Also, Nintendo Land MSRP will be lowered to $30.

I think this is a good move, Mario will definitely push more sales than Nintendo Land. If there is any game Nintendo could lean on for support it would be NSMBU. They squeezed as many sales out of the standalone game ast they could. And when new owners set up their console and see how much fun people are having with Nintendo Landon Miiverse, they can go out and buy that game at a good price (or get it from the eShop).

$299

SOURCE: Joystiq / Nintendo Press Release

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Hmm yeah, they were banking on Nintendo Land to be the next Wii Sports but that obviously didn't happen. Mario will be a better push for the system.

Posted by

Zero

on: 10/23/13, 18:22

They're definitely doing everything they can to make the Wii U desirable this holiday season (else than delaying DKCR). It will be interesting to see how it works.

Oh and it come with Super Luigi U too? That's huge. Really makes this a great deal for platformer fans.

Posted by

Jargon

on: 10/23/13, 18:25

Edited:

10/23/13, 18:28

Good business move, but it actually saddens me a bit that they're not pushing a game with asymmetrical gameplay. NintendoLand might not be something people seek out or find themselves attracted to, but I think the experience once they get their hands on it shows off the system's potential in a good way.

Posted by

r_hjort

on: 10/23/13, 18:27

News-ed this puppy up.

I wonder how well Nintendo is going to do against the competition this holiday? It could be interesting.

Posted by

Zero

on: 10/23/13, 18:41

@r_hjort

I agree--I really like NL and I think it's a great included game with the system. Mario U is fun but it barely even feels like a Wii U game to me. And it sort of saddens me that--along with Nintendo's E3 lineup this year--Nintendo seems to be not really focusing on the GamePad usage for new ideas lately. I hope we see more creative stuff in the future.

Including Luigi U makes it a pretty solid deal though.

EDIT: I have to wonder if this would work better than a Mario 3D World bundle, though...

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 10/23/13, 18:47

Edited:

10/23/13, 18:48

@TriforceBun
Yeah, this ain't a bad deal in any way, but I think that - long term - Nintendo needs to set themselves and the WiiU experience apart from the competition, and I think they have the ability to do that if they just bring back games that feature the GamePad's unique features in the marketing push. It won't ever have the marketing appeal of the Wii Remote, but if they can cough up games that are interesting enough for the both masses and traditional gamers while sneaking in new mechanics in there, maybe they could go places with this thing.

EDIT: 2D Mario sells! I think New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold about as much as the Galaxy games did combined, or something like that.

Posted by

r_hjort

on: 10/23/13, 18:53

Edited:

10/23/13, 18:55

r_hjort said:

EDIT: 2D Mario sells! I think New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold about as much as the Galaxy games did combined, or something like that.

If we trust VGchartz it was more like both of them combined plus another 9-10 million or so. It's actually pretty nuts if you think about it, all the time and effort Nintendo put into making the Galaxy games some of the most visually stunning, highly praised, etc. games of the generation and people still just want more 2D Mario. Not blaming the gamers, it's just kind of interesting to me. Like, what is the motivation to push the 3D games so hard when you can put (relatively) less effort into the 2D games and sell way, way more?

Then again, you can't just release 2D Mario games every year, and the 3D Mario games still sell enough to justify their existence and then some. And stuff like Galaxy has more ability to reach out to the "core" Nintendo fans who got sick of Nintendo and thought they moved on or whatever.

3D Land and now 3D World though... Nintendo's attempts to get the 2D fans interested in 3D Mario? And it seemed to have worked for 3D Land.

Posted by

Zero

on: 10/23/13, 19:02

Edited:

10/23/13, 19:03

@Zero
This will sound like me being a Nintendo fanboy, and maybe it is nothing more than that, but I truly believe there are people within the company that care about more than the sales, who have a certain amount of creative integrity, or whatever. Or at least enough people who know that pushing something new will help the IP's stay relevant and help sales in the future.

Posted by

r_hjort

on: 10/23/13, 19:08

@Zero

There's really no reason they shouldn't outsell the competition, given the difference in price, family friendliness, and (most importantly) exclusive games. If they don't it will be a pretty bad sign, I think, because eventually PS4 and XB1 games will stop appearing on 360 and PS3.

