Nintendo UK has big plans for forthcoming Wii U shooter Splatoon, and has confirmed that it has a marketing push in the works which will match that of Mario Kart 8, one of the console's most successful games.
Plans include digital billboards, cinema ads ahead of Tomorrowland and Mad Max, sponsorship of Cartoon Network in the UK and the continuation of the online campaign which started back in April. There's even going to be a Splatoon-themed skatepark in the town of Corby, because why not?
Nintendo UK marketing manager Chandra Nair has been speaking to MCV:
We have a substantial campaign planned for Splatoon. To give you an idea of the scale, we're matching Mario Kart 8 – that's the potential we think Splatoon has.
We have the utmost confidence in the potential of Splatoon. It gives retailers a fantastic art style that stands out in-store or on-screen and it also offers various up-sell opportunities with the accompanying Amiibo. It's a really interesting game for us because it allows us to expand out to a group of people who may never have considered Wii U before.
We've already noticed Splatoon adverts on UK TV - albeit on channels aimed squarely at kids - and there does seem to be a lot of interest building in the game. But can it match Mario Kart 8 in commercial terms? Let us know what you think by posting a comment below.
[source mcvuk.com]
Comments 47
Oh just go away - sick of Splatoon now and all its stupid ads covering my usual sites.
@LunaticPandora So people complain that Nintendo doesn't push their games enough and have bad marketing. Now Nintendo is pushing one of their games and attempting to make an impact with marketing, especially seeing that it's a new IP, this is a bad thing?
Sweet. Hope the game does well. LunaticPandora… People always complain (myself included) that Nintendo do not market their products well enough. Especially compared PS4/XBone. This game is a potential big hitter for nintendo
@FragRed was going to say the same thing. Dammed if they do dammed if they don't
I really hope they chose better ad than the ones with those silly and embarassing songs, especially before movies like Mad Max or Tomorrowland!
I'm glad it's getting a big push as this game has huge potential, but personally would have liked to see ads on some more widely viewed channels. I know the kids market is the aim for Nintendo but I think the aniibo preorders selling out within minutes in the middle of the night show there's a lot of older fans that spend a lot of money on Nintendo products. The directs don't always get through to them either. I asked four very hardcore Nintendo fan friends of mine if they'd be playing the global test fire and none of them had even heard of it. I told them it was in the direct but none of them watch the directs.
@BLPs Just the one bottle? You drinking it straight? I'm always sitting in a pub before I start looking through the comments... apart from today, it's not open yet
@FragRed I don't have a problem with the advertisements they do for splatoon. My only problem is they don't do at least half of this for other games that also deserve it. Where was this for Bayonetta 2( That was one game that really deserved its hype)? The Wonderful 101? Will Fatal Frame, Devil's Third, Xenoblade get promoted like this?
Nintendo can't simply pick and choose certain game to advertise and just leave the others to fail like they've been doing all this gen. Everything on Nintendo isn't gonna sell like Zelda, Kart, Smash Bros, and 3d/2d Mario.
It's a shame that a week before its release I haven't seen a single ad in my country, Spain. Just youtube ads here.
@liljmoore Splatoon has the potential of a very large audience. Bayonetta doesn't
@liljmoore
Well actually they can pick and choose, and it makes perfect sense to do so. Marketing costs money, so you put your marketing budget behind the games which have the broadest appeal.
Bayonetta could have had the biggest marketing push known to man and it would probably have only shifted a few extra copies because it's a niche title.
This is good, push it as much as possible, though not just with adverts on children's channels.
I don't imagine it'll come close to Mario Kart 8 being a new IP and all, but I hope to be wrong.
@Mogster and that's why mature and good games like Code name Steam, No More Heroes, Okami, Eternal Darkness, Bayonetta 2, The Wonderful 101 ect tend to fail in terms of sales because people don't know about these titles.
So if Nintendo continues to do this most of these great games would be created for nothing and ignored by what could be larger audiences if they just marketed these game better then what they've been doing.
@LunaticPandora How could you be sick of a game that hasn't even come out yet? Nintendo needs to market their games so people actually buy them, which didn't really happen with the Wii U.
@BLPs would you mind pouring me a glass
@LunaticPandora Well , you are on a nintendo focused site, and nintendo wants to really push marketing, and now that they do it, you complain? just wow xD
@BLPs lol all very true
"It's a really interesting game for us because it allows us to expand out to a group of people who may never have considered Wii U before" Ads on cartoon network isn't reaching out to people who may have never considered a wii u before!!!
I don't think this game will be a system seller, this game will chart at about no.5 and be gone from the top 20 within 2 weeks
I think Splatoon will outsell Smash but will only be second to MK8. I hope it'll launch smoothly.
