Microsoft takes a pot-shot at Nintendo

[Ruined]

Wow, Microsoft has pretty big ones releasing this flash movie:

http://www.xbox.com/community/sunny-world.htm

I have to admit it's pretty damn funny tho

P.S. If it runs too slow on your computer, right click and change the quality to Low.

[Sycowulf]

That was pretty good, woulda been better had it been master cheif instead of the robot

[godmoney]

*sigh*

DEATH TO THE GREEN BASTARD!

Long live the Indigo Mofo

I've always been a multi-console guy...but why'd Micro$oft have to make it personal?

[Ruined]

Originally posted by godmoney
why'd Micro$oft have to make it personal?

So which of the fleeing Nintendo characters did you identify with?

[IKEA_boy]

I saw that the other day and I must say... if MS is going to make fun of Nintendo, at least make it funny. The first time I closed the animation in the middle because I thought that was it. Then someone informed me that there is a punchline. Well, a punchline is a punchline but a good punchline, that is not.

I'm all for rivalry but make it good. On the other hand, that PS2 'online' kit that MS sent out to various publications... that was gold.

[Ruined]

Originally posted by IKEA_boy
I saw that the other day and I must say... if MS is going to make fun of Nintendo, at least make it funny. The first time I closed the animation in the middle because I thought that was it. Then someone informed me that there is a punchline. Well, a punchline is a punchline but a good punchline, that is not.

Well, if the cartoon is aimed towards would-be younger Nintendo purchases to persuade them into buying XBOX instead of Gamecube, it is the perfect "punchline." When you are 10, being called a pansy is pretty bad, and more complex or inertly funny "punchlines" would have much less impact with the 13 and under agegroup, which is probably what MS is trying to capture with cartoons such as these (being that they are Nintendo's primary market).

I'm all for rivalry but make it good. On the other hand, that PS2 'online' kit that MS sent out to various publications... that was gold.

I thought that was hilarious too, with the two cups/string "communicator". But remember, a 10-13 year old probably wouldn't even get the joke, nevermind find it funny.

[godmoney]

Originally posted by IKEA_boy
I saw that the other day and I must say... if MS is going to make fun of Nintendo, at least make it funny. The first time I closed the animation in the middle because I thought that was it. Then someone informed me that there is a punchline. Well, a punchline is a punchline but a good punchline, that is not.

I'm all for rivalry but make it good. On the other hand, that PS2 'online' kit that MS sent out to various publications... that was gold.

Agreed 100%. Make me laugh. If you make me laugh, I'd like it...but just blatant mockery (especially where it's as dumb as this) just isn't funny. I got nothing against stuff like this...just make it worth watching!

[DVDriven]

I've seen my fair share of underhanded tactics being used between companies, but this is simply tacky and childish from a console maker that touts itself as being the bigger kid (perhaps in the throes of adolescence, rather than being an actual adult?).

Of course, kids will actually have to log onto XBOX's site to see this piss-poor Flash animation (and it really is lacking in good content, forget funny or clever). Taking cheap pot shots such as this speaks volumes about the company, who has built a reputation on doing so. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Rating -

[elwood731]

Originally posted by Ruined
would have much less impact with the 13 and under agegroup, which is probably what MS is trying to capture with cartoons such as these (being that they are Nintendo's primary market).

Again, we get this "myth" about Nintendo. Honestly, I would argue Nintendo probably has, on average, an older audience than the XBOX. The people who have been buying GC have been from my experience college kids who grew up on Nintendo. The people buying XBOX have been a lot of kids swayed easily by marketing. Not to say it is all kids, but you get the point. If you took the mean age of owners of the three consoles, I think many would be surprised to see the GC up there in age, perhaps older than PS2 or XBOX. Oh well, guess it's an easy pot shot like this cartoon.

I agree, the cartoon is not funny. Not because it is against Nintendo, but because it simply isn't funny. An example of a funny commercial? Remember the old ones when Crash Bandicoot went and stood outside Nintendo headquarters and yelled at them to come out and fight? That was funny. I enjoy ads between consoles fighting, but this one was kinda dumb.

