Super Mario Galaxy's quiet Japanese launch (Joystiq)

[R.O.B.]

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii

Although we still have a little less than two weeks to go until Super Mario Galaxy arrives in the US (and not much more for Europe), Japan got its taste of the game today. Was their mass hysteria, long lines and rabid fans skipping school and work to be the first to own a copy of the latest Plumber Platformer? Not exactly, according to anecdotal evidence from Siliconera.

Visiting Akihabara, arguably the mecca for video games in Tokyo, the folks at the site found no such hysteria or long lines, noting instead that most people waiting in queues were there for Xbox 360 games (no, really!) and pachinko machines.

We're still wagering, as does Siliconera, that Super Mario Galaxy will be a massive hit for Nintendo in all territories, and that plenty of people reserved the title and are planning to pick it up after school or work today. However, Mario's presences just doesn't seem to cite as much rabid enthusiasm as a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. It'll be interesting to see how US and Europe handle the Mario Galaxy launches on November 12 and 16, respectively.

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[The shoemaker]

No one was there because everyone probably has the demo which was really the full game.

[crops55]

Stupid article....just because there aren't lines out the door at any given moment doesn't mean this game won't sell like hotcakes (which it will). Nintendo has nothing to be worried about and I'm willing to put my reputation (if I have any) on the line and say this will without a doubt be the Wii's best selling game until Smash Bros gets released. Besides I wouldn't care if this game sells only one copy as long as I am the recipient of it.

[Shortay]

The Japanese should just be happy to have Galaxy before us.