Better late then never. That said, the campaign will never be as good as the Mario Kart 8 one because there's no free game when you buy it!
@Boxmonkey
More like it'll stay on the top 20 for at least 2 months.
What else have Nintendo had to market this year? Marketing budget gotta go somewhere.
That skatepark sounds a really neat idea
Let's all help BLP finish his bottle as quickly as possible!
Umm....er.........crap. now I can't think of anything cringeworthy enough!
A campaign to rival Mario kart... well, they kind of need to do that for a New IP.
Finally,I hope this does well!
I see NOA is pushing Splatoon here in America. remembers Squid Kid commercial
@liljmoore
You're missing the point, these games don't have huge markets anyways. I agree they should market them more but no way should they have applied the same marketing budget to W101 as they are Splatoon.
Chandra Nair has really progressed from the ol' Cube magazine days, eh?
Nice to see them pushing this game. I've seen plenty of advertisements all over the Web, though I'd like to see an occasional TV advert here.
@Mogster I'm not understanding your point. Those games did have the potential to attract huge markets and since Nintendo didn't do a good job of marketing them and now they are great gems that only a handful of people appreciate.
Take Fire Emblem for example. If Awakening didn't sell well we would have never seen another one. Radiant Dawn and Path of Radiance both excellent games. but do most people even know about them? No.
You have to make people interested and want these games. Just cause you think they won't have audiences doesn't mean its true.
Ok I live 5 miles from Corby. This is very random
Just found this on youtube about the splatoon skate park https://youtu.be/wI29AQyMPSw
I hope NOA and Nintendo Japan have the same approach and mindset. Hopefully if it is successful we will be seeing more amiibo added to the collection.
I am looking at you Judd.
Nice! Splatoon is on its best way, and I can hardly contain my excitement for it anymore! This is gonna be awesome!
I saw a commercial for it in Canada already. Not gonna lie, it was godawful. The music was terrible and it barely even explained what the game was. I really hope it didn't take Mariokart levels of funding to make it
@liljmoore All games you mention are niche games with an attach rate of a couple of %. Bayonetta 1 had about 2% attach rate on its original platforms. Fire Emblem: Awakening had about 4% attach rate on the 3DS. Compare that to MK8 that has around 50% attach rate, or SSB U with around 40% attach rate.
@CamWFC91 I don't really watch the channels where video games would be advertised but I do remember seeing Bayo 2 commercials. The only other ads I see are for "Free 2 Play" games. As much as I like Kate Upton I'm getting tired of seeing her in a metal breast plate.
Isn't the UK the place where the Wii U bundle is coming out 3 weeks after the game launches?
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/05/official_nintendo_uk_store_launches_splatoon_wii_u_bundles_with_amiibo_and_a_gamepad_skin
w/ support like that...
@KevTastic84
Nice video, thanks for posting that.
I particularly liked the Rollers on the side of the pool.
Considering how hard to please is the UK market...this might as well make a potential flop all the more disheartening.
@sinalefa They definitely are. The commercials here in NA are pretty awful (though the "You're a kid now, you're a squid now" is slowly becoming a meme), but they have done quite a bit of other advertising. They even remembered that they own an MLB team and had a billboard ad in the team's stadium, which advertised to Japan as well since the Mariners apparently have a decent following there for some reason. Kill two birds with one stone.
@liljmoore To be fair Okami didn't sell well on PS2 either. Clover/Platinum games seems to be a niche market even though they are very creative.
@liljmoore They will get an audience if you spend big, but not enough to warrant a bug marketing outlay. Bayonetta would probably be the worst one to push, it's an embarrassing game that most people are embarrassed to play.
At least us UK got a better thing than Amer- **YOU'RE A KID YOU'RE A SQUIDYOU'RE A KID YOU'RE A SQUIDYOU'RE A KID YOU'RE A SQUIDYOU'RE A KID YOU'RE A SQUID** Because 'Murica's adverts just stunk.
I look forward to seeing one 10-second Splatoon TV ad on an obscure Freeview channel just like Mario Kart 8 then! I bet Nintendo still have no idea that lack of traditional advertising is the biggest cause of the WiiU's failure.
I went to see Tomorrowland yesterday, and there was a Splatoon commercial before the movie. Thankfully they didn't have any of those stupid songs! I've also seen a brief TV spot promoting the game, not to mention banner ads on many sites I visit that link to the official Nintendo UK store.
@BLPs better not be hitting Jack Daniels everytime you come online and take issue with something on the Internet - that would render studying for a degree rather a waste of what precious time left you have alloted yourself. Live fast indeed.
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