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Fire Emblem Awakens to Chaos...

Started by x14113, February 01, 2013, 02:04:56 pm

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x14113

February 01, 2013, 02:04:56 pm Last Edit: February 01, 2013, 02:08:26 pm by x14113
Perhaps several of you know how it feels to anticipate a video game release.  Well, this is what happens when the business side is unprepared.

Since the seventh game marked the local debut of the series in 2003, the Fire Emblem series has been reputed as, at best, a cult classic, with its loyal fans (many of whom were around before '03) running counter to those who A) were daunted by the general concept of the series' genre; B) preferred to stick with the strategy series already released at the time(i.e. Advance Wars, FF Tactics, Tactics Ogre); or C) never even heard of the series, or at least particular games released since its local debut.  The fact that copies were often hard to come by, coupled with often negligent marketing (they've only made TV ads for three games, including the latest one), did not help matters.

All this translated to gradually-declining sales.  After the first two games to arrive (on the GBA) surpassed 400,000 apiece locally (not too shabby, especially for a game of its genre), the next three (one each for the Gamecube, Wii, and DS)  struggled considerably, with no title surpassing 300,000.  It got to the point where people wondered if some entries would be skipped for localization, a fear that was realized with the second DS entry, which was considered by all who played it to be even better than its prequel.

Despite this, the franchise hadn't been overwhelmingly unnoticed--FE's biggest shine to Western eyes has been through Super Smash Bros., where the characters featured has been regarded as competent swordsmen surpassing the likes of Link himself.  In fact, a running gag concerning the series was asking whether Marth (whose two games were remade on the DS) and Roy (whose primary game was a sequel to the Western debut) would appear in a given release!

With all that in mind, it's rather understandable that for the upcoming title on the 3DS, subtitled Awakening, the initial print would be modest--not overly limited, though certainly not to the volume of a highly-anticipated release.

Yet at the same time, there was a considerable marketing strategy implemented for this one.  On top of the obligatory TV commercial, there has been hype campiagn through social media highlighting the characters to be met, as well as key gameplay mechanics.  The response has been rather positive, to the point that those not involved with the genre have been considering this title.

Just when you thought anticipation for this game was at its peak...a demo for the game is released for download in mid-January.

Before long, word spreads of Amazon anticipating shipping delays for customers ordering the game.  Then, out of the blue, industry stalwart Gamestop shuts down preorders, first online, then in-store.  Finally, reports surface of other stores, including Best Buy, putting preorders on backorder.

Cue the longtime loyal fans going wide-eyed, realizing just how unusually-hyped Awakening had become.  The fact that it was voted by users as the most-anticipated title for February looks to reinforce this.

Alas, this was only the beginning

Last Monday, one week before the game's official release date, reports surface that EB Games, Gamestop's Canadian arm, has started selling their stock.  Cue hopefuls rushing to their nearest phone (or store) to see if they'll follow suit.

However, it was later reported that EBG did an about-face and told their stores to stick to the "street date."

Order restored, right? 

Well, reports surface concerning a third email from Gamestop concerning the game's release.  The trouble is, no one agrees exactly what, and has managed to split the chain into three factions.

One faction is selling the game the moment shipments supposedly arrive this weekend.

Another faction, which includes the store closest to me, thinks the initial shipments will arrive in about one week, well after the official release.

The third faction is sticking to the official release date...more or less.

This is on top of other chains selling the game, who are pondering their next course of action.

The calm in the entire storm?  A downloadable version of the game will be available on Monday, allowing customers to bypass retail entirely, if they so choose.

Regardless, this is what happens when a niche title gets (even a decent portion of) the hype of a mass-market game.

tl;dr

Fire Emblem: Awakening is becoming a much bigger hit than most of us realized, and chaos has ensued because of it.

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