Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: Jonnyboy117 on January 26, 2009, 03:03:50 AM
Title: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on January 26, 2009, 03:03:50 AM
Anyone else remember this Perfect Dark commercial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BtX2hOUGrw
Nintendo just doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: KDR_11k on January 26, 2009, 03:35:14 AM
Nintendo never made games like that, Rare did :p
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Pale on January 26, 2009, 11:39:10 AM
Man, that's borderline scandalous. =P I don't ever remember seeing that on TV.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Kairon on January 26, 2009, 12:25:11 PM
I remember that ad. And the Conker ones too, those were great.
Edit: You know, I have to reiterate just how much I loved the Joanna Dark character in Perfect Dark. Female yes, but not gratuitous or anything. Straightforward, sensible, she had a head on her shoulders and didn't pander to anyone. At least, that's how I felt.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Kairon on January 26, 2009, 12:26:46 PM
You know what else is a commercial from a "very different" Nintendo?
This one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ0EAsc_Rjg
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Stogi on January 26, 2009, 12:40:05 PM
That was the cheesiest guitar riff! It reminded me of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktl6L3ZwvL4
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: EasyCure on January 26, 2009, 12:55:25 PM
I'm sorry but.. Whats the point of this thread? There's not much room for discussion when the OP has only two sentances and one reads "Nintendo doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore"
Without something more to discuss, it just sounds like the perfect place for someone to come in with the "nintendo is casual now" rants that have been ruining the forums lately.
Now if we're going to be discussing how Nintendos marketing has changed over the years, in a positive tone, I'd expect a few more examples at the least, from across all generations. Until that happens, this thread doesn't have much merit.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Mikintosh on January 26, 2009, 01:06:18 PM
I'm sorry but.. Whats the point of this thread? There's not much room for discussion when the OP has only two sentances and one reads "Nintendo doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore"
Without something more to discuss, it just sounds like the perfect place for someone to come in with the "nintendo is casual now" rants that have been ruining the forums lately.
Now if we're going to be discussing how Nintendos marketing has changed over the years, in a positive tone, I'd expect a few more examples at the least, from across all generations. Until that happens, this thread doesn't have much merit.
But of course, *you* aren't going to add any content, right? Anyway, the video in the OP is gone.
To give this thread "merit", I'll say that I think this spot for Metroid Prime 2 was pretty cool:
I'm sorry but.. Whats the point of this thread? There's not much room for discussion when the OP has only two sentances and one reads "Nintendo doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore"
Without something more to discuss, it just sounds like the perfect place for someone to come in with the "nintendo is casual now" rants that have been ruining the forums lately.
Now if we're going to be discussing how Nintendos marketing has changed over the years, in a positive tone, I'd expect a few more examples at the least, from across all generations. Until that happens, this thread doesn't have much merit.
I've added a GameBoy Commercial... which is eerily reminicscent of the DS' market sensibilities. Nintendo was selling to adults back in the 1990's, so don't think that the blue ocean is anything new.
The Perfect Dark Ad may imply that Nintendo was somehow "different" and has changed... but the GameBoy ad shows that... no, not really, Nintendo is still Nintendo and change-mongers should really turn the mirror on themselves.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Pale on January 26, 2009, 01:12:50 PM
I'm sorry but.. Whats the point of this thread? There's not much room for discussion when the OP has only two sentances and one reads "Nintendo doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore"
Without something more to discuss, it just sounds like the perfect place for someone to come in with the "nintendo is casual now" rants that have been ruining the forums lately.
Now if we're going to be discussing how Nintendos marketing has changed over the years, in a positive tone, I'd expect a few more examples at the least, from across all generations. Until that happens, this thread doesn't have much merit.
Is this serious EasyCure? So now we are supposed to lock threads, including the most silly / interesting ones, because there is a chance someone is going to troll them? Let's all step back, spin around in circles three times, imagine something silly, and then laugh. We need to take everything less serious.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: NWR_pap64 on January 26, 2009, 01:20:26 PM
To be perfectly honest, the thread is fine. This could be a great way to watch old school Nintendo commercials. But the comment "Nintendo just doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore" is kind of pushing it. Had Johnny just said "Nintendo doesn't make ads like that anymore" then it would have been fine. But when he added "or games" it is pushing it into troll territory and it DOES give fuel to any potential troller.
