I've been thinking about the delay of Super Smash Bros Brawl and the evidence seems to be that it was largely, if not entirely, due to efforts to create/improve the online features. Unlike many video game delays which I believe are often artifially planned or staged to maximize marketing impact, the delay of Smash Bros Braw is economically disadvantageous. Releasing the game after the holidays just makes no marketing sense no matter how you slice it - so I am inclined to believe that the delay was truly caused by efforts to implement those online additions.
But here's a thought. If Nintendo was really smart (ie greedy and underhanded) they should have axed all the online features and released the game on December 3 as promised. People would be disappointed with the subtraction, but they would have still bought the game. Then, Nintendo could continue to smooth out the online features, secretly of course, and then suprisingly rerelease the game later in the year with those features and call it some bullshit like Super Smash Bros Braw: Championship Edition. It would be the same game but now with online features. Hell, they could even add one more new character to sucker in people who can't justify rebuying the game simply for online features alone.
This way, Nintendo could have both took advantage of the preholiday market AND sold the same game a second time to the same people. I'm sure people would complain and you, reading this, naturally hate the idea. But can you honestly say you would not do precisely what I have outlined and end up buying both games (remember, you didn't know the second version was in the works when the first edition would be released)?
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4 comments:
That's actually quite true, especially considering Nintendo has a history of doing similar with their handheld redesigns.
Still, I'm suppose people will be glad they didn't. Maybe.
...What? That'd be terrible, and completely ruin Nintendo's reputation as a as-truthful-as-possible game production company. I'm a hardcore Nintendo fan, and they realize that people like me, or even just regular video gamers (not that I'm a hardcore gamer; just a fan) would be severely disappointed with them if they tried to pull that off. Nintendo is a big name in the industry, and they've got the best reputation in it. It's not all about making money or deadlines.
Oh Greg, I love you man. You think pretty highly of Nintendo, but they are a business like any other business.
And as Dylan has pointed out, what about the handheld redesigns? Did they really not have the technology to make the NDS the same as the DSLite at the time? Maybe, maybe not. Honestly, I have a hard time believing it.
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