Earthbound - Nintendo Should Have Done More

Earthbound is FINALLY out on the Virtual Console. I played it yesterday for over 7 hours in two sittings. (breaking occasionally for Miiverse posts) All is well right now. The Wii U is actually being turned on. There's a game that takes more than 4 hours to complete. (Or as I call it a Quality Game) People on Miiverse actually have a happier tone. But here's my only problem - Nintendo of America could have made this a bigger deal.

I'm more than happy to be back in Onett with Ness, but something was missing...

I don't know if their hands were tied behind their backs from HQ in Japan, but there should have been more pomp and circumstance with this release. I was reading yesterday, forgive me for forgetting the source, someone said something to the gist of, "Gamers love teasers. Sony and Xbox are notorious for giving teasers of a teaser." Let's be 100% honest here. As of this writing, Earthbound is the best game available for the Wii U. It was published June 5th, 1995, 18 years ago for North America. I thought Wii U was supposed to offer more than a SNES title being the best game in its library. So my question is, why surprise us out of the blue when you could have made a statement? This has been the most sought after VC title for years. It deserved.....something.....anything.....

I'm not saying that it is something to center an E3 stage around or anything, but I am saying there should have been teasers, a launch party somewhere, and some fan collector items. (i.e. Banpresto figures, Hard Copy republication of the manual) Instead they just posted a video on YouTube and there it was on the eShop.

You would have to put down around $200 on eBay for these that were won in crane game machines in Japan

Whenever the Wii hit Nintendo was everywhere. I remember the commercials, "Wii would like to play." That was awesome stuff! People saw their product and were curious to what it could do. It flew off the shelves. Right now, and I can only really speak for Nintendo of America, whoever is head of advertising needs to get their butt off YouTube and back on the Television. I would like to see either a serious shift in their advertising or someone getting relieved of their duties. I love Nintendo, but I don't care much to watch Reggie stumble through a Nintendo direct. Tell me what you have to offer in a 30 second commercial....spark my interest and curiosity. Other than those who fanatically keep up with the gaming industry, people simply don't know what's going on. I remember a few weeks after Nintendo announced Earthbound's VC release there were people on facebook who kept saying, "Release Earthbound on VC." It wasn't a joke. They were serious. Nintendo failed to reach them.

My little rant is a little heavy, I know. The fact of the matter is we as fans deserve better from Nintendo. Earthbound alone deserved better. The Earthbound community deserved better. Simply put - Nintendo deserves better. The problem is, they don't seem to either notice or care.

There Are Actual Games on the Horizon for Wii U

Don't panic! Don't adjust your screen or handheld device. There are actual Wii U games that I'm interested in picking up on the horizon. I was browsing through the Nintendo eShop today and noticed some interesting titles coming up for the Wii U. Here's my personal list in no particular order:

You've got to be kidding me. This game looks amazing.

1. Pikmin 3
We all know this game was the crown jewel of the "release window" games for the Wii U. Simply put, this game should've been in my games library already. I'll forgive Nintendo for the delay if this game is a good as it looks. This will be my first Pikmin adventure. The game looks amazing and I'm going to get this launch week if not launch day.

2. Sonic Lost World
The visuals kind of remind me of Mario Galaxy. I'm willing to take a risk on Sonic. I haven't owned a Sonic game since the Sega Genesis days. However, while I'm willing to take the risk, I'm going to wait to see what the reviews on this game are before I pull the trigger.

3. Mario 3D World
I'm still a little bummed that this game isn't a Galaxy or Sunshine styled game. It's too 3DS-ish for my tastes. Also, this game seems to be centered around multi-player. This could detract from the disk space and depth that the Galaxy games went into. As mentioned before though, I'm getting this title in spite of the cons.

4. Wind Waker
Simply put, it's Legend of Zelda. I'm getting it.

5. Mario Kart 8
This game is further down the horizon, but Mario Kart is a safe bet. Some days when you just want something fun to play without getting too involved with it, a spin down the track almost never disappoints.

6. Luigi U (DLC)
I'm going to get the physical copy of this. There has been decent buzz about this title. I'll get it eventually.

7. Rayman
I'm going to get this on the Wii U instead of the PS3. I was super mad that they delayed this game for the other consoles. I still am peeved because, like Pikmin, this should've already been on my self. As stubborn as I may be though, I'll purchase this game if the reviews are as good as the demos were.

8. DuckTales HD
I remember renting this game on several occasions as a kid. It's very true that they don't make them like they used to, but no one said you couldn't improve the graphics!!

9. Smash Bros
I'm still unconvinced on this one. I enjoyed Brawl for the Wii. In all honesty though, if Ness isn't a playable character on this, I won't be getting it. Megaman sure is tempting though. Time will tell.

10. Earthbound (VC)
No explanation needed

There you have it! It's a simple list. These are simple observations. It sure is refreshing to look toward the near future and say to myself, "I could see myself getting that game for the Wii U." The other games that will be released on Wii U (such as AC4 and Arkham Origins) will probably be bought for the PS3. Nintendo has a long way to go before they convince me it's worth my while with some of the "blockbuster" third party titles. Anyways, Thanks for reading!