This is what I mean when I say the mods and staff should be an example to the community. If we truly want to change things around here the staff members should just stop it with any bias.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: EasyCure on January 26, 2009, 01:22:19 PM
I'm sorry but.. Whats the point of this thread? There's not much room for discussion when the OP has only two sentances and one reads "Nintendo doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore"
Without something more to discuss, it just sounds like the perfect place for someone to come in with the "nintendo is casual now" rants that have been ruining the forums lately.
Now if we're going to be discussing how Nintendos marketing has changed over the years, in a positive tone, I'd expect a few more examples at the least, from across all generations. Until that happens, this thread doesn't have much merit.
No need to be condescending, especially when you have no idea if I'd be coming back to either edit my post or make a new one with added videos. Besides I'm at work right now and its hard to look up old ads on youtube when I have no sound on my work computer, and I can't go by visuals alone. I was lucky that i remembered the PD ad's tone from seeing it before.
I'm sorry but.. Whats the point of this thread? There's not much room for discussion when the OP has only two sentances and one reads "Nintendo doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore"
Without something more to discuss, it just sounds like the perfect place for someone to come in with the "nintendo is casual now" rants that have been ruining the forums lately.
Now if we're going to be discussing how Nintendos marketing has changed over the years, in a positive tone, I'd expect a few more examples at the least, from across all generations. Until that happens, this thread doesn't have much merit.
Is this serious EasyCure? So now we are supposed to lock threads, including the most silly / interesting ones, because there is a chance someone is going to troll them? Let's all step back, spin around in circles three times, imagine something silly, and then laugh. We need to take everything less serious.
But of course, *you* aren't going to add any content, right? Anyway, the video in the OP is gone.
So what if it is Pale? I thought all our views and opinions mattered, isn't that right? You're the one taking things too serious if you think I want this thread locked, when I never said such a thing. Is your next PM going to accuse me of wanting JohnnyBoy banned?
All I'm trying to say is the OP's comment can be flame bait for some and because I don't want to see this, or any other thread, go down that way, we should at least put some more effort into a discussion. An I'm sorry I'm unable to do everything you expect me to Mikintosh :)
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Pale on January 26, 2009, 01:25:51 PM
Is it not true that Nintendo doesn't make gritty first person shooters with sexy commercials to go along with them anymore?
What Jonny said is in no way trolling. This would have been trolling...
Quote
Nintendo just doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore. Instead they just make casual garbage only pansies care about.
See I read his thread and the thought of him bashing Nintendo didn't even cross my mind. Literally all I thought was "Wow, look at how many different tacts Nintendo's marketing has tried to littlte or no success in the past. This is interesting."
Given the current state of the boards everyone is in a defensive stance. Let's try and relaxe a bit everyone.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Stogi on January 26, 2009, 01:29:36 PM
Agreed Pale. It never crossed my mind.
Anyway, Nintendo is doing fine with their commercials, but I would love for them to start making hilarious commercials again
Is it not true that Nintendo doesn't make gritty first person shooters with sexy commercials to go along with them anymore?
What Jonny said is in no way trolling. This would have been trolling...
Quote
Nintendo just doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore. Instead they just make casual garbage only pansies care about.
See I read his thread and the thought of him bashing Nintendo didn't even cross my mind. Literally all I thought was "Wow, look at how many different tacts Nintendo's marketing has tried to littlte or no success in the past. This is interesting."
Given the current state of the boards everyone is in a defensive stance. Let's try and relaxe a bit everyone.
First of all, Nintendo NEVER made any gritty or dark games. They only publish them, and only if its done by a second party (in Perfect Dark's case it was made by Rare). The only Nintendo game that came pretty close to being gritty was "Twilight Princess".
Second, what me and EasyCure are talking about is that even if Johnny meant nothing with the comment it is vague enough that it could be interpreted as a troll comment. Let's be honest here. Not everyone is happy with Nintendo's direction. The comment makes it look like an extension of that belief.
The only thing we are saying is next time we should be careful what we say, especially if you are a staff member.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Pale on January 26, 2009, 01:40:19 PM
Ok point taken Pap, but in the future let's wait to freak out until someone actually DOES derail the thread. Kay?
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Kairon on January 26, 2009, 01:50:45 PM
Ok point taken Pap, but in the future let's wait to freak out until someone actually DOES derail the thread. Kay?
