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[Hunahan]

Well, I can't speak for the rest of the audience, since I really don't know what the average joe thinks about games anymore...but personally, it's just not the kind of experience I really look for on the DS, even though I would probably be considered within the target market on paper (play character-based action games, like Ninja Gaiden on Xbox, look forward to Ninja Gaiden II, own a DS).

I just took a look at all of my DS games to see if I could pinpoint the exact reason I feel that way, and the thing that I noticed is that basically all of the games I have for the system can be played with very loose attention to the gaming device, being able to be put down and picked back up with no consequence to progression. In many cases I could even play the game with one hand free.

This really snapped me back to thinking about when, where, and how I use the DS, which is mostly either a) while I'm doing something else (most popularly - cooking dinner) or b) while I can only devote partial attention to the game (such as traveling). So it's probably a result of what I feel the purpose of the device is that causes me to look for games which fit this mold.

While I never really stopped to analyze that pattern before, now that I look at most of my favorite DS games (advance wars, phoenix wright, pokemon, turn-based RPG, etc), they almost all fall under the blanket.

The only real exceptions are a) Nintendo first party games, such as New Super Mario Bros, for which there isn't really a console substitute for, and b) Really DS-focussed concepts that just couldn't be done anywhere else (electroplankton, ouendon, nintendogs, etc).

I guess that to me, Ninja Gaiden DS just doesn't really fall under any of those conditions. Maybe that's why, when given the choice, I ended up picking up Professor Layton instead of it like, apparently, many others did.

But, again, I really don't have any idea how closely that represents anything but myself. Correlation does not necessarily equal causation and all that.

 

[loosus]

I have no idea why people don't like or are not interested in the game.

I do, however, know why I am not interested. It doesn't look fun, interesting, or new. It looks...pretty much like any other game out there. Am I supposed to be impressed because it has the words "Ninja Gaiden" in the name? Sorry, but I'm not.

 

[Davidion]

The game controls well, plays well, and looks good. There's no real technical reasons for the game's *seeming* lack of success.

The lack of advertisements and promotions probably is sinking this game more than anything else.

 

[Fio]

Actually, Ninja Gaiden games have never been that popular.
And I think that Tecmo is expecting an average sales performance, something like the expectations that Konami has regarding the Castlevania games.

 

[Kai Ozu]

Man, this game is really good. I don't understand why it did so poorly in Japan.

 

[lastendconductor]

Some executive dude in japan called it. The DS software bubble has burst, and it's time for third parties to move away.

Holy shit, then it must be true. Se... ahh, forget it :lol

 

[ksamedi]

Its funny how people blame it on the userbase of the DS when so many games have been succesfull and the userbase of the DS is nearing PS2 numbers. The DS audience is wide, its played by everyone, not just one particular demographic. Games flop all the time on every kind of platform, I think Ninja Gaiden is the kind of game that people just rather play on a tv screen. It isn't that big of a seller on the Xbox either, so I presume it could also have long legs on the DS and reach respecteble numbers for the series. Nobody should blame this on the userbase though, thats hilarious.

 

[Kintaro]

I have no idea why people don't like or are not interested in the game.

I do, however, know why I am not interested. It doesn't look fun, interesting, or new. It looks...pretty much like any other game out there. Am I supposed to be impressed because it has the words "Ninja Gaiden" in the name? Sorry, but I'm not.

I'm sorry, but...what? In what way doesn't it look fun, interesting or new on the DS? It looks fantastic on the system, full of action and takes advantage of the system's controls better than any action game on the system.

How in the world does it "look like any other game out there"?

 

[Pachael]

I think everybody's shrugging a bit because it's not the super duper exclusive that they were going to put up on List Warz (tm) and hype it to hell and back. I mean if Ninja Gaiden was on the Wii I'd be expecting half the board to buy it, but a DS version? Hmm, maybe not.

 

[Jirotrom]

I personally didn't pick it up yet because of Crisis core.... that and I had already spent money on smash and a few other games.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

I have no idea why people don't like or are not interested in the game.

I do, however, know why I am not interested. It doesn't look fun, interesting, or new. It looks...pretty much like any other game out there. Am I supposed to be impressed because it has the words "Ninja Gaiden" in the name? Sorry, but I'm not.

Of all things to complain about... that? The exact reason why many people were wary of the game was because it was so unusual.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

Advertising for sure. If I wasn't an avid gamer, reading the news and stuff, I wouldn't know it even existed.

I will go with this.

I also wonder how Assassin's Creed is doing on DS.

 

[ascii42]

I paid $35 for NSMB and Mario Kart, but beyond that the I'm only willing to spend $30+ on a handheld game if it's a PSP game.

