Will Brawl fall to the Wii's casual focus?
by JC Fletcher 
{ Jan 27th 2008 at 12:00PM }
He then wonders out loud if Super Smash Bros. Brawl will actually sell as well as we all think it will. "It is hardcore, but it is popular hardcore. But is it a fit for the Wii audience? My guess is: not so much." He expects a fairly strong first month with a large drop-off, much like Super Mario Galaxy. In other words, it'll sell well, but not as well as a DS game about petting a dog.
We've heard a lot of talk about the Wii's casual-focused audience, but this is the first time somebody has questioned the sales potential of Smash Bros. It should be pretty interesting to see how the first month plays out in Japan.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jason @ Jan 27th 2008 12:10PM
My nephews are by no means "hard-core", but they and their friends LOVE Smash Bros. The cast of Nintendo characters is what gives the game such a broad appeal vs a more traditional fighter.
AnOffday @ Jan 27th 2008 12:15PM
This is scary. I love my Wii, and no offense, but screw the casual gamers. I'm sick of them. They're ruining my system.
Edge @ Jan 27th 2008 12:37PM
I always thought that SSB was a pretty casual game. You have simple controls, a handful of easily executed special attacks, and colorful fun presentation. Compare any Smash Bros game to any other fighting game and tell me it isn't casual.
Then, the hardcore community decided it was a game worth having tournaments over, and the game started to hardcore spiral at a very rapid rate.
So, if SSBB does fall victim to this phenomenon, you only have yourself to blame.
Sensai @ Jan 28th 2008 1:54AM
"Then, the hardcore community decided it was a game worth having tournaments over, and the game started to hardcore spiral at a very rapid rate.....So, if SSBB does fall victim to this phenomenon, you only have yourself to blame."
I may be misunderstanding you, but it seems as if you're saying the game became 'hardcore' as it went on. Right?
That's kinda true, I suppose: the tournament scene did pick up on it and it became a pretty big hit with quite a few hardcore gamers. It NEVER stopped being a game for the casual player, though. To this day, my roommates still play the game in a very casual, clueless way even though I (the tourney player) play with them.
It, like someone else said, is a game, like Guitar Hero, that works on every front to every person: if you're lookin' for a challenge, it's there. If you're lookin' for a little bit of a time waster, it's there.
Edge @ Jan 28th 2008 6:38PM
Point taken that each entry in the series is frozen in it's audience, but I'm suggesting that the next version is going to be a little more hardcore than the last.
glass soldier @ Jan 27th 2008 12:56PM
most of the people that i know that have a wii arent hardcore gamers and yet even they feel that brawl is a must buy
TD @ Jan 27th 2008 1:02PM
I get so tired of comments like this. It's a chicken-or-egg argument. Casual games sell better on the Wii than hardcore games do? Hm, maybe that's because there's a larger selection of quality casual games than quality hardcore games. If we had a steady flow of proper RPGs and action titles and racing games that had some real quality to them, then the hardcore crowd would be buying the console too. I wish they wouldn't doom Smash Bros because it's being a pioneer.
Mr Khan @ Jan 27th 2008 1:11PM
Short Answer: No
Long Answer: Hellllllllll, no.
Smash Bros has always been a series that bridged casual and hardcore, much like Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, and Bomberman
All have a learning curve where its easy to learn and begin, but can get to an insanely higher level of competition in order to perfect it
Mr Khan @ Jan 27th 2008 2:46PM
Oh, and props on the "Wario bulge" photo
The most disturbing image in all of Brawl
Justin @ Jan 27th 2008 1:19PM
Um, no.
TriptychR @ Jan 27th 2008 1:49PM
No More Heroes was "hyped like crazy"? Um... where? I know it's had its spotlight time in smaller gaming circles, but in a mainstream sense? Barely at all.
Brawl has both an established series and mainstream appeal through many of its characters. No More Heroes, while it may have its merits, is a niche title. It's like Rez, Space Channel 5, Killer 7 or any other game that might be great but just didn't sell well no matter what system it was on.
Gun Barrier @ Jan 27th 2008 3:02PM
in japan
Gonzo @ Jan 28th 2008 11:12AM
I think they meant it was hyped like crazy in Japan.
I think the reason that it bombed over there was because they were able to tell it wasn't finished yet.
No More Heroes would've been a great game if Suda 51 had finished it. Now it stands as the most over-hyped game since RE4.
xeleion @ Jan 27th 2008 1:54PM
What about the 8 kabillion preorders for this game, both here and in Japan? Of course this game is going to be big.
Good_Bytes @ Jan 27th 2008 2:07PM
AWSOME now with Duke Nukem, RoboCop, MegaMan and Jesus!
Good_Bytes @ Jan 27th 2008 2:07PM
AWSOME now with Duke Nukem, RoboCop, MegaMan and Jesus!
http://www.vgcats.com/news/supersecretphoto.jpg
ThomasJay @ Jan 27th 2008 7:16PM
You missed the VGCats, the Purple Tentacle, and GOD.
