Metroid Prime 2 could have sold much better if...

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

Nintendo had the sense to release it BEFORE Halo 2. Then sales probably would've been better. Another genius marketing move Nintendo. :rolleyes:

I guess they were too busy trying to worry about marketing the DS, (Making sure it has a good lead on the PSP I guess) But still the topic here is that Metroid Prime 2 which is better than the original should've sold much better

[AlphaPrime]

Prolly woulda sold better also if *cough* it was able to go Online *cough*

:p

I don't give a rats about online yet even i know Nintendo NEEDS it hehehe.

*or can it be Online and i just made a rats blank outta myself?*

[silverwings]

*sigh*

Does a game have to sell millions right away to be considered successful? Of course MP2 didn't sell as much as quickly as MP1. Why?

-It was released at the same as Halo 2(xbox), GTA:S(ps2), and Half-Life 2(PC). Let's not forget all the other games that came out in the SAME time period. Of course the more hyped games will sell better. Because they are considered the MUST have games. MP didn't have as stiff a compition when it was released, plain and simple. Of course you'll sell well quickly if there are no other must-haves released at the same time.

-Unfortunately, the Gamecube's userbase is no where near as large as that of the PS2 or the Xbox. So it is going to sell a lot less to begin with. Couple that with the fact that the Gamecube is a lot of people's second system, people aren't going to buy MP2 if there are far more hyped games coming out. (see above).

-The DS being released. People who would have bought an extra game or two bought the new handheld instead. Nintendo was basically beating themselves with this.

But when would YOU have released the game? January? Then you cut into Resident Evil sales. February? Then you cut into Star Fox sales. You'd push the game back 4 months for a little extra sales?

The question is, why does anyone care how the came sells? It will sell at least 1 million copies eventually. Does it stop you from enjoying the game if it didn't beat Halo 2 in sales? Didn't think so.

*happily returns to playing MP2*

p.s: Sorry if the post comes off as a tad... witchy. It's a PMS day... :sweat:

[Bird Boy]

I think silverwings just pretty much ended THAT debate...

Another factor to consider is the advertising. I did see a few Metroid commercials, but not nearly as many as Halo 2 or GTA:SA (and I still see commercials for those two). Few in-store promos...there was just less for Metroid.

There's also the mainstream idea to think of. Echoes isn't a game that will ever appeal to the masses. Dumb it down to what the average person sees each game as:

Halo 2 is a straight-forward FPS with a great multiplayer.
GTA:SA is a game where you shoot stuff and kill people and have hookers.
Metroid Prime 2 is a game where you scan and have to read stuff, and, despite being FPS, doesn't support dual analog.

The fact of the matter, MP2, and MP before it, aren't normal games. They have normal elements, but are combined in a different kind of way. It's the same deal of Viewtiful Joe--great concept, great controls, but it's just not for everyone.

As great as Metroid Prime is, I know several people who I'd never recommend it to. It really isn't a game for everyone; it's got a higher learning curve than most games and if you can't "grasp" it right away, you generally don't want to play it.

-BB

[Dark Soul]

The reason why I didn't buy Metriod 2 is because I couldn't beat the first one.

[Punisher]

While Metroid Prime 2, in my humble opinion, is the game of the year, it is clearly not for eveyone, as Bird Boy said. My brother didn't attempt to play the first one because he thought it was just a bunch of reading, he never saw me play the sweet parts, like Meta Ridley. And the controls are abusive for a lot of people too, many who played the first just probably hated the controls so much they decided not to get the second game(my friend gave this has his exact reason).

Releasing it around DS was not a smart idea, but Nintendo needed DS out for the holiday season, so I can see their reasoning for this. And there was much more competion this time around. MP2 had to compete not only with superb games like Halo 2, GTA SA, Half-Life 2, but also against other games on its on consle. Mario Party 6, and Beaten Keatos both came out around the same time. And Mario Party 6 has passed MP2 in sales, thus providing more support for Gamecube being kiddy, as more people would rather play a rehashed party game then an atmospheric classic.

Marketing was much better this time around, but not up to par with that of Halo 2 and GTA. There were more commercials, more hype for MP2, but people just ignored them. The problem was, Nintendo has tons of money, they can afford to overhype MP2, they just didn't. Probably working on DS things, but who knows.

But MP2 will sell well, it will just take a longer time for it to break the million barrier. We can hope Retro is satisfied and will continue to support the cube, and we will all have fun playing MP2, while those who turned their noses on it can wait for a price drop to realize what they were missing.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

The reason why I didn't buy Metriod 2 is because I couldn't beat the first one.
I hated the loneliness of the first game and I hated the difficulty. I find 2 to be much more enjoyable. You should check it out.