Mario Madness! Mario Sports Mix Debut Data Report

Coffee Beans
Mario Sports Mix was released on February 7, 2011 in North America, with a MSRP of $49.99.  The game was developed by Square Enix and published by Nintendo.

The ESRB gave the game an "E for Everybody" rating, with "Mild Cartoon Violence" being the only content listed for parents to be aware of.

A portion of the game's Amazon.com description reads, "Mario Sports Mix is a fast-paced and fun sports game for Wii featuring all your favorite Nintendo characters in over-the-top Mushroom Kingdom athletic action.  Events included in the game include basketball, volleyball, dodgeball and hockey playable both on ice and elsewhere.  Additional features include: multiplayer support, including four-player co-op play and two-on-two competitive play; special devastating moves available for each character; the ability to use koopa shells and other means against opposing players; a variety of game environments and more."

How many hours have Wii owners spent playing basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, and hockey in Mario's Mushroom Kingdom, with 22 days reported?  Let's take a look!

Hours shown are for the United States of America, not world-wide.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting
Mario Sports Mix has 7,341 Wii owners reporting their game-play data through the Nintendo Channel, on its debut.

Average & Total Game-Play Hours Reported
Mario Sports Mix has 89,820 Total Hours of game-play reported on its debut, with an average "sports" play-time of 12 Hours 17 Minutes "Per person"(or console) reporting data. The game's average play-time per session is just over 2 Hours 39 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price
Mario Sports Mix's Amazon.com sale rank is #64, and it's currently selling for $49.99 from a third party on Amazon.com. (Sale rank and advertised price recorded around 9:30PM, on 2-28-11)

Review Score Averages
Mario Sports Mix's "professional" review score average is 64.69%, based on 26 reviews on GameRankings.com.

Mario Sports Mix has a 4 out of 5 Stars rating on Amazon.com, based on 8 customer reviews. Mario Sports Mix's customer review score average is 85%, when converted to a 100% review scale.  You can see the customer review scores breakdown in the image below:

     (Review score averages recorded around 9:30PM, on 2-28-11)

Filtered Thoughts
I haven't played Mario Sports Mix, and I probably won't play (or buy) it anytime soon, though I am interested to see how hockey plays in the game.  I really enjoyed Mario Strikers Charged, because it reminded me a lot of the NHL Hitz hockey games I used to play.  If the hockey game in Mario Sports Mix plays like either Mario Strikers Charged or the NHL Hitz games, I would probably enjoy that sport the most.

If you haven't seen how Nintendo has been advertising Mario Sports Mix, here's a compilation trailer showing three commercials I believe Nintendo has been running for the game:


As for the game's debut game-play hours, they actually took one week longer to debut than I expected for this game, considering it's a Nintendo published title with the name "Mario" in its title.  The debut hours are pretty solid for a game initially debuting though, and I think it will be interesting to see how the game performs over the next few months considering it has online multi-player, as well as local multi-player.

I guess with March Madness almost upon us, Nintendo's release of Mario Sports Mix in North America was well timed for basketball fans, that are perhaps also Mario fans.  It's like Nintendo basketball fans can have a "Mario March Madness" in the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario Sports Mix!

Questions
If you have played Mario Sports Mix, do you think the game is closer to an 85% review score like the customer reviews, or do you think it's closer to the 64.69% "professional" review score average?

Also, if you played the NHL Hitz hockey games, how does hockey in Mario Sports Mix play compared them if you can remember?


If you're interested in Mario Sports Mix, you can see prices for it listed on Amazon.com linked below:
  

An Exciting Wii Racer - Ignored by Nintendo, Not Known by Wii Owners

Coffee Beans
When you think of the Wii and racing games, what's the first game that enters your mind?  Mario Kart Wii, Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, or perhaps even the Wii release title Excite Truck?

Well, I think one Wii racing game that has flown under the radar since it was released is ExciteBots: Trick Racing.
  
ExciteBots: Trick Racing was released in North America on April 20, 2009 with two versions: one for $39.99 that was the game by itself, and one for $49.99 that included a Wii Wheel.  The game was developed by Monster Games, and published by Nintendo.

Now you may be thinking, "What do you mean that it was ignored by Nintendo?"  Well, it was released with little fanfare and given basically no media attention from Nintendo.  Considering how well the game plays, and the amount of content in it, I'm really surprised that Nintendo didn't give the game at least one commercial(if they did, I couldn't find a record of it).