 

[dirtmonkey37]

Does the DS just not have the demographic that could support this title? The PSP is the portable targeted at males ages 10 and up, and Chains of Olympus is doing quite well, was the decision to put Ninja Gaiden on the DS a death sentence? If people who enjoyed the Mature rated Ninja Gaiden on a console own a portable, are the odds overwhelmingly in favor of that portable being a PSP?

Bingo.

 

[Scalpel Knight]

The game's target audience is a confused one. It's a hardcore series, but the DS iteration has simplified controls to aim to the casual crowd. This doesn't work because the casual crowd isn't aware of the (supposedly) easier-to-handle controls. Hardcore fans in the meanwhile may not care for the difficulty and touch screen controls.

I've seen tons of ads for this game on another note.

 

[itsinmyveins]

Whoa, it's out? I know next to nothing about the game. Then again, it hasn't been released in Yuroland. I know more about games still in development than this one :lol

EDIT: When is it supposed to be released here? It doesn't appear to be listed on some (the three-four I checked) of the bigger web based shops here.

 

[AdamBot]

Stylus only control + book style orientation + too many other great DS releases so far in 08'

That's my guess..

Oh shi--.... I totally forgot about that. That's an instant non-purchase for me. That sideways shit is annoying, uncomfortable, unnecessary, and causes a terrible screen alignment for an action game like this... not to mention (at least for me) it places your thumb right on the top of the cartridge... which is a really really bad idea.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Actually, Ninja Gaiden games have never been that popular.

No.

Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black sold a combined 1.4 Million on Xbox. That's pretty respectable.

 

[slaughterking]

Seeing how pathetically small the official GAF thread is, I would say NG DS is just not appealing to anyone. Not the hardcoe gamers, not the casual gamers, not the Ninja Gaiden, action-adventure or handheld fans. I really can't blame anyone but the game itself. Not to say its bad or anything (haven't played it yet, but its on top of my backlog stack), but the Ninja Gaiden + handheld set-up is not rightfully executed to gain any interest.
Maybe a NES-like game would have done better. (probably not D: )

 

[vermadas]

If the game truly is flopping then that makes me quite disappointed. I have some minor quibbles with the game but it's been really fun so far. I'd guess the DS audience and/or release timing is to blame.

I don't understand people's adverse reaction to the touch screen controls. It's one thing to try it and not like it, but quite another to discount it immediately before even playing the game. I see the same thing in the Mario Kart threads recently. I've been controlling Mario Kart with the same basic gamepad design all these years. Given the chance to interact with the game in a completely new way makes me excited. NG: DS's case is a bit different, as there's no way the touchscreen can have the same level of interaction as the gamepad, but given the limits of the platform, they did an amazing job (IMO).

I just hope the same people who complain about the touch screen controls aren't the same ones who complain about the lack of innovation in the industry.

 

[loosus]

Of all things to complain about... that? The exact reason why many people were wary of the game was because it was so unusual.

Uh, hello? How can I "complain" about a game I know nothing about? I thought I made that pretty clear.

It looks fucking stupid. Is it? Who knows. But it doesn't look interesting enough to invest any more time into researching it. That's what I'm getting at.

 

[SonOfABeep]

It's spring
Crisis Core
DS Demographics
$35 premium price
Haven't even seen it in some stores
No advertising

 

[BlackTyrano]

People are too busy buying Shiren DS to worry about this casual game

But more seriously I don't like short portable games. They need to be at least a decent length for me to buy them.

 

[Pachinko]

I think it's mostly the no advertising thing. Tecmo and MS spent a ton of money advertising Dead or alive 3 , DOAX and ninja gaiden on xbox and they all sold fairly well. With the 360 though the only game that's recieved much promotion is DOA4 and it's campaign seemed half as big as doa3's was.

As for Ninja Gaiden DS I don't even think I've seen a print ad for it so basically it's selling to a tiny audience of internet nerds that heard about it before hand. The fact that it's rated T for partial nudity probably doesn't help it's case with the younger casual set either.

 

[Companion Cube]

I have too much on my gaming plate. Ninja Gaiden DS can wait.