[IKEA_boy]

Originally posted by elwood731
I agree, the cartoon is not funny. Not because it is against Nintendo, but because it simply isn't funny. An example of a funny commercial? Remember the old ones when Crash Bandicoot went and stood outside Nintendo headquarters and yelled at them to come out and fight? That was funny. I enjoy ads between consoles fighting, but this one was kinda dumb.

Didn't they do one about SEGA also? Those were some good ads.

[edit: now that i think about it. sega was hiding around the time of crash am i correct?]

[hamholio]

And as we all know. . . any game with more than 3 colours is kiddie. . .bring on the black, grey, and bloody robots!!!!

sigh. . . all the kids who buy xbox will never be able to remember when video games were fun. . .

[billyslits]

So, let me get this straight, plumbers and dinosaurs aren't cool but robots are awesome. It's a compelling argument.

[The Riddler]

Originally posted by elwood731
...Honestly, I would argue Nintendo probably has, on average, an older audience than the XBOX. The people who have been buying GC have been from my experience college kids who grew up on Nintendo....

I was big supporter of Nintendo growing up...buying the NES, SNES & Gameboy. But I got BIG time turned off by Nintendo 64 (and the gamecube interests me even less). That's when I switched to Sony's Playstation. I have many many friends in the same boat as me! Come to think of it, NONE of my cuzins & buddies from back in the day are current Gamecube owners...and it wasn't "marketing" that sold them onto other systems either. Gamecube is simply coming off as a kids toy & will LIKELY lose the battle of the consoles!

[whedon]

Very unfunny

I've always thought that when a competitor uses another competitor's creative properties as a basis for their own campaign as the definition of... LAAAAAMMMMEEEE!!!!! In any industry.

As for the quality for this "advertisement", I think a 10 year old wrote the script because it reminds me of the stories I used to write as a kid.

Originally posted by elwood731
...Honestly, I would argue Nintendo probably has, on average, an older audience than the XBOX. The people who have been buying GC have been from my experience college kids who grew up on Nintendo....

Indeed! I'll use myself as an example. I'm 24 years old. My circle of friends average between 23 - 25 years and we all own... Gamecubes!!! We all, in fact, consider the Playstation for "troubled teens". And XBOX, well, doesn't register really. We play Super Smash Bros all the time, are anticipating an Australian release for Animal Crossing and really WANT Mario Kart for example.

Are we really kids?

The difference between the marketing Nintendo outputs and to what Sony and Microsoft out put is that Nintendo show a game and say "Hey, here's a cool game we want you to play. Have fun!" to what the others reply with "Here's a GAME to take you into The NEXT level!!! You'll forget your sitting on PLANET EARTH!!! ROCK!!!" Cue grungy guitar hard rock.

Of course it's a generalisation, but there's my point.

Nintendo (though core group focus is 8 -15 years) are trying to make games for everyone, they always have. The Famicom (NES in US) stood for "Family Computer".

If anything, Sony and Microsoft advertising are hindering the growth of the industry by continuing to demograph as to who should be playing games.

[Ruined]

Originally posted by elwood731
Again, we get this "myth" about Nintendo. Honestly, I would argue Nintendo probably has, on average, an older audience than the XBOX.

It's kind of difficult to argue that Nintendo averages an older audience when mindless Pokemon games by far outsold tons of other far superior games on the N64 (and GB) year after year... Unless you are arguing that "on average" the older market buys mindless Pokemon games It's pretty clear based on game sales that Nintendo's market is mainly children, so I don't really see the "myth" you describe.

What is possible, is that many of your friends and those you talk to online have bought a Gamecube out of Nintendo nostalgia from their youth - but that certainly doesn't mean they are in the majority (or even a significant percentage), as sales figures from the past have illustrated.

Again, this movie by Microsoft is perfect for the 8-13 year old crowd that is likely Nintendo's core userbase, an age group which does things like call each other silly names, and have pokemon battles. For that market, simplistic humor is necessary to be effective.

The gut reaction you all are getting that this is a low-brow, cheap attempt at namecalling is correct. However, 8-13yr olds thrive on namecalling, low-brow humor, being "tougher" than the other kids, and a movie like this is perfect ammunition for that age group.