I received ExciteBots: Trick Racing as a surprise gift from my wife in May of 2009.  She had one of my friends call me and ask me what new Wii games were out, that HE may be interested in.  After thinking of Endless Ocean: Blue World and ExciteBots: Trick Racking, I told him I had seen a video of ExciteBots, and I thought he would like it. Well, a few days later Mrs. Coffee presented me with a gift, and I unwrapped ExciteBots: Trick Racing!

As for ExciteBots not being known by Wii owners, I remember talking with my neighbor one day (same neighbor who gave me the 2011 Club Nintendo Calendar I used in the Contest/Giveaway last month!) and mentioning ExciteBots to him. He hadn't heard of it. I ran into the house and grabbed my copy of ExciteBots and let him borrow it.  He's a pretty regular gamer on the Wii, and knows when games are releasing, but ExciteBots had flown under his radar.

If you haven't seen any footage of ExciteBots: Trick Racing, here's a video of me racing against Daemion, from MyLittleGamer.Blogspot.com:



Filtered Thoughts
I've really enjoyed my time with ExciteBots: Trick Racing, and if you're looking for a unique racing game on the Wii that offers many hours of fun, I highly suggest ExciteBots: Trick Racing.

ExciteBots: Trick Racing features both local splitscreen multi-player for two players, or online multi-player races for up to six racers. The game has 40+ races to participate in through the "Excite" and "Super Excite" modes, and 19 ExciteBots to choose between for the races. The game also features a "Poker Race" mode where you are playing poker DURING the race.  It also has a separate section for the 10 "Minigames" you encounter during many races, allowing you to practice and get/record high scores for each minigame.

One example of a minigame in the video above you may have noticed, was me driving through bowling pins during the race, and it would give me Star points for each pin I knocked down.

If you want to see what Daemion thought of ExciteBots, you can read his review HERE, http://mylittlegamer.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-of-excitebots-trick-racing-feb.html.

If any of you own ExciteBots: Trick Racing, and are looking for people to play with/against online, feel free to add my Friend Code for the game:  0860-9995-8866.

Questions
If any of you own ExciteBots: Trick Racing, what do you think of the game...good, or bad?  Also, if any of you want to see more coverage/videos of ExciteBots: Trick Racing, please leave a comment letting me know!


If anybody is interested in ExciteBots: Trick Racing, you can see prices for the game on Amazon.com linked below:
  

Paint By Numbers! Disney Epic Mickey's Data Report

Coffee Beans:
     We last looked at Disney Epic Mickey's game-play hours the week they debuted on the Nintendo Channel, on December 27, 2010.
     Just about 2-weeks after I posted that report, it was reported that Disney Epic Mickey had sold 1.3 million copies its first month, basically being all of December 2010 considering it released the very last day of November.

     How many hours have Wii owners been painting in Mickey's world during the 57 days reported since the last report?  Let's take a look!

Hours shown are for the United States of America, not world-wide.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Disney Epic Mickey now has 81,197 Wii owners reporting their game-play hours through the Nintendo Channel.

Reported Player Increase:
     How many more players are reporting play-time data for Disney Epic Mickey since the debut hours report?
     Well, Disney Epic Mickey has seen an increase of about 71,557 more gamers reporting game-play data through the Nintendo Channel, since the hours from December 27, 2010.

Average & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Disney Epic Mickey now has 765,347 Total Hours of game-play reported, an increase of 687,263 Total Hours in the last 57 days reported.
     The average play-time for Epic Mickey is 9 Hours 26 Minutes "Per person" reporting data, which is an increase of 1 Hour 19 Minutes since the debut game-play hours.
     Disney Epic Mickey's average play-time per session is now just over 2 Hours 8 Minutes.

Sale Ranks & Advertised Prices:
     Disney Epic Mickey's Amazon.com sale rank is #108, and it is currently selling for $43.99.

     The Disney Epic Mickey Collector's Edition Amazon.com sale rank is #1,834, and is currently on sale for $55.57.
     (Sale rank and advertised price recorded around 11:30PM on 2-26-11)

Review Score Averages:
     Disney Epic Mickey's "professional" review score average is now 72.21%, based on 52 reviews on GameRankings.com.

