I have decided to try to solve the mystery of this game's relatively poor sales.  Here goes nothing...

While trying to figure out why this game hasn't sold that well, I have come to the conclusion that there's more than one way to solve this sort of mystery.  One can do it synthetically or analytically.  For those who don't follow, let me explain.  Thinking synthetically means that before the result happens you can come to it's conclusion by following a train of thought.  Observing the facts is key.  Thinking analytically means that you already have the result and are trying to figure out how we arrived there.  I have used both methods while solving this mystery. 

Hopefully the above paragraph didn't put you to sleep.

First I shall test the waters with the synthetic method.  What I shall do is list facts about Wario Land: Shake It, and see if I can come up with reasons for it not selling well.

Fact! - The controls are excellent.  You use the Wii Remote sideways like an old NES controller and have some cool motion controls.

Fact! - The animation in the game is superb.

Fact! - The bosses are very creative and involve more than just jumping on their head three times to defeat them.

Fact! - Godzilla is the undisputed king of monsters, but Gamera is a force to be reckoned with.

Fact! - The game has a lot of replayability due to the several missions that you can complete and the many treasures you can collect.

Hmmm.  It's tough to see why these pieces of evidence would add up to a game being a sales failure, so perhaps I should use the analytical method to figure it out.  What I'll do is look at what certain people (mainly critics) said about these pieces of evidence that were mentioned above when the game came out.

The controls are just like an old Mario game.  Who would want to play something like that? - They didn't "get" the old school controls.  Fast forward to two years later and these same people own and love New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

I'm not so sure about the art style.  It looks generic. - Everything in the game is hand drawn.  These are the same people that are used to only watching computer animated cartoon movies by Pixar and don't have time for things like Dumbo or Tom and Jerry.  Drawing things is a lost art form that's slowly dying.  It's like watching a live band.  Pretty soon people will just pull out a computer and press a button (sometimes they do) and that will be called a concert. 

These bosses are way too hard. -  These are the same people that just want to push the A button at the right time and win.

There is a six on the opposite side of the two on a six-sided die.

The game was way too short.  I mean, there's all those missions that you can do, but it's not worth it. - The game is way too hard to get 100% completion on, so I will just say that it was way too easy and never touch it again so I can feel good about myself.

I have come to the conclusion that the sales of this game are relatively poor because of the perception of what the game is and not what the game actually, really is.  What is a very deep, involving, and challenging blast from the past was made to look like a shallow, boring, and short game.  It's too bad that real gamers listen to the opinion's of casual sally pansters that portray themselves as being hardcore.  Mystery solved.  Until next time, when the case is solved.

It's a shame for Wario Land: Shake It! that it didn't get better sales and that it now has stopped shipping.  On the other hand, it's great for gamers that want to pick a great, new game for $19.99.  Don't pass it up again.     

This thread was inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Blake Edwards. 

Godzilla? King of the Monsters? Yes, he has the title, but Vampires have the longevity.

I wish we'd get a sequel to this, honestly. It was a blast.

At one time this sort of thing would have to be debated at length. Today we can just pull out Scribblenauts and check.

Honestly, Shake It! didn't appeal to me when I played it, but I could tell there was a ton of polish in the game and that it'd appeal to the right people. It just wasn't the same kind of platformer that I really enjoy playing.

Out of curiosity, what about it didn't appeal to you?

Because it doesn't have mario on the title.

It's at full price on most stores, like most the nintendo games, not 19.99.

To be honest, I think it was the pacing of the game. I know you can race through levels if you want, but the way Wario controlled also turned me off. It's hard to explain, I just didn't feel like he was responsive enough. Or should I say he wasn't responsive in the way I prefer?

Closest comparison I can think of: People who don't like the way Killzone 2 controls compared to Call of Duty/Halo/other twitch shooters.

Oh we're going to debate it anyway.  Stay tuned...........