1990)
    3. Mega Man 3 (Capcom | November, 1990)
    4. Yo! Noid (Capcom | November, 1990)
    5. Shadow of the Ninja (Natsume | December, 1990)
    6. Conan (Mindscape | February, 1991)
    7. KlashBall (SOFEL | June, 1991)
    8. Mega Man 4 (Capcom | January, 1992)
    9. G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor (Capcom | February, 1992)
    10. RoboCop 3 (Ocean | September, 1992)
    11. Gargoyle’s Quest II: The Demon Darkness (Capcom | October, 1992)
    12. Little Samson (Taito | November, 1992)
    13. Mega Man 5 (Capcom | December, 1992)
    14. Alfred Chicken (Mindscape | February, 1993)
    15. Mighty Final Fight (Capcom | July, 1993)
    16. Mega Man 6 (Capcom | November, 1993)

    His list of Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) box artwork illustrations is even more impressive, having illustrated a mind-boggling 27 titles, including all five of the SNES Mega Man titles, Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Final Fight 2, Super Double Dragon, Alien vs. Predator, Wild Guns, and Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics.

    Greg was no stranger to Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, and PC box artwork, having illustrated many wonderful examples of each in a number of different styles. Its no wonder that between the large output of work Greg could handle and the diversity in style that he could portray that he was truly one of the “go-to” illustrators during one of the video game industry’s most important eras. In addition to his work with video games, Greg illustrated VHS boxes, gaming magazine covers, a number of movie posters, and toys including work for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Hot Wheels.

    Additional notable titles in Greg's box art catalog include: Alisia Dragoon (Genesis, 1992), Bionic Commando (Game Boy, 1992), Dark Wizard (Sega CD, 1993), Mega Man II, III, IV and V (Game Boy), Shinobi I and II (Game Gear) and III (Genesis), Splatterhouse 2 (Genesis), and Streets of Rage (Genesis).

    Greg’s final traditionally painted game box illustration appears to have been Starlancer for Windows, released in December 2000. Subsequently, Greg transitioned to digital as many artists did in the 1995–2000 era with the advent of Photoshop having completely reshaped the illustration industry during that time. Greg’s digital catalog includes art for around a dozen boxes for MumboJumbo, LLC, including several of the Luxor titles, the first of which was released in 2005.

    OVGA has embedded below a comprehensive table of Greg Winters’ published video game box art. The table does not include digital works nor does it include a variety of intended box art pieces that went unpublished, whether because the game was unreleased or because the final art used a different design. Games in red text reuse artwork from a distinct game (i.e. different developer or game play) in another row.