     Epic Mickey has a 3.5 out of 5 Stars rating on Amazon.com, now based on 211 customer reviews.
     Disney Epic Mickey's customer review score average is 71.65%, when converted to a 100% scale.

     (Review score averages recorded around 11:30PM on 2-26-11)

Filtered Thoughts:
     I think it's interesting seeing how quickly Disney Epic Mickey sold more than a million copies, especially with the mixed bag of reviews the game received after it released.
     I'm sure having Disney behind the product helped, and perhaps the way Disney marketed Epic Mickey should be looked at by other third party Wii developers/publishers, to get ideas for marketing their games?
     Being that my wife and I don't have cable television, I have no idea what(if any) commercials Disney ran, and how long they ran them for Epic Mickey, so if you saw any commercials, leave a comment if you can remember what time/what channel you saw it on perhaps.
     If you haven't seen any commercial or trailer for the game, here's a trailer that shows some game-play elements, as well as giving a brief idea behind the story:


     I think Disney Epic Mickey will continue to see a steady increase in the game-play hours reported, as it appears that the game is being played slowly and the gamers aren't rushing through it.
     On my last report, CoffeewithGames reader gLitterbug left several comments about his experience with Disney Epic Mickey, and when it came to his play-time he said, "I've finished the game in about 3-4 session and tallying up to a bit over 18 hours."
     I think seeing the "Total Hours" reported for Disney Epic Mickey being already close to one million game-play hours is very good a third party game with no online element, and I think it will be interesting to see when this game crosses one million Total Hours reported, since many Wii games released will never reach that.
     While I still haven't played Disney Epic Mickey, I am making progress through my backlog of games, so perhaps I will play this game before the end of the year!

Questions:
     Have any of you played and beaten Disney Epic Mickey since the game released?  If so, about how many hours did it take you to complete from start to finish?
     If you have played it and beaten it, have you found yourself going back to play it again to try and make different decisions than you made the first time?

If anybody is interested in Disney Epic Mickey, you can see prices for the game and Collector's Edition on Amazon.com linked below:
   

The Legend of Zelda's Birthday - Another Year Older, More Game-Play Hours Reported

Coffee Beans:
The Legend of Zelda was released on the NES in North America on August 22, 1987.  The Legend of Zelda was originally released in Japan on February 21, 1986, so the game had been out for more than a year before Nintendo brought it to the United States.

Nintendo re-released The Legend of Zelda in digital form through the Wii's Virtual Console service on November 19, 2006 for 500 Wii Points, which is $5.
  
How many hours have been spent in the land of Hyrule, during the last 4 years with Link's first adventure?  Let's take a look!

Link, does he take coffee and cake?

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
The Legend of Zelda has 230,769 Wii owners reporting their game-play hours through the Nintendo Channel, with 1,556 days reported.

Average & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
The Legend of Zelda has 1,454,030 Total Hours of game-play reported, with an average play-time of 6 Hours 18 Minutes "Per person" reporting data. The Legend of Zelda's average play-time per session is just over 50 Minutes.

Sales Information:
The Legend of Zelda is currently in the top 20 on the Virtual Console's "Popular Titles" section, sitting at the #7 spot, and it has the highest spot of the "Zelda" games in the "Popular Titles" section.

The Legend of Zelda's North American WiiWare version has made Nintendo about $1,153,845 (before taxes!), based on the approximate number of players reporting data and the game's $5 price point.

Filtered Thoughts:
I honestly can't remember playing and beating The Legend of Zelda, but I do remember watching it being played when I was younger.

Many of you may have seen posts this week noting that The Legend of Zelda turned 25, which I thought was interesting mainly because Nintendo didn't release any special edition Zelda game disc, like they did for Mario's 25th birthday.

If you don't remember what The Legend of Zelda looks/plays like, here's a very brief video showing some footage from the game:


Perhaps once I complete my Video Game New Year's Resolution, I can attempt to play The Legend of Zelda, and at least then KNOW that I beat it.

While I've enjoyed some of my time spent in the land of Hyrule, I hope the Zelda series continues to mature in ways other than age, like perhaps trying new game-play elements not normally in the "Zelda" games(FPS shooting style elements) and perhaps a more involved story, with character development.

Questions:
Have any of you played through and completed The Legend of Zelda in the last 4 years?  If so, was it as good as perhaps you remembered in the past?

