Topic: Official Leipzig Predictions/Hype Thread

[Ian Sane]

"why should you care ian? you're not getting it at launch anyway, you're going to wiat until theres a price drop and you can get a cheap bundle package, arent you?"

A good launch is a good first impression and a weak launch is a bad first impression.  The first impression can have a large effect on sales and regardless of when I buy a Wii I want it to have a strong marketshare.  I want it to have a good launch that attracts a healty amount of GAMERS to the system so that my tastes fit into the target demographic of the console.  If I really like the launch then people with tastes like me will buy the console and that has a postive affect my future Wii satisfaction.  A rocky start that fails to attract a strong marketshare or one that just attracts Nintendo fanboys, kids, and non-gamers doesn't benefit me.

[JonLeung]

Maybe I missed something but I didn't have high hopes for this conference anyway.

Sure, I wanted to hear about new games and a release date and price.  Okay, so we got to see some Mario Strikers Charged and BWii, but they didn't actually say a date and price.  Oh well, big whoop.

I guess there's TGS.  Yippee, they are more likely to announce a date with each event.  And if they don't then, oh well.  They'll tell us SOMEtime.

I'm excited about the Wii as much as anybody, but knowing the date or not doesn't actually make it come any faster.

Yeah - sounds odd, coming from me, who wanted a countdown, too.  Maybe the speculation is wearying.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

What the hell is everybody whinging about? At E3, Nintendo specifically stated the Wii is to be released in the last quarter of 2006. That means October, November or December. Is it really the end of the world that you don't know the exact hour on the exact day? It's not like we have to wait for long - I've never seen this many people who are so impatient that they can't wait a month. A MONTH! The Leipzig conference has shown some good things, like the announcements of some sweet games and their online modes. You can't expect everything, so grow a bit patience and WAIT for a couple of weeks!

[JonLeung]

And here's another thing: anticipation* is part of the fun.  You can anticipate the announcement of the release date, and then you can anticipate that date!  Instead of just the date.

The bigwigs at Nintendo know everything, so they can't have any fun waiting to know.  So they get their kicks by withholding information and watching us Nintendo fans squirm!

See, it's a win-win situation.

*(Anticipation is also fun as a Rare-developed NES multiplayer puzzle game which we might not see on the Virtual Console.)

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

Sure, I want to see loads of awesome things at these conferences and hope for the best. But I don't hype myself up, like some forumers, to the point where that if I don't get what I expect, I have a huge rant complaining about it. It's all about keeping in proportion.

[Spak-Spang]

Ian Sane:  Protecting the launch date can be pretty important.  Right now Microsoft can't set up to release a high profile game on the launch of the Wii because they don't know the date.  The later they wait the less likely that is possible.  Same with Sony, technically Nintendo can say we are launching November 18th and Sony could come out and Say they are going to instead release on the 11th.  

Corporate games and competition does happen.  It is a crazy business.  Protecting secrets is important.

Anyway, I think we had a pretty nice surprise with BWii, and we have something new to anticipate and talk about with both BWii and the new Mario Strikers game...and Strikers seemed to add some interesting gameplay elements...I can't wait to see how that turns out.  

The best part is the press is playing these games at the conference so we will be able to know how they play and what we are going to be looking forward too.  Great stuff.

[Adrock]

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That means October, November or December. Is it really the end of the world that you don't know the exact hour on the exact day?

No retailer will take Wii pre-orders until a release date is announced. And a price announcement helps with planning. If I save $250 to get the console and a game, I'm screwed if the console alone is $250.

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Protecting the launch date can be pretty important. Right now Microsoft can't set up to release a high profile game on the launch of the Wii because they don't know the date. The later they wait the less likely that is possible. Same with Sony, technically Nintendo can say we are launching November 18th and Sony could come out and Say they are going to instead release on the 11th.

At the same time, it's basically expected that any high profile console released sells out immediately. Also, Nintendo pushed back the release date of Gamecube 2 weeks which was conveniently like a week after Xbox launched. That didn't really change anything. I get your point, but I don't think withholding the release date is as important as you're making it out to be. People who want Wii and have the money for it are getting Wii. The same goes for PS3.

[couchmonkey]

I'm happier now that a few new shots from Rayman were released.  I'm really just tired of the lack of info.

I remember before the N64 came out, Nintendo released over 100 screenshots of Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64.  It was heaven!  I don't care if "playing is believing", I still want to see pictures of the games, and hear more about them.  It seems like Ubisoft and THQ are the only ones talking about their games.  I couldn't care less about THQ, and although I'm interested in Rayman and Red Steel, I've heard enough about them too.

