They're using history to make a case for the game's "inspirations".

I'd rather like the idea.

I think it's actually very smart marketing, they are using retro games to show what to expect which puts the many gamers who gave up on core titles after the nes (many did as games became more complex) at ease

the hardcore gamers have likely already seen the game a bunch of times, so their is no need to address them... and showing the actual game might not bring the old gamers back in as they just assume that even though it is 2d it is also more complex like most modern games.. but only showing retro footage is smart, similar to how nintendo made the wii controller look both like a simple tv remote (instead of all strange and curvy for ergonomics) and an nes pad...

perhaps some of you are unaware but there are ALLOT of people whop played games like donkey kong and mario and then before the snes came out they had already given up on gaming as games became too complex for them... I know quite a few people who did this... allot of them got a kick out of the wii, mostly seeing how the remote looked sideways, and seeing my vc games like punch out... some of these people now have a wii themselves mostly for the casual games and vc (most having never plugged in their nunchaku for instance)

this is incredibly smart marketing to target this type of gamer...

the game is just being marketed smart in many ways.. even though the superguide thing scared the crap out of so many core gamers it is actually a brilliant idea that will for instance get my mom to play this game where as she had given up on nearly anything that wasn't super casual... then there is the bright red box with the foil stamped wii logo which just screams at you from a sea of white cases...

I really hope nintendo uses this smart marketing on other large titles like the next zelda (a solid gold (colored, not expecting an ACTUAL gold case) case would rock) and that they do the same for some key 3rd party titles (maybe a black box for monster hunter 3)...

Umm... wow a rare miss for Nintendo of Japan.

Now Nintendo can act all confused why the game sells horrible in Japan.

Doesn't make much sense to me..

First, the obvious that they aren't showing what people are actually going to buy... At least show them something that would make them say: I'll get off this couch and buy this game.

And second, If they are trying to spark interest in old gamers by showing SMB and SMB3, assuming that would work, what would they think when they see how totally different this game is?

I'd agree that on second thought, this is actually a pretty clever marketing if you're aiming at the "lost" crowd of gamers who might have grown up with a NES, but didn't become aware of, say, Mario Galaxy or even the Wii at whole yet. Actively playing with some old memories ("Hey, remember how you always made such stupid mistakes and died pointless deaths?") to spark interest may just be the gentle push some people need instead of everyday-"Look at our game! It's fun! You want it! Now!" marketing, which may lead to "Oh hey a new game. Too bad I don't got the money and time right now...".

Of course, this is assuming that people actually bother to find out about NSMB Wii and there really are that many people who have actually managed to ignore the whole Wii thing and (upcoming) Mario games til now. Additionally, it does seem a bit weird not to approach this title the "Hey look, this game is awesomesauce with 3 friends to play!" way, seeing how it's the game's most striking feature/"innovation".

if I was the average citizen I would think that this was a retro compilation game based solely off footage. They should at least show five seconds of new gameplay...

This is obviously a series of commercials... the next one is going to include SMW, and then it's going to "evolve" into NSMBWii.

I still like this better than the American commercial. Rather than showing a bunch of hipster dorks on a couch like some nightmarish cross between an iPhone commercial, Friends, and a U2 music video, they're focusing on the nostalgia factor.

Granted, I still think something that solely focuses on game footage from NSMBWii would be the best idea.