45 replies to this topic

[NanamiGamerGrl17]

Just give us back Wii would like to play, then you'll see the Benjamin s rolling in. Not this crap.

Wii would like to play with U 

[YoshiGamer9]

Greatttttt  now people are gonna think "Wii U" means Wii Upgrade.... nice going Nintendo...

[Penguin101]

Whose got the money? the parents. Who are those ad's aimed, the parents.

 

Nintendo will pick up hardcore fans with software not ad's. When they have the right software they'll advertise it.

 

For the time being treating it as an upgrade when you have such a high install base seems like a sensible approach.

 

Who wants the Console and will scream at their parents to get one?

[Fig]

Very good ads for the family market. Die hard Nintendo fans all ready own a Wii U, gamers are waiting for games, and the Nintendo haters are lost. Some families are confused, these ads should help clear some confusion. And to non tech heads, upgrade means to buy latest and greatest, the next in the progression of what you currently own. If I told someone born in The US in the 1980s or before I was going to upgrade my phone, they would immediately think I meant buy a better, newer phone. I think the messaging here is spot on. Cheesey, but effective.

[tboss]

these sound like news channel and diseny channel adds. they need better adds and different adds depending on the channel. 

 

but im more annoyed they didnt show games, only a select few, not even the traditional something for everybody family measage.

Edited by tboss, 22 April 2013 - 11:31 AM.

[TheDoritoKing]

*sigh* This is just embarrassing! We need something like the "Get N or get out!" ads they used to have. Maybe some thing like "Will U be the one ___?" think about it with me, "Will U be the one who'll save Hyrule?", "Will U stop the terrorists?", the possibilities are endless! I'm sorry if someone thought of this before me. 

[Plutonas]

I wonder why the nintendo youtube channel, blocks comments in this adverts.. Instead of correcting mistakes, they block other peoples opinion.

Edited by Plutonas, 22 April 2013 - 02:30 PM.

[SoldMyWiiUAndLeftTheForums]

We don't even have any ads in the UK, Nintendo's Wii U marketing is pathetic.

[DexterousGecko]

 

Your marketing is bad, and you should feel bad

this, so much this. *sigh*

 

On a side note, you have to read the comments on kotaku, hilarious ^^

Edited by DexterousGecko, 23 April 2013 - 07:46 AM.

[3Dude]

[KarlMarx1818]

We don't even have any ads in the UK, Nintendo's Wii U marketing is pathetic.

 

Official Nintendo Magazine Uk has an Ad on it's back page for the Wii U.....as if the entire magazine isn't an advert for the Wii U. 

[DexterousGecko]

lol, i totally remember that!

[coolsarahkry]

I hope nobody has posted this already but here are some new ads for the Wii u

 

http://kotaku.com/ni...-butt-476724100

 

I sense this is going to irritate people but they are probably the right ads for the right audience.

 

Naff, yes but so were the Wii ad's. 

I liked it. The father in the video reminded me of what nintendo is saying: the Wii U is very different from the wii. They are trying to get it out to families. I think in time it will be as well known as the wii however will not sell as well since most people already have a Wii. However the new generation of parents might pick it up.

[magiciandude]

Well at least they're still advertising. Better than no advertisement at all, but I do miss those epic commercials. 

EDIT: I take it back, it was worse than I thought. Here's an article from NintendoLife that best sums what's wrong wit the ads.

Edited by magiciandude, 23 April 2013 - 12:23 PM.

[BlueBlur]

 I take it back, it was worse than I thought. Here's an article from NintendoLife that best sums what's wrong wit the ads.

I was just about to post this   i'll just quote it anyway.

 

 

 

Let's start this with some clear points, to head-off accusations before they're made. No, we don't think Nintendo is doomed and no, we don't think the Wii U is doomed. While critical of some aspects of the Wii U since release, in general we've maintained a line that the system cannot be judged yet, and that until Nintendo plays its full hand with initiatives and the upcoming library of games in the next 12 months, we'll have little idea about its prospects. Let's not forget that the 3DS was doomed once upon a time, and that's now surrounded by happier vibes and some rather decent sales figures. The coming year is going to bring a lot of twists and turns which will do much to lay out the Wii U's road map to success or disappointment; we're only at the beginning.

So, there's that. Onto the point at hand, though, this talking point has ultimately been triggered as a response to the latest Wii U adverts to come out of Nintendo of America. In truth we gave them a miss in the news cycle as, ultimately, they're rather forgettable and cringe-worthy, at least in our opinion; they just weren't a priority. There's arguably a decent message emphasizing that families are upgrading to Wii U — a welcome attempt to clarify that this is a step up from Wii and not an extention of the old hardware — but the execution is problematic. First of all, below are all three (largely similar) trailers.







Accusations that these adverts are rather cheesy and, well, a bit naff are entirely subjective, and we have little doubt that Nintendo has teams of marketing and focus group specialists suggesting that these three adverts can target an audience successfully. The Wii had a significant audience with families, and so this is a direct attempt to address that.

