Nintendo's marketing machine continues to march forward, with yet another television spot, this time for Nintendo Land.
For those who still don't know, it's a collection of mini games that utlizes a carnival/theme park motif to highlight popular Nintendo brand, as well as demonstrating the capabilities of their brand new system.
In many ways, it is to the Wii U in same way Wii Sports was to the original Wii. That being the one key piece of software that show everyone why Nintendo's latest piece of hardware, as well as their ability to create software for it, is so special.
And the overall effectiveness and impact of Wii Sports cannot be understated. It did a brilliant job of reaching out to both traditional games and non-gamers, especially the later group, and basically sold its console single-handedly. Some might say too well; for many, Wii Sports was the only game they needed.
So following up on such a key piece of software is going to be difficult. And does Nintendo Land suffice as a competent successor? Unfortunately, one of the key issues when it was unveiled at E3 was how confusing Nintendo Land appeared to be.
On a surface level, Nintendo Land appears to be just another collection of mini games, virtually undistinguishable from the many others out there, even from Nintendo themselves.
But when Nintendo tried explaining how they work, which included such concepts of asymmetrical gameplay, many were simply confused. It was hoped that Nintendo's second chance at explaining it would fare better, but the commercial unfortunately little to shed any light.
In fact, the focus of the ad is simply on those playing the game and enjoying themselves, which made sense for the first spot, which was about the overall Wii U experience as a whole. But for a spot that's about one specific title, especially one so important, it's a bit perplexing.
Especially given the how the game taps into Nintendo's various universes as a whole, which is a major selling point. But I guess not enough for the average joe?
