Man, I’m so totally stoked for Super Mario Galaxy. I can’t wait. Even my wife, traditionally a rather casual gamer, is really looking forward to it, having finally seen it in motion and instantly having the urge to play it. But this wasn’t because she saw a commercial for it while watching TV. Oh no, for her to even know about it, I had to tell her, and then show her the Japanese commercial on YouTube to explain all the crazy things I was trying to describe. Same thing for my niece, sister, friends, etc., I showed them all these grainy internet flash videos, and now they’re all anticipating its arrival quite eagerly as well. You see this game, any stage, you instantly want to play it. Its got mad drawing power. But a few days ago they didn’t know anything about it at all. Isn’t this odd for a game that will be released in less than two weeks?!?!
Well I for one certainly think so, but that’s just how Nintendo rolls these days, now keen on the ultra-low-key approach. There seems to be some kind of over-confidence at Nintendo of America that all of their games will sell millions on the merits of word-of-mouth alone. That they don’t even have to show them. They missed the hype-boat for Metroid Prime 3 by a mile, and tried to make up for it with a “Month of Metroid”, but as much as I and other like-minded gamers appreciated that, what about those folks who’s Wii’s aren’t online, it was useless in getting the message to them, or even to people who don’t have a Wii, to which MP3 could’ve been a system seller? They got this ridiculous commercial to try and win them over with. I say ridiculous because I don’t think that an IP like Metroid is properly marketed with the ‘Blue Ocean’ philosophy that works for the rest of the Wii ads. Metroid is not the game to try and rope in new gamers with. I mean, for example, those people shown playing the game in the commercial would likely quit playing after 15-30 minutes upon realising the time investment ahead of them, and the intense gameplay involved in playing it. And to most gamers, that commercial wasn’t going to be the deal maker that made you want it. Quite the opposite could happen I’d think, as it may give the appearance that the game has been watered down to accommodate a wider audience (which isn’t the case, btw). In other words; this commercial did not fit the game being advertised, at all, in my opinion. Especially when you compare it against these other examples in the franchises’ history. This is the same company?
This is the same company that gave us this truly classic Mario ad, or this one for Super Mario 64, which properly hyped the revolution that it was in gaming? The same company that helped produce an entire movie just to hype and advertise Super Mario Bros.3? And they’re gonna stay mum on Super Mario frickin’ Galaxy, a game that looks like the Mario game to beat all Mario games? Not even a ‘Month of Mario’ or Mario Channel like Metroid had? I don’t get it. You’re leading the industry right now, why not make a little noise, stick your chest out and start pounding on it, yelling “look how awesome I am, look what I can do, this is why I‘m here to stay”, or whatever, instead of keeping things practically secret? Don’t you want people to know about these amazing games you’re making?
Let’s look at some of Microsoft’s recent marketing. Yes, the ad campaign for Halo 3 was overblown, but you’ve gotta admit that those series of ads were epic, and likely even generated interest from folks that don‘t know Master Chief from Laura Croft, but knew that it looked fun/interesting/important in someway. Whether or not you’re totally sick of this series of ads, you can’t deny how great they are/were in scope, and how much confidence in their product MS showed with them. I also totally love the new 360 commercials that are currently running, the one with Nothin’ But a Good Time playing over it. I like a lot of things about it, but I mention it here because you’ll notice that one of the games featured in the ad is Mass Effect, which isn’t released until Nov. 20th, but has been being advertised in this commercial for a while now. Its already being showcased as one of the games to be playing on your 360 before you ever see the first real ad for it. Subtle, but smart.
Sony too, has been improving with their ads, which used to be nearly incomprehensible at times, or downright creepy. Heavenly Sword was sufficiently hyped by its ad, I think, which was alright. I really enjoy this ad for Ratchet & Clank: Future too, and think Nintendo should be taking notes for its eventual Galaxy commercial from this one, as I feel its fantastic and one of my new favourite gaming commercials ever. Quite well done. But the best from Sony has got to be this recent PS3 ad. Wow. That’s one sleek video game commercial there! While there’s a lot to like about this one as well, the aspect worth pointing out as it pertains to this topic is thus: PS Home, while delayed until sometime in 2008, is largely showcased in this commercial. Again, that’s just smart, its getting the word out way ahead of time and claiming a bit of mindshare in a cluttered environment. More people are potentially aware of PlayStaton Home, which, again, is due next year, than are potentially aware of Super Mario Galaxy, out in nine days!! Cuh-razy.
My only other concern regarding Galaxy’s marketing, aside from the apparent complete lack of it, is that it will follow in Metroid’s footsteps, and be presented in the same style. Look, I like the “Wii Would Like to Play” ads, and Ninty’s new direction as a whole. I really do, it was a breath of fresh air, and who am I to argue anyways, its obviously working well for them. I like knowing that hearing that cool Kodo music means a Wii commercial is coming. I’m not attacking their style or new image here. No, I’m just saying that not all Wii games released should follow the same marketing style, as Metroid proved that it just doesn’t gel with everything. And me-thinks that Galaxy would be better suited to another style of marketing as well, more like the Japanese commercials, that keep the focus on the game, not who’s playing it or how they’re playing it, but why you want to play it. But I won’t hold my breath waiting for that, I’m pretty sure that whenever the ad is released it will follow suit with the rest of Nintendo’s Wii ads.
I guess we’ll see if that works, or if I’m wrong and they do a totally Mario-worthy commercial for it, whenever they finally DO release it upon the masses, which has gotta be pretty soon. But then again, another worthy Wii title, Battalion Wars II, is still MIA on the airwaves, but already in stores, so who knows. Nintendo, why don’t you want everybody to know about all these great games? Its very confusing….
- Kimo
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