Super Smash Bros Brawl unfit for Wii ?

VGM:JC Barnett, the pseudonym for a games developer working out of Japan, has a somewhat unexpected commentary on the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl release in the Land of the Rising Sun on his Japanmanship blog. Essentially, Barnett believes the title will sell well enough, but ultimately underperform due to the Wii being a casual gamer's machine - similar to what happened recently to No More Heroes in Japan, just on a larger scale.

[cooke15]

Is this some sort of joke article? Where else would this game sell? Its nintendo mascotts fighting.. Wii already has the entire Gamecube userbase that had melee sell so well. Brawl will sell even better on Wii because of its bigger userbase.

[BloodySinner]

Super Mario Galaxy only sold slightly over 1M and when you consider the Wii's user base... That's pretty bad.

[LanRanger]

Do you people just make numbers up? NPD data shows Super Mario Galaxy sold over 2.5 million copies in the US through December. It's sold over 5 million copies in less than three months worldwide. The only 360 game to sell more is Halo 3 (out two months longer) and nothing on the PS3 comes close.

NPD data: http://www.el33tonline.com/...
VGChartz worldwide: http://vgchartz.com/games/g...

[BloodySinner]

Will you stop crying?

I made that statement based on the the last time I saw the NPD data (November 07) http://kotaku.com/gaming/np...

And speaking of modded up... Look at you bubble count. I'm pretty you sure you did not get them legitimately like most of the users on this site. =P

Either way, 2.5M is still bad when you look at the Wii's user base.

[ChickeyCantor]

5 worldwide, how is this bad? not 2.5, 5!

[LanRanger]

"I made that statement based on the the last time I saw the NPD data (November 07)"

Perhaps if the only information you have is US sales data that is months old, you shouldn't try and pass it off as current worldwide info? Take some pride in what you post.

"Either way, 2.5M is still bad when you look at the Wii's user base."

~3M (it's proably sold at least another half million in January) sales and rapidly increasing based on consoles sales of ~9M in the US doesn't seem bad to me at all.

The worst part is people are STILL agreeing with you despite having been proven to be off by over 4 million sales.

[batman2million]

doesn't this guy know that SSB Melee was the best selling on gamecube. and i think its still for 29 bucks.

I believe this will be the halo 3 of the wii, I know so many people that are getting a wii just for this game!!

[Iron Man 2]

I am one of them;)

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

This is the only reason I'm keeping my Wii...

...which is lame...because I know I'll just sell it after I get disappointed in SSBB...

I think I'll wait for another Twisted Metal though. I'm getting Brawl, but will it even be that good? I'm doubting it.

[Steelshaper]

if you played and enjoyed SSBM at all you will enjoy SSBB. Check the Smash Bros. Dojo for all the (official) news about Brawl. They've taken the amazing multiplayer that sold so well on Gamecube, added an expansive single-player, customization and online capability. Not to mention some of the coolest tactic-changing features I've ever seen in a fighting game (ex. Manaphy).

If you dont like the genre of video game, it wont be worth it. But if you like fighting games, there's already enough proof that Brawl will be amazing. And think about what they're keeping secret.

[Tarmgar]

Super Smash Brothers is the only reason why I played the Gamecube and why I WOULD play on the Wii. SSB is a bad@ss game series.

[INehalemEXI]

When I read it I thought the guy was crazy too.

[RecSpec]

My brain kinda stopped while reading this.

If SSB is unfit for the Wii, what else would it be on? Gamecube!?

Just because casual gamers bought the Wii doesn't mean they won't buy this. It's f***ing Smash Bros! This isn't a technical fighter on the scale of Virtua Fighter. Anyone can learn to play it in a matter of minutes, plus the items, stages and other things make matches random enough where one person cannot dominate unless they were insanely good. One well placed bomb or the right Pokeball can change the whole fight around. Plus unlike No More Heroes, people recognize the people in Smash Bros. This story is ridiculous.

I think I actually became dumber after reading this article.

