| curl-6 said: I believe that, like NSMBU, 3D World on Wii U will fail to live up to series sales standards, because: -The "core" will see it as lazy and rehashed due to its modest audiovisual presentation and conservative style compared to the Galaxy games. - The "casuals" won't see the a significant difference between it and NSMBU and 3D Land. - Both will be put off by Mario fatigue, with this being the 4th Mario platformer in 2 years. Nintendo is killing its biggest mascot with these safe, unadventurous, and lately over-abundant entries. I predict 3D World will land beteen 4m and 5m lifetime sales. For comparison, the current lowest, Mario Sunshine, sold 6.3m, Mario Galaxy is approaching 11m, Galaxy 2 is at 7m, and Mario 64 sold 11.9m. |
Some of what you're saying isn't entirely fair. For instance, Mario 64 was a HUGE DEAL because not only was it the first 3D Mario, it was the first TRULY 3D platformer game (that actually worked), ever. So that alone, a lot of people bought an N64 for, early on, not merely Nintendo fans, because they wanted to experience that. Mario Sunshine, on the other hand, while better graphics, took a very risky and totally different approach that, while some people loved it, it just was too different, with the waterpack, the very "non-Mario" type landscapes/levels, etc.
With Mario Galaxy, that too took risks and dared to be different with the planets and gravity stuff. But it was different in a very recognizably Mario fashion. People loved it because it was different AND familiar. Galaxy 2 has sold well, but was a very unnecessary game, and was basicaly Galaxy: Lost Levels.
I think that this new Mario 3D World, while no, it's NOT the super epic HD 3D Mario that many of us, me included, dreamed of, it is still very much MARIO. It's got Peach playable again, so it's going to have, for once, a very different setting/story to the usual "Princess got kidnapped" tale again. While it seems unambitious, it is actually doing some very interesting things, such as mutliplayer in a 3D Mario, which is a first, as well as some interesting quirks with the level designs, etc. I would hope that not all the levels are going to be like the 3D Land ones we saw. It would be nice for them to mix it up more. Some folks are also talking about the weird fairy type people being Subcons, and even implying maybe Wart might be in the game, etc. That would be pretty cool, though in that case it would also be pretty cool to have more of a SMB2 focus on grabbing and throwing things.
Either way, I think the game is going to be pretty fun, and considering how much advertising muscle Nintendo is likely going to pump out this coming holiday season, as well as likely a bundle, and peraps even a price drop (even though they're saying right now they won't), all these things point to the game having legs and selling pretty well. If anything, I'll predict that, LIFETIME, it'll sell at least on par with what Sunshine did.
I could be wrong. But I just have a feeling. Wii U had a SHITTY first half of 2013, no denying that. Major blunder on Nintendo's part, and they've basically acknowledged that. But they are also making an earnest attempt to correct things, and I have confidence that they are going to pump out more and more games, and get momentum going for this thing again. The system actually sold really well at launch, and then hit he brakes in January. It's been crawling since, but I think it's about to pick back up. A LOT of gamers were on the fence, or merely waiting, to see what the other consoles would be like, and also to actually SEE Mario, Smash, Mario Kart, etc. They've seen that now, know that games like Zelda and X and Bayonetta, etc. are coming. So I think the sales will pick up. And accordingly, I think Mario will sell solidly this fall/holiday.
For that matter, NSMBU has continued to sell, albeit slowly. I think it's sales will pick up as people get the console.