 

[rollingstart]

Seeing how pathetically small the official GAF thread is, I would say NG DS is just not appealing to anyone. Not the hardcoe gamers, not the casual gamers, not the Ninja Gaiden, action-adventure or handheld fans. I really can't blame anyone but the game itself. Not to say its bad or anything (haven't played it yet, but its on top of my backlog stack), but the Ninja Gaiden + handheld set-up is not rightfully executed to gain any interest.
Maybe a NES-like game would have done better. (probably not D: )

I think the audience that this game is a must purchase are those who are Nintendo or only portable gamers. I think if you played Ninja Gaiden, Black, or Sigma then you arent missing out much on this. I dont have the same mindset as everyone, like I am not excited for Guitar Hero on tour because it is essentially GH3 gimped to work on a portable system, to me that is what NGDS is. NGDS is Ninja Gaiden with different (worse) controls on a handheld that you cna play on the go. Im not someone who really plays my DS on the bus, so maybe im not the guy this game is trying to reach, but my feeling after playing this game once on normal and halfway on hard (or master, whatever its called its still way too easy) is that I could just pop in Sigma and have a better Ninja Gaiden experience in basically the same levels fighting the same enemies and bosses. Don't get me wrong and think I hate the game, I really liked it. While I liked the effort team ninja took to make the xbox ninja gaiden on the DS (they did a good job for better or worse), I wished they made a 2D game like the NES ones or something, I think that would have been awesome.

 

[SonOfABeep]

also that goofy anime style, like the castlevania DS games, is shitty.

I'll get it sometime, I'm just playing too much crisis core to justify another portable game purchase so soon.

 

[Narag]

also that goofy anime style, like the castlevania DS games, is shitty.

I'll get it sometime, I'm just playing too much crisis core to justify another portable game purchase so soon.

Straight from the NES stuff so its really not out of place.

 

[NPC]

I didn't even know it was released...
I don't watch TV and I try not to shop at best buy...

 

[ascii42]

It's spring
Crisis Core
DS Demographics
$35 premium price
Haven't even seen it in some stores
No advertising

I would think God of War would have more of an impact than Crisis Core. But who knows?

 

[Amir0x]

Your guess is as good as mine... but I suppose it was caught somewhere between hardcore-ville and casual-ville... its streamlined scratch screen approach was supposed to make it slightly more easier to grasp combat and maybe appeal to a wider audience, but the hardcore audience consider it a "dumbing down" of the mechanics and a removal of what made the latest Ninja Gaiden games so good in the first place.

In other words, it didn't quite know what it wanted to be. Its scratch mechanics offered no substantive benefits to the hardcore crowd, and its toned down interface still didn't do anything about making the concept itself more flattering to the game hating crowd.

As far as I stand... I love Ninja Gaiden Xbox, and I'm a hardcore gamer. But I thought Ninja Gaiden DS was awful. Of course, I also purchased it... so I guess I'm not such a good statistic when it comes to my theory.

 

[jibblypop]

I saw a guy playing this game on the subway yesterday. It looked like he was attacking his DS with the stylus. It made me decide to pick it up soon.

 

[Lost Fragment]

The DS' demographic is probably pretty different from the 360's. I'm sure there are a lot of different variables in play, but I'd put this near the top of the list.

Anyone know how well Resident Evil DS did?

 

[Y2Kev]

How do we know GoW CoO is doing well?

 

[beef3483]

Wait, how do we know it has failed in the US? Has there been any sales data?

If not then, I think we should wait before we presuppose that it will fail in the west. This is the type of game that typically does better here (though I still think it has an uphill battle).

 

[Amir0x]

How do we know GoW CoO is doing well?

well it was the first new PSP game I've seen stocked at my local Wal-Mart in like 23 years. So I thought maybe that was good news for the title.


Of course, the last new PSP game my Wal-Mart stocked BEFORE that was that Napoleon Dynamite game. yeah

 

[Narag]

How do we know GoW CoO is doing well?

Wait, how do we know it has failed in the US? Has there been any sales data?

If not then, I think we should wait before we presuppose that it will fail in the west. This is the type of game that typically does better here (though I still think it has an uphill battle).

Its all anecdotal at this point.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

No.

Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black sold a combined 1.4 Million on Xbox. That's pretty respectable.

He probably means in Japan, the only country we have numbers for. And in Japan, it's true. The NES games (which were named differently anyway) were not popular in Japan, only the US. The Xbox games were on the Xbox, which basically made it impossible for them to be popular. Sigma didn't change this much.

In fact, being so strongly associated with the Xbox brand has probably made the NG series seem like a hardcore otaku thing, which would really put it in a bad spot on the DS.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Uh, hello? How can I "complain" about a game I know nothing about? I thought I made that pretty clear.

It looks fucking stupid. Is it? Who knows. But it doesn't look interesting enough to invest any more time into researching it. That's what I'm getting at.

I'm not talking about any of your other comments. Solely the one where you say it doesn't look "new" and "looks like every other game out there".

