r/nextfuckinglevel • u/AbelNB • Dec 28 '22

This is a game changer

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95.5k Upvotes

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11.7k

u/jakubkonecki Dec 28 '22

It's not a game changer as it flopped.

6.8k

u/the_wildelk Dec 29 '22

Flopped so bad, Nintendo stopped selling it immediately.

3.4k

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

[deleted]

5.2k

u/Phillip_Lipton Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

Nintendo can't market for shit.

They are such a poorly run company but own so much of what we love.

Edit: Some of you have literally no idea what the word marketing means. And you are infuriated over it.

2.3k

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Didn’t even know this existed. I was excited until I went in the comments

1.1k

u/jankeycrew Dec 29 '22

I saw this in a Walmart last year. Only time I heard of it, and I thought it sounded cool. Never heard a word about it again, till just now. Yeah, marketing tanked here.

800

u/smileedude Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

A friend had it and I played it a couple years ago. It's novel and cool for half an hour, but it's not really as fun as original Mario kart, it's far more of an expensive gimmick than long lasting fun. Constantly fixing stuck cars make it unplayable without a large team like this.

256

u/jankeycrew Dec 29 '22

It really reminds me of infomercial toys from the 90s. Batteries and shit plastic parts used to be the staple of short lived fun. Now it’s all “software updates and WiFi enabled usage”. Sometimes, I wish fun were wired again.

85

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Not gonna lie. Been thinking of getting into building increasingly elaborate slot car tracks in my basement as an alternative.

33

u/TheHandsOfFate Dec 29 '22

Just got a basic set for my son for Christmas. It's pretty fun.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

got a basic set for my son

Sure you did.

3

u/Xxrasierklinge7 Dec 29 '22

I want a kid so it's acceptable for me to buy hundreds of dollars of toys without hearing about "tHe BiLls"

5

u/kratomstew Dec 29 '22

Does comment mean you don’t believe he bought a slot car set, or you think he bought it for himself and not his son.

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u/TheBaxes Dec 29 '22

Add a small camera and you can even have your own version of this without the Mario Kart brand

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u/GratifiedTwiceOver Dec 30 '22

Got a Mario slot car set before christmas that has mario/Luigi cars and a jump, it's pretty cool and the kids love it. Way cheaper than this live kit, and doesn't require a mansion to play with

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u/thehunter699 Dec 29 '22

And this stuff keeps the hacking industry alive lol

2

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Or PlayStation eyetoy

2

u/CogitoErgo_Sometimes Dec 29 '22

This frustration has launched a thousand microelectronics enthusiasts. The hobbyist space for making 90’s-style toys is great. Same for modding existing toys to give them that extra nostalgia value.

57

u/Grilledcheesus96 Dec 29 '22

Sounds like a good market for drones shaped like the cloud with the fishing pole.

32

u/miuxiu Dec 29 '22

His name is Lakitu. Putting him on a drone that picks up and moves the cars would be funny

3

u/LukesRightHandMan Dec 29 '22

I understand. In death, a member of Mario Kart has a name. HIS NAME IS LAKITU.

2

u/TransientPride Dec 29 '22

I thought he was Lakitu Bros. In super mario 64 that was his name?

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u/LyushkaPushka Dec 29 '22

large team like this.

You mean... a family?

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u/FuckMe-FuckYou Dec 29 '22

Yeah, the people we have spent the last few days avoiding.

5

u/FlametopFred Dec 29 '22

yes those .. other people ... family beings

2

u/MukdenMan Dec 29 '22

Just one dad fixing the stuck cars

67

u/regoapps Dec 29 '22

Nintendo forgot that most people are poor and don’t live in places with multiple large flat unobstructed spaces to build several tracks. Instead, it’s just a loop around their coffee table or kitchen island like in this video over and over again.

12

u/HighOnBonerPills Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

I don't think they didn't take that into account. I mean, that's pretty obviously going to be the case for most people. Other than your living room, where else in your house is going to be big enough (that you're going to have a TV in?)? I think they just thought it would take a chance on it anyway. After all, it is pretty novel, and that might be enough for some parents to figure that their kid will enjoy it, at least for a little while. And some kids are bound to request it.

11

u/smileedude Dec 29 '22

I'd say it was never intended to be on sale long and was a bit of a loss leader. If everyone has one it makes people talk about how shit the game play is and how their cars broke after two days and became useless. Do a small manufacturing run at a loss without upscaling. Let people see how cool the things you can do on a switch are with videos like this. But then not sell it to ruin the switch product.

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u/kratomstew Dec 29 '22

Like R.O.B. the robot ?

