Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS – the demo’s now available for everyone on the eShop, if you missed out

A reader has a rather extreme reaction to the problems of obtaining an early download code for Super Smash Bros. on 3DS.

With the recent demo handout for Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS I wanted to write about how I felt in response to it.

I had walked into Target to see my friend working there. After greeting for a bit, he starts telling me about a demo code he got from a friend who was a Platinum Club Nintendo member for the 2013-2014 year. Suddenly, I was overjoyed, because I was a Platinum member for the 2013-2014 year as well. I rushed back to my house, ready to obtain my codes so my girlfriend, my younger brother, and I could all play the demo, ready to give the last one away on Miiverse to the user who inspired me to not give up drawing on Miiverse.



However, to my dismay, and like a fatal blow in the gut, no demo codes were in my Inbox – because I had not checked a box that allowed Nintendo to send marketing emails to my inbox. There was a moment of silence, followed by feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, and regret. But in the midst, I noticed something that enlightened me… I felt vulnerable to the point that I wanted the game even more than I ever have, and that’s exactly what Nintendo wanted out of the whole thing.


You know how the marketing regime goes: giving four demo codes to each select Platinum user will promote other users to ask for demo codes, and for various websites to promote the game by holding contests to give away the demo codes. But as I kept scouring threads on GameFAQs and Reddit I noticed that there was a little something more to the giveaways’ effect on people’s psyche than I thought.

Over the course of me scouring threads, looking for others like myself who got in the same predicament, I came across a couple of comments that truly made me shudder when comparing Nintendo’s trustworthy name to this whole marketing tactic: ‘I get anxiety attacks just watching gameplay. PLEASE SEND [a code]!’ and ‘Please [send me a code] I’m starting to go crazy’.

I watched the deconstruction and devolution of people’s psyches, all done by a single marketing move, by a single company, so that more copies of the game would be sold. The second purpose of Nintendo’s marketing technique – followed by the marketing regime mentioned above – was to make others feel vulnerable to the point where they buy the game, because of the envy they feel for others who didn’t want the game as bad, but have the golden opportunity to play it.

It’s a weird feeling as a fan to see a transition in Nintendo’s once safe marketing philosophy turn more aggressive, but I can see the pressing need for the company to change its marketing approach. Especially after losing $15 million over the course of three financial quarters. Nintendo’s been a beloved company to me, in part because of its fantastic intellectual properties but also by the fact that I felt safe from cheap marketing approaches and scams, and that every investment I made would yield promising returns.

While I’ll always love the big N, and while I understand why they’re taking a more aggressive approach, I cannot support the company’s current direction with the practices they’re beginning to take. While I’ll still retain my pre-order for Super Smash Bros. I cannot promise anything further.



This demo scandal has turned a community that was once excited about a game into a set of savages that will do almost anything to obtain such a minuscule prize – maybe refocusing on other goals in life would be a safer option? I guess it’s time to start exploring Microsoft and Sony once again.

By reader krishaa racer

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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