Topic: Metroid Prime 3 Coming to a TV Near You

[NWR_Karlie]

The television commercial is ready, but watch it here if you can't wait.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=14286

 Keeping up with the same theme and sound of the other Wii ads, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is presented in much the same way however this time our businessmen have taken the game into airports. People demonstrate the game and the Wii remote and nunchuck controls with their arms held hight and the crowds behind them.    

The bounty hunters can be found below.    

   

[Ian Sane]

Wait, is this just coming out on TV now?  The game comes out in three days.  Building hype?  What's that?

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
Wait, is this just coming out on TV now?  The game comes out in three days.  Building hype?  What's that?

I take it you aren't too familiar with Nintendo's marketing strategies for the last few years? They never have commercials until 3 days or so before launch, though to their credit they had something, maybe you heard of it, the Metroid Prime 3 Channel that has been hyping people up for the last couple of weeks.

[Ian Sane]

I know of the Metroid Prime 3 Preview Channel but that's only a portion of the market.  It's only available to people who own a Wii and are online with it.  A TV commercial extends to a wider audience.  With Wii's still being hard to find I guess it doesn't matter for now but I don't think this is an ideal setup in the longrun.  Nintendo games rarely seem to have that vibe where everyone is talking about them weeks or even months before the game comes out.  The midnight madness Halo 2 sales kind of stuff hype is never there.  Metroid Prime's financial success last gen did not compare to its critical success.  It was considered one of the absolute best games last gen but didn't have the popularity it should have.  So maybe Nintendo should want to get more people talking about it before release than those who would buy it without any ads at all.

The Wii itself seems to be the star right now moreso than the individual games.

[Spak-Spang]

I love this commercial.  It keeps the feel of the Nintendo Wii commercials, but shows more gameplay, something that they need to do with Prime 3.  

[DAaaMan64]

Hmm. I don't like this commercial.  Seems like it has an identity crisis with the other games.  No girl and the other crowd is gonna be interested in the *oh noes* "hardcore" stuffs.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Ian Metroid Prime was hyped beyond belief and it still sold only decently. I've come to the realization that Metroid Prime series, regardless of its quality, is only going to sell to the hardcore Nintendo fans, it just doesn't have enough of the "cool" things that games like the Halo series has, with the big one being multiplayer. Also where would these Wii's be coming from that Nintendo is trying to sell with Metroid Prime 3? They are rapidly dissapearing from store shelves already and that is without Metroid Prime 3. What Nintendo needs to do is hype the game enough to get it recognition but only to sell in the future. The "hardcore" base of Nintendo most likely already has a Wii and they will most likely be getting it.

[Ian Sane]

I do like the actual commercial itself.  For years I've demanded more game footage to demonstrate to people the actual game instead of assuming they know.  This makes a very non-mainstream game look really mainstream friendly.  It's funny as Nintendo kind of stumbled onto making good ads because the Wii controller required demonstration.  I don't like their non-gamer focus but assuming your audience knows nothing makes for better ads.

[Ian Sane]

"No girl and the other crowd is gonna be interested in the *oh noes* 'hardcore' stuffs."

Who cares?  Trick them into playing good games and maybe we can turn non-gamers into gamers and Nintendo can have their big audience without compromising their output.  Back in 1997 people probably thought it was dumb for Square to have such a great ad for Final Fantasy VII because RPGs are too hardcore but it worked.

"Ian Metroid Prime was hyped beyond belief and it still sold only decently."

I never heard anyone who wasn't already familiar with Metroid talk about it.  It was hyped among us but I didn't see big posters about it in stores like I have with other really hyped up games.  The ads assumed you already knew but since Metroid had disappeared for a whole generation most people didn't know it.  It didn't have Halo hype or GTA Vice City hype.  I do agree though that's probably too hardcore of a series.  Might as well still try though.  They have a great ad here so use it.

[Kairon]

I actually like that ad better now that I've rewatched it. TONS of gameplay footage, more than I've ever seen in a commercial before. But do excuse me, for I have to laugh at the EXCITEMENT of turning switches with the wiimote. And at the thought of people missing their flights for this.

[that Baby guy]

This commercials good.  Only, I'm at a library, so no sound.  But it looks great.  The airport setting makes the game actually feel more important.  I'm not kidding.  My interest in the game went up a lot, and I was already planning on buying and beating it, which is a lot coming from me.  Pretty much everything I buy I never finish.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
And at the thought of people missing their flights for this.

Their flights were all delayed, obviously.

I think the best part is the kid at the end who recognizes them.

[that Baby guy]

They need to do a Wii would like to play with Iwata and Miyamoto as the two guys.  That would be hilarious.

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: thatguy
They need to do a Wii would like to play with Iwata and Miyamoto as the two guys.  That would be hilarious.

They should do that at an E3 or GDC for laughs.

[shammack]

Boy, they're really hitting that grapple beam hard.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Too little too late.

Corruption is doomd to Geist sales.

[Smash_Brother]

It'll sell incredibly well one way or another, but the first MP commercial which showed in theaters back in the day blows this one out of the water.

[Sir_Stabbalot]

This.. This is kinda weak. It's good that their marketing shows consistency, but Nintendo should have focused more on the game itself then the controls. And the music did NOT fit at all.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Sir_Stabbalot
This.. This is kinda weak. It's good that their marketing shows consistency, but Nintendo should have focused more on the game itself then the controls. And the music did NOT fit at all.

Music that didn't fit worked well for Gears of War.

[Shecky]

to the commercial.

That soundtrack has become tied to "A Wii commercial"... the commercials better have it.  It's like the playstation tone except for the whole segment.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I don't understand you peoples, you complain that Nintendo isn't advertising the game to gamers beyond the hardcore Wii gamers, and when a commercial does just that with MP showing how interactive it can be, that is also bad. So we are stuck between "We want to expand the audience for Metroid Prime, but we don't want to expand it this way!".

[Sir_Stabbalot]

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
Music that didn't fit worked well for Gears of War.

Well, personally, I didn't think it fit well in that commercial, either. But it fit better then this. Mad World was sad sounding and applied partially to the destroyed setting. This... It just doesn't fit. At all. It's almost elevator music.

[Kairon]

I like the music. It tells me FUN, and damned to anything else.

[Sir_Stabbalot]

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
I don't understand you peoples, you complain that Nintendo isn't advertising the game to gamers beyond the hardcore Wii gamers, and when a commercial does just that with MP showing how interactive it can be, that is also bad. So we are stuck between "We want to expand the audience for Metroid Prime, but we don't want to expand it this way!".

Well, I was kinda thinking that focusing more on the game itself instead of controls might entice more hardcore non-Wii owners.

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
I like the music. It tells me FUN, and damned to anything else.

Well, It's kinda hard to argue against that logic.

[Ian Sane]

"It tells me FUN, and damned to anything else."

The funny thing is as much as I really enjoy Metroid games and how entertaining they are "fun" just seems like such an odd word to use.  If I'm entertained I'm having fun.  The experience is one in the same.  But when I use the word "fun" it's usually to describe something cheery and feelgoody.  It's like I only use the term to describe stuff that I feel I could recommend to anyone and Metroid doens't really fit.  I'll find listening to some really whomp ass Judas Priest song fun but I don't think the women at my work would so I wouldn't use "fun" to describe it.

Though it might just be that every non-game defender has bullsh!tted the word "fun" to the point where to hear it associated with anything I like sounds wrong.

Anyway if anyone is deceived by the ad, oh well.  They get an awesome game out of their purchase.