Topic: Did Motion control advertising hurt ARMS sales?

I don't know. I kind of agree that the advertising wasn't the most effective, but I don't think that the problem was "people don't like motion controls". Rather, by focusing on the players doing their thing the adverts totally neglected to show us the world of ARMS.

The game has great characters and solid gameplay, but to this day I think a lot of gamers don't know it's actually a hardcore fighting game and not just Nintendo's kiddy version of (insert your favorite "true" FG here), because what the adverts showed you was Ribbon Girl, Spring Man and a father and son laughing as they swung puches in the air.

Obviously Ninty like their family image, but I think that angle kneecapped ARMS. Things might have been a little different if they had led with footage of Master Mummy roaring, Twintelle leaping over a car, Kid Cobra's mismatched eyes glaring out of the screen, and Min Min annihilating someone with a dragon punch.

On the other hand, I very much agree that the biggest obstacle to ARMS' success was the fact that Spla2oon completely overshadowed it coming just a month afterward. If Spla2oon had come first and been followed up with ARMS, I think it would have worked out better for almost everyone. Because how many times have you heard people say they haven't played ARMS since Splatoon came out?

But on the gripping hand, ARMS is still selling pretty well, and the online community will probably recover once Spla2oon loses its "new and shiny" status.

@JasmineDragon Great analogy. I see that you agree in a way that the advertisements should have focused on the cool characters and not some kids making silly punching motions. The characters themselves wwere half the reason I pre-ordered the game along with the yellow joycons. I couldn't wait to try out all the characters. They should have been more of a focus. because they are all likeable

ARMS sold well. I'm sure the motion controls hurt it in the minds of people who confused jaded closed mindedness for savviness, but they were fools to begin with and there's not all that many of them.

I don't always agree with you on things, but i'm with you 100% on this one.

If the advertising influenced anyone's decision to buy the game, it was them seeing the ads and thinking, "Hey, that game looks like fun. I'm gonna check that out."

Because you know, that's what regular people actually care about ... video games are games, and they are meant to be fun.

I hate playing Arms with a Pro Controller. Can't stand it.

Motion controls (thumbs up grip) is half the reason why I love this game as much as I do. And for the record I have never once stood up while playing this game, never really even increased my heart rate, much less sweat.

I think we should do a video course on how to play motion control games properly. Like Zelda aiming the bow, and Splatoon fine tuning aim, and Arms curving punches and moving around the arena. Because it seems a lot of people are under the impression that it's something it's not

As someone who is extremely turned off by motion controls, I was a bit miffed that they marketed it exclusively as a waggle/flail game. Regardless of controls, the game is bursting with character, so maybe show some of it? In the commercials I saw they just showed their gang of photogenic millennials punching the air, rather than much of the game itself, or anyone using the pro controller/handheld mode. If I didn't know any better I would have assumed it was a motion control-only fighting game, taking its place among Fighters Uncaged, Fighter Within and other 30% Metacritic classics of the genre... But then I guess that was inevitable as, like 1-2-Switch, Arms exists to show that the Switch can do Wii-like experiences. It may just be a coincidence, but I have noticed on Nintendo's recent Arms YouTube videos they seem to have toned down the whole "IT'S A MOTION CONTROL GAME!" aspect of the marketing and shown more in-game stuff and people playing with the pro controller now, which I thought was telling...

This.

@NaviAndMii ...is not the point. It doesn't invalidate the discussion here. Just because the game sold well doesn't mean it couldn't have sold more.

@Zyrac Well, you could say that about any game really - I've been really impressed with ARMS' sales figures (above my expectations) so, in my eyes, the advertising must've been on point...who knows, if they hadn't shown so much of the motion controls in the advertising campaigns, maybe it'd have sold less? It could've been the big selling point for many people...for a combat game, I think the attach rate is actually pretty high.

Honestly? I don't think it was mostly on the advertising.

It's the fact that it's a fighting game which is already a niche enough genre as is. PLUS, there's also a lot of other online-focused games to take away from ARMS. We already mentioned Splatoon 2 multiple times, but Mario Kart 8 and the upcoming Pokken DX also eat into the ARMS pie.

Ultimately, ARMS most suffers from being released very closely to other online-focused games and being a fighter in the first place. Basically, a lot like how Rayman Origins struggled a lot because it got sandwiched between so much other games releasing that holiday like Skyward Sword, Skyrim, and MW3, only not as extreme.

That said, ARMS did make a name for itself amist all the other releases. Didn't it outsell both Street Fighter V and Tekken 7? That's REALLY good for a new fighter IP, so if anything it more calls to question of what even happened to SF and Tekken.

@Snaplocket Maybe "niche" is the wrong word, but they are definitely less popular than other genres due to the inherent nature of fighters. They're worth as much time as you put into, and there are enough people wouldn't want to spend money on more than one fighter at a time to eat into sales of individual fighters, ARMS included.

As for localized games, budget also plays a role. Even if sales aren't multi-million levels for those games in Western audiences, if localizing them costs only a small fraction, then it's still a wise business move to localize them to make even more money from it.

It sold as much as you could possibly expect from a quirky fighting game with non-already-established characters.

Motion controls is what actually sold me on ARMS, and it's the only mode my kids and I play with. Splatoon 2 is the primary reason I'm not playing ARMS today though. There's just more to do.

@Reignmaker : Exactly. When I saw the school girl launch into that flurry, I was sold. And yep, S2 is hogging all of my Switch time ATM.

@Reignmaker I have to admit, my kid LOVES motion control and is really good with it. I can't really get into it. Pro controller works so much better for me.

@Biff_ARMStrong I agree with you, advertising motion controls are not the way to attract the audience Nintendo is looking to attract with the Switch. I think showing off motion controls would be fine, but they should have also emphasized being able to play with the Joy Cons in grip or a Pro controller — That was a huge mistake IMHO. The casual viewer would think ARMS was nothing more than a flailing, flashier Wii Sports Boxing and not be interested. As you said, they should have focused more on the gameplay and not the motion controls (or IMHO any controls at all; but if they had to, definitely showcase the pro controller and grip alongside the motion controls).

"Casual gamers don't want to be reminded of the most successful casual console game of all time" ok

@kkslider5552000 I don't think casuals hate Wii Sports or anything, it's just that the novelty has long since worn off. Didn't the Wii come out like 11 years ago?

Again, it's not that it's bad, it's the fact that Wii Sports was a one trick pony, and the vast majority of people won't be interested in revisiting games like that.

@kkslider5552000 Nobody liked Wii Sports boxing. Everything else was good in the game but it was unanimous amongst everybody that the boxing game stunk.

@Biff_ARMStrong I liked the boxing game in Wii Sports when it first came out.... It was the most exciting sport they had on offer especially when you compare it to bowling and golf. Either way, you should be careful when you make statements about 'everyone' because you can never speak for every type of gamer; we only really know our own preferences and the preferences of the small groups of people around us.

Anyway, if every Switch game was marketed like ARMS then it would definitely be problematic for Nintendo since it was so motion control heavy but motion controls are arguably a more immersive experience that they wanted to showcase. Next to 1-2 Switch which has casual motion controls, ARMS which was marketted as a more hardcore motion controlgame and then games like LOZ that are more hardcore conventional games, I think Nintendo was trying to show a wide variety and test to see what the public responded to. For ARMS, the game itself was designed around motion controls so it makes sense that that is how they wanted to market it. If Nintendo made every decision over what would sell the most, I think it would be a different company. They market what they honestly believe is genuinely fun and that's why games like ARMS are made.