Yeah, thanks for defending the big N pap, but I'm sure Johnny just thought this would an interesting topic of discussion. After all, he's not a PS3 fanboy like our current Site Director (imjustkiddingpleastdontfireme).
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: NWR_pap64 on January 26, 2009, 02:05:09 PM
I'm sorry but.. Whats the point of this thread? There's not much room for discussion when the OP has only two sentences and one reads "Nintendo doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore"
Without something more to discuss, it just sounds like the perfect place for someone to come in with the "Nintendo is casual now" rants that have been ruining the forums lately.
Now if we're going to be discussing how Nintendo marketing has changed over the years, in a positive tone, I'd expect a few more examples at the least, from across all generations. Until that happens, this thread doesn't have much merit.
I've added a GameBoy Commercial... which is eerily reminiscent of the DS' market sensibilities. Nintendo was selling to adults back in the 1990's, so don't think that the blue ocean is anything new.
The Perfect Dark Ad may imply that Nintendo was somehow "different" and has changed... but the GameBoy ad shows that... no, not really, Nintendo is still Nintendo and change-mongers should really turn the mirror on themselves.
I agree with the GB vs DS ads, Nintendo has always been trying to reach out to everyone, especially with the hand helds. Compare the GameBoy ad you posted (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ0EAsc_Rjg) to This DS (Brain Age) ad, both aimed at adults (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGMOeYCa_jw) and not the normal "kids" that most people think all games are aimed for.
As far as the PD commercial goes, you gotta think of the times we lived in when those games came out. The N64 was up against the PS and Saturn that tried to push more 'mature' games, more so than Sega was with the Genesis the console era prior. Nintendo was trying break they're kid-friendly image with some games and the ads had to represent that, thus you get a more adult ad for a more adult game (not that T&A doesn't cater to anyone younger than the 18+ that M games are for hehe).
For the GC, Nintendo was still trying to break that image (and for those that say otherwise, may i remind you that GC was the home to the uncensored BMXXX game, not the PS2) and ads for mature games reflected that. Take Resident Evil 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEVCW8oMN5M) for instance (NSFW by the way). Sure its not a Nintendo made game, but don't you think that if Nintendo wanted to be conservative enough, they'd keep this ad from airing? For those of you too lazy click, this RE4 ad is for the GC version of the game, and no PS2 logos are anywhere to be found.
Then take a look at this one for the Wii Edition (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr9pBbMGrSQ&feature=related) of the same game. This is much more of a trailer (at 2:00mins long) than a shot TV spot, but considering that Nintendo decided to take all their ads in one direction (gaming socially) with Wii games, you can see how much the behind the scenes stuff correlates to the type of ads they put out.
Oh, and who says Nintendo doesn't put out some risque ads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWT2oW75AHg&feature=related) anymore? ;) (watch 0:17 )
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Pale on January 26, 2009, 02:17:41 PM
Man, what the HELL? at that RE4 commercial. Another one I've never seen before.
This is why I think it's so interesting. They used to try really hard to fight against the supposed "mature" consoles and this gen they focused on the fact that they are family friendly for all of their primary ad campaigns, and it worked.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: EasyCure on January 26, 2009, 02:31:18 PM
Man, what the HELL? at that RE4 commercial. Another one I've never seen before.
This is why I think it's so interesting. They used to try really hard to fight against the supposed "mature" consoles and this gen they focused on the fact that they are family friendly for all of their primary ad campaigns, and it worked.
They used to, yes, but were still also trying to let everyone know that they're games were for "everyone." Only now are they really pushing the family-friendly stuff because of how easy it is to actually get the whole family to play, and that includes a things other than the types of games. There's a ton of barriers they had to break before succeeding in what they wanted to do (make EVERYONE play games) and changing the idea of what games are, thru ads, was just one of them. To list the rest would be derailing this specific topic though, so I'll stop here.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on January 26, 2009, 04:08:34 PM
The reactions in this thread say a lot more about you guys than they do about me or what I wrote.
What I said is factually true. Nintendo doesn't make commercials or publish games like Perfect Dark anymore. I started the thread to share some Nintendo history that some people may not have seen. I was reading an old Nformant article late at night, started thinking about Perfect Dark, remembered that commercial, found it on YouTube, and thought other people might want to see it. There was no trolling present, intended, or implied. As for the possibility of someone else coming into the thread to troll, I cannot be held responsible for that. The forum rules would apply to them just like anyone else.