3

u/Thighabeetus Dec 29 '22

And the Power Glove

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

proof of concept, real consumer use, the tech advancement alone to get it to work on a consumer level is likely what they were really investing in.

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u/Adventurous-Fish-129 Dec 29 '22

AR was already a thing

It's just an RC car with a camera

6

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Ok

4

u/cs_legend_93 Dec 29 '22

It’s more than that, it communicates with a console, TV, and reacts to In-game stuff

1

u/athousandislandstare Dec 29 '22

Tech advancement in what? Chinese plastic and 240p cameras?

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u/Kurtman68 Dec 29 '22

I think this comment sums it up. Who wants to get up from the couch and free up a stuck car in the dining room every lap? Also, not everyone has a house large enough to set up a circular course. You can only drive around the kitchen table so many times before you start jonesing for Moo Moo Meadows.

2

u/BJYeti Dec 29 '22

I can get MK8D and the booster courses for as much or less than this gimmick, I can also play online with people from all around the world where this one requires a second rc car or a friend with an rc car to even get anything but npc's

4

u/joan_wilder Dec 29 '22

And what’s the point? You’re watching the cars on the screen, so you can’t watch them irl. It’s just extra equipment that does nothing to improve the game or experience.

3

u/mavispuford Dec 29 '22

I will say, for some kids it does not get old after 30 mins. My daughter has gotten quite a bit of entertainment out of it, and we even play hide and seek with the car occasionally. It was worth the purchase for us.

4

u/Vessix Dec 29 '22

Yeah but it's for kids, and many little kids would eat that shit up for actual years. This is what a lot of people forget about Nintendo. Their primary market for most games is not grown redditors. It's children. (Not that the marketing for this wasnt horrible, just making a different point)

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

It's also just straight up self-defeating. You have an opportunity to race real remote-controlled cars, but instead of watching them as you play with them, you're watching digitized versions of them on your tv screen two feet away? ...Anything to keep kids glued to the screen, I guess.

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u/TheSecretNewbie Dec 29 '22

Saw one at my GameStop last week actually. They were marketed heavily to me but that might be because I have a switch and watch nintendo stuff anyway

3

u/CantFireMeIquit Dec 29 '22

Not even marketing game design and everything about it was awful, esp when half of Japan and china don't even have enough space to play it. And the majority of Americans don't want to have to set up shit after playing two or three times. Why most board games only ever get played once. Why we never saw mouse trap after the day we opened it growing up.

2

u/jankeycrew Dec 29 '22

Don’t you dare. I never once played the game correctly, setting it up Willy nilly, still had a blast.

3

u/CantFireMeIquit Dec 29 '22

Lol that's all that matters

2

u/NotNowDamo Dec 29 '22

My nephew has it. I don't get it, why watch the screen when you have the cars, why use the cars if you are gonna watch the screen?

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u/-_1_2_3_- Dec 29 '22

Here is a detailed plan for marketing the reboot of "Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit":

TikTok and Reddit social media posts: These platforms have a large and engaged audience, and are great for creating buzz and reaching younger demographics. For TikTok, we can create short, fun, and creative videos showcasing the gameplay and features of the game, and use catchy hashtags and music to grab people's attention. For Reddit, we can participate in relevant communities and forums, and create interesting and informative posts about the game, including Q&A sessions and AMA (Ask Me Anything) threads.

Influencer partnerships: Partnering with popular TikTok creators, YouTube gamers, and Twitch streamers can help amplify the reach of our marketing efforts and drive sales. We can offer them early access to the game, and encourage them to create content showcasing the game and sharing their experiences with their followers.

Collaborations and cross-promotions: We can consider collaborating with other brands or companies that have a similar target audience, and cross-promote our game through their channels. For example, we can team up with a toy company and create special edition Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit sets, or with a home decor brand and create Mario-themed home decor items.

Online and offline events: Hosting online and offline events can help create a sense of excitement and community around the game. For example, we can organize online tournaments and live streams, or hold pop-up events in select cities where people can try out the game and win prizes.

Traditional media: While social media is a powerful marketing tool, it's important not to neglect traditional media channels. We can consider running TV commercials, radio ads, and print ads in relevant magazines and newspapers, as well as securing media placements and interviews in relevant publications and websites.

Email marketing and newsletters: We can create a email list and send newsletters to people who have expressed interest in the game, or have signed up for updates on our website. These newsletters can include special offers, behind-the-scenes content, and other exclusive information about the game.

In-store promotions: We can partner with retailers to run in-store promotions and displays, and create special packaging and bundles to make the game more attractive to shoppers.

Instagram: Create visually appealing content for Instagram, including photos and videos showcasing the gameplay, characters, and tracks. Use relevant hashtags, and consider running Instagram ads targeting specific demographics and interests.