But let's talk about what these adverts ultimately fail to address, and which have been common complaints of Wii U's marketing to date. It shows little of what the system can do in the living room, not least under-selling the GamePad. The new controller is merely a side-presence; we briefly see someone customising a Mii or tapping the screen, and its motion controls make a cameo but, so what? The Wii Remote has motion controls and we've had the DS for many years, so nothing that new there. It's arguably a step back from the launch trailers in the US and UK, below — the latter of which was banned for insufficient messaging on off-TV play restrictions — which at least showed what the GamePad could do in more meaningful ways in games.

US launch trailer:



UK launch trailer:



Now, there's a lot more to Wii U's current below-expectations momentum than the odd advertising misstep, but we feel that all of these commercials, especially the most recent at the top of the article, indicate just why there's consumer confusion that leads some to still genuinely not quite realise there's a new Nintendo system on the market. None of the adverts show any of the following features that are either new or vastly improved over its Wii predecessor:

 

Miiverse - social networks are a big deal in modern life, so is this being highlighted enough as a Nintendo gamer's social network?

 

The Wii U eShop - a huge improvement over the Wii Shop, with retail downloads, regular promotions and more.

 

Multi-tasking - The Wii U allows you to pause a game, jump into the (excellent) web browser for a quick search, or perhaps into Miiverse to post a screenshot or comment.

 

Greater accessibility and power with TV streaming (TV and GamePad) and YouTube apps.

None of these, with the arguable exception of Miiverse, are anything beyond what existing rival systems deliver, but they're a step up from the creaky equivalents (if they existed) on the ageing Wii. These are all features that we know about, as enthusiasts and regular Nintendo Direct viewers here on Nintendo Life, but what about the general public? These may be comments easily shrugged off as armchair criticism, but there does seem to be an awareness issue around the Wii U being a notable step up from its predecessors. Showing people playing a load of games with a new controller has the potential, to plenty of consumers out there, to look like a mere expansion of the system they already have. The upgrade message in the new adverts helps, but as we've already argued achieves little else.

There are wider identity issues that can also be highlighted, even if we feel the arguments against the Wii U's branding are slightly less black and white in this case. The name can cause confusion, while it could be said that the hardware is even too similar to the Wii — it's basically longer with a curvier body, but does look quite similar. This can be countered with the evidence of the 3DS, which had a similarly familiar name to its predecessor and a clam-shell form factor to match; it can be argued these are actually strengths, encouraging brand familiarity and trust.

As we've highlighted before, the fate of the Wii U will likely come down to some key areas; games, price, developer support, games and more — we deliberately mentioned games twice. There's a valid debate to also be had with the branding and appearance of the system being so familiar to Wii, with both sides having reasonable arguments to share. It's in terms of communicating what Wii U is, however — with a focus on its true identity beyond its name and outer shell — where we'd make the case for a change of direction. With 3DS right now its marketing is all about games because, truthfully, its a gaming handheld right through to its graphics chips. It has an eShop, a web browser and the occasional app, but it's really about a DS-style gaming experience with some 3D and greater power thrown in, and considering the poor form of the PlayStation Vita and its reasonable pricing in comparison, it can play that angle. Perhaps future Miiverse integration will mix that up a little bit but, still, its offering is almost all about just playing games.

The Wii U, however, is trying to convince gamers of all types — because we've heard comments of its hardcore credentials from senior figures such as Reggie Fils-Aime — that not only is it a major step up from the Wii, but also a different proposition to the Xbox 360, PS3 and, eventually, PS4 and the new Xbox; it's supposed to be central to the living room, let's not forget. Games will in all likelihood play the most significant role, but Nintendo has other weapons in its armoury with the multi-functionality of the GamePad and the multi-tasking the system offers. The Wii got by with motion controls, killer franchises and software, and perhaps Wii U will do the same, but perhaps gamers need to see that new software, a touch screen and pretty graphics aren't the only differences between the two systems.
 

 

Edited by VGCrasher, 23 April 2013 - 01:06 PM.

[NanamiGamerGrl17]

I wonder why the nintendo youtube channel, blocks comments in this adverts.. Instead of correcting mistakes, they block other peoples opinion.

Pretty much all big groups do it too avoid troll comments and fighting 

[Soul]

Once the software comes out the ads should get better.

[Plutonas]

do they ever used this comercial? Or it was a demo... Its a better ad for core gamers and hardcores.

Edited by Plutonas, 24 April 2013 - 06:02 PM.

[Cozmo]

they need more adds for adult gamers imo. once the mature games start comming to the system, they should advertise them instead of all the kids games. they wanted the "hard core" gamers, with adds like these, they arent doing too well with that.

[Tre]

They are great ads for the target audience. Yes, upgrading is the correct word. You upgrade your computer. You upgrade your phone. You upgrade your Wii for a Wii U. Nintendo was smart with these ad. Families understand upgrade. They hear it in any electronics store that they enter.