. . .
So hey, it sure was a cool TV commercial, right? The Metroid Prime 1/2 ones were also great. I'm looking forward to watching some of the others posted once I get home to a computer with sound.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Ian Sane on January 26, 2009, 04:47:32 PM
I remember that ad. When Perfect Dark came out a friend of my brother's was convinced that it would be ported to the Playstation. When we pointed out that the game was published by Nintendo and thus would obviously remain an N64 exclusive he wasn't convinced. It was apparently too cool of a game to not be on the Playstation as all the cool games end up on there eventually.
One thing I really notice about that ad was that it had quite a lot of shots of the game at the end. On the Cube Nintendo had this annoying tendency to hide the damn game in the ads. You would see like three seconds of footage and that was it. You had to know the game to even get the ad and if you know the game already what's the point of the ad? The Cube had nice graphics and yet Nintendo always hid them but here we have blocky N64 graphics and it's in your face. Now most of the ad is still Joanna being hot and all but you still saw a lot of the game. A lot more than I remember with the Cube ads. One thing Nintendo does do right these days is often demonstrate the game in their ads so you get an idea of what the product is.
Perfect Dark was such a wasted opportunity for Nintendo. Apparently the game didn't sell quite as good as they would like (though ironically anything that sold that well on the Cube would be one of the bigger Cube hits). For a brief period of time you had this and Conker and Majora's Mask released around the same time and it seemed like Nintendo was acknowledging that they had an image problem and needed to offer some more mature games to go with their family friendly stuff. Eternal Darkness and Resident Evil 0 were in the works as well before moving to the Cube. These games didn't sell as well as they could have but I think Nintendo's reaction to that was completely wrong. Those games were released within the last year or so of N64 releases. The N64 was already considered a "flop". Nothing was going to turn it around. But the Cube was a fresh start and they could have tried to give it a more balanced image. But they ended up turning Zelda from one of the few Nintendo IPs that was considered cool to the Playstation crowd into a cartoon. Rare released one game (which Nintendo themselves contributed to the suckiness of by forcing them to shoehorn Star Fox into it) and they sold them. None of Nintendo's Cube launch games were "mature" (though they could have promoted Rogue Leader as the flagship title instead of Luigi's Mansion). Whenever I talk about Nintendo doing a token effort on something this is a great historical example. Everyone complained that they needed some mature games. They released SOME mature games for the N64 at the end of the console's life when any game but a Mario spin-off was doomed and then they just abandoned the whole thing once what they didn't want to do was "proven" to not work. It drived me nuts then and it drives me nuts now.
I think Nintendo could have really started to turn things around with the Cube but it was like they looked at all the negative expectations people had of them and specifically tried to meet them.
The best thing about Perfect Dark was that it was such an awesome game too. It shows that a mature game can still feel like Nintendo just like the Metroid Prime games do now. What makes Nintendo great is that they can make awesome games and they can do that regardless of what age group is being targetted.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: vudu on January 26, 2009, 04:55:51 PM
Nintendo just doesn't make ads (or games...) like that anymore.
Cool ad, but nothing beats this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX4MdXF3OWI). ;D
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Pale on January 26, 2009, 04:57:09 PM
In response to Ian:
The interesting thing though, is that while they didn't turn anything around image wise on the Cube, they did the exact opposite on the Wii. They pushed the system towards being extremely family friendly and it has garnered them massive success. As usual, it's hard to argue from a business standpoint with Nintendo's decision.
I just still think it's so strange they spent so many years trying to change their console's image to match their competitors (marketing wise) and achieved little success, only to say "F it, we're going to be different and we don't care" and blow their doors off.
I don't watch enough non-tivo'd tv to really catch a lot of ads these days. Are there any more mature ads put out by Nintendo themselves these days? We all know that Prime 3 was grossly under-advertised.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Pale on January 26, 2009, 04:59:25 PM
I remember that ad. When Perfect Dark came out a friend of my brother's was convinced that it would be ported to the Playstation. When we pointed out that the game was published by Nintendo and thus would obviously remain an N64 exclusive he wasn't convinced. It was apparently too cool of a game to not be on the Playstation as all the cool games end up on there eventually.
