It's not always the case that well constructed and fun games achieve deserved success wherever they go, and Mario Golf: World Tour is a case in point. In the UK charts — which only last year frequently had multiple 3DS titles populating the top 40 — it's endured a tough second week, in which it's also the only Nintendo title in the list.
After making a modest all-format début in 22nd place, the second week on the UK market has seen Camelot's title fall way down to 37th position; on current momentum it'll disappear out of the top 40 in its 3rd week. There are some multi-format gems that have had a tough critical reception doing fairly well, however, such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 3rd and, most outrageously, Aliens: Colonial Marines which is still up there in 27th place.
The UK is just one market in Europe, of course, while we'll find out in mid-June how it's performed in the U.S., too. It seems that this title simply hasn't captured the imagination in one country, unfortunately.
[source ukie.info]
Comments 40
In our country, shovelware sells....
You gotta admit though it's a niche market for it I don't know many people that like mario games and golfing.
It's such a great game I don't understand it personally. To many people playing free rubbish on their smart phones I guess!
Yeah, golf is not everyone's cup of tea.
A golf game is never going to be a big hit in sales, no matter how good it is. Everybody's Golf was one of Vita's best launch titles and scraped into the chart.
All the Mario Golf games have been decent and none of them have set the charts alight so I'm not sure why people may have expected otherwise?
Guys. this IS Nintendo's 'shovelware'. Despite it being quality, it's just ANOTHER mario sport game to rake in the cash. It's just as bad as the CoD franchise for overuse.
@PvtOttobot Except that COD is milked in only one genre AND only in one genre. Have you heard of the term "Spin-offs"?.
The idea for Nintendo is using new style of gameplay by using their own IP's which really works well but for the most part, some would prefer new IP's over the old ones rehashes.
Ever since Sinclair lost the Spectrum, the UK has had terrible taste in games!
No suprise.......I walked through my local game and realised there is no Wii u section AT ALL!!! also the 3ds section is smaller than the shelf just for cod :ghosts...on ps4, the xbone also has the same size shelf for cod....leaving Nintendo with....say 2-4% of shelf space in total. The war is lost, mk8 had no posters, no shelf, not even tacky coming soon boxes. On the other hand there isn't a direction you can look without seeing a watch_dogs poster. It is beond me how Nintendo uk can let this happen....shameful marketing. Has anyone seen a tv ad for mk8 in the UK yet????
well, the reality is Nintendo is doing worse in UK then it is in every other country, for example Kirby opened first in US with golf following it in 7th place in the same week (may 3rd), that is very solid for two games opening on the top 10, although the only other game released that week was Spiderman.
I hope things start to get better in UK though, this is very bad.
Day one DLC coming back to bite them in the ass... I hope this will be a lesson/warning for Nintendo. That's why I boycotted the game.
@PJR0cks Yoshi's New Island did pretty well in the UK. As did Senran Kagura Burst.
Mario Kart 8 is doing pretty well on Amazon UK (And its about the worst place to buy it from). The only things above it are the PS4/Xbone versions of Watchdogs.
The problem is hardly anything is stocked. (For people who want to buy from a shop new) and places like Game go out of their way to look as if they don't sell any Nintendo stuff at all.
@ULTRA-64 What is worst is Nintendo is giving Game a subsidy on the best priced eshop stuff Europe wide yet they are still doing that. (Could see it being reasonable in exchange for keeping a decent amount of stuff in stock new and a decent amount of shelf space.)
The Tiger Woods games have been on the decline on the home consoles so a Mario Golf game on a handheld isn't really going to set the charts ablaze. And has there been any advertising for it?
@taffy And Everybody's Golf on the Vita (Which apparently has a better single player and is by Camelot still) was a free PS+ game this month. The hard copy of it costs next to nothing as well.
With the DLC the game costs about 50% of the cost of a very readily available used Vita. (Maybe new if you wait).
I guess the masses in the UK doesn't like Nintendo and the ones on this site are the minority?
@GameCube
Very logical thinking. If not for the DLC, this game would have likely sold over a million copies by now! Nintendo sure did learn their lesson!!!
