Over the years, Nintendo’s franchises have continued to grow, but many old games (F-Zero, Ice Climbers) may not see a new entry, and a few games (Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Captain Rainbow) will likely never get a single sequel. There are a couple new strategies they’ve started using that are really elevating the new IPs right out of the gate.
Free Content
They don’t even call it DLC because it’s not optional. Updating new games instead of asking people to spend extra money on something new and unknown is such a smart move. You can purchase a game at launch knowing you’re getting the full experience… over time. There were a few things that should have been in Splatoon at launch (TEAMS!), but the map and weapon additions every Friday after the game came out that continued for months kept me going back. There’s no way I would have bought all the content in that game (as I tend to like certain weapon types), but giving them to me for free convinces me to try them out and dig deeper into the game. They’ve already confirmed that new fighters, stages, and arms will be available in ARMS following launch, so I know I’ll be throwing punches for a while.
Free content = Ongoing happiness
Tournaments
Splatoon was featured as part of the Nintendo World Championship and now both ARMS and Splatoon 2 have tournaments at E3 2017. This builds so much hype around their games and shows off the competitive side as well. Looking from the outside, ARMS and Splatoon appear to be casual games, and can totally be played as such, but for the gamers that want a deep and challenging experience, there’s no better way to show it off than on a big flashy stage.
Nintendo Directs
Having a Nintendo Direct specifically dedicated to a game has done WONDERS for Nintendo. For the day(s) from announcing the direct until the actual stream, I see Nintendo fans going wild with rumors and speculation of what the Big N has up their sleeve. Showing off new stages and modes plus announcing new characters in ARMS has reignited a spark for that game in a lot of people (myself included). There have been a ton of posts on social media about which fighter is someone’s favorite and planning which arm combos they’ll use with said character.
The possibility of more Reggie is never a bad thing.
Global Tests
Both Splatoons have had a Global Testfire and with ARMS set to have a Global Testpunch this weekend and the following weekend, it’s bound to get even more people interested and talking about the game. While it would be nice to have longer increments to check the game out, I think it’s smart to give people a taste with set times to play. It whets your appetite for the game just enough to sell it to you and makes you want to play the title right at launch to get back into it.
Here’s hoping to the success of ARMS and Splatoon 2. With all the hype that continues to build around them, I don’t see them going anywhere in the near future… but only time will tell.
