Reasonable on 30 April 2011
Sure it can. Anything people pick from a shelf is affected by the packaging. If I remember ICO back on the PS2 was judged to have been impacted by its terrible (and it was terrible) US cover art.
But this isn't about games so much as the general impact packaging, advertising and look has on purchasing decisions - which can be very large for the majority of more casual shoppers. By casual I mean someone going into a game store and perusing the shelves for something that interests them vs reading lots of reviews, etc. not casual as in the dreaded "casual" gamer.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...
