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[duckroll]

I'm sure there are tons of reasons why the game bombed, here's a list and you can pick what you think applies!

- Ninja Gaiden on the most graphically inferior portable in the market now
- Ninja Gaiden without blood and gore lolz
- 5 hour game? That's like two movie tickets!
- 3D action game on the DS? roflcopter.
- Touch pen only NG? Gimme a break
- I thought Team Ninja only works on the "most powerful hardware", sack of lies amirite
- NG2 is coming in June, who wants a shitty spinoff
- Hey I remember a ton of those enemies, I already fought them in 3 different versions of NG!
- What's this animu art doing in my MANLY NINJA GAME?! HAHA

....Yeah.

 

[M3wThr33]

Yup, because we all know the PSP sells games like hotcakes, and the only flop they have are those Monster Hunter games.

Don't forget the thousands of people saying "But I don't want a PSP for just one game." 50 times each year.

 

[Barrett2]

Have other "hard core" games like this sold well on the DS? Just curious; I really don't know.

 

[neojubei]

I'm sure there are tons of reasons why the game bombed, here's a list and you can pick what you think applies!

- Ninja Gaiden on the most graphically inferior portable in the market now
- Ninja Gaiden without blood and gore lolz
- 5 hour game? That's like two movie tickets!
- 3D action game on the DS? roflcopter.
- Touch pen only NG? Gimme a break
- I thought Team Ninja only works on the "most powerful hardware", sack of lies amirite
- NG2 is coming in June, who wants a shitty spinoff
- Hey I remember a ton of those enemies, I already fought them in 3 different versions of NG!
- What's this animu art doing in my MANLY NINJA GAME?! HAHA

....Yeah.

The advertising dept didn't to a good enough job marketing the game.

 

[lopaz]

maybe the first one (of the new line) being xbox only limited the series' appeal in Japan? I know the PS3 one did OK but a spinoff of an already not-that-popular series is never gonna do well

 

[duckroll]

The advertising dept didn't to a good enough job marketing the game.

I think they did a pretty solid job. People just don't want it. Is it really that hard to accept?

 

[legend166]

The same reason every other franchise that introduces a change in gameplay design fails:

'Hardcore' gamers, despite professing to be bastions of gaming enlightenment, are scared to death of any sort of change when it comes to their favourite franchises.

 

[slaughterking]

This thread is now bigger than the official NG DS GAF thread. This really shows how much of a bomb it is. ;__;

 

[Mamesj]

The same reason every other franchise that introduces a change in gameplay design fails:

'Hardcore' gamers, despite professing to be bastions of gaming enlightenment, are scared to death of any sort of change when it comes to their favourite franchises.

yeah, you do see a lot of people claiming to be hardcore ninja gaiden fans knocking this game's difficulty and control method here and in the official thread.

On one hand, it's pretty sad that people were expecting the Xbox version. On the other hand, it really plays so close to the Xbox version that the comparison is almost valid. except that one small thing:

Spoiler

this is a freaking DS game.

It just can't be enjoyed for what it is by many people, for whatever reason.

The analysis of it has really gone too far though. Lots of games flop for whatever reason. But one thing holds true-- independent of whatever Team Ninja stigma the game holds, independent of the difficulty in comparison to the Xbox version, and independent of claims that the control sucks (it clearly doesn't for those who gave it a chance)-- the game kicks ass and everyone should buy it

 

[Desi]

Don't forget the thousands of people saying "But I don't want a PSP for just one game." 50 times each year.

We need someone to post history search people that say that. Be like "well it equals buying a PSP for four games now"


I have seen a mindbending amount of Ninja Gaiden commercials. Namely Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, and G4.

 

[fernoca]

The same reason every other franchise that introduces a change in gameplay design fails:

'Hardcore' gamers, despite professing to be bastions of gaming enlightenment, are scared to death of any sort of change when it comes to their favourite franchises.

So ******** true!
"Oh, I'm hardcore...but I don't play games that are not at 1080p, have 125 online multiplayer...waggle? touch screen? a microphone?..Pfft......Bigger world, 1 trillion textures and all running at 120 frames per second = hardcorest game ever!!!!"

I really like Dragon Sword,and part of the reason I like it is because it is a little different. The way you hold the DS like a book, using the stylus from everything: jump, dash, run, throw stars..basically the whole maneuverability of an analog stick and 4 buttons..just with one stylus.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

I'd have bought it if it were real Ninja Gaiden instead of Itagaki's little pretender series.

 

[legend166]

I'm not even just referring to touch screen or waggle.

Look at all the people that threw a massive fit when Wind Waker was shown. Or all the people that still play CS 1.6. Or anything. And the problem occurs when developers listen to these people and make the same game over and over. See, Twilight Princess, although I loved it.

 

[fernoca]

I'm not even just referring to touch screen or waggle.

Look at all the people that threw a massive fit when Wind Waker was shown. Or all the people that still play CS 1.6. Or anything. And the problem occurs when developers listen to these people and make the same game over and over. See, Twilight Princess, although I loved it.

Yeah, that's why I prefer when developers just ignore their fans..
They are damned if they make changes..and damned if they don't...

 

[smurfx]

i hardly watch tv and i've seen some commercials.

 

[beef3483]

I'm not even just referring to touch screen or waggle.

Look at all the people that threw a massive fit when Wind Waker was shown. Or all the people that still play CS 1.6. Or anything. And the problem occurs when developers listen to these people and make the same game over and over. See, Twilight Princess, although I loved it.

Or the people who threw a fit over the Metroid series being made in 1st person 3D (one of my biggest peeves, I absolutely love the Prime series).

 

[Mirimar]

This thread is now bigger than the official NG DS GAF thread. This really shows how much of a bomb it is. ;__;

Hey, it may as well be the official thread. Mods could merge it with this one and pad the posts :lol

 

[TheGrayGhost]

This.

It saddens me to see gamers unable to grasp intuitive stylus-control. It works exceptionally well in NGDS, and, I think, much faster than a d-pad/button could ever be. The comfortable precision of touch-only control is something I wish everyone can appreciate. :|

 

[TheGrayGhost]

Look at the games that dominate the DS weekly/monthly sales charts. Did anyone really expect this game to do well?

Rephrased, did anyone expect this to sell better than the latest Castlevania and Contra bombs?

Contra 4 bombed? Wow, the game sold-out for days in my area before I could find it readily available. :/

 

[Jazzem]

This is coming out in June in Europe? I shall buy it, it looks brilliant, and I'm always up for a DS game that uses the touch screen well.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Contra 4 bombed? Wow, the game sold-out for days in my area before I could find it readily available. :/

Bombed like crazy in Japan. Not sure how it did in the US as it didn't make the lists we get numbers for. That sort of points to "not terribly well", however.

 

[Pachael]

I'm sure there are tons of reasons why the game bombed, here's a list and you can pick what you think applies!

....Yeah.

Picked!
Ninja Gaiden DS didn't do well due to:
- 5 hour game? That's like two movie tickets!
- NG2 is coming in June, who wants a shitty spinoff

And:
- OMG it's an exclusive that there's not really much hype about!

Considering that there were massive threads, feuds, blood and tears over Ninja Gaiden's exclusivity/non-exclusivity, the same for NG2, the same for Black and Sigma... there's nothing of that sort on the DS.

 

[Beergut]

The strengths of the franchise (great graphics, fast action, complexity, difficulty) are NOT things that people associate with the DS.

 

[blu]

can't speak of the "demographic", etc, but the reason i have not bought the game yet while been perfectly aware of it, is because i'm generally wary toward scratch games. and i've been so even to games i've been convinced of their AAA-ness (which NG has yet to achieve). heck, i almost skipped on VJ ds for that matter, and it's a fucking-A game with a relatively reasonable amount of scratching. and to this day i play it in a very scratch-limited manner. and as much as i adore dawn of sorrow, i still cringe at every sealing moment. don't get me wrong - i have nothing against using the stylus - i'd love me some puzzles, or ever drawing games. but i detest every 'scratch for your life' moment in every ds game i've touched so far, and even though i'm yet to play dragon sword, it seems absolutely clear that it was built on this very principle.

 

[Haeleos]

To me, Ninja Gaiden 2 looks like the new game while this looks like they just ripped all the models out of the old game, made em low enough res so the DS could run them, took some screenshots of backgrounds and added Zelda controls and then called it a day. I'm a big fan of NG, but I'm not picking this up for $35. It looks cheap. Even the box art is reused.

If it had multiplayer, I would have said maybe...

 

[Jcgamer60]

I'm sure there are tons of reasons why the game bombed, here's a list and you can pick what you think applies!

- Ninja Gaiden on the most graphically inferior portable in the market now
- Ninja Gaiden without blood and gore lolz
- 5 hour game? That's like two movie tickets!
- 3D action game on the DS? roflcopter.
- Touch pen only NG? Gimme a break
- I thought Team Ninja only works on the "most powerful hardware", sack of lies amirite
- NG2 is coming in June, who wants a shitty spinoff
- Hey I remember a ton of those enemies, I already fought them in 3 different versions of NG!
- What's this animu art doing in my MANLY NINJA GAME?! HAHA

....Yeah.

Sorry you feel this way. Shitty spinoff? Ok, there buddy...

 

[lsslave]

This topic is making me sad...

I realize that its a good game by its own merits and everything but I am just not that big of a NG fan, not at all, but I do know many people who would love the game if they knew it existed

Seriously, a lot of people don't even know it exists

Same as No More Heroes and Zack & Wiki (which I have managed to sell a tonne of them through work and word-of-mouth)

 

[Narag]

Sorry you feel this way. Shitty spinoff? Ok, there buddy...

Its true though, the perception exists.

 

[Dahbomb]

I'm sure there are tons of reasons why the game bombed, here's a list and you can pick what you think applies!

- Ninja Gaiden on the most graphically inferior portable in the market now
- Ninja Gaiden without blood and gore lolz
- 5 hour game? That's like two movie tickets!
- 3D action game on the DS? roflcopter.
- Touch pen only NG? Gimme a break
- I thought Team Ninja only works on the "most powerful hardware", sack of lies amirite
- NG2 is coming in June, who wants a shitty spinoff
- Hey I remember a ton of those enemies, I already fought them in 3 different versions of NG!
- What's this animu art doing in my MANLY NINJA GAME?! HAHA

....Yeah.

Yeah pretty much it and then some. The stylus controls of NG were grossly overrated by the press initially. They are no way as precise or good as the button controls on the Xbox games.

I can't enjoy this game because I want it to be NG and it isn't. Honestly I was never too hyped about this to begin with.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I think it was mostly the demographic. Also, Ninja Gaiden seems to be receiving some pretty good marketing. Alot more than most games get. I typically see like the "guy in the ninja suit" ad apprximately 5 times a day and I don't even look at that much TV. Also, the game is all about fast paced, intense action and gorgeous graphics. Not sure if DS gamers will appreciate a severely stripped down version that uses a stylus pen?

 

[RetroMG]

As die-hard Ninja Gaiden fan, I just couldn't stand how imprecise the stylus controls were. I played through the first two missions before I decided that I couldn't convince myself that I liked it because it was Ninja Gaiden. It's cool that they tried, but it wasn't the Ninja Gaiden I wanted.

I could not formulate my response any better than this.

 

[botticus]

Considering the content of this thread, I think any arguments about the demographic can be thrown out the window. Even DS owners on GAF aren't giving it the time of day, and if they aren't the target demo, I don't know who is.

 

[Creamium]

I decided to order this game, was pretty much an impulse buy since I haven't seriously played NG before (only Sigma at a friend's). I'll probably be playing NG: Black before 2 comes out, so I figured this'd be a nice way to introduce myself to the series. If the haters are to be believed, it's not, but I'll just see for myself

 

[Mamesj]

I decided to order this game, was pretty much an impulse buy since I haven't seriously played NG before (only Sigma at a friend's). I'll probably be playing NG: Black before 2 comes out, so I figured this'd be a nice way to introduce myself to the series. If the haters are to be believed, it's not, but I'll just see for myself

just don't give up on it after one mission and control the urge to scratch like crazy (scratch masher?) you'll notice the people who like it, love it, and the people who haven't played it are trying their hardest to tear the game apart.