Topic: N5 Advetisement Concept(s)

[Hostile Creation]

I say concepts if you want to add your own, but I mainly wanted to share mine.

If Nintendo were to keep the name N5 for the system, then I though a focus on the "fifth dimension" would be an interesting idea (the fifth dimension being Nintendo/fun/gaming).  The following commercial came to mind one day:

The screen starts out just plain white.  After a few seconds, a point appears, a simple black dot.  Another short moment, then two lines begin to extend out from the line in seperate directions (1st dimension).  After it reaches a certain distance they both make 90 upward angles, travel for the same distance, turn 90 degrees inward and meet to create a square (2nd).  The square then does a weird split thing (that I can't really explain; best I can do is say that it forms into two squares, rotating toward each other and leaving lines in their wake, making the cube), thus forming into a cube (3rd).  The cube then becomes the color/texture of igneous rock and proceeds to go through a process of changing forms (example: rock to dirt to stone to wood to iron to shiny steel, etc.) to represent the passage of time (4th).  The screen would then flash, or perhaps the cube would explode, and a message (written or spoken or both) says: "What's the fifth dimension?"  Then the Nintendo logo fades in and out in a shadowy sort of way and someone whispers "N5, the next generation of fun", or something along those lines.  I made that last line up offhand.  Anyway, I thought that was a cool idea.  Comments?

There may also be other details, perhaps the line/square part would have a geometric graph layout behind it or something, and maybe the N5 logo would be at the end.  But that's basically it.

[KDR_11k]

They could have the cube extrude to a hypercube and extrude that again. Weirdness!

[thecubedcanuck]

I think that is a pretty sweet idea.

[vudu]

-little girl, you've saved itchy and scratchy!
-please sign this form saying you did not save itchy and scratchy.

it seems like a neat idea, but i don't think your average consumer would connect changing forms with the passage of time with the fourth dimension.

i also don't think that the average consumer knows that the next system with be nintendo's fifth home console.

[Ian Sane]

You lost me with "N5, the next generation of fun".  The word "fun" is too associated with "kiddy" and kind of would kill the feel of the commercial in my opinion.  Something like "the next generation in gaming technology" sounds a little more hi-tech and cool while still having that "gaming" in there.  Technology is a big selling point for the average consumer.  Why else does MS always make sure the emphasize that the Xbox is the "most powerful console ever"?

Here's my idea for N5 commercials: let the games do the talking.  Notice how amazing E3 trailers of Nintendo games look?  They usually really make you interested in the game.  Yet that wow factor is not present in the commercials for the same game.  Why?  Because the commercial is a bunch of actors in silly costumes with like 3 seconds of game footage tacked on at the end.  Game graphics are good enough now that you can show nothing but game footage and that alone will sell the game.  One of the best aspects of Metroid is its graphics and mood yet none of those things are showcased in the commercial.  Meanwhile the most successful game of this generation, GTA3, has a commercial composed entirely of gameplay footage.  I don't think it's a coincidence that some of the best Cube games like Eternal Darkness, Super Mario Sunshine, and Metroid Prime sold less than expected and had vague commercials that didn't really showcase what the game was about.  Movie commercials only show footage so why not games?

As for advertising the console itself, again I would show a lot of game footage with all sorts of propaganda about how great the graphics and sound are.  No artsy life-in-a-Cube ads that don't make any sense this time please.  And this time if NCL designs their console to look like a toy again showcase a neutral colour like black, grey, or white as the main console colour in the commercials.  

[vudu]

amen.  only thing i would like to add to ian sane's post--use actual gameplay footage, not cut scenes.  whenever i see a ps2 or xbox commercial on tv it ticks me off because they try to fool the consumer into thinking that those cut scenes are how the actual gameplay looks.  by now, the consumer is smart enough to know the difference.  show me how the game plays.  that's all i want.

(notice, i said ps2 and xbox commercials, and did not include gamecube.  not because they're not guilty of the same offense, but because i never see gamecube commercials on television.)

[manunited4eva22]

Having fun is now kiddy?  Wow, the english language has officially died.

[Hostile Creation]

Quote
I think that is a pretty sweet idea.

Thanks.

Quote
You lost me with "N5, the next generation of fun".

Though I don't agree that fun = kiddie, that line was thought of offhand.  I just realized that "What is the fifth dimension?" was a rather inconclusive ending line; that part is certainly editable.  Footage would be nice, though. . .

Quote
not because they're not guilty of the same offense, but because i never see gamecube commercials on television.)

Not Nintendo commercials, anyway.  MP had a real life type thingy, but it showed gameplay only, not movies.

[The Omen]

I think Nintendo should use nostalgia to their benefit.  Ressurect some old Zelda and Mario commercials, and use them for the new games.  Show the new footage, and bring back the 'Now youre playing with power'.  Of the three consoles, theyre the only one capable of taking this route, and retro is huge right now, huge enough to bring in that 'casual gamer' that we know needs to notice Nintendo.

[vudu]

if they do that, people will think "now you're playing with power?  wow, i remember that from when i was a kid.  nintendo's still for kids.  i'll get one for my 8 year old cousin when i go get my ps3."

[Ian Sane]

I like the nostalgia idea as long as they don't come across as being stuck in the past.  Does anyone remember the super cool Super Mario Bros 3 commercial where they had a bunch of people in coloured outfits raising their fists and yelling "Mario! Mario!" and then it panned out to show the Earth from space and you could see Mario's head comprised of all the people?  That was an amazing ad and everyone at the time talked about it.  If they resurrected that ad with some footage of various Mario games from the past building up to the latest game I think it could tickle people's nostalgia bone while looking towards the future.  It could be sort of a history of Mario with that classic commercial as the backdrop.

[nemo_83]

I like the idea for the fifth dimension, but would rather them play off the past consoles and this being the fifth.

[The Omen]

Quote
if they do that, people will think "now you're playing with power? wow, i remember that from when i was a kid. nintendo's still for kids. i'll get one for my 8 year old cousin when i go get my ps3."

I disagree.  Retro sells EVERYTHING.  To young and old.  Nostalgia is a welcoming feeling, not a bad feeling.

[vudu]

retro sells a $20 t-shirt with the thundercats logo on it.  it doesn't sell a $300 videogame console.

although hell, i said the same thing about the pt cruiser, and i couldn't have been more wrong.  so what do i know?

[The Omen]

Quote
retro sells a $20 t-shirt with the thundercats logo on it. it doesn't sell a $300 videogame console.

No, because there is already an installed user base.  Its not some shmoe walking on the boardwalk picking up a thundercats hat.  Its someone who wants a next gen console, and the nostalgia factor is a good move for drawing them in to take a second look.  Those old commercials would be hilarious, with the feathered hair, neon clothes and all the 80's goodness.  Of course showing new screenshots of Zelda, but in the old ad, would really be humorous.  "Which way to go?"

[Hostile Creation]

Retro is nice, but it should by no means be the focus of their campaign.  I figured the fifth dimension thing would be a good launch commercial, perhaps an underlying theme thereafter (at the end of every GC commercial: What's the fifth dimension? *Nintendo logo*).  They should have a diversity of tactics, though. . . even now, with "who are you?" they do.