[Ruined]

Originally posted by The Riddler
I was big supporter of Nintendo growing up...buying the NES, SNES & Gameboy. But I got BIG time turned off by Nintendo 64 (and the gamecube interests me even less). That's when I switched to Sony's Playstation. I have many many friends in the same boat as me! Come to think of it, NONE of my cuzins & buddies from back in the day are current Gamecube owners...and it wasn't "marketing" that sold them onto other systems either. Gamecube is simply coming off as a kids toy & will LIKELY lose the battle of the consoles!

Pretty funny Riddler, I'm in a similar situation. I went 2600 -> C64 -> NES -> SNES -> bigtime PC break after disliking N64 -> Dreamcast -> XBOX. IMO, Nintendo franchises simply did not make the transition from 2D -> 3D that well. One of my other friends who was big into videogaming owned a NES and SNES, took a PC break, then moved on to Dreamcast and eventually Playstation 2.

[IKEA_boy]

Just for the record... I like Pokemon. I have Pokemon Red and want to get Pokemon Stadium for N64. And I really liked Pokemon Snap. That game was hella addictive.

[keiths]

I with you on that Ikea. Man, me and my Pokemon Yellow.
Shit, my 6 year old son wont touch anything pokemon, but I will. And so will my wife.


Now it's time for my rant.
But just so you know, I own all three systems.
(Of which my son will only touch 2)

Ruined, you have no clue when it comes to demographics.
What next, call all adult gamecube owners childish?
Bah what ever fan boy <---- a sarcastic joke, kinda

I started gaming on my Atari 2600, then to my Texas Instruments TI-99 4a. My Colecovision came next etc. etc. and somewhere after my 3D0, Turbo Grafix and DreamCast you have your yadda yadda pissing contest blah.

Your right , Microsoft takes a pot-shot at Nintendo. Let Microsoft stand behind its crap ass games like Project Gotham Racing , Dead to Rights and DOA4, graphics demo bullshit they keep serving out. Those are the only games still worth mentioning.
Majority of everything else is MultiSystem/Platform.

And since they are multisystem that means that I can play pretty much the same game and enjoy it just as much.

Yes I know there are some games that stand out. But in general, the controls on Xbox games are piss poor and the sound .. (WOOHOO 5.1) is hardly ever used effectively. Only game that did use it right was Halo. So talk about that feature all you want.

I'll take my PL2 in Star Wars on the GameCube. I'll take my 5.1 in games cutscenes like Metal Gear Solid for the PS2.

Does Microsoft make good games? Once in a while. Just like Nintendo and Sony.

It just feels like for Microsoft, once in a while doesnt come around as often as it does for the other two. So while I am waiting I'm getting bored playing the same XBox games over and over.

And sorry to say, but replay value on xbox games just isnt there. I cant tell you when the last time I played Rallisport Challenge or Turok or even Halo.

But Super Smash Bros? Gran Turismo 3? Animal Crossing? Maximo? Metal Gear Solid? I can keep going! OOO Super Monkey Ball.

XBox has so much god damn potential. When is Microsoft finally going to put it to good use. You know, some of us have to explain to our significant others why we havent been using a $300 game console as much as we used to.

[IKEA_boy]

Also for the record, I own a Gamecube, GBA, & Xbox (not mentioning earliier systems...DC on down).

Originally posted by keiths
XBox has so much god damn potential. When is Microsoft finally going to put it to good use.

I think the Xbox is a great console. With so many good games out and coming out, I am a happy Xbox owner!

Also, with any console games are going to not live up to their potential until later on. Look at Mario on the NES and compare it to Kirby. HUGE difference.

[Ruined]

Originally posted by keiths
Ruined, you have no clue when it comes to demographics.
What next, call all adult gamecube owners childish?
Bah what ever fan boy <---- a sarcastic joke, kinda

I don't? I kind of find it odd that a series of N64 Pokemon games that have average reviews of 70%-80% have outsold, by far, any number of 90%+ rated N64 games. Now, I'm just going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that this happened because of the Pokemon fad, who was mainly bought into by the 8-13yr old age group. I never said adult Gamecube owners are childish, I said Nintendo's core market in the past has been children, and common sense would dictate that the same market exists for them today. Aside from the obvious sales figures, Nintendo themselves released a PR last week stating they were going to massively boost marketing for the 13-30 year old age group. I'm guessing they are doing that not because they have a huge userbase in that age range, but rather because they want to increase the userbase in that age range. It's okay for adults to like something that has a userbase that is mainly made up of children, and that doesn't necessarily make them childish. It's amazing how sensitive of a topic this is with adult Gamecube owners.

