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Just Slap EarthBound On It
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None foundSeptember 19th, 2009 | EarthBound, Images
Recently there’s been talk about an online banner for Nintendo’s latest Mario & Luigi game called Bowser’s Inside Story. Apparently one of the online ads for it looks like this:

People have been mentioning how much that sounds like this other Nintendo ad campaign from a while back:

(click for more details)
I think the similarity is only minor though; the Mario ad is saying that the ad sucks (because the premise is that Bowser has swallowed Mario and Luigi) while the EarthBound ad says flat out that the game stinks and shouldn’t be played.
Still, it’s interesting to note 😛
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58 Comments to Nintendo Sucks More
Wow.
I find this…amusing.
Why does nintendo let them do this?
Some people will read this as ‘this game sucks’ I know I did o.0”
The difference here is that Mario and Luigi are very recognisable characters, which are featured prominently in the ad. With that EarthBound ad, no-one would have recognised the Carbon Dog, Trillionage Sprout of Plauge Rat of Doom.
I haven’t seen the M&L ad on a site yet, but the picture here suggests that you get told poperly about the game once you rollover the ad. With EarthBound, the more you kept looking through promotional stuff, the more you’d be told that the game stunk.
Bowser’s Inside Stroy is a fun game though. Everybody should play it.
What’ll be really interesting is to compare the sales data of Bowser’s Inside Story and EarthBound. If the koopa comes up superior, then we have a whole other slew of things to discuss.
![]() | Mato said on Sep. 19, 2009 |
I dunno, it’s pretty much guaranteed to do well as it is. One little ad on the Internet that says “this ad sucks” isn’t going to change anything 😛
There were quick a few other ads like this for this game, all focused around “sucking” and stuff. In fact I think a few of the Nintendo e-mails elaborated on it, too.
It seems to be the central theme for their advertising campaign for this game.
![]() | IWontGetOvertheDam said on Sep. 19, 2009 |
And yet M&L will sell like hot cakes.
No comment that the TV ad seems to advocate eating objects of unknown origin? 😉
Plus there’s no risk for Nintendo by using this sort of marketing on a MARIO GAME! EarthBound should of been handled much better considering how unknown it was to the west at the time.
http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/marioluigirpg3/review.html
You can find it on the right of that page.
Wow, whenever Nintendo says something sucks, its great EarthBound and Mario and Luigi 3 are prime exampls.
![]() | SuperTrainStationH said on Sep. 19, 2009 |
I saw this coming back at E3 with Reggie’s “bowser sucks” joke.
![]() | Wil said on Sep. 19, 2009 |
Only EarthBound didn’t have the already established fan appeal of Mario. So, it was kind of a jerk move to slap the “We’re warning you.. “, “This game stinks..” ad campaign on EB. I don’t think their target demo was THAT aware of the word play.
..or were they?
I keep on hearing bad advertising slogans like this, like the slogan for KFC in china is something like eat your fingers off.
I’m a big fan of the Mario and Luigi series, but this ad makes me want to play the game even more.
You must admit, the “This game sucks” slogan is far more appropriate for M&L than EarthBound. The “sucking” actually fits into the plot, while the only real thing that justified the “stink” aspect of the EarthBound campain was the scratch and sniff cards, which were also part of the avertisment. Though now that I think about it, EarthBound did have a lot of “stink” jokes (Master Belch comes to mind), but either way, it fits M&L better.
Stuff like this kind of makes me wonder what NES EarthBound’s campain would be like had it been released, and how it would have affected EarthBound’s (though the game we know as “EarthBound” would probably be called “EarthBound 2”). So many things could be different. But I guess there’s no real reason to think too deeply into it.
Nintendo risks nothing with making a ‘risky ad’ like that for a Mario game.
1: It’s Mario – it’s guaranteed to make money
2: It’s a Mario RPG game – it’s guaranteed to make money
3: It’s Mario & Luigi 3 – it’s guaranteed to make money
Advertising it at all is kind of a waste of money, but I suppose they just want to get word of its existence out to those who don’t camp out on the internet or read gaming magazines.
![]() | KingDarian said on Sep. 19, 2009 |
I can see it now: on a fan site ten years in the future, current generation players of this game will look back at this title with much hatred toward Nintendo. In their eyes due to this ad campaign, only half a million copies sold, and Nintendo stopped making Mario & Luigi games…after three more sequels.
