Jubenhimer
Member
I don't think Splatoon had a negative initial reaction. It was during E3 2014, during a very positive time for Nintendo
It was when release date was coming up and Nintendo was starting to advertise it non-stop, that people thought Nintendo were kidding themselves that Splatoon would sell well.
Initial reactions from what I remember, was stuff like "This looks lame", "Should've been eShop", "this better not be $60", or rarely "I wanted a new mature IP for mature gamers like myself". It only started getting positive buzz once people went hands on with the game, and from there, good word of mouth, great marketing, and street-smart post-launch strategy helped change the game's perception. Nintendo is known for introducing stuff that seems weird or silly at first, until you actually play it.