One thing I really notice about that ad was that it had quite a lot of shots of the game at the end. On the Cube Nintendo had this annoying tendency to hide the damn game in the ads. You would see like three seconds of footage and that was it. You had to know the game to even get the ad and if you know the game already what's the point of the ad? The Cube had nice graphics and yet Nintendo always hid them but here we have blocky N64 graphics and it's in your face. Now most of the ad is still Joanna being hot and all but you still saw a lot of the game. A lot more than I remember with the Cube ads. One thing Nintendo does do right these days is often demonstrate the game in their ads so you get an idea of what the product is. Perfect Dark was such a wasted opportunity for Nintendo. Apparently the game didn't sell quite as good as they would like (though ironically anything that sold that well on the Cube would be one of the bigger Cube hits). For a brief period of time you had this and Conker and Majora's Mask released around the same time and it seemed like Nintendo was acknowledging that they had an image problem and needed to offer some more mature games to go with their family friendly stuff. Eternal Darkness and Resident Evil 0 were in the works as well before moving to the Cube. These games didn't sell as well as they could have but I think Nintendo's reaction to that was completely wrong. Those games were released within the last year or so of N64 releases. The N64 was already considered a "flop". Nothing was going to turn it around. But the Cube was a fresh start and they could have tried to give it a more balanced image. But they ended up turning Zelda from one of the few Nintendo IPs that was considered cool to the Playstation crowd into a cartoon. Rare released one game (which Nintendo themselves contributed to the suckiness of by forcing them to shoehorn Star Fox into it) and they sold them. None of Nintendo's Cube launch games were "mature" (though they could have promoted Rogue Leader as the flagship title instead of Luigi's Mansion). Whenever I talk about Nintendo doing a token effort on something this is a great historical example. Everyone complained that they needed some mature games. They released SOME mature games for the N64 at the end of the console's life when any game but a Mario spin-off was doomed and then they just abandoned the whole thing once what they didn't want to do was "proven" to not work. It drived me nuts then and it drives me nuts now.
I think Nintendo could have really started to turn things around with the Cube but it was like they looked at all the negative expectations people had of them and specifically tried to meet them.
The best thing about Perfect Dark was that it was such an awesome game too. It shows that a mature game can still feel like Nintendo just like the Metroid Prime games do now. What makes Nintendo great is that they can make awesome games and they can do that regardless of what age group is being targetted.
The only non-gameplay-in-commercial-problems I remember were the early people-in-cubes, the stupid nerd-in-the-office-settings, and the Sunshine commercial which confused people to the nature of the game... unless someone can refresh my memory?
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: bustin98 on January 26, 2009, 05:20:43 PM
I want to add that Nintendo was never willing to jump all the way in the deep end of the 'core' pool. They always tempered their efforts in some way. They offered a broadband adapter but only sold it through their web site. Then only one game went online while another allowed local lan play. They fought for exclusive content but didn't back it up with the advertising to bring in the masses.
Its the same thing this time, only they have a killer app in their pocket.
And I'm not knocking Nintendo, just saying that I think Nintendo is doing the same they've always done. The microphone could have allowed for a headset along with the whole room device. Friend codes could be something turned on and off. They take a cool idea and then knock it back a few notches so it may be functional but limited in scope.
Anyway, I remember Perfect Dark and being hyped for the game. Turok 3 was also about the same time. And I also got a Dreamcast for under $100 thanks to some rebate thing. I've never loved gaming as much as I did during the N64 period.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: NWR_pap64 on January 26, 2009, 05:23:35 PM
Going back to the discussion the ads are definitely a product of their time.
In the 80s Nintendo did A LOT of silly ads, including the classic Zelda rap (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvoAHkYGSa4&feature=PlayList&p=94DF43FB085809C8&playnext=1&index=16), Zelda Gameboy Rap (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7FN5B02YEo) and many more (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvIBkz7QxTI).
This was because gaming was still seen as a child's pastime, a family recreation that delighted people with cute characters, simple gameplay and lots of commercial appeal. It was during the 16-bit era in which things started to get serious. With Nintendo fighting Sega they now had to focus on adult, serious and powerful ads that attracted the young male audience. Their commercials were more about the attitude than the game itself.
This continued on during the N64 and GC years. Nintendo was afraid of losing their fans to MS and Sony, so they worked hard towards marketing their core titles through epic and cinematic trailers, ads and TV spots.