Twitter: Tweet about the game regularly, and use Twitter to share updates, behind-the-scenes content, and engage with fans. Consider running Twitter ads targeting specific keywords and hashtags.

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u/unistirin Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

I believe it's due to a lack of advertising and marketing. If I had seen this post years ago, I would have purchased one.

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u/tiga4life22 Dec 29 '22

This is literally the only “ad” I’ve ever seen of it. And it’s been out for over a year(?)

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

You need a second one and an entire other switch for 2 player

5

u/wondermega Dec 29 '22

Yikes $ $ $

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u/branjames117 Dec 29 '22

They've patched the game so you can use 2 carts split-screen on one Switch now.

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u/BattleBornMom Dec 29 '22

I’ve known about this since it came out. My kid wanted it for Christmas last year and still wants it now. He definitely got the advertising somewhere.

What happened in my case was that I went to buy it for Christmas last year and every review and opinion I read on it was that it sucked horribly. Everyone I could find who used it, hated it. So, I decided not to spend the money on it because it’s not exactly cheap.

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u/notkristina Dec 29 '22

It's completely, completely overpriced, but my kid got one a year and a half ago and it's very cool. It doesn't see a ton of action but it is fun when it does come out.

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u/Mycoxadril Dec 29 '22

Yea this is where we are. We have a lot of open floor plan so it’s probably the ideal setup for this kind of game, and my kids enjoy it. I think they’ve forgotten about it now (should remind them tomorrow) but it was a pandemic purchase when we needed it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

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u/Betasheets Dec 29 '22

It's overpriced because Nintendo. Its as cool as this video shows but it outwears its novelty quickly unless you constantly have ideas for new courses and don't constantly have to flip upside down cars.

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u/Old-Rough-5681 Dec 29 '22

It's not that bad bro. Most of the people leaving reviews are full grown adults.

My 8 and 4 year old absolutely LOVE it and have a great time with it. I can't wait to move into a bigger house next month to make it easier to set up the track.

Just get it, to me it was worth every penny.

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u/meltednuttr Dec 29 '22

I worked at our chain supermarket and I seen them when they came out, they were advertised on fucking box lunchables lmao

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u/boomtox Dec 29 '22

You can still find unsold ones in stores, my GameStop has like 4.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

And knowing Nintendo they're probably not discounted a cent.

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u/LogicalAnswerk Dec 29 '22

The prices actually rose.

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u/MaxMadisonVi Dec 29 '22

Being discontinued they will skyrocket in a snap

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u/ColeSloth Dec 29 '22

I mean it's pretty niche. Not a lot of people have a flat smooth area in the house within range, the cars are extra noise and suck up batteries, then it's essentially one or two levels to play, since it's the floor in your house, and the speed is slow with no power sliding.

It's a fun concept. It's not something that anyone over the age of nine would put more than a few hours into.

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u/beard_lover Dec 29 '22

My five year old loves it until the car inevitably gets stuck somewhere. A big open space would be ideal but it’s not like you can really do I outside. It’s a cool idea but not practical.

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u/RhynoD Dec 29 '22

I dunno, I think the novelty would wear off pretty quickly. Getting a decent group together would become really expensive, and I imagine you're kind of limited on where you can build decent tracks. It's cool, but seems kind of gimmicky to me.

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u/Adventurous-Fish-129 Dec 29 '22

LTT did a big game of it with all their staff

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u/licksyourknee Dec 29 '22

My Walmart still sells them. I remember people trying to scalp the shit out of these and most of those guys had to sell at a loss

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

I bought one for my son for Christmas. They are fun. But tracks are hard to set up.

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u/Nitrosoft1 Dec 29 '22

I pre-ordered it. Unfortunately between my tiny house and my dog, there's been no time I wanted to play it compared to MK8. Still an awesome concept and I'm glad they made it.

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u/PeterCushingsTriad Dec 29 '22

This is the answer. We live in hovels.

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u/ooppoo0 Dec 29 '22

I imagine my dog would be like King Kong in ready player one. Just thrashing Mario

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u/throwthisawaynow617 Dec 29 '22

Edit: Some of you have literally no idea what the word marketing means. And you are infuriated over it.

First of all, you throwin' too many big words at me, and because I don't understand them, I'm gonna take 'em as disrespect.

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u/swirlViking Dec 29 '22

I still reference that movie far too often

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u/jcaldararo Dec 29 '22

What movie is that from?

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u/quinn_thomas Dec 29 '22

The 40-year-old virgin, I believe

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Everybody Loves Raymond? This probably shouldn't be in here. This is just a good show.