I’m thinking there’s a bit of the difference. I can see where ‘This game stinks’ did it for Earthbound, because that helped it stand out; instead of seeing the same old RPG ad, you saw something that flat out told you the game was bad, and even if it would’ve been something you would only rent, it would pique your curiosity. With Mario&LuigiRPG3, it’s obvious that someone would look at it anyway, because it’s Mario, whereas Earthbound was technically unheard of in America.
![]() | Big A2 said on Sep. 19, 2009 |
That banner looks rather unprofessional. I wonder if it was Nintendo that officially put it up….
But I suppose if it was Nintendo, they’ve leant from their EarthBound campaign and put “Rollover to see how” to generate curiosity.
I think the earthbound ad was referencing the puke monster among other things though it was never quite clear. I really doubt anyone would ever make an ad to advertise there game actually being bad so you shouldn’t play it.
If Earthbound stinks and Mario and Luigi sucks then I guess I have pretty crappy tastes in games 🙂
![]() | Dumbo said on Sep. 20, 2009 |
Funnily enough, The Mario & Luigi series is my second favourite RPG series, next to Mother.
Yeah I saw that and instantly my mind went to EarthBound XD ;
Either way they’re both amazing games, just that this ad worked better for this game given the series’ and character’s popularity.
This is highly ironic, whether this is an official Nintendo ad or not. If it is, the big N sure has a fetish for seemingly defeatist advertisement on their games. Aside from the Mario franchise being an all-around hit no matter what, at least this ad states that the banner sucks (which, it kind of does), instead of the game itself.
Poor, poor Earthbound.
![]() | Big A2 said on Sep. 21, 2009 |
@Claus: Perhaps it’s because they’re using artwork from 2003 to advertise a game from 2009.
Or maybe it’s because they’re using the same advertising technique that worked oh so great for EarthBound!
Who knows.
That seems unproffesionally made… i think that wasnt Nintendo! I have proof. Well, In Mexico (Where I live) There are tons of posters of Mario and Luigi RPG 3 Bowsers inside story outside videogame stores! That is like “buy it or you are a loser man!” I think thats a message, and of course Im goin to buy it. Also the commercial is in tons of channels every commercial break. And you know what? The game is in Spanish!!! Goin back to the problem, Thats a fake.
Maybe Reggie also hates the Mario and Luig RPGs. Also maybe hes givin this ad to us EB fans to think hes goin to end the Mario and Luigi RPGs too. Oh NO! There will not be any more sequels of the M and L RPGs ever in America! I hate u Reggie! We will get u! No matter what!
Doomed? I think not, Lots of people (Including me) went like WTF?! Its goin to be released in America?! Then, My head was about to explode! I was wishing every night ” Please NOA, Release MArio and Luigi RPG 3 to America!”( Dont worry, Also MOTHER 3, either, You cant call me a fan and you know that)
Deraj626… Please do not say spoilers! Thats like dumping the game into the trash!
Sorry, didn’t think it gave away too much. I was just looking for away to hitting x or y faster.
![]() | Big A2 said on Oct. 2, 2009 |
Try inventing an electric hammmer and put it on the x or y button.
I will NEVER sell something so valuable as my old Super SMASH!!!!! Bros. or my Metal Gear, even the Tetris of Nes that my brother gave me!
Damn, Maybe I posted that comment in this one… I wanted to post it in the toys R us one. Sorry.
Nintendo did learn a lesson while selling earthbound, Reverse psycology dosn;t work when selling a product.
Why did they try this again after it didn’t work for Earthbound? It doesn’t make sense to me.
I remembered something just now… Days ago I visited a site and I found the same ad but in Spanish!!!
I have a question, Probably, Nintendo didn’t wanted to sell Mother 3 in America because they would lose carts. But, in the VC or DSWare They don’t lose carts. It’s like uploading a ROM.
Wow, um PSP rules over the DS(PSP2 rules over the 3DS) and the Xbox 360 rules triple over the Wii and 1,5 over the PS3, fact:
Nintendo exists and feeds on remakes and spinoffs.
Yeah, Nintendo’s consoles have gone downhill since the SNES and N64 were laid to rest. I regard the GBA as the last of the big N’s ‘great’ inventions. The DS and Wii are, for sure, annihilated by the PS3 and the like.
However, I STILL like Nintendo games. Almost all of their major franchises are still fun for me, even the likes of Kirby. Nintendo may live off remakes and spinoffs, but at least a good chunk of those are pretty decent. Just look at Mario Galaxy 2… that was a very fun game!
I think Nintendo likes to make ads with derogatory words. Do they not like their own products? >_>