BREAKING NEWS: Lost Box Art Surfaces

Heritage Auctions has posted a preview of a November video game art auction and their slate includes a stunning, almost-never-seen-before piece of Wing Commander art:

Here's how they describe it:

Steve Lang

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger Unpublished Video Game Original Box Art (Electronic Arts 1994).

Although the publisher ultimately selected a different image for the cover of Wing Commander III, this breathtaking painting offers a rare glimpse into an alternate vision for the game's box art. It depicts a colorful, action-packed outer space battle scene, showcasing the grandeur of the Wing Commander universe. Rendered in acrylics on Crescent all-media board measuring 20" x 17," it is signed and dated by the artist along the bottom border. Debuting on home computers in 1994 and ported to the 3DO in 1995 and the PlayStation in 1996, Wing Commander III is a landmark title, notable for its full-motion video cutscenes starring actors like Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell, and its groundbreaking blend of space combat and cinematic storytelling. This unique piece of art is a stunning tribute to the franchise's legacy.

That description, however, is wrong: this painting is the cover art commissioned for FCI's unreleased Wing Commander II port for the Super Nintendo! Eagle-eyed wingnuts will notice that the piece is dated weeks after Wing Commander III shipped, making it unlikely that this was in competition with Sam Yeates' Wing Commander III painting (additionally, all of the vehicles are from Wing Commander I and the faces do not match the live action characters at all). We've also seen (much lower resolution) clippings from this composition used as a header for Game Pro's review of the game: