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| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Delay Boosts Super Mario Galaxy to Most Anticipated Game of the Season As many of you have heard by now, one of Nintendo's most anticipated holiday Wii releases, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, has been delayed until February 2008. While it might not have the same brand recognition of Super Mario Bros or The Legend of Zelda, the Super Smash Bros. franchise has been a phenomenal success. The previous installment in the series, Super Smash Bros. Melee, currently stands as the best selling GameCube title of all time with over 3.5 million units sold in the U.S. since December 2001. Recent data collected from across IGN Entertainment suggests that interest in the franchise remains as strong as ever. In fact, in the latest issue of our GamerMetrics The Industry Record, Super Smash Bros. Brawl ranked as the single most anticipated unreleased video game ahead of big names such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Super Mario Galaxy. As gamers begin to reassess their upcoming video game purchases and holiday wish lists, which titles are poised to capitalize on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl delay? Looking at a sample of Super Smash Bros. Brawl enthusiasts from IGN GamerMetrics' proprietary Gamer Panel, we have pinpointed ten titles that we expect will see a boost in sales as a result of the delay. Not surprisingly, Super Mario Galaxy ranks at the top of the list, with more than four out of five Super Smash Bros. Brawl enthusiasts also expressing interest in the latest Mario adventure. Next on the list are two titles from Capcom: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. The former should appeal to the younger, casual segment of Super Smash Bros fans, while the latter will command the attention of the older, more mature Nintendo enthusiasts. It's also worth noting that there are three Xbox 360 titles in the top ten affinities, which reflects the popularity of the Xbox 360 and Wii hardware combination. The following titles are shown in order of strength of affinity to Super Smash Bros. Brawl and are limited to titles releasing between October 15, 2007 and the end of the year. 1. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 82% overlap; 2. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii) - 54%; 3. Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii) - 51%; 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 48%; 5. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) - 42%; 6. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - 41%; 7. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - 40%; 8. Soulcalibur Legends (Wii) - 40%; 9. Mass Effect (Xbox 360) - 36%; 10. Trauma Center: New Blood (Wii) - 35%. While the delay of Super Smash. Bros Brawl will have a significant impact on these title affinities, the impact on holiday hardware sales should be marginal at best. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has already stated that Nintendo is going to struggle to meet holiday demand, and it's unlikely that any software releases will change that. Furthermore, the Super Smash Bros. audience is made up of a more enthusiast crowd, the majority of whom already own a Wii. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Game News :: home page |