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GoNintendo 'End of Day' thought - Splatoon finds an audience on Wii U

by rawmeatcowboy
24 June 2015
GN Version 5.0

Man, I am bushed. I want to stay up and play some games, but I also want to drift off into dreamland! Ah, first world problems. I'll probably play a game and regret missing the sleep in the morning. But oh well, time for some fun! See you in a few, short hours.

Nintendo has had a rough few years. They went from the ridiculous highs of the Wii and DS to the early struggles of 3DS and the lackluster response to Wii U. Obviously the 3DS turned things around quite nicely, but the Wii U just can't get a hold in the market. We could all speculate on why the system hasn't found a spot in many homes, but no one will ever have a concrete, 100% correct answer. It is what it is, and Nintendo plans to keep pushing ahead.

That's what makes today's Splatoon announcement that much more meaningful. The Wii U doesn't have a very big install base and it's unlikely that the platform will hit 20 million sold before Nintendo puts a successor out on the market. Any title Nintendo puts out on shelves has a limited base it can reach. That's the case with any platform, but the Wii U is smaller than just about any other Nintendo console. Still, it seems that Nintendo has found a voice with Splatoon.

As you well know, many gamers and gaming press alike have bashed Nintendo for not having new I.P.. Many claim Splatoon to be the first new I.P. from Nintendo since the GameCube days. Of course, we all know how untrue that is. Even with all that said, there's no denying that the market is rough on new I.P. no matter what platform they land on. Finding an audience for a brand-new experience can be a very scary thing, which is why so many traditional publishers shy away from the idea. Stick with what works and eliminate the risk of new I.P..

Yet Nintendo, who hasn't been knocking it out of the revenue park lately, decided to go all-in on a brand-new I.P.. I'm sure they envisioned the Wii U selling better while they were building Splatoon, but even with the slower forecast for the system, they continued work on the game. They released a brand-new I.P. for a platform with a quite modest install base. They didn't hold onto it for the Wii U successor or cancel the game. Instead, they put big marketing bucks behind the game and showed the world why Splatoon was worth their time. That's not even to mention that Splatoon is a genre that Nintendo RARELY has anything to do with!

Thankfully, the story has a happy ending. Splatoon has managed to hit a million in sales worldwide, with North America leading the pack. There are now a million copies of Splatoon floating around the world, and even more people than that are enjoying the game. More are sure to come, which is even better. In a situation where the deck seemed stacked against the game, fans came out and proved they're up for something new.

We now have a new member of the Nintendo family. A new franchise that Nintendo fans can clutch onto and run with. An idea that is sure to expand in the future with Nintendo's new platforms. Congrats to Nintendo, and an even bigger congrats to fans for being brave enough to vote with their dollars and try something new.