Also, are any of you surprised, like me, how Nintendo didn't seem to do much for The Legend of Zelda's 25th birthday?

If any of you are interested in The Legend of Zelda, you can still download the game from the Wii's Shop Channel for $5 using either Wii Points(pictured below) or a credit card:

Duck the Puck! NHL Slapshot's Hours Debut

Coffee Beans:
     NHL Slapshot was released on September 7, 2010 for the Nintendo Wii with a MSRP of $59.99.  $59.99 included the game, NHL Slapshot, as well as the NHL SLAPSHOT Hockey Stick game accessory.
     The game can be played by 1-4 players, and the description for NHL Slapshot on the Nintendo Channel reads, "Deke, check, and shoot with the all-new NHL SLAPSHOT Hockey Stick game accessory, included with NHL Slapshot.  Simply plug the Wii Remote and Nunchuk into the hockey stick and take over any game like a true NHL All-Star."

     NHL Slapshot was developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports.
     The ESRB rating for NHL Slapshot is "E for Everyone", with no Content descriptors listed for parents to be aware of.

     How many hours have Wii owners spent on the ice with Wayne Gretzky since NHL Slapshot released?  Let's take a look!

Hours shown are for United States of America Wii owners, not world-wide.

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     NHL Slapshot has 3,236 Wii owners reporting data through the Nintendo Channel on its debut, with 168 days reported.

Average & Total Game-Play Hours Reported:
     NHL Slapshot has 50,175 Total Hours of game-play reported on its debut, with an average "hockey" time of 15 Hours 30 Minutes "Per Person"(or console) reporting data.
     NHL Slapshot's average play-time per session is just over 1 Hour 45 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     NHL Slapshot's Amazon.com sale rank is #804, and it is currently selling for $46.99.
     (Sale rank and advertised price were recorded around 11:35PM, on 2-22-11)

Review Score Averages:
     NHL Slapshot's "professional" review score average is 77.38%, based on 21 reviews on GameRankings.com.

     NHL Slapshot has a 4.5 out of 5 Stars rating on Amazon.com, based on 41 customer reviews.
     NHL Slapshot's customer review score average is 90.24%, when converted to a 100% scale.

You can click the "41 customer reviews" and read what the customers had to say!

     (Review score averages recorded around 11:35PM, on 2-22-11)


Odd Bean:
     I thought it was interesting that NHL Slapshot received and "E" rating from the ESRB, which made me wonder, "Does this hockey game have any fighting?"
     Well, according to NHL Slapshot's Wikipedia page, it says, "It is the first game in the NHL series since NHL 2005 to receive an E rating, mainly because the game does not include fighting."


Filtered Thoughts:
     I remember thinking, "Gimmick!" after seeing the NHL Slapshot Hockey Stick when the game was announced for the Wii.  I really didn't think the use of the shell, with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk would work well at all, but after reading several "professional" reviews and many customer reviews, it seems the set-up functions pretty well.
     Here's a quick video that shows the NHL Slapshot Hockey Stick setup, as well as a few tips when using it, followed by some game-play footage that shows players being able to use Wayne Gretzky:


     I haven't played NHL Slapshot, but I enjoyed hockey games a lot during the last generation of consoles.  While 168 days isn't extremely fast for a Wii game to debut, it does make NHL Slapshot the fastest Wii hockey game to debut that was released in 2010.
     As for NHL Slapshot's price, as I stated in the "Coffee Beans" section the game released with a MSRP of $59.99, but Amazon.com now has the game with a list price of $49.99, and has put it on sale a few times during the last month.  So, if you're interested in NHL Slapshot, you may want to watch Amazon.com's prices to see if/when the game goes on sale again if the current asking price of $46.99 isn't your budget for the game.
     I think seeing the average hours of 15 Hours 30 Minutes "Per person" reporting data, should be encouraging to the developers and show them the Wii owners that are playing it seem to be enjoying it a good amount.  I think if the game included online play, the game-play hours would be even higher.  So, perhaps if there's a NHL Slapshot 2 in the works, hopefully online multi-player will be included.

Questions:
     Have any of you played NHL Slapshot, and if so what did you think about it?  Is it a game you would recommend to other Wii owners looking for a fun hockey game, and did the NHL Slapshot Hockey Stick function well from your experience with it?

If any of you are interested in NHL Slapshot, you can see prices for it on Amazon.com linked below: