Neoco

Those of you who have been reading Neoco’s blog for a while may have read one of my previous posts about SimCityDS; summary: nice micro site, rubbish game.

http://blog.neoco.com/2007/07/17/a-microsite-that-does-its-job/

Today I chanced upon another game micro site that led me to the blogging control panel to publish my thoughts: MarioKart Wii!

http://www.mariokart.com/wii/

It’s interesting to compare my experience of the two micro sites. I bought SimCity DS on the back of a good experience on the micro site. I bought Mario Kart Wii because of many happy hours playing Mario Kart 64. I’d never actually visited the micro site when I purchased the game. I went on today trying to figure out how to avoid the mysterious POW! I was expecting the usual game micro site; information about the game, screenshots, videos, maybe a game. Not a chance! I reckon the entire site can be summarised in this handy easy-to-navigate text-only format:

GAME INFO: The worldwide race is on with a whole new set of tricks, tracks and ways to play! Cruise brand new circuits, or pop wheelies on one the speedy, new motorbikes.
MULTIPLAYER: Play up to three friends locally or challenge up to 11 friends via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. All 32 tracks can be played online! Review ranks and tournaments through the optional Mario Kart Channel.
WII WHEEL: Transform the Wii Remote into a steering wheel for an all-new Mario Kart experience. Intuitive design will have novices and veterans alike cruising fender-to-fender in no time.

I also reckon I could summarise this even further, with a single line of text, without really losing any key information:

GAME: Racing game; new tracks; new motorbikes. MULTIPLAYER: Play with 12 people; Mario Kart Channel. WII WHEEL: Steering wheel control pad.

That’s it! Honestly. Well pretty much. There’s a video and some kind of tour diary for North America, but nothing else. No screenshots, no real information about the game. Nothing to tell you how to avoid the POW! Actually, I am over exaggerating slightly. There’s also a widget. I choose Kooper Trooper character and installed it on my website. The result was:

It doesn’t really do anything and I can’t figure out what it’s got to do with Kooper Trooper!

So then, a missed opportunity? Maybe; but probably not. Mario Kart Wii is an excellent game (regardless of mixed reviews). And it’s currently selling by the bucket load.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/mario-kart-wii-debuts-with-594k-sales-in-japan

Trust me on this one – it does not disappoint! In summary a wonderful game and a rubbish micro site. Probably a better combination than SimCityDS!

PS: If you’re wondering about avoiding that bothersome POW then try this out:

http://uk.gamespot.com/wii/driving/mariokart/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-42563420&pid=942008

Tags  digital marketing game Kooper Trooper Mario Mario Kart microsite Nintendo play revier SimCityDS tracks tricks widget Wii Wii Wheel