So let’s say you’re looking to buy a Wii U so you can pick up both Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Chances are that you’d want to get plenty of value for new system.
Enter the all new Mario Kart 8 Wii U Bundle. Available on May 30th, you’ll get a black Wii U system with 32 GB of storage, a red Wii U wheel, a Mario Wii Remote Plus, a copy of Mario Kart 8, and a download code to redeem one of four games, only two of which are honestly worth your while (Pikmin 3 and The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker HD. New Super Mario Bros. U and Wii Party U are your other choices).
Go ahead and raise your hand if you haven’t really heard about this bundle. Granted, it was just announced this morning, but still, you’d expect advertisements to be plastered all over the internet by now, right? The game does launch in exactly one month.
And yet, I’m being blasted by ads for everything else across the–
Oh, what’s that? The free game doesn’t come with the bundle but instead comes with Mario Kart 8 itself? That’s only kind of confusing, but still pretty cool. It’s just a shame that I already own three of those games while I sit and look at Europe’s free game list with jealousy that it includes Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate; I’ve been dying for any type of excuse to pick it up.
Okay, so Nintendo, as we all know, has been long suffering from a marketing problem. They should be blasting this message at the top of their lungs: “BUY THE WII U, GET MARIO KART 8 AND ZELDA! OR MARIO KART 8 AND PIKMIN! OR MARIO KART 8 AND MARIO! MARIOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Instead, they quietly released the Nintendo Direct (remember when we were tipped off about those a week in advance?) bright and early on a Wednesday morning when I was still sound asleep because I enjoy sorting Magic: the Gathering cards until 2:30 AM.
This is the problem with Nintendo’s latest marketing efforts: they’re seemingly nonexistent. Most of the news I hear comes from other people, not Nintendo themselves. I see far more social media posts than actual advertisements, and while word of mouth is an excellent way to sell, it shouldn’t be the only way.
While yes, the Mario Kart 8 bundle is saving gamers at least $100, I just wish my TV was filled with commercials about it. I wish the internet was ablaze with this news. Instead, it’s just another ho-hum Nintendo announcement and that’s not what they need at this point in time. They need to set the world on fire.
Sorry for sounding like a whiny runt, but I’m tired of owning a system I absolutely adore that gets very little time in the spotlight.