With the Wii, however, they decided to go back to basics. Instead of advertising the Wii as a powerful gaming console they sold it as a gaming system everyone can enjoy. But instead of being silly about it, they did calm, cool and collected ads that captured people's attention.
So the "Wii would like to play" ads are a mix of cool advertising and old school mentality, and like its been said its been a great success for them. Since then, everyone from Sony to MS are trying to capture the "get together and play" feel of the ads, even for stuff like "Gears of War" and even "Resident Evil 4".
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on January 26, 2009, 05:31:41 PM
Yes, I think Nintendo's ads for Wii have been absolutely brilliant. I really like the Wii Fit one where the screen keeps flipping around.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: NWR_pap64 on January 26, 2009, 05:52:33 PM
Yes, I think Nintendo's ads for Wii have been absolutely brilliant. I really like the Wii Fit one where the screen keeps flipping around.
This begs the question...
After Brawl Nintendo stopped the "Wii would like to play" ads and focused on more traditional ads, like the "Cowboy Jed" ads for "Mario Kart Wii". MK Wii has become a massive hit, especially in comparison to Brawl. I know that Mario Kart has a much bigger fanbase than SSB, but still the sales for it is astounding. Clearly the new gamers are buying it in the droves. But, did the Cowboy Jed ad helped? It was very silly and very stupid, perhaps not as effective as the previous Wii ads.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: BeautifulShy on January 26, 2009, 06:20:49 PM
I think the Cowboy Jed commercials went back to the Nes games for insperation.It was a mix of the sillyness of the Nes commercials and the straightforwardness of the Wii would like to play commercials.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Ian Sane on January 26, 2009, 06:27:26 PM
Quote
Are there any more mature ads put out by Nintendo themselves these days? We all know that Prime 3 was grossly under-advertised.
Well mature ads have to go with mature games. Since Metroid Prime 3 I can't think of a first party game where it would make sense to advertise it like that.
I saw the Metroid Prime 3 ad a fair amount. I think it just wasn't really the right kind of ad. With Wii Sports the "Wii would like to play" campaign makes sense because the thrill of that game is that you swing the remote to hit the tennis ball. With Metroid the thrill isn't from aiming where you shoot. It's all about exploring a hostile alien world and discovering secret passageways and such. You can't really advertise that by showing people playing it. It needs a more trailer-style ad where you show footage from the game and hook people in with the cool alien world presented in the game.
Ironically Mario Kart Wii would have been ideal for "Wii would like to play" as you could show people using the wheel. The used car dealer ad is pretty much a Cube-era ad for Nintendo in a nutshell - goofy skit that only people who already know the game will really get.
One thing that really affects things though is Nintendo's current status in the game market. They're the market leader. They pretty much just have to acknowledge the existence of a game now and people will consider buying it. When they were coming from behind each ad effectively had to act as an ad for the console itself as well. You're not just selling Metroid Prime but Metroid Prime for that console the viewer doesn't own and knows little about (and likely is biased against already). In that light the Mario Kart Wii ad is more effective than it appears because it's just "hey look there's this racing game staring Mario" and when most of the viewers already have a Wii or want one that's all you need.
When no one knew about the Wii yet though the "Wii would like to play" ads were PERFECT.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on January 26, 2009, 06:35:14 PM
"Look! It's my favorite book: War and FOOTAGE!"
I didn't think much of Cowboy Jed until I saw all the extra clips. Now I can't say "footage" without cracking up.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on January 26, 2009, 08:43:05 PM
Somehow the "Clean is Better Than Dirty" video led me down a twisted path to... this...
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Mop it up on January 26, 2009, 08:45:35 PM
For me, the best Nintendo ad shall always be the one for Super Smash Brothers for the N64:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNFVCBkOoGI
Although, any of the ones which used real people dressed up in Mario character costumes just crack me up for some reason. Here's the Mario Superstar Baseball one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32w1DpoHvJA
The Mario Strikers one is good too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S***5jVrKBY
Mario Party 8 should have been advertised like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwEszuukeF8
There were quite a few commercials for Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games which used costumes, but I'm too lazy to poast the links here (perhaps I've poasted too many already... :-\)
EDIT: Um... the link for Mario Strikers contains letters which form a banned word... :-\
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: AV on January 27, 2009, 01:38:21 AM
The perfect dark ad is SEXY. I loved it.
