Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is less than a week away in Japan, which no doubt has Nintendo's accountants rather pleased. It's the début of the franchise on a portable, too, which is significant in a country where the 3DS rules the hardware charts on a weekly basis.
The advertising campaign is picking up steam, too, and the latest TV commercial is a stylish effort that shows an army of Mii characters lining up to take on some recognisable Nintendo heroes. It wouldn't surprise us if this commercial makes it across to the West in the coming weeks, as all that's truly needed is translated text.
Check it out below and let us know how the hype levels are for you ahead of release in Japan this week and other territories on 3rd October.
Comments 83
"It wouldn't surprise us if this commercial makes it across to the West in the coming weeks"
Please, no. Just no, not an AKB48 one.
Just no ABK48, please.
Amazing commercials! It's a shame there are none here. It's just near a month to play this!
We're almost there...just gotta wait a couple more weeks...
hype hype hype. Miis are awesome! probably wont play with them much, but still! Im lucky, ill be doing a long term traveling trip when this game comes out. No job to get in the way smash time!!
Oh what an awesome commercial,it so baddonkey to see a giant battle between the miis and the regular fighters.
AKB48 hype! LOL
Why would they bring this trailer outside Japan? Wouldn't it make more since to make trailers for who is big in that region.
never heared of AKB48
searching...
oh.
Anyone else going to use a Professor Layton mii?
Super Cool! I would love to see Reggie, Iwata, Shibata, Trinen and co along with some celebrities (Shaqfu should be there) take on against Mario & co.
I was expecting a longer fight.
Lame. Miis will never be cool.
Um…i dunno about everyone else but im hyped XD
I feel like I should know what AKB48 is but I have no clue whatsoever.
Pretty good commericial.
Just a friendly link here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKB48
Am I the only one who fears that Nintendo won't advertise any game not called Smash this holiday? Pokemon ORAS would probably be ignored too, but TPCi will take care of advertising that. The other major games (Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Pokemon Art Academy, etc) I feel will be ignored completely.
@ThomasBW84
"It wouldn't surprise us if this commercial makes it across to the West in the coming weeks, as all that's truly needed is translated text."
And different celebrities (AKB48 is an idol band).
@IceClimbers Anything named Pokémon especially a main title is heavily marketed always. What are you smoking? The other games since it's the holiday season and they don't want a repeat of last year so maybe it'll go better.
@siavm No, I don't want to see One Direction or whatever other boy band or Disney Channel star is popular on a Nintendo commercial.
@Azooooz
Is that a Luigi Death Stare™ I spot?
The hype really is upon us. I'm getting a bit pumped, even though I'll hold out for the Wii U Smash.
@ModestFan93 That marketing can be taken care of by TPCi, so Nintendo doesn't have to worry about it themselves. Hyrule Warriors and Bayonetta 2 launch before the holiday season starts (or at least HW; Bayo is borderline on what we consider the holiday season in the gaming industry). Smash, amiibo, and Captain Toad will launch right in time for the major holiday shopping season overall.
just realized all the initial miis in trailer are female. good marketing.
@ClockworkMario Did you just put a trademark on the Luigi Death Stare? Nintendo should do that if they haven't already.
Neat little detail to pluck from the advert, is that Gaur Plains will be on the 3DS version of Smash Bros as well.
Don't know if that was already known though.
No idea what AKB48 means, but very cool commercial!
@IceClimbers
Not if I can snatch it first!
BWAHAHAHAAA!
@crzysortagamer
They're all from a Japanese all-female idol singer band called "AKB48".
@Thomas Whitehead
I think it would help if you clarified what AKB48 is in the article.
@IceClimbers I feel the same way except Pokémon ORAS, Nintendo's of course banking on Smash being a huge success that none of the others could achieve.
@GeminiSaint
haha im dumb, i didnt catch on. Thank you for banishing the ignorance !
@JusticeColde Back Street Boys it is then.
Pretty short but loads of potential. Can't wait for the game in a few weeks
@crzysortagamer - That was the first thing I noticed when I saw the picture. Though my son just yesterday came up with - Super Bash Sisters - apparently plagarised from Kid Icarus, but he named 20 female Nintendo characters, none of whom use swords, as he thinks Super Sword Bros has too many sword fighters so notenough smadhing.
But yes, girls are good.
