Looking for someone to play Wii Sports with? Get thee to a nunnery! We admit that this unofficial commercial is predictable and probably a bit corny, too -- just like our post title -- but at least it's 10 million times more entertaining than Sister Act.
As for the origins of the clip, Youtube user Phil Strahl and several of his classmates at the University of Applied Sciences Salzburg shot the commercial for a Post Production course last year. Make sure you watch it 'til the end for some extra goofiness -- how were they able to knock down bowling pins while playing tennis?
First reason to be hyped about Shiren the Wanderer: The Sleeping Princess in the Clockwork Palace's release, even though no one has announced a U.S. localization yet -- Famitsu's review score: 35/40 (9 / 9 / 8 / 9). Though many consider Famitsu to be too forgiving with its reviews for highly advertised, big-budget games, the Shiren series doesn't seem to fit that description. For such a niche game to receive a high score like this, Chunsoft must have done something right!
Second reason -- See Asuka model pictured above (and past the break). We're not the type to leave figures of female anime characters posed around our rooms, giving women even more reason to run away from the mess we've made of our lives, but as we demonstrated with the Koppa remote stand preorder bonus, we have a weakness to Shiren merchandise.
As for our third reason, swing your sword to check for traps, and step past the break for a new Shiren 3 commercial. It features a collection of player deaths set to Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 -- what's not to like?
This morning, we've got a very simple question for you: which commercials do you prefer, the new Cowboy Jed ads (minus the hilariousremix footage), or the Wii Would Like to Play guys? It's a tough decision. Cowboy Jed is off the proverbial chain with those extras, but extremely annoying on the actual television. The Wii Would Like to Play guys are great themselves, but some of those ads are not. Have an opinion? Or do you just skip the commercials anyway?
As effective as Nintendo's "Wii would like to play" commercials have been, expanding the system's audience and attracting non-gamers, we're glad to see the campaign shunned for Mario Kart Wii (Though we expect to see it reappear for Wii Fit). In our opinion, the advertising style seemed inappropriate for some titles, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, for instance.
In the slogan's stead, we have Cowboy Jed and his Mario Kart Emporium parodying local, low-budget dealership commercials. Fantastic! We hope Nintendo of America and advertising firm Leo Burnett are planning more of these strange commercials for upcoming games. Get behind the wheel and drive past the post break for two more videos with Jed. Woo!
If there's one thing we're not lacking, it's Wii Fit videos. From demos to clips of perfect, expressionless trainers getting their exercise on, we're swimming in footage of other people trying out the Balance Board -- and now there are four new videos available for your viewing pleasure. This time, it's a bunch of seemingly regular Japanese folk (who happen to have enormous living spaces, on the Japanese scale) shuffling their furniture and laying down mats to test out Nintendo's latest foray into exergaming. We're starting to think that, with all these videos, we could grab some foam and a few tennis balls and start working out now.
Oh, the good old days when we spent more time playing games and less time getting whipped bloody while we furiously tapped away on a rented laptop. That's what this commercial reminds us of, back when we'd stay home from school, pretending to be sick so we could get more time in with the game. And when we'd host all of the neighborhood riffraff in one big Super Smash Bros. 64 tournament on Saturday afternoons. But most importantly, it reminds us of everyone ganging up on that cheap bastard Pikachu.
We'd think this commercial for Super Smash Bros. Brawl was a fan-created fake if we hadn't, uh, been forced to watch it before our chosen video on Gamevideos. News appears everywhere, even in the way of other news! It's about as basic as a commercial can get: it shows some characters doing a few moves and poses, then cuts to the boxart and text reading "March 9, 2008." It doesn't really need much else.
The question, of course, is "does Brawl really need any advertising?" This isn't a Metroid Prime 3 situation, in which a good game needs a bit of a push to get into as many hands as possible. This is Super Smash Bros. It's basically the only game that was a genuinely huge hit on the GameCube. There's no concern that it'll undersell.
Wild Earth: African Safari continues to keep us entertained for totally unintentional reasons. At first it was some of the absolutelyloopy minigames, but now it's this terrible advert for the game, which depicts Mum and the kids getting their safari on, and falls in the "so-bad-it's-kinda-good" category. Frankly, we can smell the cheese from here.
Fortunately (and more importantly), the game itself continues to show promise. Some of the animation on display here is very decent, and the multiplayer sections, where one player steers the jeep or helicopter and the others snap the wildlife, actually look pretty exciting. There's even a brief glimpse of Whac-A-Meerkat!
With Super Smash Bros. Brawl releasing upon the Japanese public at the end of the month, it's no surprise that Nintendo has prepared a plethora of TV spots to be run. And, thanks to the intertron, one doesn't need to live in Japan to see them. So, sit back, relax and catch an eye full of Brawl goodness in one of the spots above, then head past the break for some more.
It's more likely than you think. Look at Sega, spending money to promote their game! They really seem to be targeting more than just the insane NiGHTS fan demographic with their marketing for NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. One YouTuber caught a commercial for the game during Courage the Cowardly Dog. It's very strange to see something like NiGHTS, which seems like the exclusive domain of brutally devoted Sega fans, being advertised on mainstream television. Is it just us, or does the narrator make you think of those Claymation(esque) Puffs commercials? Maybe that's just the default "fairy tale" voice for commercial narration.
Speaking of advertising and Courage, Cartoon Network should really let people know that Courage is still on. We had no idea.
Or at least, that's what this commercial would have you believe. Notice how, after playing Godzilla: Unleashed for the Wii, these folks just can't help but release their rage.
You know what else causes intense rage? Blogging. In fact, this blogger is going to go break a bunch of stuff right now. YEAH.
Square Enix has updated their Chocobo's Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu homepage with two versions of a really cute commercial. We know it's Square Enix and everything, but we're still a bit taken aback by the high production values on display in this ad (accessible from the homepage via the "movie" link). It's a Wii sequel to a spinoff series that we thought was a low-budget, low-key affair. The FMVs are actually really nice!
But mostly we just wanted to post about the commercials so we could post this picture. We totally cheated by snapping the screenshot mid-blink, but we think the resemblance is uncanny.
Posted Dec 7th 2007 11:15AM by Eric Caoili Filed under: News
Unable to meet current demand for the Wii this holiday season, Nintendo UK has decided to step back its advertising, replacing its promotional spots for the console with ads for the Nintendo DS instead. Despite ramping up its production and manufacturing a reported 1.8 million Wiis a month, Nintendo still has yet to overcome its stock shortage troubles in Britain.
A spokesman for the company remarked, "We have been running the campaign all year round, but we want to take a responsible stance this Christmas and not fuel demand." Essentially, it'd be cruel to wag the system in front of consumers who have no hope of buying a Wii anytime soon. Nintendo plans to reinstate its marketing push "when the Christmas rush is over."
How hilarious is this Vii thing? We can't believe the unit is even being bought by some people, let alone making enough money to warrant advertising. But, sure enough, here we sit talking about a commercial for the thing. We're kind of tempted to track one down ourselves to see how bad the included games are, but we're worried about providing our credit card number to the company manufacturing these things. Thankfully, other people on the internet aren't as scared as we are.
We recognize that this SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 commercial does a great job of selling the game to its core demographic, but, to us, it's a sad reminder of what the World Wrestling Federation has become.
Remember how the Bushwackers used to stomp around their downed adversaries? Remember when you thought the Undertaker was for real and that someone was surely going to die by the match's end? Remember Hulk Hogan running up to the ring with an American Flag in tow, ripping apart his sleeveless yellow shirt to reveal his oiled chest to a throng of frenzied, heterosexual men, everyone chanting, "U-S-A! U-S-A!"
Gone are those glory days -- the greatest days, some would call them. THQ's commercial is representative of what the WWE has celebrated in their stead: gratuitous displays of flesh, jackasses walking around with open shirts like that's the proper order of business, and crotch-chop gestures accompanied by some scoundrel telling you to "suck it." If you're exhausted with our nostalgia-tinged rant and would rather watch an extended, minute-long version of the ad, bring your best moves past the post break.
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_thumbnail.jpg "Smash Bros. Brawl Snapshots")
