Alcibiades
Member
some explain please...
These men need an answer...
heck, I'm baffled myself. It's underwhelming performance is so bizarre...
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Pikmin 2: What went wrong?
- Thread starter Alcibiades
- Start date
some explain please...
These men need an answer...
heck, I'm baffled myself. It's underwhelming performance is so bizarre...
Kanbee-san
Member
Wait for Xmas. Momies see cute game >>> buy buy buy ! There are plenty of soccer moms.
Wait for xmas.
Wait for xmas.
Alcibiades
Member
Rebel Strike was crap and mediocre compared to RSIII...CVXFREAK said:
Pandora Tomorrow and PGR2 were online-focused...
Pikmin 2 is the front-runner for GOTY and even if you take away the launch factor and how much it sold around that time, Pikmin 1 still had decent legs...
SolidSnakex
Member
The midget commercial blew. Show the game. The reason the GTA commercials rock so much is because its nothing but the game. They don't have some goofball running around throwing people out their car and then going into gameplay footage. Show the game and stop doing 3 seconds of game footage with 12 seconds of some people doing stupid stuff.
Releasing sequels of games from the same gen is dicey. Most of the time people just don't want to pay for more of the same experience. Unless the sequel offers fundamental enhancement over the original, it's hard to get people to fork out $50 for it. Pikmin 2 falls in the category of "no fundamental enhancement over the original."
Mega Man's Electric Sheep
Member
"Pikmin 2 is the front-runner for GOTY"
You know that this will not get GOTY in any website or publication. Even Nintendo only ones.
You know that this will not get GOTY in any website or publication. Even Nintendo only ones.
Alcibiades
Member
like 1/10 of Pokemon FiLe, 1/6 of Fable, even with WWE Day of Reckoning...DCharlie said:
about 100,000 during the first month...
Mega Man's Electric Sheep
Member
GCN PIKMIN 2 132,618
You went wrong with it.
Stop playing the sales charts and play the game. Its a whole lot more enjoyable.
And if you think the sales charts will prevent what will probably be another terrific sequal, when have you ever known nintendo to make market driven business decisions?
Stop playing the sales charts and play the game. Its a whole lot more enjoyable.
And if you think the sales charts will prevent what will probably be another terrific sequal, when have you ever known nintendo to make market driven business decisions?
Error Macro
Member
Shitty (practically non-existant) advertising.
It's teh kiddie.
It's foreign looking.
It's on Game Cube.
Retailers didn't stock it well.
It's $50.
The cover art sucks.
The name sounds foreign.
People don't like good games (see: Ninja Gaiden).
These things happen. I don't know why they happen, they just do. I loved Pikmin, and I'm sure that 2 is even better. Problem is, I am not American gamers.
It's teh kiddie.
It's foreign looking.
It's on Game Cube.
Retailers didn't stock it well.
It's $50.
The cover art sucks.
The name sounds foreign.
People don't like good games (see: Ninja Gaiden).
These things happen. I don't know why they happen, they just do. I loved Pikmin, and I'm sure that 2 is even better. Problem is, I am not American gamers.
:lol
I love how its threads like this that bring out the whole "unless you kill hookers, you're not selling a game anymore" people. Face it: this game just doesn't have a lot of appeal. I know that's hard to take, but there are a lot of good games that didn't succeed for this reason.
And for the record, I don't think this game would've performed well even with the biggest marketing blitz in history. It has virtually no appeal to the average consumer
I love how its threads like this that bring out the whole "unless you kill hookers, you're not selling a game anymore" people. Face it: this game just doesn't have a lot of appeal. I know that's hard to take, but there are a lot of good games that didn't succeed for this reason.
And for the record, I don't think this game would've performed well even with the biggest marketing blitz in history. It has virtually no appeal to the average consumer
Another way I'd put it is that game series are like pop groups. If the second game is too similar to the first game, even fans might dismiss it as being samey. It's that "difficult second game" syndrome. Potentially they could keep the series going and drive it in new directions, but if they keep doing the same thing, I don't think the series can be a long-time success.CVXFREAK said:
Die Squirrel Die
Member
DCharlie said:
Honestly I think if Fable hadn't done so well I don't think there'd be this hadnwringing over Pikmin2.
Mega Man's Electric Sheep
Member
I think everyone's forgetting that the first game was hardly a mind-boggling success. After being player's choice and out for almost 3 years, it has sold:
Pikmin: 654,353
If Pikmin sells well this holiday season, it could still make somewhere between 350 to 500,000. I doubt Nintendo's expectations are as lofty as some people's on this forum.
Pikmin: 654,353
If Pikmin sells well this holiday season, it could still make somewhere between 350 to 500,000. I doubt Nintendo's expectations are as lofty as some people's on this forum.
DIrtyWeasel
Member
I blame the box art with the crustacean on it.
there are many people (like me, though I still bought it, but have still neglected it even though I don't do that with games) that just don't get excited when a sequel comes out on the same console generation. People like us just don't care.