@rjejr as much as I want to say this is Nintendo trying to include more female characters in smash, they are just capitalizing on probably the most famous group in Japan (AKB48)
@Dipper723 they use celebrities to promote a lot of their games. They used Ice T when they showed miis at E3. I don't know what they will use when they start advertising it this holiday but it will probably be the hot star in what ever region they are advertising in.
Brilliant commercial!
Without any knowledge, this trailer is pretty awesome. Once you know what AKB48 is, it's downright horrifying.
@Yosher Not really. It's not worth knowing, actually. But I'll explain it.
What is AKB48?
AKB48 is an idol group (the japanese equivalent of a girl band, which holds a similar status as a popular boyband in the west). But not any idol group - it's the most famous and popular one in all of japan. The problem, however, lies within shady business standards and an obsessive and, more often than not, downright disgusting parts of their fanbase. Some AKB48 fans are notorious for stalking, taking photos of panties, molesting the idols, and even killing each other over opinions on the group or its members.
Recently, the "fame" of AKB48 has been brought to question due to recurring incidents where anonymous bomb threats have been declared on conventions the idol group attends.
But the idols themselves can be similarly repulsive in behaviour, often mocking their fans and the media, as well as simply refusing to sign fan cards at conventions because "the fans are all ugly".
Some time ago, it was revealed that some fans were obsessing so hard over AKB48 that a few of them took up insane debts to buy thousands of albums in order to get equally many vote cards on which member is the best, who should be leading on live acts, and other stuff I don't wanna mention here (it's questionable, though).
The fact that Nintendo is actually advertising their most anticipated game with this idol group just shows how much medial influence AKB48 still has on the masses - though that doesn't mean it's cool.
AKB48 is actually more akin to a theatre troupe then a band. They have revolving members and preform stage shows in a set location daily. In anycase i like the trailer and the more smash hype the better, Smash 3DS and Wii U need to sell well for every bodies sakes.
I don't care about that idol group and I don't care about Miis.
So that only leaves me caring for Smash on 3DS being advertised in a way that hopefully resonates with Japanese.
@IceClimbers I think Nintendo just needs to advertise Smash and the Wii U itself. They can use the past, present and future theme (like that Youtube video) for the commercial.
Omg I can't wait for the next 3 months of gaming! Nintendo has such an awesome lineup coming, I don't know why everyone doesn't gave these systems.
If they bring this trailer to the west, it would be cool to see the Miis of Nintendo[e.g. Reggie, Iwata, Miyamoto] fighting the Smash cast.
SO EXCITED
English version:
"Watch out One Direction Joins the Battle!!!!" Facepalm
@Kaze_Memaryu Geez, if that's true then that really IS disturbing. Popularity be damned, I wonder why Nintendo would even choose to advertise with a group like this.
@IceClimbers The Pokémon Company just makes YouTube videos the advertisements we see on TV are the different Nintendo branches doing. Pokémon is their 2nd noway money maker so of course they'd advertise it.
@luckybreak Nintendo of America wouldn't be that stupid..
Would they? Ono
@Kaze_Memaryu That's... almost as bad as the cult following here in America. But no publicity is bad publicity I guess?
@6ch6ris6 Me, 2 min ago
Are they even playing commercials in america?
LOL cute, looks like there's going to be plenty of customization options.
For anyone not familiar with AKB48, they're the biggest girl band in Japan right now; they're particularly popular with young girls and their members are EVERYWHERE advertising for many popular brands so yes, this is great advertising for Nintendo.
The one with the pigtails attacking Mario is Watanabe Mayu who's currently the "face" of the group right now. The one with long black hair is Kashiwagi Yuki, one of their most popular members, and the brunette is the group's leader, Takahashi Minami.
I might have watched an AKB 48 video or two. Nothing serious, only like once an hour.
YESSSSSSSS
Absolutely no mention in the original post about who those Mii characters actually resemble in real life?
It looks like classic stages also get an Ω Form. Look at the bottom-right Mii with the barrel at 0:23. The stage looks like Corneria in the background, but the platform is different.
@Emblem
Actually smash brothers needs to move wii u-s for everybody's sake. Otherwise we might never get any third party exclusives. Not complaining about first party exclusives at all but if you are a gamer you want to play everything.
Hmm, why did you not mention the Mii's are members of AKB48? Was glaringly obvious that they were from something called "AKB48" if you watched the trailer...
@Kaze_Memaryu @Yosher That's not all. If the girls are found on a date, they shave the girl's head and expel her from the group...save one who just happened to be really popular.
