I'm sure that if you've been paying attention to Metroid Prime 3, one of the more notable events in terms of media exposure would have to be when Matt Casamassina of IGN.com wrote an editorial outlining the hype--or lack thereof--of the latest game in the Metroid series. Now, even with a lack of hype, I would have still picked up the game on the first day; but, I'm a hardcore Nintendo consumer and the problem is that not everybody is. In light of the dread that is the Metroid Prime 3 hype, Nintendo put out a downloadable preview channel on the Wii displaying two trailers of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Regardless of the praise put out by both fanboys and myself, I still think that Metroid Prime 3 is still underhyped and probably won't sell well. Here's why:

1. The audience the trailers were catered to: Current Wii owners.

Let face facts first (Heh, alliteration), who has access to these trailers other than Wii owners? Heck, there's a bad-quality stream going on YouTube, but it's enough to generate an even deeper lack of interest since it isn't even a direct-feed video. Nintendo may be nearing it's ten millionth console, but if Nintendo really wants this game to push off, they're going to have to reach out to the general consumer and not just people who already own the system. Halo 3 is generating more of a buzz on the software end, yet Wii consoles are on the verge of surpassing the XBox 360's market share. So, why not spend a few thousand putting together a really good commercial to generate even more awareness? Any computer monkey could clip together gameplay footage, and it's not like Nintendo's hard-pressed for cash at this moment.

2. www.metroid.com

Even sadder than the fact that the preview is only available on the Wii is the fact that Nintendo's Metroid website tells you to download the preview onto your Wii (supposing you even have one) rather than making it available for viewing on the site itself. It might just be me speaking, but I really think that the logic train has been derailed in terms of this marketing correlation. If you checked the Metroid site yesterday, there wasn't even a smidge of Corruption information yesterday. Now, all we get is a picture of Samus from an old screenshot and another picture telling us to download a channel on the Wii? Creative. Brilliant. Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

3. The soccer moms won't care.

Stereotype on the people buying the Wii? Hardly. Let's take a moment to consider the enormously high attach rate of either Wii Play or Mario Party 8 when customers get their system. Then let's take a moment to verify the two games into their respective categories. I don't know about you, but the first word that comes to my mind is: Casual. I work at a GameStop, and as much as I know the little outlet mall store I work at doesn't speak for every sale in general, but Mario Party 8 or Wii Play is almost always the first game of choice and, lo and behold, it's a mother buying the system for their kid. Considering this little factoid, I wouldn't exactly expect a mother to walk up to me, ask me for a Wii and ask me for a copy of Metroid Prime 3 to go with it. If any game with a gun is enough to get a thumbs down from a soccer mom, I don't expect Metroid to fare any better than the others just because the controller is good for playing virtual tennis.

4. Madden 2008, Bioshock and Halo 3.

Any gamer should know that the holiday season is the one time of the year where publishers finally release games we've been waiting for. Over the past few years however, Madden NFL, for some unknown (and probably stupid) reason, has signified the beginning of the end for our wallets. Unfortunately for Metroid, it's sandwiched between the gargantuan football game itself and Bioshock, a game receiving extremely high critical acclaim and excellent video game entertainment press coverage. Additionally, Halo 3, another sci-fi shooter that clashed with Metroid a few years back, makes its return and aims to conclude its trilogy-based story (much like how Metroid Prime is concluding its own trilogy). The release of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes in 2004 was done six days after the launch of Halo 2, and under heavy speculation, the release of Halo 2 factored greatly in the lack of Echoes' success. Even with the release of Halo 3 one month away, Madden 2008 and Bioshock have enough incentive to empty out one's pocket before they even get a chance to look at Metroid Prime 3.

Ultimately, I want to buy Metroid Prime 3, and I also pray for its success; but if Nintendo doesn't do anything beyond their current attempts at hyping the game, we're probably going to see Corruption sell as well as Echoes. Personally, I have undying faith that Nintendo will give the game what it needs to be a piece of hardcore interest. The only problem is that I'm not seeing any of it happen.

So anyway, tell me your thoughts on the hype of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Is it at the level you want it to be? Do you agree with me or disagree? Leave a comment or a piece of fried chicken, although I'd greatly appreciate the former.