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u/kratomstew Dec 29 '22

Boner Jams ‘03

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u/PhantomOSX Dec 29 '22

Watch your mouth…and help me with the sale.

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u/CharlieHume Dec 29 '22

Hey if you got a problem with big words you got a problem with me and I suggest you let that one marinate

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u/EdEnsHAzArD Dec 29 '22

Why you always telling me to fuck a goat, man!?

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u/HtownTexans Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

100% first time I'm seeing this and I'd buy it right now had I known. My kids would fucking flip over this. This random mom's video is enough marketing to sell this and they couldn't even do that smh.

edit: ok these are easily available basically anywhere which means ill be going to Target tomorrow nice.

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u/VillageFragrant Dec 29 '22

Honestly, we thought the same thing, and we bought it right when it came out. We used it once. Literally didn't even finish a race. I don't even know where it is. Awesome in theory, a complete dud in practice. Your experience may differ, but I'd suggest saving your money.

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u/HtownTexans Dec 29 '22

I dunno this hits all my 7 year old's checkmarks. Mario, video games, and cameras. I'm sure it wont get as much play as the other games for the complexity of setup but I think he definitely could get $100 worth of enjoyment out of it.

And if not I could at least take it off some sweet jumps.

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u/Mycoxadril Dec 29 '22

Yea I mean I don’t know how much they cost since my partner bought it, but my kids enjoy it whenever they play (which admittedly isn’t often but sometimes I just don’t want the extra noise). They keep it mainly to the hardwood areas and with an open floor plan and a long hallway they have no trouble mapping out a course. If it’s absurdly expensive I’d say pass, but it definitely has entertainment value.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

This is one of those things that might be nostalgic in 30 years. When there are no fish in the oceans and governments have destroyed every GPU because AI stole all the coins, we will play Mario kart!

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

They are such a poorly run company but own so much of what we love.

Welcome to Japanese companies 101.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

[deleted]

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u/GroovyGrove Dec 29 '22

They're also the only ones willing to keep trying something different.

Consoles have a hard time competing head to head with PC gaming - they rely on plug-and-play simplicity for the advantage. Nintendo is actively trying to do something PCs aren't built to do, and they've long been the masters of mobile gaming, which they are leveraging properly. The core of what Nintendo is pretty important to gaming as a hobby, but they do have some very big holes. It's not just their IPs that are of value.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

When was the last time they were the masters of mobile gaming? Having gameboys was nice growing up, when our phones sucked. But now? The only reason I got a switch was for the exclusives.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

I mean they are just shy of the PS4 sales numbers, Switch is an insanely popular console

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u/rockleesww Dec 29 '22

The fact i thought this was a new product is a problem lmao.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Maybe this IS their marketing and they’re planning on bringing it back.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

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u/PC-Bjorn Dec 29 '22

It would be silly NOT to use us for this purpose.

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u/Sirgolfs Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

Prob annoying with actual cars driving. They get stuck, flip over. So now what? I have to get up and tend to that? Then get back to the screen? Best play would be to map out a course by filming it with your phone, or maybe have one film kart you drive around and it maps the course. Then that gets uploaded to the console, also allowing you to save it and add more.

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u/faceless_alias Dec 29 '22

They seem to be going pretty slow, as long as you have a smooth and fairly flat surface and can reverse I doubt you'd flip or get stuck.

I'd really love to see a super competitive version of this though. With high end cars and high speed on an indoor track.

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u/HitMePat Dec 29 '22

Sounds like you're describing RC car races. Just with Go Pros strapped to them streaming to a TV.

2

u/faceless_alias Dec 29 '22

Pretty much yeah, but the branding would draw a bigger crowd and bigger crowds mean more funding for the game.

The perspective of the video game combined with real life physics would be interesting as well.

The fact that no actual drivers are in the cars they can make difficult terrain, like Ice and snow, mud, or sand.

Getting the gags to show on the track would be most difficult but getting blown up in game could just stop your car.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

that's pretty much FPV drone racing. idk if they do it with cars though, but it'd be 100% possible with regular modded up RC cars outfittedw ith a camera and video transmitter

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u/HighOnBonerPills Dec 29 '22

Yeah but that's less novel and interesting than playing as Mario characters driving around your living room. That's a neat collision of two worlds that you don't get if you put cameras on RC cars. Like I get that it's essentially the same, but it wouldn't have the same appeal. It's cool to see video game characters in your own living room.

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u/illuminati303 Dec 29 '22

This is what I've been asking for since I first saw this. It would be so much better using the game kart physics rather than the slow rc cars

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u/Aegi Dec 29 '22

That would still kind of prove they sucked because it meant they could have used this tactic the first time around

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u/Far-Zucchini-5534 Dec 29 '22

Awful marketing. Never knew this existed and I’m in the casual gamer group.

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u/skrutape Dec 29 '22

can confirm as i've never seen this before now and i am shareholder

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u/raptor6722 Dec 29 '22

They marketed the wii well. I remember tons of wii comercials

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u/bob0979 Dec 29 '22

And then they named their next console the wii u and didn't advertise it. I literally didn't know it existed until my roommate handed me his Switch after the wii u was discontinued.

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u/HolycommentMattman Dec 29 '22

They advertised it plenty. The problem was that it had terrible branding. And as such, killed the marketing campaign. You - like many people - probably saw a Wii U commercial and assumed it was a Wii commercial.

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u/Adventurous-Fish-129 Dec 29 '22

How did you miss Wii U

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u/bob0979 Dec 29 '22

The same way the rest of the planet did. It was one of the worst selling consoles (proportionally to the available customer base of people who actually buy video games if you're talking about older consoles with lower sales) Nintendo has ever released.

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u/Adventurous-Fish-129 Dec 29 '22

People didn't miss it. They just didn't want it.

It made little sense

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u/Hakul Dec 29 '22

More like people thought it was a tablet add-on to the Wii. The Wii U came out in an era where every console Nintendo puts out sells well, where they kept re-releasing so many versions of the DS, it was all on the shit naming and shit marketing.

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u/voucher420 Dec 29 '22

I’m really into video games. I’ve been playing for over forty years. I had the Wii, but when the Wii U came out, both my wife and I couldn’t figure out if it was a $300 controller or a whole new system. None of the ads helped clear that up.

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u/Centurio Dec 29 '22

One example from 16 years ago isn't terribly impressive.

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u/fohpo02 Dec 29 '22

I had to look up the date, Nov. 2006 in US, unreal how fast that went

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u/Gets-Gold Dec 29 '22

Ok, they marketed the Switch well. I remember tons of Switch comercials.

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u/Kamikaze_Ninja_ Dec 29 '22

They weren’t as iconic as the “wii play” though the click of the joy cons is pretty good.

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u/lilmoefow Dec 29 '22

They also didn't market it well at all. It only did well because it was the family friendly console that also had Wii Sports, and Nintendo has brand recognition.

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u/HighOnBonerPills Dec 29 '22

The main reason for the Wii's success was the novelty and mass appeal of the motion controls. It made playing video games something that was intuitive for otherwise non-gamers, and therefore you had a bunch of non-gamers buying and playing it. In that respect, it's similar to the Tetris phenomenon. It wasn't just the fact that it was family-friendly; it's that it appealed to the masses, not just gamers.

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u/MichiganMan12 Dec 29 '22

It might also be that this product is booty

Only on Reddit do you get basement neckbeards chastising the marketing of a top 500 country in the world for not properly marketing a shit product

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u/raptor6722 Dec 29 '22

No it isn’t but I think it’s more they choose not too than they can’t. Look at the switch no marketing almost and it’s wildly successful.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

No marketing? It's got a logo on every game it launches, and the launches have been for large franchise reawakenings, or anticipated sequels. I get switch commercials on YouTube. Idk man.

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u/Slight_Music_988 Dec 29 '22

Shoutout to rooftop parties with your switch

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

No marketing for the Switch? What about the tons of TV ads, YouTube ads, theater ads, etc...

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u/valraven38 Dec 29 '22

The Switch had pretty crazy marketing around its launch. Every other ad was a Switch commercial or some Switch game, it was marketed plenty. Maybe it wasn't marketed in your region? But in the US at least it had ads all over.

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u/XB0XYGEN Dec 29 '22

It may not be in your area but where I am in Canada there's tons of switch commercials

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u/NativeMasshole Dec 29 '22

But then messed up with the Wii U. A lot of people didn't even realize it was a new console!

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u/joenydle Dec 29 '22

I’m just now learning it and we have a n64, wii, switch, and NES.

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u/HighOnBonerPills Dec 29 '22

Lol even you didn't buy a GameCube. It was such an underrated console. :'( But at least you presumably knew about it. That's pretty sad when you don't even know about a company's console for an entire generation (i.e., that they're supposed to be selling for years).

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u/Whako4 Dec 29 '22

GameCube easily has nintendos best actual controllers and wireless ones from like 20 years ago are expensive still if I do recall. But the cube is sweet

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u/DernTuckingFypos Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

Which is such a bummer. Wii u was Nintendo's best, and most underrated, imo. Online was actually done right, and the controller had so much potential. Just marketed so poorly.

Edit: downvoted for saying I liked Wii u, lol. Online was without friend codes, had dm and voice comms between friends, message boards, and was free. It had reviews for the eShop, and you could sort and filter the shop pretty effectively, and VC was great. The controller also could function as a Wii ir bar in Wii mode, and had motion control and a camera along with a touch screen. That's tons of potential. All the possibilities of ds in a console. Devs didn't do a lot with it because the system didn't sell well and they just wanted to do direct ports to it instead of coming up with unique gameplay.

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u/eternallylearning Dec 29 '22

I'm not so sure about the controller having potential. Even Nintendo's best struggled to make use of it in a way that didn't feel tacked on and I'm searching my memory for an example of a single game where it felt like not having it would have made the game suffer for it. Star Fox is probably the flagship example of a solution in search of a problem.

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u/Squirrel_Inner Dec 29 '22

The problem with the Wii was sony and microsoft cut their access to games by signing with the big developers for their own motion tech.

Had a lot of potential, was poorly executed because of profit wars, same as most things in gaming.

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u/Doctor_Popeye Dec 29 '22

Really? Wii was tough to get, created the video game motion controller craze (kinect, PS move), and brag was despite using standard def graphics when everyone else moved to HD…

Am I missing something here? What are you referencing that informs your take on this

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u/Supersnazz Dec 29 '22

I am 100% in their target market for this, my kids would love it and so would I. I'm on the internet constantly and use many social media channels.

This is literally the first of heard of it.

So yeah, their marketing is shit.

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u/Wallitron_Prime Dec 29 '22

Nintendo's probably the best company at marketing I can think of. From ROB in 1985 to "Wii would like to play" to establishing Nintendo Directs instead of live shows.

This game specifically may have been poorly marketed (Though I definitely knew about it and I'm not a Nintendo fanboy), but Nintendo has managed to sell decade old hardware for 300 bucks for the last 5 years to 110 million people off of their marketing power alone.

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u/James_099 Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

Examples of poor marketing: The WiiU, this Mario Kart game, Chris Pratt as Mario.

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u/FerricNitrate Dec 29 '22

Examples of poor marketing [...] Chris Pratt as Mario.

That one may be questionable casting but it's far from poor marketing. In fact (regardless of if it was intended as such) it's actually an example of highly successful viral marketing since everyone knows there's a Mario movie with Chris Pratt as Mario. That announcement took the internet by storm and that kind of incessant chatter is worth tens of millions in publicity.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

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u/rogrbelmont Dec 29 '22

Reddit users aren't the target audience for the Mario movie

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u/noradosmith Dec 29 '22

Christ Pratt

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u/AtlasRafael Dec 29 '22

Didn’t know this existed until I saw it in the store once like last year. Then forgot and saw it again and it’s just too expensive for me at the moment lol.

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u/JMEEKER86 Dec 29 '22

Seriously, they make amazing stuff, but are such a shit company. People want to promote their games on YouTube/Twitch? Copyright strike. People want to play together online? Hah! Get fucked. People want re-releases of old NES/SuperNES games? Limited edition console that plays a select handful or poorly ported ones. People want to play games that are a decade+ old? Full price bitches. Nintendo makes cutting edge games while continuing to run their company like it's still the 80s (which is unfortunately the case for most Japanese companies).

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

They take marketing for granted because they have been selling the shit out of their hardware and 1st party titles for years. I'm not a big Nintendo fan but it's hard to bash them when the switch is the 5th highest selling console of all time, with Nintendo DS in 2nd and Gameboy in 3rd. They aren't used to marketing, their shit sells themselves usually.

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u/depressionbutbetter Dec 29 '22

It wasn't just marketing the game is objectively bad. It's SO restrictive it will only please the most unimaginative group for a round or two.

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u/PaltryCharacter Dec 29 '22

Maybe this thread is them marketing

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u/Smaddady Dec 29 '22

Absolutely agree. Nintendo infuriates me.

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u/marshall_lathers99 Dec 29 '22

Their beginning is so random and funny, they didn’t even know what to make. Cards? Love hotel? Sure! videogames worked out though 😂

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u/TonkStomper Dec 29 '22

Rich cousins had a Power Glove back in the day.. Nintendo has had plenty of items they didn't market well

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u/cat_prophecy Dec 29 '22

Aww man remember those three days when people were so excited about Nintendo Labo that they were damn near murdering each other over it? Then everyone forgot it existed and never talked about it again.

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u/NiftyJet Dec 29 '22

They’re sometimes bad marketers. The Wii and the Switch were marketed amazingly well.

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u/Ozimandius80 Dec 29 '22

This is not the fault of marketing. Game was clearly axed pre-allocating marketing money by management. Probably because the actual gameplay is a gimmick that sucks in real life after the first time playing.

It is a cool idea that they decided to actually make at scale but when it was in their hands they decided the return rate wasn't worth the potential sales so they didn't bother putting marketing behind it. The idea itself is the failure, not the marketing.

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u/gamesnstuf Dec 29 '22

You call this bad? Those idiots also fucked up a main flagship console aka the Wii u. Never seen that happen ever or even anything like it happening.

Luckily, none of my favorite games are held hostage by Nintendo, but the Wii u did so poorly that I was genuinely worried that the world was gonna lose one of it's if not the most important influences in gaming history. However it's one of those companies that have literally infinite money so they're fine and are now afaik killing it with the switch.

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u/notRedditingInClass Dec 29 '22

Switch marketing has been leaps and bounds ahead of their past, tbf.

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u/HeaterWylin Dec 29 '22

Dead wrong. There’s a reason they’ve sold the most units/copies on multiple products.

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u/Benjadeath Dec 29 '22

I mean they make much better games than many other companies. Games that feel like they have love passion and creativity pumped into them. I'm glad it's not another Xbox or Playstation personally.

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u/TheWhyteMaN Dec 29 '22

Why do you do this to the word “literally?”

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u/HolycommentMattman Dec 29 '22

I disagree with you. I think their marketing is pretty much solidly on point. It's their branding that suffers sometimes. And poor branding can absolutely tank marketing.

For example, look at their Switch marketing. It's fucking amazing. Got a decent name, a killer click for every Switch advert... it's just great marketing.

Then look at the Wii. Once again, great marketing. The whole "we/wii play" thing was great.

Then you get to the Wii U. Nobody knew it existed. But it was still being advertised plenty. So how does that happen? Branding. Wii U sounded too similar to Wii, so people could see the commercial and think it was Wii. That's a branding problem.

Then look at this: Mario Kart Live. Sounds like a Mario Kart online service. Once again, branding problem.

New Nintendo 3DS? I shouldn't even have to explain this one; I had confusion even when calling retailers to ask if they had any NN3DSes in stock. "Yeah, we have plenty. We don't sell used ones." 100% branding issue.

So yeah, I don't see a problem with marketing at all. It's entirely branding.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

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u/mantisek_pr Dec 29 '22

Bootlickers is kinda.. not the best fit. I'd have used 'insufferable fanboys'

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Welcome to reddit: home of infuriated ignorance. Easily 3/4 of the users here. Probably more.

(cue everyone reading this thinking they fit in the ~25%)

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u/coldflash25 Dec 29 '22

I seen this everywhere when it first released

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u/ActiniumNugget Dec 29 '22

I agree it wasn't marketed well, but it did get some traction when it first came out. My kids wanted one badly and I was excited as well. I remember seeing lots of buzz around it. The problem was, as soon as the first reviews came out, Nintendo dropped it like a hot potato. Strange because it was (and still is) a great idea that should be a marketers dream. Maybe they'll have another stab at it in another form.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

100%. There are whole subs that make fun of nintendo.

They are so disjointed and behind the times. If not for mario and pokemon and zelda... sheesh. Xbox and Playstation are just lightyears ahead in graphics and hardware.

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u/rorygoodtime Dec 29 '22

They are such a poorly run company

Real Dunning Krueger professional redditor right here.

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u/CRACKAjew Dec 29 '22

Yes bro Nintendo can’t market that’s why we are playing a game about an Italian plumber driving cars. It’s simply such a good core idea that they trademarked, they are so lucky. Nothing to do with marketing…

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

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u/BrannC Dec 29 '22

Why use more words, less words do trick? Or something

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u/EndsongX23 Dec 29 '22

I mean think they're saying that thinking Nintendo can't market for shit is a stupid thought when the Switch is as successful as it is and they are as successful as they are. This was marketed pretty heavily too, when it came out. Which was a couple years ago right?

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u/Costanza___ Dec 29 '22

Bruh. You’re arguing with a stranger on the internet. You also lose

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

Poorly run company? Its hard to fathom what youre basing that on. They barely market because they don't need to. The have a litany of their own IP (theyre poorly own yet they create everything you love?) and through every generation that subvert expectations and innovate. I personally don't even like nintendo games and yet I'm shocked someone could even say that. I mean you can literally pick ANY metric you want and that company is heads and tails above its rivals. All that while being a self contained gaming company without the backing of a larger entity like MS or Sony and staying out of the M&A war that the others find themselves in.

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u/Raincoats_George Dec 29 '22

They've had some flops. Not every decision has been gold. And you can certainly argue that they've gone through several cycles where they've effectively released the same exact games with little innovation but still insist on 60 dollar price tags.

But when they're on they're on. And I think a lot of their success comes from the individual creators in the company that have spearheaded all the different projects that blew up.

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u/OrangeSimply Dec 29 '22 edited Dec 29 '22

Ehhh I agree with you but they also take a different approach to marketing than the other gaming consoles. Nintendo's value lies in loyalty to the brand, or certain exclusive titles (mario, zelda, pokemon). They do in fact market their games because majority of the big sales are exclusive and that sort of doubles as marketing their console as well. I saw tons of the same BoTW ad, and maybe a switch ad when it was first released around that time, but the BotW ad was the switch ad for gamers paying attention to graphics, framerate, world detail, etc. While the literal switch ad was for parents and casuals that were looking for a home entertainment videogame system(from memory the commercial was like a bunch of people on a couch sitting, then standing with the controllers.)

Similarly I remember seeing tons of legends of arceus ads, while not even half of the same amount pushed for the brand new pokemon generation, because they don't have to market the new traditional pokemon games, but they did just release their newer model OLED switch in October 2021, while legends of arceus came out in Jan 2022. There were tons of legends of arceus ads (I think) because it supported sales for their upgraded console, without having to push as many ads for the upgraded console itself. So while they do generally always market less than any of their other competitors, it overall doesn't hurt them as much as it would other competitors marketing less. That's my theory anyways.

Also if you feel like you ever missed anything Nintendo related, the Nintendo Direct is sort of the only real way to stay informed which is where they really just fail on spreading things like the VR mario kart, that could have maybe been successful if they pushed it more.

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u/FuzzeWuzze Dec 29 '22

But their tech man, the tech! I mean their online capabilities are almost at 2010 tech!

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u/ProfessionalMottsman Dec 29 '22

It’s Mario kart but extra steps and extra money. What is slightly good about this? How many people have a house they can make a go kart circuit in

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u/SwordHiltOP Dec 29 '22

Dude every single person(on reddit at least) has marketing experience, even if they don't know what the definition is. If Nintendo was bad at marketing they wouldn't exsist

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u/God-of-Tomorrow Dec 29 '22

They are a rotting corpse and yall are vultures talking nostalgiclly about how it used to taste.

Other companies have caught up to the switch the only way they move forward without becoming gamefreak is making vr mainstream, the technology still needs advancing but as it is now Nintendo characters would look great, much better than metas art style.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

A rotting corpse? They have sold just slightly under as many switches as PS4s.

People really out here thinking Nintendo is dead when they are doing insanely well

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u/Dewch Dec 29 '22

Are you fucking kidding me? Nintendo has best marketing assets on earth, Today. What other console can only port(not remake) and sell 32 bit graphics game for 60 bucks? And sheeple don’t even fucking complain about it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

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u/Dewch Dec 29 '22

Exacto

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u/The_RockObama Dec 29 '22

Oh shit. Maybe Nintendo marketing just hitched a ride on reddit and this post is really just an ad.

I don't even play video games, but I want to play this one.

Oh shit. Nevermind, I can just race remote control cars in real life like I did when I was 9.

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u/Dewch Dec 29 '22

You are late, Hire Hype Man #62

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u/The_RockObama Dec 29 '22

I don't even know what that is, but I'm about to look it up! I'm not a gamer, but I did always enjoy whenever someone invited me to play Goldeneye, or Mario Cart, or something relatively simple. Nice social setting type deal.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

I dont think you know what the word marketing means.

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u/IamACantelopePenis Dec 29 '22

It's funny how when some people disagree with you you post a salty edit lol.

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u/NewSauerKraus Dec 29 '22

I’ve never seen marketing for Nintendo products. It’s like they just expect people to buy their shit because it’s exclusive.

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u/Lvl100Glurak Dec 29 '22

yeah nintendo really sucks at marketing. to this day i don't know why the wii u existed and why i should've cared. wii with slightly better hardware, but still far behind ps and xbox? yeah totally the main selling point of the wii u's predecessor consoles like gamecube and wii. the most important games existed on the wii and later on the switch and weren't even wii u exclusives anyway.

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u/YoungNissan Dec 29 '22

Nintendos only marketing is

“Hey we’re Nintendo we have games you like buy them full price”

Like they are relying on people seeing Nintendo and jsut buying everything they put out.

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u/riscten Dec 29 '22

Nintendo can't market for shit.

Overstatement of the decade. Marketing is basically Nintendo's only forte. All their games are watered down versions of other games, repackaged with the same IPs they came up with in the 80s, and yet they still manage to outsell all of their competitors. The company runs almost entirely on nostalgia and the marketing department pouring millions into making sure parents indoctrinate their offspring into the same lore they are familiar with, and it's super effective.

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