One other thing I noticed is that they have trading cards of the girls in different poses, a lot like baseball cards in the US, but with the girls. It's certainly different and a little sad, in my opinion.
@Kaze_Memaryu @ModestFan93 @Yosher Don't let cultural ignorance blind you, you can substitute the AKB48 with any other J-pop/K-pop group name and that story would be exactly the same. Japan isn't the west, things are totally different so you can't look at events in a western frame of mind or context even if they appear similar. The whole idol system itself is a crazy mess but sales and public opinion indicate that the market thrives on it, the more crazy doggeyoopsie the better actually.
Fans of these groups are pretty much OTT by nature, this fact is also played on by said groups and their management to the fans enjoyment. Its like a massive cycle of satirical entertainment that some people take too far but essentially both the fans and groups are playing roles even if they start believing in them. Most idols are completely fabricated and pretty much pimped out by their management who tell them what to do on a day to day basis. The stars themselves earn peanuts compared to those in charge and their shelf life is even shorter than counterparts in the west. They are normally recruited from rural areas of families with little to no influence. This is important as its easier to manipulate and discredit them if need be.
The entire business is set up to milk said performers dry and if you start being to independent the business will lie about you and blacklist you so your career is pretty much over. Its like one step up from prostitution, there are hundreds of scandals if you care to research the subject further, its actually quite messed up.
Mii's are just awful, they hardly ever resemble the person theyre supposed to!
Cant wait to get Smash online and have the entire community playing with Mii's:/
Well gee, glad I learned something new today. The entire world IS crazy
@IceClimbers Nope. They're already hyping Bayonetta 2 and Hyrule Warriors. Just wait.
@Ichiban Miis aren't playable when you play with randoms, they're only playable when you play online with friends.
FO NINTENDO SUREE DEESS
AKB48 = ear piercing, eye burning candy j-pop, no one in the west would understand this commercial. but I agree a commercial like this, with mii's oh how about Korra and her gang
@Iggly nano nano nano nano nano!!
Sorry.. Love Nichijou and your profile pic..
Now to be relevant... My hype meter has exploded through the atmosphere!
@Kaze_Memaryu I know using his name in this type of manner might offend some people, but...JESUS! That is...that is most certainly something...
@Kasplat - Thanks for the comment, I complexly forgot to watch this video yesterday until I got your email (I never watch before posting, no fun in that.)
OK, watched the vid, not impressed, it looked like 1 of the recent Pokemon movies, and I thought ABK48 was just shorthand for the Akihabara electronic shopping district in Japan, I've never heard of the band.
@Emblem - "Japan isn't the west, things are totally different so you can't look at events in a western frame of mind or context even if they appear similar."
Yeah, the US would never have anything crazy like girl bands, but fortunately we have our own brand of 1 step up from prostitutes Nintendo can use:
http://www.dallascowboyscheerleaders.com/
BTW, I agree w/ everything you said, I think you're 1 of the few people who "gets it", but it was easier to reply to you than everybody else.
This is a pretty cool commercial. Not as cool as reggie vs Iwata, but ya know.
@Kaze_Memaryu
I clicked on the spoiler for your comment and I didn't realize there was a sound effect. I had my speakers at full blast and that thing knocked me off my chair. Just letting you know.
I see Green Hill Zone from SSBB.
@JusticeColde Would you prefer One Direction?
@Yosher Its a japanese band
AKB48 can sell a million copies in 24 hours. No kidding.
Ugh. I've gotten used to AKB48 appearing on the morning "news" every day (not to mention pretty much everything else on TV), but Nintendo putting them in a commercial for a game I'm super excited for makes me sad.
@TheWPCTraveler can you tell me what anime your profile pic is from?
advertising with idol bands cuz why not? and there female so win win :3
@Benjelo Well, that's what you get for upping the volume while browsing the net... SURPRISE SHOCKWAVE!!!
Mega Man really fits in with Nintendo characters. Nintendo should buy him from Capcom.
@Melkac
"AKB48 shave the competition!"
... I'm an awful person and I feel sorry for that.
@Hy8ogen I tried to resist but the N*Sync fangirl in me won't keep quiet! N*Sync for life!
Anyway I think it is nifty that they are using celebrities like this... I'm sure this is one of the only games you can have non fighting celebrities in and they still have a modicum of skill.
...So Perfume in Tekken 7?
@siavm you know I wondered about that. It must be harder for them to get really popular celebrities to market their products in the west...perhaps higher fees?
But I know I saw Arashi marketing the 3ds at some point.
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