Both Super Smash Bros for the Wii U and Captain Toad have both made quite an impression to Nintendo gamers, with the recent success of the 3DS Smash Bros game and the absolute charm of Captain Toad (also considering that the Super Mario 3D World mini-games were fantastic), many are excited to play the two upcoming games.
No matter how much excitement and hype there may be for these games, can the test of time defeat many of these eager fans who are interested in the games? Well European gamers will put that to the test as release dates for Smash Bros Wii U have been confirmed, North America are expected to be able to purchase the game on November 21st, whilst European gamers will be able to buy it on December 5th; Captain Toad unfortunately also is expected to be released later from the December 5th release in North America, as it’s expected to arrive in Europe during January 9th 2015.
It’s understandable as to why North America is granted access to these games earlier than Europe, with events such as Black Friday approaching, November 21st is the perfect release date to prepare customers to purchase Smash Bros as a gift. Notably, Captain Toad is released later on December 5th only so that the game stays out of Smash Bros shadow; Captain Toad would predictably not stand a chance against the popular fighting franchise.
But how about Europe? The obvious reasons are that Europeans can purchase Smash Bros Wii U as a Christmas gift instead, Thanksgiving and Black Friday aren’t commonly celebrated within Europe, therefore Christmas is the next big deal and evident target for gamers. December 5th is the perfect date for particularly parents to purchase Smash Bros as a Christmas gift, it’s just common sense. Whereas Captain Toad once again has to evade having their attention being overtaken by Smash Bros, being released at a later date and besides the Boxing Day sales.
Patience isn’t always as simple as ‘I’ll wait for Christmas’ as these release dates suggest. Many won’t be able to withhold their anticipation for a few extra months and may just grow tired of waiting and bail on their excitement; after all, there’s always the alternative of Smash Bros on your 3DS or the Super Mario 3D World mini-games – waiting doesn’t have to be such an issue with these simple replacements! However we can assume that many who still had an interest before, will still have an interest until December and January. The negative impact the waiting could have on the sales will simply become neutralised by the presumed high income from the demand of Christmas gifts and such – hence the European sales won’t be too much of an issue.
Despite the overall positive expectations of sales, just how well will this be? Smash Bros 3DS recently sold over 1 million in just one weekend in Japan, whereas Australia, North America and Europe managed to sell over 2.8 million so far according to Nintendo of America’s executive Vice President of sales/marketing, Scot Moffitt. The high demand of sales prove that there’s still a general interest in the Smash Bros series, but since many are already satisfied with their handheld copy, that could threaten the chance of a successful release for the Wii U – especially considering that the Wii U consoles overall haven’t sold as well in a total compared to 3DS consoles.
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