Soon it will be gone. Nintendo should realize that not many people care about Mario sport games.
It is a shame, I played the demo and thought it was very good, but the same week as this came out, every body's golf went up for free on ps+. So I went for that, and like a lot of people I don't want two golf games ........ Now if Nintendo did something like ps+ on 3ds .....
Nobody has cared about golf since the 90's... Mario Football would have been a top seller nowadays
I wonder if there is a stock problem as I see some spot shortages of that game in the US. Of course, its low debut would seem to indicate that such is not the case.
Personally, from a view outside and across the ocean, there is a greater bias against Nintendo in the UK than in any other market. In other words, no matter what Nintendo does, there are some everywhere who are going to think it is bad (even if it is the exact same thing that others have done and been praised for or even if it is the exact opposite thing that others have done and been criticized for). And while there is certainly a lot of that in the US, there seems to be even more in the UK — at least from this outsiders' view.
Why do I bring this up here — because such bias is hurting sales.
Thing is estimating the numbers last week Mario Golf sold over 3000 (nothing is selling a great deal you could hit number 1 with 15000 sales, this week it looks like 11000) while this week is definitely more than 1000.
I just wonder if we will see months as bad as June and July last year (sales were so low in those months GTAV outsold everything sold in those months in its first week).
Yeah the estimates are not 100% accurate but they are far from the drivel of say VGchartz. The estimates are done by using the Famitsu published monthly totals those can be used as a beacon (say game A was out for 2 weeks in a month and the second week was -50%, the monthly total is 150% of the week 1 total), it was better when the Guardian published platform splits (the individual formats give you some finer constraints), also UKIE occasionally leak things, this week we see LEGO move sold 6,493 units.
@mike_intellivision. There's no bias. Most big Wii U games have been in the top 10 on their debut week. Over in the US, only one Wii U game has shown up on the top 10 ever and that was Pikmin 3 in 10th (for comparison Pikmin 3 was 2nd in the UK chart on its debut).
Every single week we get these comments, but nobody says the same about the US ones which are always even less positive.
@Peach64
I don't know about Wii U, but as I said kirby opened number 1 in US chart, and well I think we're all hoping MK8 will open first too, of course in individual Formats, I can't see how it can beat Watch_Dogs in all formats.
If I had a 3DS this would be the last game I would buy.
Noooooo mario golf is such a great game why why why do younger gamers mower days like Cod, and fifa and rubbish games like that.
@PvtOttobot ...aaaaaand you were added to the 'Trolls'-category...
@smikey One has to wonder why those UK retailers hates Nintendo. Do they hate or are they pay to hate?hmmm
Seriously, It's just golf. Do they really expect a golf game to be number 1? Not going to happen, even if it does have Mario and Co. in it.
Aliens: Colonial Marines is popular in the UK? Do these people just have zero taste in quality gaming?!
This game is awesome!! But the word "golf" is just repulsing to a lot of people. They just won't give it a chance and that's the end of it. And some people have tried Mario Golf but it's not their thing. They just want to shoot people's heads. And no matter how great and well this game is done, people, without even ever seeing the game will say it's the worst game ever or that the last thing they would do is to play/buy a golf game. It's the simple and stupid truth.
@Ryno
Because you would have so much fun playing it you would never need another game?
Doesn't surprise me! Its golf, but besides that: Mario doesn't sell anymore! Nintendo still doesn't want to see this.
Anyway, I think its a fun game.
Good. Day one DLC? what were they thinking?
I have never liked sports games of any kind. I did buy one of the Tiger Woods games for Wii mostly for the novelty and for local multi-player with a buddy or two and a few beers, but...I have no desire to play a golf game on a portable.
But anyway...a negative sales article. Always good for getting certain people who we never see on these comment threads otherwise out and their opinions counted.
I loved the graphics, gameplay and everything, but it's a golf game. Not my stuff.
@GameCube I'm sure most people didn't buy it because they thought it's a boring golf game, not because of some stupid boycott like you chose to do, which fyi, never achieve anything anyway.
@Action51
It's a two pronged conspiracy
@TwilightV Usually I'm proud to be British, but that's just deeply embarrasing.
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