Posted by

Jargon

on: 10/23/13, 19:18

It's a good move. Plus, if anyone really wants Nintendo Land, it's still a much better deal since it can be picked up separately for much cheaper than NSMBU even before you factor in NSLU on top of that.

Posted by

DeputyVanHalen

on: 10/23/13, 19:21

I enjoy Nintendo Land infinitely more than Wii Sports, personally... but yeah, it certainly didn't have that same wow factor that Wii Sports did for the general public in 2006. Mario will hopefully help out a bit more.

But, you know, they should really include both in the bundle. NSMBU doesn't exactly show off what the Gamepad is all about and they are both year old titles. It would be like getting SMB and Duck Hunt back in the 80's.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 10/23/13, 19:22

@Hinph
I agree. To me, Nintendo Land is a much more complete game than the original Wii Sports was. It just doesn't click immediately for most people like Wii Sports did though.

Posted by

DeputyVanHalen

on: 10/23/13, 19:24

@Hinph
I think my sister and her family are a pretty good example of how differently people react to Wii Sports compared to NintendoLand. With Wii Sports they were all like, "hell yeah, swinging a controller like a tennis racket!" and were eager to try it out, but I almost had to force them into trying NintendoLand, 'cause it just didn't sound very fun to them. They agreed to try Luigi's Ghost Mansion one time before we went back to Super Mario Bros. U, but once they had tried it they didn't want to go back, or even stop playing.

Everybody can understand the premise of motion controls, but asymmetrical gameplay is a doozy to convey to those who haven't tried it.

Posted by

r_hjort

on: 10/23/13, 19:29

Zero said:

I wonder how well Nintendo is going to do against the competition this holiday? It could be interesting.

You mean the Wii U specifically, right? As in, how well will the Wii U do against the launches of the PS4 and XBone?

Because I'm pretty sure that Nintendo will come out smelling like roses after this holiday, what with just Pokémon X/Y and A Link Between Worlds alone. I'd wager there will be some good sales numbers for that 2DS thing, too.

In any case, this is a good bundle deal. Especially for people like me, who have like zero interest in Nintendo Land.

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 10/23/13, 19:38

@GameDadGrant
Yeah we are talking about Wii U in here. I'm surprised you aren't interested in Nintendo Land, don't you have a family?

Posted by

anon_mastermind

on: 10/23/13, 19:40

@anon_mastermind

Nintendo Land just doesn't interest ME.

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 10/23/13, 19:45

@r_hjort

I had the same experience. The people I showed Wii Sports to were definitely blown away at the time... and it even convinced my sister-in-law's mother, who up until that point hated video games with a passion, to actually buy a Wii... kind of a big deal.

With Nintendo Land, there was definitely less excitement going in, but fun factor? Everybody loves Luigi's Ghost Mansion when you convince them to give it a chance... it was a hit with my mom and siblings, drunken peers of both genders and all levels of game experience, and my friend's kids. I do think that appeal is there once they understand it, because the product is replete with that classic Nintendo charm!

Posted by

Hinph

on: 10/23/13, 19:47

Surprised everyone likes this move. I don't.

I think it's a silly mixed message to pack in your new HD system with such a safe/bland title. One people have gotten like 4 chances to play already... Why not 3D World???

Not to mention that game does not showcase the system features like NL at ALL.

Posted by

carlosrox

on: 10/23/13, 20:01

@carlosrox

Perhaps they are confident that 3D World is a strong enough title to be a system seller on its own? But yeah, if they really want to push hardware sales, a move like that might eventually be necessary. There's always Mario Kart 8.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 10/23/13, 20:06

@Hinph
For sure! I imagine I'll still be enjoying NintendoLand at the end of this generation, because of the high-score thrills alone.

@carlosrox
I agree with you about the system features, but hey, people like their sidescrolling Mario! Even though you may feel that the game is safe or bland, there's sales stats pointing towards this being a good move for Nintendo. It would be cool to see both NSMBU and NintendoLand get packed in, like @Hinph said, but I guess it's a bit too soon for Nintendo to resort to such drastic measures this soon.

Posted by

r_hjort

on: 10/23/13, 20:08