Topic: Does Nintendo need to change the pack in game?

[AV]

I mention 500 wiipoints not because Nintendo has done it before, but as something cheap they can print out and pack in with the console. It will be a freebee that will lure casual non gamers into the WiiShop channel. I would guess that a good majority of casual gamers don't know about VC games or WiiWare to begin with. They boot up the console, and put in Wiisports and don't even touch the rest of the channels.

[Kairon]

I know what you're saying Adolph Vega. When the Wii came out, I envisioned that Nintendo would pack-in maybe 500 WiiPoints or something. I'd guess (off top of head) that maybe half of Wii owners have connected online... *shrug*

[KDR_11k]

It comes with 500 stars here (125 Wii points...)

[Ian Sane]

Wii Sports is a big enough deal that if they ever changed the pack-in game they would have to make it available as a standalone title because late adopters will still want it.  At the same time any new pack-in has to be available standalone for existing Wii owners (though somehow I can totally imagine Nintendo not doing that and thinking it would be perfectly valid for us to have to buy a new Wii to get it).  Right now that have this interesting situation right now where they have a very popular pack-in game that is not available without buying the console.  There's a certain, I don't know, cleanless to it I like.  If you have a Wii you have Wii Sports no matter what.

And can you really think of anything else that demonstrates the remote as well as Wii Sports?  If anything Nintendo has never topped it.  We legimately complain that sports games they've released since then don't feature the 1:1 style controls of Wii Sports.  Wii Fit needs the balance board included and Wii Music and Wii Fit sure as hell are not worthy replacements for Wii Sports.

As for Wii Sports Resort think of this from a business point of view.  Everyone has Wii Sports.  Most people like it.  So a whole buttload of people are going to buy the sequel.  If Wii Sports continues to be the pack-in then THOSE people will likely want the sequel as well.  Nintendo could have 90% of Wii owners, until the end of the Wii's life buying Wii Sports Resort.  Why give that up?  Plus the motion+ would be a requirement for the game and that would be one other thing Nintendo has to include with new Wii's.  They'll make more profit of the console without including it.  Sure it would be NICE to have it included but this is the company that sells nunchuks and remotes seperately and gets away with it.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

NES included Super Mario Bros. and helped shape the product's identity in the market.

Wii Sports has done the same for Wii and should continue serving that purpose.

The Wii SKU is an incredibly neat, tiny, and efficient package (that isn't designed to include a game w/ DVD case ie. only Wii Sports disc sleeve; my N64 box has HUMONGOID styrofoam innards), and since the product itself still has a lot of perceived value, why mess with the insides?

Nintendo could just have stores include another controller or game as an official bundle down the road.

[KDR_11k]

You know, the PAL Wii comes with a regular DVD case for Wii Sports...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

=\

[Kairon]

I say "Thank god" that Nintendo has revived the era of the pack-in game.

You know, the PAL Wii comes with a regular DVD case for Wii Sports...

I am So, SO, jealous.

[RABicle]

I think they should include both. Wii Sports is the Wii's killer app, the reason people buy the machine, so I wouldn't dare take it out jut yet.

[AV]

i also think that Nintendo should put a Demo Disk of other 3rd and 1st party games in the package along with Wiisports.

Put a 1 level demo of Metroid Prime 3, Smash, Super Mario Galaxy, Star Wars Force Unleashed, maybe videos of Wiiware games, Virtual console, and all the different channels.

I love the pack in, I never would of bough Wiisports on its own, but I can't understand why Nintendo is damn against demo disks. If I can't download demos because of harddrive, at least they can print out demo disks and put them on Nintendo power or to buy for $10 every 3 months.

I still remember buying that Demo Disk that included Viewtful Joe for GAMECUBE as well as other crap like that egggame from Sega. Fry's had it for like $13.99 or something and I bought it , and I would gladly do the same for Wii. ( I would rather download demos like 360 but something is better than nothing )

[Kairon]

I think that Nintendo doesn't want to change their internal development structure to account for demos. Early demos are basically rushed playable portions of incomplete games, which.... takes extra work and time and money which the dev team may have to throw away. When E3 finally heaved a great big sigh and collapsed in on itself due to its own weight, I remember reading how some developers were happy that they didn't need to waste resources making a snazzy, but fake, demo of their half-done title.