 

[KTallguy]

As far as I stand... I love Ninja Gaiden Xbox, and I'm a hardcore gamer. But I thought Ninja Gaiden DS was awful. Of course, I also purchased it... so I guess I'm not such a good statistic when it comes to my theory.

Wow. You really think it's awful?
I can see people saying "not my style", but it's a well made game, better than most crap people throw on a DS these days.

I think the controls are good. At the same time, if I want an action fix, I'd likely go elsewhere.

 

[Dama]

i had no idea it was released lol

 

[Peronthious]

Oh shi--.... I totally forgot about that. That's an instant non-purchase for me. That sideways shit is annoying, uncomfortable, unnecessary, and causes a terrible screen alignment for an action game like this... not to mention (at least for me) it places your thumb right on the top of the cartridge... which is a really really bad idea.

Most of the gameplay is done in a vertical fashion, with a lot of jumping around to do various techniques. If anything, I'd say it works much better in the vertical orientation than it would have in the horizontal due just to the nature of the gameplay. As for holding the DS, I find it fairly comfortable to grip at the bottom, with my thumb on the D-pad, and the other hand moving the stylus. If it's not your thing, you're loss, but I enjoyed every minute.

 

[∀ Narayan]

only on the casual friendly 'normal' mode

I beat Head Ninja mode at 4-hours and 27 minutes.

 

[lyre]

Wow. You really think it's awful?

He only rates games as 'Game of the Forever' or 'garbage.jpg', no in betweens.

And it's likely the game bombed because it had no audience to sell to. This doesn't bode well for Fatal Frame 4 I think.

 

[Mefisutoferesu]

How do we know GoW CoO is doing well?

I thought it was doing poorly?

 

[Amir0x]

There are plenty of inbetweens for me. This one just isn't.

Ninja Gaiden DS (click to avoid accusations I don't have it) is scratch hell crap retarded for the hand-eye coordination inept, almost insultingly easy compared to the console outings - even on higher difficulties - and is painfully lenient when it comes to commands. There's really no precision needed whatsoever (the only exception being when you aim for the absolute highest ranking on a level), and it rewards this lazy play style instead of beating you into submission with your suckitude.

As an aside, and this is of course my personal preference, but I feel pre-rendered graphics are the worst thing ever, so seeing them here coupled to the second worst thing ever (DS 3D) is like the hyperbole express was waiting for me to leave the train station.

But honestly, my extreme feelings on the title aside, I think I'm onto something about the game simply not satisfying the needs of both audiences it targeted the way it should have.

 

[firex]

I never saw ads for this game until it was already out, and even then I've only seen the ad on comedy central around the time they show Futurama.

 

[ShowDog]

There are so many shitty handheld spin-offs of popular console games that most people probably assumed this was another. They really should have made the same game but with a different name, or perhaps made the entire game into something that would more fit the DS demographic.

Without demos, no one who doesn't religiously read gaming magazines would ever know if any development effort was even put into NGDS. And even if they knew it wasn't just a cheap cash-in, they can't imagine playing NG with a stylus.

Nintendo really needs to get some sort of wireless demo system in place in popular areas like they used to talk about. Otherwise good games get ignored. Release DS wireless demos through Wii if you have to, ala Geometry Wars.

 

[Narag]

There are so many shitty handheld spin-offs of popular console games that most people probably assumed this was another. They really should have made the same game but with a different name, or perhaps made the entire game into something that would more fit the DS demographic.

Without demos, no one who doesn't religiously read gaming magazines would ever know if any development effort was even put into NGDS. And even if they knew it wasn't just a cheap cash-in, they can't imagine playing NG with a stylus.

Nintendo really needs to get some sort of wireless demo system in place in popular areas like they used to talk about. Otherwise good games get ignored. Release DS wireless demos through Wii if you have to, ala Geometry Wars.

They do and have at major retailers in the US. Whether or not people are aware of this remains to be seen.

 

[Turnip Truck]

Girls / Casuals don't buy games like Ninja Gaiden ......... success of nintendogs and the Hannah Montana games are a testament to what the majority of the DS userbase consists.

Tell that to my wife (posting on her behalf since we all know there are no girls on the interwebs). After many years of saying there's no way she'd ever be a gamer, she finally caved and got a DS and that starter drug called Pokemon last fall. After downloading and playing the demo of Ninja Gaiden from a DS Download Station and hearing about the sword stylus offer, she went ahead and pre-ordered this one. Not only is she happily slaying ninjas now, but she is also having to fight off the kids when she's playing too, since they both want some of that NG action. I gave it a whirl last night and the controls are actually pretty slick, so I don't know that I agree with that complaint either.