I loved VJ, don't give a shit about VJ2
Metroid Prime if my favorite game this gen but I'm lukewarm on MP2
I enjoyed pikmin... can't be bothered to play pikmin 2
In my experience, people with this dislike of sequels tend to be nintendo people (however ironic that may seem).
Another possible explanation is the reason people liked the first pikmin is because it was so different, so new. Such is no longer the case when its a sequel of so the appeal of (this is like nothing I have ever played before) no longer exists for the 2nd game.
I loved VJ, don't give a shit about VJ2
Metroid Prime if my favorite game this gen but I'm lukewarm on MP2
I enjoyed pikmin... can't be bothered to play pikmin 2
In my experience, people with this dislike of sequels tend to be nintendo people (however ironic that may seem).
Another possible explanation is the reason people liked the first pikmin is because it was so different, so new. Such is no longer the case when its a sequel of so the appeal of (this is like nothing I have ever played before) no longer exists for the 2nd game.
Pikmin 2's sales ARE surprising given Pikmin's huge success.
That said, don't waste a moment talking about it. Move on.
That said, don't waste a moment talking about it. Move on.
There's no way to know for certain, but you're almost definitely wrong. GTA is not Pikmin. You cannot show pure footage of Pikmin and expect it to make a greater impact than a commercial with much broader appeal.SolidSnakex said:
ManaByte
Gold Member
olimario said:
When a console owner doesn't have much to pick from at launch, it's going to do well. Three years after launch, and when people have more to choose from on the system, the sequel falls into a niche status.
If you plopped the average consumer in front of a GameCube with Donky Konga or one with Pikmin 2, they'll play Konga as that's an easy to get into mass-market title. There's very little barrier of entry to that game. You just slap some bongos.
The first Pikmin wasn't that great and neither is Pikmin 2. Moving a marker and tossing color-coded plant people is not the most exciting thing ever. It's imaginative and laid back and appeals to a good number of gamers (130,000 is not bad for Pikmin 2), but it's not the stuff that just grabs everyones attention and demands to be played. Most gamers out there are going to look at it and just keep walking without thinking twice.
Mega Man's Electric Sheep
Member
Society said:Forgetting the Jax ( or was it Racket?) commercials?
Ah, good old Jax and Dexter, and Racket and Crank. They had commericials kinda like Pakmin, that showed something silly with a little game footage.
They should just change his name. I've heard him called Jax soooooo many times.
Racket, now THAT'S a new one.
MightyHedgehog
Member
When you've got a first game that doesn't seem to sell consistently well after its initial release period, I think that, unless it provides a huge leap forward in design, a sequel is destined to sell much less than the original. Sports games seem to be a general exception to this rule, but it's also a special case due to their connection to their real-world counterparts. Of course, Pikmin 2 might still sell enough in the end to designate it as a non-bomb.
I actually miss the timer from Pikmin 1, even as frustrating as it could be. Still, good game.
I actually miss the timer from Pikmin 1, even as frustrating as it could be. Still, good game.
Society said:Forgetting the Jax ( or was it Racket?) commercials?
the ratchet and clank comercialls were amusing, and good commercials but still sucked in their goal of getting me to buy the game. Fun to watch, but have 0 pull in convincing me that its a good game.
SolidSnakex
Member
Society said:Forgetting the Jax ( or was it Racket?) commercials?
As slayn said, they're good for a laugh but they don't get people to buy games. Alot of people thought that Pikmin commercial was funny too, it obviously didn't get people to buy it though. If you want to sell the game, show it.
Sorry Jak, and Ratchet. Tired.Mega Man's Electric Sheep said:Ah, good old Jax and Dexter, and Racket and Crank. They had commericials kinda like Pakmin, that showed something silly with a little game footage.
They should just change his name. I've heard him called Jax soooooo many times.
Racket, now THAT'S a new one.
Mega Man's Electric Sheep
Member
Society said:
That's ok, it made me smile. I was picturing Ratchet with a tennis racket when you said it.
(He's already playing golf, it's not that farfetched I guess)I loved Pikmin, but so far Pikmin 2 is more of the same. Great, but I'm familiar with it already.
Pikmin is not a great game, but it is a great experience. Like ICO. The mechanics are simple - the key is in the magical universe it creates. You can see that from the first zone you land at in Pikmin 1 - its all lazy sunshine, green grass - its childhood revisited.
So maybe more enjoyable for adults than kids, who are out there living it so don't need to relive it?
Pikmin is not a great game, but it is a great experience. Like ICO. The mechanics are simple - the key is in the magical universe it creates. You can see that from the first zone you land at in Pikmin 1 - its all lazy sunshine, green grass - its childhood revisited.
So maybe more enjoyable for adults than kids, who are out there living it so don't need to relive it?
It still amazes me that NOA's advertising is so pathetic. Any one of us could've directed a MUCH better commercial without even trying. Just stay away from any kiddy or 'funny' crap, show some of the interesting gameplay, photorealistic locations, dungeons, Pikmin dying, multi-player, mention the huge amounts of things to collect and a rough play-time, and people will want the game. These "experts" think they have to do something inventive, but if the game's good then just show us the fucking game.