So Nintendo gives me two screenshots of Battalion Wars and a movie of Super Mario Strikers that wouldn't even exist if it weren't for someone making a bootleg on the show floor.  It's not enough!

[BigJim]

Meh, PS3 and Wii are selling out. Nobody can do anything to combat that.

My disappointment is not with Leipzig itself, it's the distinct lack of direct-feed promotional materials thus far. Pics/Videos. Compare this to other platforms and even Nintendo's previous launches.... it's a pathetic picture. We've mostly only seen a few screenshots and videos, per game, tops. And most of them were small. If not for off-camera video recordings, we'd have almost no videos.  And those make the games look worse than they actually are.

And the reason is obvious. They can't compete graphically so there are fewer screenshots, and the screenshots we do get often seem to have the lame "action shots" of the players off the side to de-emphasize it all the more. They'd rather leave you mystified by the controller than actual game content... such is evidenced by the fact that the only thing with the "ZOMG" factor thus far is the controller itself. They better hope they have a Halo/GTA-sized idea in the works.

Even if you believe mid/late November is the launch date, Wii is now in it's 90 day window. Leipzig or not, I do expect better than this at this point. There's no time for any competitors to do any significant damage to anything anymore. The secrets have outdated themselves and it's gotten awfully boring being cockteased for 2+ years. Put out, bitch.  

[Ian Sane]

"So Nintendo gives me two screenshots of Battalion Wars and a movie of Super Mario Strikers that wouldn't even exist if it weren't for someone making a bootleg on the show floor. It's not enough!"

I know, it's ridiculous.  Does Nintendo plan on continuing with this trend after the Wii is released?  How do they plan on building up any hype if we have no screens or movies to look at?  Right now the Wii itself is the hype but after launch no one is going to put up with one sorta screenshot for annouced games.  Nintendo needs to leave the little universe they live in once in a while and realize that 99% of their market doesn't go to tradeshows.

Graphics sell because they're the only thing that can be featured in magazines, catalogs, advertisements, web sites and the back of the box.  Gameplay is VERY important but you can't promote it nearly as well.  They can't rely entirely on people trying the games out.  That will fail because it doesn't reach enough people.  Give us screens and if that doesn't work next time think twice before gimping your console's graphic capabilities.

[Smash_Brother]

Bah, f*ck.

I'm beginning to think Pale is right: launch on Nov. 19th...

[Dirk Temporo]

Worst. Conference. Ever. Made me want to punch babies.

Smash_Brother: Didn't Nintendo already say that the Wii would launch before the PS3?

[JonLeung]

I'm sure Pale would insist on otherwise.

I thought they said that too (that they would launch before the PS3), but even if they had, it may not have been definite.

Hey, if the PS3 gets delayed into next year, then it will be anyway.

[INeedToFinish]

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I remember before the N64 came out, Nintendo released over 100 screenshots of Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64.

And look how well that worked out for them.

From a fan perspective the lack of screens and info is aggravating. But from a marketing perspective, what Nintendo is doing is brilliant, at least imho.

edit: I think a good thing to look at would be how Disney markets it's rides. Since rides are something you really just need to exerpience, Disney can't just snap 100s of photos from inside the rides and publish them. So,when it comes time to promote a ride, they give out a handful of carefully constructed representational photographs/concept art which generally puts a heavy emphasis on the riders rather than the ride itself. Just like what Nintendo is doing.

 

[Pale]

To quickly interject... they did say that, quite a while ago.  Has Nintendo ever changed their mind before?

[Ian Sane]

"I think a good thing to look at would be how Disney markets it's rides."

That's a pretty original comparison.  But a ride isn't sold in stores.  You pay a set fee at Disneyland and ride anything you want.  They don't really care what you ride, they just want you to pay that admission to get in.  A console is like paying admission for each ride so trying something out isn't as easy.  Plus a ride is more like a service while a game is clearly a product.

[couchmonkey]

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Originally posted by: INeedToFinish

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I remember before the N64 came out, Nintendo released over 100 screenshots of Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64.

And look how well that worked out for them.

N64 sold huge at launch, as far as I know.  GameCube had somewhat less media than N64, and it more or less sold out, but failed to outsell Xbox or to match the hype of the PS2 launch had the year before.  Basically, I don't think releasing a zillion screenshots would affect the overall launch sales one way or another, but like you said, it would make the fans happy.

