Look at this trailer. Honestly, take a good look at it. It doesn’t reveal too much plot but unveils enough content to get you excited for a movie that is still many, many months away. And when that time finally, finally comes it will dismantle the box office and will handily walk away with millions of dollars without a single review actually affecting it. Marvel and Disney have now become the kings of hype in the Hollywood business. They have taken familiar properties and made each movie a major event, a major chapter in the comic book universe. And unless there is a total, epic flop to the likes of a Green Lantern, then we are going to see their strategy remain consistent for years to come.
Activision has essentially copied this strategy by making every November the month of the Call of Duty. They have thrown three different companies to make these games to ensure that there is no cancellation, no delay, no issue, and a meticulous consistent schedule. With the video game industry being as cutthroat as ever, Activision’s yearly delivery of Call of Duty games has been a near miracle, and the astounding success that follows shows that gamers don’t mind the product in the least bit. And with the upcoming version releasing for the XBox One, PS4, PS3, and XBox 360 we will be sure to see more great financial numbers arriving for what has become the biggest third-party publisher in the land.
Notice we are missing a company in there…
Nintendo has once again lost another third-party franchise because of its WiiU still utterly lacking in third-party sales. And this leaves Nintendo without a consistent presence in the month of November. Yes granted they do use the month often, but there isn’t an anticipation for the month unlike that of the online FPS community with their Call of Duty. What Nintendo is totally lacking is their convincing of American and European gamers to look forward to November and a consistent output of video games. Even though we have seen plenty of Super Mario on the WiiU, we have yet to see Zelda, Samus, Kid Icarus, Fox, Captain Falcon, Kirby, and even Pikachu make some noise on the system.
Nintendo needs to adapt the Marvel technique of releasing games. Nintendo needs to set release dates for popular franchises well ahead of time and build the hype through posters, through trailers, through sneak peeks from other games, and through perky rumors that will invade the Twitter and Gaming Universe. No more secret release dates, no more uncertainty until merely months before the actual release, and biggest of all no more scattered release dates. They need to realize that great games will die a quick death if given an awful release date no matter how good it might be. Eternal Darkness was a psychological horror video game released in 2002 in the month of-----June. If they had simply waited until late September/early October in the Halloween season we probably would have gotten a different result. Nintendo has a strong brand connection and needs to find a way to keep the hardcore crowd excited while entice the curiosity of those looking from outside the bubble.
Pretend like Nintendo tomorrow unveils this upcoming major gaming lineup:
Super Smash Brothers 4:
November 2014
Star Fox: Alpha Unit:
September 2015
Metroid: Extinction:
November 2015
The Legend of Zelda: Beyond the Grave:
September 2016
Super Mario World 3: Triple Threat:
November 2016
Pokemon Universe:
November 2016
Wouldn’t that entice curiosity out of you, even if it might be years before you actually see the game? Wouldn’t it stir up conversation? Wouldn’t it stir up the slightest bit of controversy seeing this lineup? Now, not all games have to attach a long-time-from-here release date, but the major franchises deserve this hype, deserve the press months before the finished product even arrives. And you and I both know that we will see most (hopefully all) these franchises on the WiiU, so why not give us some anticipation to chew on? Why not give us a couple first-looks and first-glimpses to get us excited? Give us small trailers, some awesome posters, something.
Avengers 2 is still 7 months away and it is the most discussed movie of the entire month of October. And that was all because of a trailer. Nintendo’s brands and franchises and fanbases are strong enough to draw the similar type of hype. You can’t spit a small E3 trailer and be done---remind us of what’s coming. With Nintendo pretty much being all by itself with this generation, it needs to churn out as much as possible out of the exclusive IPs that it owns. Smash Brothers this year would be the perfect jump-starter for these other franchises to grow some fans, grow some hype, grow some anticipation, and give the Nintendo WiiU some desperate life.
Nintendo, you have great ideas being done by talented people. Let the world be aware of this.
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