Iwata says the Smash Bros. Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza led to a big increase in pre-orders
Posted on October 30, 2014 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U
“Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza” seemed to have been a very smart move for Nintendo. According to president Satoru Iwata, pre-orders increased “rapidly” after the presentation was shown.
Iwata stated during the company’s latest investor briefing yesterday:
As I have mentioned, “Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS” kicked off very well. Now I would like to explain how it will affect the Wii U installment.
As for bringing the “Super Smash Bros.” franchise into multiplatform format and releasing the Nintendo 3DS version first, there had been skepticism that each would end up consuming the demand for the other or it would weaken a key title for the Wii U platform. We now have a strong belief that our decision is giving the “Super Smash Bros.” franchise even more momentum. On the morning of October 24 in Japan, we released a trailer titled “Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza.” A great number of people watched it online and we received a large amount of feedback.
The two installments of “Super Smash Bros.” are packed with elements that utilize the specific features of each platform. Before disclosing the “Extravaganza” trailer, people had been skeptical of whether we could actually have 50 new facts about the Wii U version. But as the trailer showcased the differences between the two versions, which seemed to surpass expectations, pre-orders for the Wii U version rapidly started to increase.
“Super Smash Bros.” is the most appealing when played together with others, and as the two versions have noticeable differences, they will not cannibalize each other. Rather, as more copies of the Nintendo 3DS version are sold and more people enjoy it, the momentum for the Wii U version becomes stronger.
