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Nintendo Launches Wi-Fi Campaign for DS

Posted by Zonk on from the get-your-wireless-here dept.

The Inquirer has the word that Nintendo has launched a massive theatre-based advertising blitz for the DS. The campaign launch features a trailer length film entitled "The Sad, Agonizing Tale of Bhuvan Ganguly". From the IGN Story: "'There is a great element of surprise to this ad,' says Nintendo's advertising manager Kelli Koenig. 'The spot opens on a very dramatic situation that you just wouldn't expect to be related to video games or Nintendo. The spot clearly demonstrates Wi-Fi as it relates to the Nintendo brand with a nod to Mario Kart DS and it does this in a magical, clearly ownable by Nintendo kind of way.'"

16 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong Timing by superpulpsicle · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Talk about the wrong time to invest in a multi-million dollar cinema ads, when cinema attendence in general plummeted some record breaking 20 weeks in a roll.

    1. Re:Wrong Timing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's not as bad as some people make it out to be.

      What movie came out last summer?

      The Passion of the Christ.

      So people who don't usually watch movies, watched that one, and made last summer a REALLY big one.

      http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/16/news/newsmakers/bo xoffice_sales/

    2. Re:Wrong Timing by demana · · Score: 2, Informative
      Plummeting? Don't believe the hype. http://slate.msn.com/id/2123286/
      Consider how earlier this year entertainment journalists rattled on for months about a slump in the American box office--"Box Office Slump In Its 19th Week"--as if it were a sporting event in which the Hollywood studios couldn't get winning hits. The story would have been different if they had seen the data on Page 16 in the 2005 Three Month Revenue Report. Instead of a box-office decline, the studios actually took in more from the U.S. box office in the first quarter of 2005 ($870.2 million) than they did in the similar period of 2004 ($797.1 million). So even though the total audience at movie theaters declined during this period, this came mainly at the expense of independent, foreign, and documentary movies. For the Hollywood studios (and their subsidiaries), in fact, there was no slump at all.
  2. That's nice, but... by vertinox · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Exactly how does one get to use Nintendo Wi-Fi? I don't think the articles or the Ad let me know. Do I go sign up somewhere and hunt for hot spots around town or do I go out and get a Wireless router? Since I already have a DS, inquiring minds want to know.

    --
    "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
    -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    1. Re:That's nice, but... by octover · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Exactly how does one get to use Nintendo Wi-Fi?

      They wait till Fall.

      It appears as though Mario Kart will be the kick-off title for this. It doesn't come out till Nov. 7, that means 3 months before you will even be able to use this. Why spend the 30 seconds explaining something can't use right away, or even all that soon. Instead the teaser works perfectly to get buzz about it out in the public. Potentially tipping the casual gamer deciding between a PSP or a DS to purchase the DS, cause soon they will be able to play Mario Kart wirelessly.

    2. Re:That's nice, but... by Meagermanx · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It was kind of a sad ad. I mean, here we are, going to see movies, racing our super-fancy cars, and anticipating our WiFi DS access, and this poor bastard's pushing his li'l cart through the desert eating a half-rotten banana? I kind of want to donate the $150 instead.

  3. My opinion? by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Commercials aren't telling us what they're selling any more. If I'm going to be a good little consumer, I have to know what I'm supposed to drop my desposible income on. Bananas? Old guys with carts?

    It reminds me of the movie "Alone in the Dark" if you've seen it, you may understand why:

    Alone in the Dark opens with a long text crawl explaining the movie (because Uwe Boll is an idiot, but that's not the point). They added it because nobody in the test audiences knew what the fuck the was happening in the movie.

    If you have to go back and say "Oh, this is what's going on" or "This is what we're selling" you should probably re-think what you're doing.

    --
    Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    1. Re:My opinion? by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Agreed.
      This commercial makes you think that throwing things on the ground causes car accidents miles away.

      But it's most likely just a generic commercial. There are many generic commercials that show nothing specific (think "people gathering", "pastoralic view of mountains", etc) and then sold to companies who just add their logo.

      I've already seen specific commercials used by more than one company (in different countries tho) to advertise different things.

      --
      ^_^
    2. Re:My opinion? by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 2, Informative
      This isn't the commercial which is selling you the 'product', but is merely an introduction of it.
      Making people curious (as you seem to be ; as am I) is also one goal in today's marketing, and they apparently succeeded in it ;)

      And yes, I laughed out loud when Alone in the Dark started with that amateurish text scrolling at the start.

    3. Re:My opinion? by NekoXP · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Okay so you have ADD *AND* you're a cynical bastard? :D

      I guess you aren't the target market, but that doesn't make you right. Being
      weird and artistic (rather than loud, obnoxious, brash and right to the point)
      is odd and eye-catching.

      The first thing you do is wonder why this guy is pushing the cart. And he eats a
      banana.. and you wonder what is coming next. That's the whole point. Explaining
      the movie at the beginning is ADD culture in action; listening to focus groups
      and so on. Here's a hint; maybe this advert will be on at March Of The Penguins.
      I think Nintendo are trying to hit up a little more mature an audience here, the
      discerning geek or Nintendo-fan, and not the 11 year old.

