Nintendo turns to classics for holiday sales

Super Mario Kart single player.Nintendo’s made most of its money over the last five years by bucking the norm. That strategy has forced the company into a bit of a niche though, missing most of the blockbuster titles because of an underpowered system. That’s not going to stop it from making money this holiday season. Obviously the console will continue to sell well and Nintendo’s adding a few classic titles to the Virtual Console that are sure to pull in some cash. As Gamespot has it, you’ll be able to get Super Mario Kart, the original Pilotwings, and Super Smash Bros. by the end of the year.

You can get your mitts on Super Mario Kart starting this Monday for 800 Wii points ($8). There’s no word yet on the other titles, but I’d guess they’ll run about the same. I’m most excited for Super Mario Bros out of the three. Pilotwings was more of a technical victory than a great game to me, and Super Mario Kart, though classic, just doesn’t hold a lot of replay for me. Those original Smash Bros. levels, on the other hand, are something I’d just hate to miss.

Source: Gamespot

  

Capcom thinks Lost Planet 2 will be its big hit

Lost Planet 2 jungle.I wasn’t a huge fan of the original Lost Planet. I’m put off pretty quickly by a weak storyline, and the gameplay was a little too repetitive for my tastes. Honestly, I was a little surprised to hear that Capcom was making a sequel, but according to VG Chartz, the original has sold nearly 2.3 million copies (PS3 and Xbox 360 figures combined.

What I’ve seen of Lost Planet 2 looks a lot like the original. It’s an extreme environment, though this time we get lush jungles, with all manner of things to shoot and blow up. Not a terrible premise for a game, but very, very familiar. According to its latest earnings report, Capcom thinks familiar will sell extremely well. More than 50% sales increase well. The report predicts 3.7 million units moved in the second half of 2010.

I think they’re nuts. Sure, sequels tend to outperform the originals, but that’s a huge increase. Lost Planet just doesn’t have that kind of blockbuster flare.

  

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