[Doppy]

I have to disagree with the guy a lot of people are holding out for this game alone. I sold my Wii when I found out SSBB was getting delayed. Now that it's almost upon us (even though it got delayed again) I'm thinking about buying another Wii for this game alone, but I'll probably wait until the Wii drops down to $199 which should happen this year, but I won't hold my breath.

[ChickeyCantor]

they are making profit and people are even willing to buy it over the retail price.
so you are going to WAIT A LONG TIME to play brawl in your own home XD

[xplosneer]

It's a good thing they added GameCube controller support.

Yes, I'm going to steal my broter's Wii the day this comes out.

[v1c1ous]

like 70% of the gamecube?

[djt23]

it was more than that because everyone i know have a least two or more copy.

[M_Prime]

okay i'm assuming hes talking strictly JAPAN, but i guess this can apply to almost anywhere..

umm.. so what should this game come out on? PS3? 360? well in JAPAN this would mean that the game would have horrible sales since nobody owns a 360 there and PS3 is not exactly a killer console (yet)

in EU its almost the same thing

in North America it would prolly do best on the 360 but then i would miss out on it. However the wii has the same instal base as the 360 in NA now and again PS3 is nowhere in sight.

Probbaly this game will sell more copies world wide then PS3s sold worldwide. and if that happens and it came to the PS3 which is a HARDCORE console it would mean it needs an attach rate of 100% and that would never happen.

so this article to me is useless cause if it came to any of the HARDCORE consoles it wouldn't have a chance to sell as well as it will on the wii.. especially in Japan, where the wii is KING.

i mean the only console it could possibly sell better on is the PS2 cause EVERYONE except me has one.

and in all honesty i bought the WII with this game in mind when it was announced as a launch title, though i had doubts but with online it will kill it :-)

JC BARNETT is prolly really far up his own ass, we can't take him seriously.. and besides WHO IS THIS GUY? never heard of him.. now it IWATA or MIYAMOTO said something like this i would be concerned.. this dude.. hes a nobody in my books (and if he is someone noteable he just lost credibility with that stupid comment)

thats my 2 rambling cents (i need sleep)

[TruthbeTold]

In Japan there are 5 million Wii's sold. So that means that 1 in 5 Wii owners in Japan bought Super Mario Galaxy. It's sold over 5 million world wide in only 3 months, meaning that 1 in 4 Wii owners World wide own the game. That's not quite Halo, but truly, no game can EXPECT to do better than that.

That being said, even Super Mario Galaxy (Fastest selling Mario game of all time so far) wasn't as highly anticipated as Brawl is. I wouldn't be surprised to see even better numbers. Some games are happy to see a lifetime of 1 million in sales. Yet somehow it's a failure when Super Mario Galaxy "Only" sells 1 million copies in one region over the course of only 3 months? Right... This is b!tching and complaining for the sake of b!tching and complaining. Further, it seems rooted in personal distaste more than anything else.

Melee sold 6 million over its life time. Brawl will sell more than that THIS YEAR. This guy isn't dealing in reality with these comments, only playing on the fears of some, and the misplaced desire of some owners of other consoles to play this game without having to buy a Wii. Laughable.

[robbo918]

That pic of Wario with something coming out his butt might upset Fox News and Cooper and then Brawl will be in the news being called an evil and violent game that shows graphical pornographic animated sex.

YES I am kidding just had to laugh at the Wario pic in light of Fox News and how it plans to save us from ourselves.

[Eretik]

Believe me, developers don't know the market - they are paid for completely different knowledges and experiences.

[Monteblanco]

If this guy was looking for his fifteen minutes of fame, he got it. His argument makes no sense at all as SMMB is probably the one of the few fighting games that can actually attract some casual players. I can only hope, for his own good, that he is a better developer than a game market analyst.

[Zhak]

Ofc its unfit for wii, EVERY game is unfit for wii..
Zhak only speaks the truth when telling Nintendo to do the only right thing, and move their SSBB projekt to the only system that can handle it, the $playstation3System$ and give the license to allknowing Sony, that is this games only hope, to not become another great wii-failure

Sony will because of its sheer talent, hardwork and supreme brand make this into another $Playstation3System$ succes with amazing HD grafix and wild blood effects!