It's interesting when Nintendo wasn't #1 they seriously tried to impress us. Metroid Prime blew me away, when they were successful but not leading with n64 Perfect Dark, was amazing. Pikmin games were really innovative and fun. I was so happy when they published Eternal Darkness now that was one amazing experience.
Casual gamers sort of made them complacent. Wii sports 2 under normal circumstances would have online since right now pretty much every nintendo game does. However since it will be casual focus they won't bother put extra money into development. My guess is the game was done back in September they are just sitting on it and thinking of best time to release it, and getting WiiMotion Plus supplies ready.
The huge success with Wiiplay, Wiisports, and WiiFit has made them lazy. If x game will sell with horrible games, no online, and very basic features, why invest more money into it and just keep the profits. Casual gamers won't care if Wiisports Resort only has 3 mini games, it will sell 10 million copies regardless.
They don't have an incentive to really try any more. I will defend Twilight Princess forever because I love that deep Zelda gameplay. Sure it played similar to other zelda games, but it was epic and huge and exactly what I wanted. Nintendo put that on Wii as launch title because they were fearful they needed a big hardcore game for launch. That fear of not succeeding pushed them into making a epic zelda.
However who knows if that franchise will continue ? When Wii Play sold probably 2x more than Zelda Twilight Princess, and cost 1/10 in production costs as a business model why bother making more games like zelda when profits go way up with thrown together mini game collections.
Games like upcoming Sin and Punishment 2, Punch - Out make me feel that Nintendo hasn't forgotten the hardcore base. However I still feel they aren't trying as hard as they did in n64 or GAMECUBE era where they really gave me lots of quality new content for hardcore gamers. Metal Gear Solid twin snakes, would never been made if it wasn't for Nintendo.
Would Nintendo do that in 2009 ? I don't know.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: BeautifulShy on January 27, 2009, 01:51:36 AM
Vega this is a topic about Nintendo ads not why you think Nintendo has become complacent.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Kairon on January 27, 2009, 02:56:47 AM
I just still think it's so strange they spent so many years trying to change their console's image to match their competitors (marketing wise) and achieved little success, only to say "F it, we're going to be different and we don't care" and blow their doors off.
There's something very zen about that.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 27, 2009, 02:03:19 PM
The thing about looking at the effect of past and present TV ads is the communication landscape has noticeably changed when comparing this console cycle with previous console cycles. Nintendo's TV ads can be treated like snowfall on a moutaintop, like a first sighting or first warning (the ads aren't the only snowfall; product novelty/newness/appearance/etc also come into play). Word of mouth is the gravity that helps the snowballs become avalanches. In our particular cycle, Youtube/web video is an inseparable extention of word of mouth; word of mouth is stronger than ever thanks to the prosperity and penetration of web video. Not only do you "say", but you can also "show" what you "do". Regular people, the entertainment industries, and the press all pay attention to it.
Nintendo's image is being defined more vocally thru its modern Wii customers than the products+ads by themselves. You can't look at just the Cowboy Jed commercial (which stopped running a long time ago didn't it?) and try to determine its long term image+sales effects when it's not the continuous driving force; the ad campaign may have had zero initial impact compared to something like an in-store image of the Wii Wheel with a label that said ``*Wii* Wheel`` associated with a familiar brand like "Mario Kart." SOMETHING (TV ad or not) was there to spark an interest, but it's word of mouth that's carrying the products' success and image.
Was word of mouth this versatile during GameCube's time? Was the GameCube product even worthy to take advantage of today's word of mouth media?
aaarrggh too many words
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Kairon on January 27, 2009, 02:50:07 PM
Whenever you post something serious Pro, you blow my mind away.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: Peachylala on January 27, 2009, 03:21:41 PM
Quote from: Kairon
Whenever you post something serious Pro, you blow my mind away.
Second'd.
Title: Re: TV Ad from a Very Different Nintendo
Post by: King of Twitch on January 27, 2009, 10:12:51 PM
I don't know if these Cal Worthington commercials play elsewhere in the country or if they've already been linked to, but it totally reminded me of Mario Kart Jed:
I don't know if these Cal Worthington commercials play elsewhere in the country or if they've already been linked to, but it totally reminded me of Mario Kart Jed:
