"This game stinks"
Earthbound, as we all know quite well, is a video game released back in 1995 for the Super Nintendo system. For all of us here, this game has survived the test of time for these ten long years. It has remained in our hearts as our favorite game, or at the least one of the best games of all time. The game’s humor, music, story, and every little detail about the game are truly amazing. Copies of the game will run you at the very least fifty dollars even today. And that is just for the cartridge itself. Getting a copy with the box and guide can go upwards of two hundred dollars if you are unlucky. Yet, in spite of all of this, the game was a commercial failure back when it was actually released.
How could this happen? A product fails when it is released, and somehow becomes a huge sleeper hit, maybe even a cult hit, soon after it is pulled off the shelves. Well, there are a few possibilities. However, only one of them seems plausible to me. The advertising campaign that accompanied Earthbound’s release was highly ineffective. We all look back on the entire, “This Game Stinks” idea with high regard. It was all very fitting to the game, once we look back on it after having played the game. The people looking to buy the game back in the stores would not have had the same experience with the game that we have. The apparently didn’t get the joke.
Looking back on everything, I believe the entire campaign was mistaken, to disastrous results. And I’m not just talking about financially for Nintendo back in 1995. The failure also affected all of the fans down the line, as now Nintendo is reluctant to release anything having to do with Earthbound outside of Japan. Even with all of the evidence that they receive from us that all we want is more. However, thirty thousand people’s signatures are not enough evidence to cause them to risk repeating their mistakes.
I think that the entire campaign should have been re-worked to something that actually showed off what a good game Earthbound is. The only US commercial for the game is a pitiful clip that barely showed off anything that made the game great. I’ll admit that when the game was actually released the graphics were below the capacity that the Super Nintendo could produce. But I also believe that too much emphasis is put into graphics now, and games are suffering due to this. So many games are released now that the only saving grace they have are incredible graphics. Due to this, they story will either be incredibly short, or will just be awful from the beginning. This is also causing less and less role-playing games to be released.
I think that actually making commercials for the game that gave people an idea of the game’s incredibly entertaining story would have been important. Showcasing the game’s humor level would have been key as well. Another key factor would be not using a term like “This Game Stinks”, as most of the populace might not understand the humor in it. They may have perceived the line as a bad review for the game. I can’t think of a better line to advertise the game with offhand, but then again I don’t have any experience in advertising.
Basically, I don’t think that Nintendo tried their hardest in trying to get Earthbound out to the public. The commercial was not very effective at showcasing what the game had to offer. The entire ad campaign may have been misleading, and was definitely ineffective. Today, all of their first party games that they release will have exposure everywhere they can possibly place it. Maybe they actually learned from their mistakes back in 1995. Hopefully, they will try again in a year or two, when Mother 3 is finally released. I’m crossing my fingers, but I’m not holding my breath.
Earthbound, as we all know quite well, is a video game released back in 1995 for the Super Nintendo system. For all of us here, this game has survived the test of time for these ten long years. It has remained in our hearts as our favorite game, or at the least one of the best games of all time. The game’s humor, music, story, and every little detail about the game are truly amazing. Copies of the game will run you at the very least fifty dollars even today. And that is just for the cartridge itself. Getting a copy with the box and guide can go upwards of two hundred dollars if you are unlucky. Yet, in spite of all of this, the game was a commercial failure back when it was actually released.
How could this happen? A product fails when it is released, and somehow becomes a huge sleeper hit, maybe even a cult hit, soon after it is pulled off the shelves. Well, there are a few possibilities. However, only one of them seems plausible to me. The advertising campaign that accompanied Earthbound’s release was highly ineffective. We all look back on the entire, “This Game Stinks” idea with high regard. It was all very fitting to the game, once we look back on it after having played the game. The people looking to buy the game back in the stores would not have had the same experience with the game that we have. The apparently didn’t get the joke.
Looking back on everything, I believe the entire campaign was mistaken, to disastrous results. And I’m not just talking about financially for Nintendo back in 1995. The failure also affected all of the fans down the line, as now Nintendo is reluctant to release anything having to do with Earthbound outside of Japan. Even with all of the evidence that they receive from us that all we want is more. However, thirty thousand people’s signatures are not enough evidence to cause them to risk repeating their mistakes.
I think that the entire campaign should have been re-worked to something that actually showed off what a good game Earthbound is. The only US commercial for the game is a pitiful clip that barely showed off anything that made the game great. I’ll admit that when the game was actually released the graphics were below the capacity that the Super Nintendo could produce. But I also believe that too much emphasis is put into graphics now, and games are suffering due to this. So many games are released now that the only saving grace they have are incredible graphics. Due to this, they story will either be incredibly short, or will just be awful from the beginning. This is also causing less and less role-playing games to be released.
I think that actually making commercials for the game that gave people an idea of the game’s incredibly entertaining story would have been important. Showcasing the game’s humor level would have been key as well. Another key factor would be not using a term like “This Game Stinks”, as most of the populace might not understand the humor in it. They may have perceived the line as a bad review for the game. I can’t think of a better line to advertise the game with offhand, but then again I don’t have any experience in advertising.
Basically, I don’t think that Nintendo tried their hardest in trying to get Earthbound out to the public. The commercial was not very effective at showcasing what the game had to offer. The entire ad campaign may have been misleading, and was definitely ineffective. Today, all of their first party games that they release will have exposure everywhere they can possibly place it. Maybe they actually learned from their mistakes back in 1995. Hopefully, they will try again in a year or two, when Mother 3 is finally released. I’m crossing my fingers, but I’m not holding my breath.