      Either way if you aren't a hyperactive junky who is munching his hotdog and
      popcorn a good 22 minutes before the movie starts, you might be interested. In
      fact the people who DO pay attention and ARE interested are more readily going to
      be the kind of people who play games because they have staying power and attention
      spans; they're very similar to the Japanese gamer ethic, that "hardcore RPG gamer"
      who will sit and play Pokemon through 10 times until they get every damn animal,
      patiently.

      They're not going to be sitting there, fiddling the stylus for 10 minutes then
      throwing the DS across the room and buying a PSP because they are irrationally
      bored of it.

      You understand or did I go on too long? Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you :)

      Neko

  4. Just what we need by flutkatastrophe · · Score: 2, Informative

    Just what we need, more advertising before movies start.

    Nothing like wasting your customers time (up to 20 minutes) to get them to come back for more.

    I hate the arrogance and huberis of making someone spend a punishing amount of time just to get the "privalage" of spending their hard earned money.

    1. Re:Just what we need by alvinrod · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I actually disagree with you to a certain extent. I actually enjoy about 10 minutes of trailers for new movies or movies that will be out shortly. I've actually gone to a few movies that I thought I might enjoy that I might not have otherwise gone to if I hadn't seen the trailer.

      Additionally, this gives me an extra 10 minutes to get to the movie. Occasionally I will decide to go to a movie shortly before it starts. Sometimes, I won't always make it there exactly when the movie is going to start, but that extra 10 minutes ensures I won't miss anything.

      On the other hand, I really don't care product advertisements. Trailers I can stand, but not something telling me to buy product x or watch TV show z. I'll have to watch the DS commercial myself before making a firm judgement, but the article makes it sound as though it wouldn't be all that bad.

      Considering I go to 3 movies a month tops and that this advertisement will only run for about a month and might not show at any/all movies/theaters I go to, I'll probably only see it once, which isn't bad really. On the other hand if it were crammed down my throat every hour like most products on TV, I'd get sick of it pretty fast. At worst, I'll see it 3 times and it will have wasted 3 minutes of my life over a month's time. That's about the same amount of time wasted posting this reply. Coincidence... hmm...

  5. Here it is: by rohlfinator · · Score: 2, Informative

    The ad in question, for those who didn't bother to click on the IGN article.

    This campaign isn't too bad of an idea so far. The ad is a little obscure, but the launch of the WiFi network is still two or three months away. Something like this may pique the interest of fans, but it will be explained in more detail closer to the holidays. Besides, if the launch of Nintendo WiFi Connection is as successful as many people expect, news should spread rather quickly by word of mouth. I know a lot of people who are eyeing the DS to see how Mario Kart and Animal Crossing will turn out as online games.

  6. Nintendo's Campaign by Kingrames · · Score: 2, Interesting

    step 1: buy a DS. step 2: connect to the internet and do all sorts of cool stuff. step 3: get arrested for stealing someone's internet connection. ...talk about the worst time to introduce WiFi to a bunch of people who don't know what rights they don't have.

    --
    If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
  7. Don't steal Wi-Fi: watch the SSID. by tepples · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If the advertised SSID is "nintendo" (i.e. at a Nintendo official hotspot) or the like, or if the player has previously used this SSID for a game, put a green light. If the advertised SSID is "linksys" or some other well-known default brand name, put a red light. Otherwise, put a yellow light.

    "I'm color-blind, you insensitive clod!" Even color-blind people know from experience that stop comes first and go comes last in a traffic signal.

  8. Since it's on the Games page at Slashdot anyway... by MilenCent · · Score: 3, Informative

    There seems to be some questioning here around Nintendo's Wi-Fi plan. It just happens that Nintendo Power's August issue discusses it, so a quick summary is probably called for. If you're wondering why I have Nintendo Power, hey cut me some slack, it was free:

    "The wait for Wi-Fi is nearly over. And if you're wondering if it has been worth the wait, consider this: In a few months, you'll enter a cafe in your home town, plop down with a cup of joe, fire up your DS and challenge a group of friends across town or strangers scattered across the globe to a friendly Mario Kart DS race."

    Sift through the marketspeak and, to me, it seems to indicate that Wi-Fi will begin rolling out by having hotspots in public venues, probably through arrangements between Nintendo and those venues. I think there's real potential in that kind of play, making it into a kind of quasi-arcade experience -- it drags portable gaming out of the living room and basement and out into public, which could turn out really cool. Think about it -- videogaming originated, as a mass-market phenomonon, in arcades, where you had spectators and a ready environment to talk games with people you never met. This could go a long way towards reviving gaming in a social context. (It could also crash and burn, but I'm so happy to see Nintendo trying something really risky for a change.)

    A little further along, the article talks about Wi-Fi on Revolution, seeming to imply that eventually it'll be available at home.

    And that's about it; one page on the tail end of three on the new DS Mario Kart.