The-Mighty-Zhak-Has-Spoken

[Not the Face]

what good would putting it on ps3 do? then nobody would buy it!

[ChickeyCantor]

Lol he is admitting that its a good game, and its for the Wii too.
yet he hates all the nintendo characters.......

OBJECTION!

[ktchong]

A lot of gamers who don't already have a Wii will buy one just for this game.

[INehalemEXI]

Indeed

[wiizy]

is that guy a clown.. unfit for wii.. wii has games for everyone.. i wonder how much money that clown is losing in sony stocks.... smash bros will be a huge hit

[Bubble Buddy]

The main reason why i want the wii, but i'm not breaking 300 bucks for just 1-4 games.

[wiizy]

on top of that ... what that clown fell to see is that smash is advertise and its a fighting game... no more heroes is not a fighting game with beloved characters and was not advertise... they should have insightful people make comments next time.. and calling the wii a casual system sounds like the same hate lines sony fanboys and xbox fans use everytime npd numbers and sales show wii crushing them

[Coke-a-Cola]

I am SO excited about Wii fit ...........NOT.

But I am sure that Board will sell to the Guilt-ridden , wanting-to-loose-weight-in-the ir-sleep ......Croud of Casual .

* isn't the Wii a toy after all * .......Cute and fun and all. .....but a TOY.

[TheExodus]

I'm actually excited about Wii Fit. Perhaps it's because I'm imagining having to actually walk/run through a game. Today you can effectively walk/run forever without tiring simply by holding up on an analog stick, but having to physically walk/run to get your character to move would add another level of immersion on top of what the Wii Remote & Nunchuck already provide. I know Wii Fit is more likely to inspire Richard Simmons' next "Deal-A-Meal" craze, but until that happens I can still dream of better applications for the device.

[TheExodus]

OK, but JC Barnett's perception of Wii is based on the assumption that it caters almost exclusively to casual gamers. Problem with this assumption is sales of the Resident Evil series on Wii. Personally I believe the reason 3rd party titles the likes of Carnival Games are selling so well is because they're being purchased by casual gamers as well as hardcore gamers while games like No More Heroes are being purchased exclusively by hardcore gamers. Until Nintendo decides to throw caution to the wind & bring supply in line with apparent demand 3rd party developers will only be able to guess where the Wii market is headed, but if the sales of Resident Evil are any indication, once supply constraints are lifted the Wii's hardcore base will make short order of tossing Wii's casual base out on their collective weekend waggler a**.

[HardcoreGamer]

larger scale ?? huh what an article.

it willl sell loads and if it doesnt sell, then it will sell consoles to the million to the ones who want this,, this is like the most fun fighting paty game,

a game where you all play at once, its a very unique game with loveable characters, im going to get this. iv been waitin patiently now for games for my wii

lets rock

[Devr]

What a dumb article. SSBB will sell millions.

[Marceles]

Barnett is a retard. This is hands down the most anticipated game on the Wii, and how is he comparing this to No More Heroes???

[Doctor Strange]

I can understand a bit where this guy is coming from but the day a title with the word Mario in it doesn't sell, the end would be coming soon.

[blackbumbo]

blah blah blah,, SSBM will do well regardless of what the haters think. GTA, Halo,Guitar hero, all did well with their sequels and SSBM will be no diff. no other fighting game will sell like it

[RecSpec]

Street Fighter 4 will.

[INehalemEXI]

SFIV , SCIV, T6, and SSBB will all sell millions.I think SSBB will be the first to hit a million , followed by T6.

[texism]

No More Heroes and SSBB. The only two reasons I cried when selling my Wii.

[spartan112g]

the wii's online fails compared to the other systems. I bought my wii for this game and have played this already at E for All and can say that it is awesome, but it is dissapointing because of the lack of voice chat and lousy friend code service. I will have to have my 360 or PS3 on to talk to my friends while playing this game. I'll still love it, but I am still dissapointed.

[Intrepid]

The Wii can handle voice chat. It's the developers that chose not to incorporate voice communication.