Wii Music was slated to become the next big title in the multi-million Wii casual title series made by Nintendo. However, so far the game is performing poorly compared to Wii Sports and Wii Fit. So why was Wii Music unable to generate the same hype and excitement as the other games in the series? If you are still not familiar with these games then you should be going out and try them first. In order to get the best experience of these games, you can create your account online and view accounts here. Let’s take a look at a couple of factors.
Not Bundled With Hardware
Wii Music is the first game in the Wii casual line not to be bundled with any hardware. Wii Sports was bundled with the Nintendo Wii while Wii Fit was bundled with the Wii Balance Board. Not to mention that the upcoming Wii Sports: Resort comes with the Wii Motion Plus.
Wii Music is only sold as a standalone title. So while people may buy the other titles just for the hardware, they will only purchase Wii Music only if they show interest in the game. Therefore, the sales potential for Wii Music isn’t nearly as strong as the others.
Poor Demonstration
Wii Music had a grand revealing at this year’s E3 expo. As part of the show, it was demonstrated live. The results were discouraging: the music lacked any rhythm and the demonstrators (including legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto) looked quite a bit silly playing it. To add insult to injury, it butchered one of the most memorable tunes in the gaming industry: the Super Mario Bros. Theme. Needless to say, Wii Music never really recovered from its first showing.
Bad Press
The poor demonstration directly leads to the bad press Wii Music has been receiving. While the gaming press was never too keen on the Wii casual game series, the mainstream media usually go crazy over those. However, even the mainstream media didn’t sound too hot over Wii Music as it has been over previous entries in the series. The hype and anticipation for Wii Music staggered as a result.
Fierce Competition
When Wii Sports and Wii Fit came out, there wasn’t any other video game quite like them. Wii Music, on the other hand, was entering an already well-established genre. So while Wii Sports and Wii Fit lacked any real competition, Wii Music faced off against direct competition such as the ultra-popular Rock Band and Guitar Hero multi-million selling music game franchises. That is not a winnable fight.
Released Too Early
The lack of success for Wii Music can also be the result of it being released too early. Wii Music was released just months after Wii Fit, a product that still hasn’t met its overwhelming demand. If people will have to choose between Wii Fit and Wii Music this holiday season, they will almost always go with the more popular Wii Fit. In an attempt to rush Wii Music for the holiday season, Nintendo may have hindered the sales of the game instead of releasing it on a less crowded season next year.