I have to say my anticipation for Red Steel and Rayman is going nowhere but up with each set of screens Ubisoft releases.  Heck, I even started anticipating Spongebob Squarepants when IGN posted some screens (that was until I watched the movies, which feature an awful sound-alike voice actor).

[INeedToFinish]

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That's a pretty original comparison. But a ride isn't sold in stores.

Point well taken. Though I think selling the Wii might be a bigger challenge than selling it's games.

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I have to say my anticipation for Red Steel and Rayman is going nowhere but up with each set of screens Ubisoft releases.

Eh, I don't know. I guess my Rayman hype has been going up as well (kind of tired of Red Stell.) You'll notice, though, that we still only have a handful of Rayman screens, and they've been accompinied by that 'bunnies can't dance' campaign, so what they're doing isn't too different from what Nintendo is doing.

[BigJim]

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Originally posted by: INeedToFinish

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I remember before the N64 came out, Nintendo released over 100 screenshots of Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64.

And look how well that worked out for them.

N64 had about twice their current marketshare, or 12 million more units. But I digress. It wasn't because of more screenshots, of course.

Screens don't hurt (unless they suck. In which case it rests on the developers/Nintendo's lap). People that decide to buy games on hype alone, sight almost unseen, aren't going to be aplenty either.

Even Disney whores out DEMO DVDS with tangible content. But there is a lack of ALL Wii content, even "experience" demonstrations, if you prefer that comparison.  

[Ceric]

Exactly.  As I said in the other thread.  Well I'll just Quote.

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Planning and I'm tired of speculating about both of those things. There is just not enough variation that could happen in the hardware to make it exciting anymore. I'm ready to move on to the next system for speculation. So I want all the features and limitations of the hardware revealed.

On the VC I want information on that because before we really got game info we got VC info and then they went silent. We've gone a longways with no updates. It's a big feature. We are all interested in.

I'm tired of Game announcements. It's nice to have a lot of games announced. I rather like the large amount of support. Right now though I rather have more information about the games that are already announced. Especially the likes of Project H.A.M.M.E.R. and FF:CC:CB. More MP info and the like.

In the end its the lack of tangibles for things that are already announced.

[IceCold]

Hey, I had unrealistic expectaions too (see first post), but I'm not really disappointed. If anything, now we have even more to look forward to! Just don't blame Nintendo for what you thought the conference would be..

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And if they don't then, oh well. They'll tell us SOMEtime.

We do not believe that the launch date and price are important. As such, we have decided to never reveal either of them..

[Michael8983]

The more Nintendo waits the more I think we're in for a treat.
If the console were going to be more expensive than most are assuming I think Nintendo would have let us know.
Kind of like how they let the name Wii out before E3. They knew that lots of people would freak over it and wanted to get it out of the way before the show began. People would freak just as much if the console were over $200. Same with launch date. If Nintendo wasn't going to have it done until late November I think they'd of gone ahead and announced it.
But the more they wait the more I think we could be in for a (as suggested by EA) $170 Wii in less than three months. It's understandable Nintendo wouldn't want the competition to know just how big an advantage it's going to have until it's too late.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: IceCold
Hey, I had unrealistic expectaions too (see first post), but I'm not really disappointed. If anything, now we have even more to look forward to! Just don't blame Nintendo for what you thought the conference would be..

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And if they don't then, oh well. They'll tell us SOMEtime.

We do not believe that the launch date and price are important. As such, we have decided to never reveal either of them..

I am proud to admit I did not have unrealistic expectations, hey just look at my predictions. I said 3 new games announced, maybe some more VC news and perhaps some info on launch titles. Looks like I got 1 out of the 3 right (so far) but I wouldn't call them big expectations.  

[KDR_11k]

Phases of fanboy emotions when an announcement is approaching:

1. Excitement.
2. Speculation.
3. Disappointment.
4. Hype that the next announcement will surely reveal everything.

[Hocotate]

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Originally posted by: Michael8983

But the more they wait the more I think we could be in for a (as suggested by EA) $170 Wii in less than three months. It's understandable Nintendo wouldn't want the competition to know just how big an advantage it's going to have until it's too late.

I feel the same way. Remember how everyone was spelling doom for Nintendo because they didn't release hardly and info at E3 2005? We got a very nice surprise the next E3, and I believe at TGS Nintendo will create another wave of hype. Also, I don't blame Nintendo for holding back. Remember We all know what happened with the PS3 controller -_-