    # Title Year Publisher Platform
    1 Asteroids 1984 Atari Corporation Atari 7800
    2 Gremlins 1984 Atari Corporation Atari 2600 / Atari 5200 / Apple II / Commodore 64 / PC Booster
    3 The Goonies 1985 DataSoft Atari 8-bit / Commodore 64 / ZX Spectrum
    4 S.D.I. 1986 Cinemaware Amiga / Atari ST / DOS
    5 The Movie Monster Game 1986 Epyx Apple II / Commodore 64
    6 Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon 1987 Cinemaware Amiga / Apple II / Atari ST / Commodore 64 / DOS
    7 Guerilla War 1988 Data East PC Booster
    8 Rocket Ranger 1988 Cinemaware Amiga / Apple II / Atari ST / Commodore 64 / DOS
    9 Burning Force 1990 Namco Genesis
    10 Cabal 1990 Milton Bradley NES
    11 Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 Sunsoft Famicom (Japan only)
    12 Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 Topo Soft / Elite Amiga / Amstrad CPC / Atari ST / Commodore 64 / DOS / MSX / ZX Spectrum
    13 Mega Man 3 1990 Capcom NES
    14 Phelios 1990 Namco Genesis
    15 Shadow of the Ninja 1990 Natsume NES
    16 Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight 1990 Capcom NES
    17 Yo! Noid 1990 Capcom NES
    18 Batter Up 1991 Namco Game Gear
    19 Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball 1991 Hudson Soft SNES
    20 Conan: The Mysteries of Time 1991 Mindscape NES
    21 Galaxy Force II 1991 Sega Genesis
    22 Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1991 Hi-Tech Expressions DOS
    23 Hal's Hole in One Golf 1991 HAL Laboratory SNES
    24 HyperZone 1991 HAL Laboratory SNES
    25 KlashBall 1991 Sofel NES
    26 Mercs 1991 Sega Genesis
    27 Powerball 1991 Namco Genesis
    28 Putt & Putter: Miniature Golf 1991 Sega Game Gear / Master System
    29 Shinobi 1991 Sega Game Gear
    30 Slider 1991 Sega Game Gear
    31 Streets of Rage 1991 Sega Game Gear / Genesis
    32 Ys III 1991 Renovation Genesis
    33 Alisia Dragoon 1992 Sega Genesis
    34 Bionic Commando 1992 Capcom Game Boy
    35 Chakan: The Forever Man 1992 Sega Genesis / Game Gear
    36 Doomsday Warrior 1992 Renovation SNES
    37 Earnest Evans 1992 Renovation Genesis
    38 G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor 1992 Capcom NES
    39 Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness 1992 Capcom NES
    40 Lightening Force: Quest For The Darkstar 1992 Sega Genesis
    41 Little Samson 1992 Taito NES
    42 Mega Lo Mania 1992 Ubisoft DOS (US only)
    43 Mega Man 4 1992 Capcom NES
    44 Mega Man 5 1992 Capcom NES
    45 Mega Man II 1992 Capcom Game Boy
    46 Mega Man III 1992 Capcom Game Boy
    47 RoboCop 3 1992 Ocean Software Game Gear / Genesis / Master System / NES / SNES
    48 Shinobi II: The Silent Fury 1992 Sega Game Gear
    49 Splatterhouse 2 1992 Namco Genesis
    50 Super Bowling 1992 Technos SNES
    51 Super Buster Bros. 1992 Capcom SNES
    52 Super Double Dragon 1992 Tradewest SNES
    53 Tyrants: Fight Through Time 1992 Virgin Genesis
    54 Aerobiz 1993 KOEI Genesis / SNES
    55 Alien vs Predator 1993 Activision SNES
    56 Alien vs Predator: The Last of His Clan 1993 Activision Game Boy
    57 BioMetal 1993 Activision SNES
    58 Dark Wizard 1993 Sega Sega CD
    59 Dune 1993 Virgin Sega CD
    60 Final Fight 2 1993 Capcom SNES
    61 Global Gladiators 1993 Tec Toy Mega Drive (Brazil only)
    62 Kendo Rage 1993 SETA SNES
    63 MechWarrior 1993 Activision SNES
    64 Mega Man IV 1993 Capcom Game Boy
    65 Mighty Final Fight 1993 Capcom NES
    66 Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master 1993 Sega Genesis
    67 The Software Toolworks’ Star Wars Chess 1993 Software Toolworks DOS / Sega CD / Windows
    68 Star Wars: Rebel Assault 1993 LucasArts 3DO / DOS / Macintosh / Sega CD
    69 Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 1993 JVC SNES
    70 The Wizard of Oz 1993 SETA SNES
    71 Wing Commander: The Secret Missions 1993 Mindscape SNES
    72 Alfred Chicken 1994 Mindscape Game Boy (US only) / NES / SNES
    73 Beyond Oasis 1994 Sega Genesis
    74 Heart of the Alien: Out of this World Parts I and II 1994 Virgin Sega CD
    75 The Horde 1994 Crystal Dynamics 3DO / DOS
    76 Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics 1994 Data East SNES
    77 Mega Man 6 1994 Nintendo NES
    78 Mega Man Soccer 1994 Capcom SNES
    79 Mega Man V 1994 Capcom Game Boy
    80 Mega Man X 1994 Capcom SNES
    81 Poker Face Paul's Blackjack 1994 Sega Game Gear
    82 Poker Face Paul's Gin 1994 Sega Game Gear
    83 Poker Face Paul's Poker 1994 Sega Game Gear
    84 Poker Face Paul's Solitaire 1994 Sega Game Gear
    85 Undersea Adventure 1994 Knowledge Adventure DOS / Macintosh / Windows
    86 Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio 1994 Sega Genesis
    87 Exo Squad 1995 Playmates Genesis
    88 Final Fight 3 1995 Capcom SNES
    89 High Velocity 1995 Atlus Sega Saturn
    90 Mario's Game Gallery 1995 Interplay DOS / Macintosh / Windows
    91 Mega Man 7 1995 Capcom SNES
    92 Mega Man X2 1995 Capcom SNES
    93 Mega Man X3 1995 Capcom SNES
    94 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Fighting Edition 1995 Bandai SNES
    95 Wild Guns 1995 Natsume SNES
    96 Burning Road 1996 Playmates PlayStation
    97 Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge 1996 Capcom Sega Saturn
    98 Pink Panther: Passport to Peril 1996 BMG Interactive Windows
    99 Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers 1996 Bandai SNES
    100 Schoolhouse Rock!: Activity Pack 1996 Creative Wonders Macintosh / Windows
    101 Schoolhouse Rock!: Exploration Station (aka Science Rock) 1996 Creative Wonders Macintosh / Windows
    102 Skull Cracker 1996 GTE Entertainment Macintosh / Windows
    103 Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire 1996 LucasArts Nintendo 64 / Windows
    104 Civilization II: Fantastic Worlds 1997 MircoProse Windows
    105 Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition 1998 Renovation Windows
    106 Junkland Jam 1998 Southpeak Interactive Windows
    107 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 1998 LucasArts Nintendo 64
    108 My Disney Kitchen 1998 Disney Interactive, Inc. Macintosh / PlayStation / Windows
    109 Starlancer 2000 Microsoft Corporation Windows
    110 Time Out Games 2000 eBrainyGames Windows