Now, demos of games that are already out, or recently released, on the other hand, could make sense. Could developers cut games down to a one level trial after they're done for demo disc purposes? And would the extra expense, and distribution costs that manufacturing demo discs would accrue for Nintendo and/or publishers, be justified by any resulting long-tail sales?

Still, at the very least Nintendo needs some packed-in demo video reel at least. They had those video demo discs for the GameCube, why not revive that program, cut out the playables, and just distribute those preview videeos and trailers willy nilly?

[Ian Sane]

I can't understand why Nintendo is damn against demo disks.

Supposedly Nintendo thinks that it will hurt sales.  Pretty idiotic logic since I've bought some games that I later regretted buying entirely because they had an awesome demo.

I've always suspected however that the real reason is because Sony did demo discs first and Nintendo can't copy the idea because that would publicly admit that a competitor had a good successful idea.  Sounds like an insane and deluded justification for a questionable business practice but this is Nintendo we're talking about and Japan is the country where commiting suicide was traditionally preferrable to being publicly embarassed.

[EasyCure]

I think that Nintendo doesn't want to change their internal development structure to account for demos. Early demos are basically rushed playable portions of incomplete games, which.... takes extra work and time and money which the dev team may have to throw away. When E3 finally heaved a great big sigh and collapsed in on itself due to its own weight, I remember reading how some developers were happy that they didn't need to waste resources making a snazzy, but fake, demo of their half-done title.

Now, demos of games that are already out, or recently released, on the other hand, could make sense. Could developers cut games down to a one level trial after they're done for demo disc purposes? And would the extra expense, and distribution costs that manufacturing demo discs would accrue for Nintendo and/or publishers, be justified by any resulting long-tail sales?

Still, at the very least Nintendo needs some packed-in demo video reel at least. They had those video demo discs for the GameCube, why not revive that program, cut out the playables, and just distribute those preview videeos and trailers willy nilly?

Nintendo Channel..?

[Kairon]

I can't understand why Nintendo is damn against demo disks.

Supposedly Nintendo thinks that it will hurt sales.  Pretty idiotic logic since I've bought some games that I later regretted buying entirely because they had an awesome demo.

I've always suspected however that the real reason is because Sony did demo discs first and Nintendo can't copy the idea because that would publicly admit that a competitor had a good successful idea.  Sounds like an insane and deluded justification for a questionable business practice but this is Nintendo we're talking about and Japan is the country where commiting suicide was traditionally preferrable to being publicly embarassed.

Actually, I remember seeing a study somewhere that pointed at "trailers only" as yielding the greatest effect for purely DLC titles, and that demos in addition to trailers, at least of these DLC games, actually hurt sales.

Nintendo Channel..?

Yeah, but that's an opt-in and requires internet setup and etc. I'm not sure it embraces as wide an audience as might be desirous considering maybe 50% or less of Wiis are connected online, and probably a vastly smaller number are regularly browsed online.

[EasyCure]

Well i still feel its the most effective way of getting these trailers out to people. The people that opt-in are obviously the ones interested in such a thing, and will likely check it out.

Where would you get these demos anyway? If you're a subscriber to nintendo power chances are good you already opted-in to the nintendo channel so no need to send a disc full of game trailers to them. Packing them in a game? Yeah thats a pretty good idea but what if you bundled it with something like Wii music which isn't flying off shelves?
This would be the audience you want to check out trailers of your other product, because theres a better chance this audience doesn't check the internet or nintendo channel for game trailers. Going back to WiiMusic, it isn't the type of title that broke records on its first day so to a big company like Nintendo, they'll see all those copies sitting on shelves with the complimentary demo/trailer disc as a waste of money and thats why they won't go for that.

I think the Nintendo Channel is the best way to get these type of things out, unless they do something a lil more drastic like include trailers for games on the standard game disc itself and have it update the wii for its own seperate channel just to insure that even if you don't have an internet connected Wii, you'll have all the trailers on the Nintendo Channel available to you.
Think of it like the wii updates that come on some games like Brawl (i think that one came with an update..).

Example: This holiday season someone goes out and buys Animal Crossing: City Folk for there offline Wii. They insert the disc and it says theres a system update, you proceed as normal and up comes a message saying "here check out the new Demo Channel" and you're back to the main menu. You either start up the game or check out the channel real quick, and with every big release from Nintendo theres another update to add more videos for that channel. Problem solved?

[Kairon]

They should pack in any additional marketting materials with Wii Play. Problem solved. ~_^

[EasyCure]

tousche