I started gaming on my Atari 2600, then to my Texas Instruments TI-99 4a. My Colecovision came next etc. etc. and somewhere after my 3D0, Turbo Grafix and DreamCast you have your yadda yadda pissing contest blah.

Pissing contest? I was comparing my experience to another who had similar experiences, in a completely different reply.

Your right , Microsoft takes a pot-shot at Nintendo. Let Microsoft stand behind its crap ass games like Project Gotham Racing , Dead to Rights and DOA4, graphics demo bullshit they keep serving out. Those are the only games still worth mentioning.
Majority of everything else is MultiSystem/Platform.

There are a number of excellent XBOX exclusives out currently, and a boatload coming out soon or in the works. I'll refrain from a list, as going to EBGAMES.COM is just as easy. Regardless of whether you liked Project Gotham Racing, it's considered by most to be one of the better racers created to date, and got solid reviews. As for Dead to Rights, it's published by Namco, not Microsoft, and it is a multiplatform game that only some seem to like. Dead or Alive 4 isn't out yet, but I'll assume you meant Dead or Alive 3, published by Tecmo, which also got solid reviews, and is considered one of the better fighters created to date. Both Project Gotham Racing and Dead or Alive 3 sold over a million copies within the first year of XBOX's launch.

Yes I know there are some games that stand out. But in general, the controls on Xbox games are piss poor

No, they aren't.

and the sound .. (WOOHOO 5.1) is hardly ever used effectively. Only game that did use it right was Halo. So talk about that feature all you want.

I'll take my PL2 in Star Wars on the GameCube. I'll take my 5.1 in games cutscenes like Metal Gear Solid for the PS2.

I can easily name 10-20 XBOX games that have far, far more effective, impressive, and enveloping surround sound than anything on Gamecube or PS2. And, personally, I'll be taking realtime 5.1 throughout all of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance for XBOX, not just the cutscenes.

It just feels like for Microsoft, once in a while doesnt come around as often as it does for the other two. So while I am waiting I'm getting bored playing the same XBox games over and over.

So buy some good ones in the genre you enjoy, there are plenty of excellent XBOX titles out there, and a boatload more coming by XMAS.

[elwood731]

Ruined, I think you're missing the point. Just because Pokemon games sold well, doesn't mean that only kids owned the system. Pokemon games on the GameBoy have outsold all other GameBoy titles, yet I wouldn't say a majority of GameBoy owners are 12 years old, considering it is the only portable system.

Also realize many adults play the Pokemon games, and are far more likely to be the ones buying all the games in the series than just one. Ten year old kids usually aren't floating in that kind of cash.

Course, there is the assumption that Pokemon is a children's game to begin with. I could make the same argument about DOA3, which seems directly targeted at a 13 year old age group. The joys of playing a game with bouncing breasts? Umm, juvenille. At least the joy of Pokemon comes from the actual gameplay.

I will not diss the XBOX, because I believe it has some good games. I actually really enjoy playing it. And no, I do not use my friends as a guage to see who has a GameCube, I use a lot of different sources, including some writers from major game publications who have said time and time again, their personal experience with readers shows the GC's audience tends to skew older than anyone would expect, and the XBOX's tend to skew lower. The PS2 actually tends to be the system that continually draws an older audience.

[ConsoleAgnostic]

Cheap shots like this are a sign of desperation. Pretty much everyone admits that this christmas is going to be make or break for the xbox. And you can bitch & moan about how the reviewers just don't "get it" and how the games are just too advanced for their puny little minds, but the xbox hasn't had a breakout hit since halo. They hype up games like blinx & bruce lee, but they just can't live up to their own hype. A mediocre game with 5.1 sound & superb graphics is still just a mediocre game...

But at least they've got ruined pretty well convinced. I don't think there's a single xobx game that doesn't somehow reivent the genre in his mind...

-M