ScoTT @ Jan 27th 2008 2:15PM
I don't think Smash Bros. is casual as in only appealing to old married couples/people that don't especially like video games or only for lock-yourself-in-your-room-and-play-obsessively hardcore gamers, but sort of its own style that is kind of in between.
nintendo1889 @ Jan 27th 2008 2:41PM
If people think that the wii's games are "too casual" and the PS3's games are so "hardcore", why is it that the PS3 has sold only 5.5 million units versus the wii's 20.5 million?
glass soldier @ Jan 27th 2008 3:08PM
dont even mention playstation theyre no longer competition as far as im concerned
glass soldier @ Jan 27th 2008 3:06PM
i swear so many people are trying to take nintendo down just because theyre back on top, just except defeat and give the winner its crown.
FX-1 @ Jan 27th 2008 3:35PM
No one's won just yet. Nintendo may be in the lead but it's just barely the second year. I hope Nintendo wins, I'm just saying we shouldn't get cocky.
The people who desperately try to bring Nintendo down for no good reason are just people that have nothing better to do with their lives. People who can't give Wii credit where credit is due are the "pseudo-hardcore" that are just so pathetic we shouldn't bother with them. I don't think any of us want people like that as Wii gamers. It'd ruin our precious console more so than the casuals with no consumer logic.
It's the third parties that I'm worried about. Nintendo too, to a lesser extent. Some of them haven't wised up enough to stop listening to the pseudo-hardcore or the super-casuals. They should listen to us, we're the reasonable people!
glass soldier @ Jan 27th 2008 8:12PM
FX-1 i completely argee with you
raindog @ Jan 27th 2008 3:24PM
I doubt Brawl will ever outsell Wii Play, but I think it'll outsell Wii Fit and Wii Music. Brawl is a lot closer to Wii Play than it is to, say, Gears of War. Whether it's "hardcore" or "casual", it's a social game. And social games sell better than solitary games on the Wii.
But it's also a lot closer to Halo than it is to Tetris, so I would question whether the term "casual" even means anything other than as the new way to say "kiddie" and not be rejected as a 15 year old forum troll.
FX-1 @ Jan 27th 2008 3:37PM
People who think casual and kiddie are interchangeable might as well be forum trolls in my book.
raindog @ Jan 27th 2008 3:57PM
Look around.... that's how the kids are using those terms nowadays. Instead of bemoaning Nintendo's "kiddie games" they're bemoaning Nintendo's "casual focus".
They're still the same Cheeto-stained 15 year old boys, they've just changed their terminology.
Scott Davis @ Jan 27th 2008 4:49PM
If Nintendo added a Wii Remote and charged only 50 bucks, you might have a different story there!
RupeeClock @ Jan 27th 2008 3:29PM
From what I've heard, the japanese brawl demo kiosks alone have lines for them!
Combined with multiple large brawl communities, the multiple news reports about a single Dojo update on Google News Search, and Official Nintendo Magazine publishing more of Dojo's updates with each month, I'm gonna go ahead and say NO, Brawl is not going to be a victim of poor sales.
hvnlysoldr @ Jan 27th 2008 3:44PM
Melee sold 6 million on a system with 21 million install base. Imagine how much the better developed and marketed Brawl can do on a system who's at 20 million and rapidly growing.
Otis Whitaker @ Jan 27th 2008 3:48PM
Oh fucking god dammit.
Smash Bros is a damned casual game.
Last gen, it was a god damned casual game. It's still a casual game. So is Zelda, Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime, and so on.
....same goes for a lot of 360 games... Gears of War, Halo 3, CoD4, and such.
It seems some over zealous gamers wanted to "change the rules" this gen, just to make certain things look better, and others look worse. It's lame.
Gob_Bluth @ Jan 27th 2008 6:24PM
Okay man, calm down and watch the language. It's just a game!
Genome4824 @ Jan 27th 2008 4:11PM
Yeah... no. Kids are so hyped and crazed waiting for this game.. not to mention stoners skaters etc lol Anybody that has played SSB in the last 10 years is waiting for Brawl.
kevin otaku @ Jan 27th 2008 4:20PM
was this site paid to advertise "no more heroes" and "zack and wiki"?
the hardcore pimping of these two titles day in and day out is strange to say the least.
gevenstaines @ Jan 27th 2008 4:37PM
i tried to get excited about those two titles after reading responses here on nwf. but after seeing gameplay videos for each, i decided "no, not for me."
Mr Khan @ Jan 27th 2008 4:44PM
They shill for Capcom and Grasshopper Manufacture (Punk's Not Dead - Video Game Band) because of the lack of commercials
Good games should succeed, so we do our part. Yeah, i know its free advertising, but everyone who's allowed to should buy NMH
vidGuy @ Jan 27th 2008 6:29PM
Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes are among the top five best Wii games available, and yet their sales don't do them justice.
worm @ Jan 27th 2008 4:50PM
Do these people know that Melee reigns as the highest-selling game for the Gamecube? Come on.