    Based on his work for DataSoft for Goonies (1985), OVGA suspects (not confirmed) that Greg Winters also illustrated the box art for Theater Europe (1985) and Alternate Reality: The Dungeon (1987).

    Through art owned by collectors, Greg is confirmed to have painted the below unused box art:

    Title Year Publisher Platform Status
    California Raisins 1990 Capcom NES Unreleased
    Don Doko Don 2 1992 Taito NES Unreleased
    Gunstar Heroes 1993 Sega Genesis Art Unused
    Eternal Champions 1993 Sega Sega Genesis Art Unused
    Dream Probe 1994 Renovation SNES Unreleased
    Dune 1994 Virgin Sega CD Art Unused
    Mega Man: The Wily Wars 1995 Capcom Genesis Unreleased
    Croc: Legend of the Gobbos 1997 Fox Interactive Playstation Art Unused

    Fun Fact: On top of his illustration prowess, Greg is an accomplished pianist.

    Greg Winters

    Greg Winters (b. 1956)
    Born: May 18, 1956
    Nationality: American
    Location: Malibu, California
    Education: University of California, Berkeley (1976); ArtCenter (1982)
    Known For : Mega Man series
    Years Active: 1984–2006

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    Re Don Doko Don 2 - one of my favorite Winers images - Natsume was planning to call that “Wacky-Man” in the US and went so far as to having mock up boxes created for publicity purposes .    See attached vintage transparency from the firm that handled the Natsume account. 

    IMG_0002.jpeg

    Also, after 15 years of owning that transparency I only figured this out TODAY but I guess there is a double meaning to the title.   He’s ‘wacky crazy’ and he ‘whacks’ things with his hammer . 

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