Patrick @ Jan 27th 2008 5:23PM
This dude for real? Burn him...his against the conspiracy.
vidGuy @ Jan 27th 2008 6:28PM
No, Brawl will be the third best-selling game in the Wii's library, second if you don't count Wii Sports pack-ins. I'm expecting Wii Fit to be the number 2 (or number 1) seller overall.
Patrick @ Jan 27th 2008 6:43PM
No.
Celljean @ Jan 27th 2008 6:50PM
resident evil 4: wii edition sold over a million copies,resident evil: UC sold around 750,000,metroid prime 3 sold finally sold more than million,and red steel sold over a million. If anybody want to make a successful hardcore title on the wii, they need their games to have commericals. Don't listen to that bullcrap, those causal/party games don't sell well. SSBB will sell as much like mario, and zelda.
SolidSnake2K7 @ Jan 27th 2008 6:55PM
No. Super Smash Bros. is a kind of game that is played by casuals but mastered by hardcores. Also there are different variants of casuals, there are the ones who buy Wii Play, Wii Fit, Brain age, Nintendogs, etc and then theres the casuals who buy GTA, Gears of War, Halo, Super Mario Galaxy.
padgon @ Jan 27th 2008 10:20PM
I totally agree with this guy.
Also I have never seen a casual gamer that bought a GTA that has finish the game, even with cheats. But there are tons of them. Maybe the same will happen to Brawl.
ThomasJay @ Jan 27th 2008 6:58PM
I'd think that Brawl would fit both categories, hard-core and casual. You can play it constantly with the intention of unlocking every single little thing, or you can just pick it up whenever for some quick fun. And let's not forget that it's pretty much a party game as well.
Sure, it'll sell like crazy for the first month or two and then sales will taper off. Those of us who already have Wiis are starved for great games--yeah, there's a lot of good games for the system, but very few great ones--and we'll all jump on it as soon as it's released. It will continue to sell as more and more people are able to get their hands on the Wii, because a lot of them will be picking up the game with the system. It might not be able to sustain its initial sales, but it'll be a steady seller.
Nintendo isn't a third party developer, so they won't need this game to fly off shelves. It'll be available for pretty much the entire life of the Wii. Brawl will make its money back in the first month or two--although, I'd be willing to bet it will have paid for itself in its first week--and everything after that will be gravy.
Celljean @ Jan 27th 2008 7:02PM
also every casual games that sell well is a nintendo brand games, and some of are good. I don't like when developers get lazy, and when they make crappy games on the wii like carvial games, nintendo's wii play, high musical, boogie, cookie mama, spider man 3, spider man friedn and foes, pokemon, and donkey konga barrel blast. To name a few (that's alot) , and also i don't like crappy ps2/GC/xbox ports (far cry, donkey konga,avator)
nintendo1889 @ Jan 27th 2008 7:29PM
You got the whole "developers like to make quick money by making crappy games" idea right. Or even big companies like Midway, making Cruisin' look like a first generation N64 game.
And what about the Virtual Console? We need some SNES RPG games like Chrono Trigger and not games like Monster Lair 3 for multiple systems.
SoulBlade @ Jan 27th 2008 8:52PM
I don't give two shits about casual gamers when it comes to Smash. I just want the game - I'm confident the game will sell well enough to warrant a future iteration. If the casual crowd doesn't want it, then they're missing out.
That said, I'm not hardcore anymore. I think Smash is going to be perfect for anybody with limited gaming time - just fire it up, play a couple of matches, turn it off. You're done in like 30 minutes and you got a great gaming fix.
Perverted @ Jan 27th 2008 9:37PM
SSBB won't only sell great it will be a system seller. I know plenty of gamers who only own either ps3 or 360, but will be buying a Wii when Brawl is released.
And Brawl is much more hardcore than other fighting games because to master it, it takes ALOT of skill.
Tom @ Jan 27th 2008 9:47PM
Hehe..What a dumbass! Honestly, Brawl is, in my opinion, gonna OWN the Wii for a couple of years. Melee was the best selling GC game, and the wii is way more popular (and better) than the Cube. People need to stop trying to find ways to criticize the wii. Not that it doesn't have soem faults, but outta all 3 of the systems, it's the only true "next-gen" system. (Cuz of motion controls) Oh, and btw not all 15 year olds are forum trolls. I'm 15. I'm not a troll. I'm not stained with Cheetos. And yeah, Brawl is pretty much a game that anyone can play and love.
Co @ Jan 27th 2008 11:46PM
I really dont think that Wiis uber-casual audience (i.e. the ones picking one up for Wii Sports only) is as big as others believe it to be. I think alot of the people that are picking it up just for that are slowly getting into more of the software, even though it may not be of the hardcore variety.
Also, everyone I know, and I mean EVERYONE, has a Wii. That coupled with the fact that they STILL to this day dont sit an hour on store shelves means that many more hardcore oriented audiences are yet to pick one up. The games will sell on Wii. ALL of them. Wii will be the console DS. Everybodys system.