Red Steel TV spot aired, for the kids

by James Ransom-Wiley on Nov 8th 2006 8:25PM

Ubisoft's first Wii ad, a Red Steel TV spot, has all the makings of an effective after-school commercial:

Action (swords, guns, flailing arms, etc.)
Humor (stereotyped Asian "master" ridicules disciple: "you suck")
Reassurance (older gamer is playing; it must be cool)

Are we sold? Nope -- but we're not the target. Think Ubisoft captures the kids' imaginations with this one?

Tags: Ad, Advertisement, Commercial, Red Steel, RedSteel, Ubisoft, Wii, Wiimote

Reader Comments (38)

Awesome! I can't wait for the Wii and Red Steel. It's good to see this ad out, the more "mainstream" ads the better.

I think it's cute.. I believe they could have gone a little better with this commerical I mean, like in an actual training ground more along the lines of that mountain dew one (The closer they could get it to feeling like Kill Bill, the better off they would be)

In the end though, it's not really selling me or turning me away, and I'm still on the fense for the product as a whole.

Very cool, but the " you suck" at the end, thats not to kid friendly

totally oldest junk,this is 2006,not 1906,

crappy graphics,nintendo doomed this time,sony rules!!!

Beats crying baby dolls and haunted Rubix cubes, that's for sure.

To raid: May I remind you of a meme, that happens to be my band's name in GH2?

599 US DOLLARS.

That was pretty lame.

For people always complaining about lack of gameplay in ads; this is worst, 80%+ it shows the guy flailing like a moron. And that's terrible voice over work on the 'master' character.

At least they arent eating sushi in between sessions or ducking behind couches.

Haha. I just said 599 US dollars on another website about Nvidia's newest video card...That one never dies.

It could of been just the guy rubbing the wiimote on his forehead with "Red Steel, apply directly to the TV" repeating in the background and it would still of been better then those POS Sony ads.

Eww they could have done way better. Not bad for the younger kids like the ones that can't buy games rated T. No gameplay shots FTL :P

Oh and this is still better then those fork, dead baby, broken Rubix cube or flying 3 PS3 adds.

Man I don't get those creepy PS3 commercials. Especially the crying robobaby. What the hell is that thing?

"Oh just get the gun."

Yeah! This ad totally rocks because sony is complete shit! Yeah! $600! Battlecrabs! Wii is revolutionary with motion sensing yeah! WIIIIIII

but seriously, this ad is really bad
if i were looking forward to this game, i'd rather they not have an ad at all for this game than try to make it cooler with this crap

Ah internet, where no matter where you go, there'll be nerds fighting tooth and nail over something irrelevant. It's a great self-esteem boost.

what a horrible ad for a horrible game
i'm offended as an asian person >:(

I don't see how this is kiddy at all. It's funny, shows off the controls and the graphics, and it tells me something.

Sony should look at the ad and take a lesson.

^^ sensitive little bitch.

I liked the ad it was funny and charming, what Id expect from a nintendo commercial.

5. That was pretty lame.

For people always complaining about lack of gameplay in ads; this is worst, 80%+ it shows the guy flailing like a moron. And that's terrible voice over work on the 'master' character.

At least they arent eating sushi in between sessions or ducking behind couches.

That's Fucking awesome how you can talk about very little gameplay. PS3 has two TV ads and both don't even have gameplay footage in them. On top of that they both suck.

Funny commercial, but I'm gonna have to be a nerd by noting that Red Steel is supposed to be dealing with Yakuzas and katanas; Japanese elements, while the master is of the kung fu veriety, which is a Chinese deal. But I guess you can't expect an ad company to know or consider such things.

Is it just me or wasn't this game supposed to be the "mature" game for the Wii? Remember what it was like when the game premiered, as the first game showing off the Wii(Revolution at the time)?http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/07/red-steel-first-revolution-screens-revealed/
This was supposed to be tthe game that showed the Nintendo isn't a kiddie system. Then it came out that a game title implying a blood soaked blade would be rated T. Now this. I know it's being produced but I get the feeling Nintendo has something to do with this. I do plan on getting the Wii and I have Red Steel reserved, but Nintendo keeps on blowing their chances to appeal to the hardcore gamer. If Zelda:TP isn't freaking incredible, or Super Smash Bros. Brawl isn't online, then that's it.

smash brothers is not online
but zelda should be the best example of videogame entertainment in history.

I love this commercial, it strikes me as very similar to the style of video game commercials I saw when I was growing up with the NES and SNES.

Anyway, I don't care how bad commercials for this game look after reading the first scanned review for this game. Aside from problems in multiplayer and lack of difficulty settings this game sounds amazing.

Nothing's been confirmed about the online status of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Wait till more information comes out.

You people are too biased, that was a good commercial. They're not going to be able to sell you on the gameplay in thirty seconds - the point is to make you aware of the game, show you the guy swinging his sword (why you should be interested in our game), and entertain you enough that you remember it and come away with a positive impression. They did well on all counts. I don't see why the appeal would be limited to a younger audience either, funny is funny.

T games sell more than M games. Go look at some yearly sales charts. They could have added more blood and violence to the game to make it M rated, but what does that add? Nothing to the story or gameplay. On the other hand, staying Teen allows the game to be sold to a wider audience. If you won't buy a game unless it's Mature rated... well that's a bit of a paradox eh?

Anyways, cute commercial for the kids networks. Dialouge could be tighter and such, but it gets the job done.

I didn't think it was that great but at the last second he goes "YOU SUCK". c'mon that was funny.

But think about all the people who have never really seen Wii it action seeing this for the first time? People who waven't been drooling over web sites like a hawk for months. They have no idea the sword play isn't 1:1.

Even if it's a so-so add for Red Steel it's an awsome add for the Wii in general.

Ryan

I like this ad, same with all of Ubisofts marketing recently. The bunnies for Raving Rabbids are the shit, and the Pai Mai like guy for Red Steel is great as well.

Tells me more about the product and is more entertaining than those totally random PS3 commercials...

*PS3 commercial*
Paste random product over PS3, nothing has changed. It's still just as stupid.

meh, it could have been much better but what do you expect from video game advertizing. It actually reminds me of older game commercials from the SNES and Genesis days. Kind of campy and silly, but informative and rather simple (by which I mean you dont have to try to pull meaning out of it or make strange connections *cough* PS3 *cough*)

Its not a great ad, but I still like it. I've watched it a few times and it at least makes me smirk in a satisfied sort of way and I think "yeah, Red Steel looks cool".

Video game commercials are a strange medium all their own, and right now they don't seem to really know where they are going, so I take this as a welcome throwback to older (and yes, stupid/silly) commercials.

Lame

An ad showing adults is for kids (Red Steel) But ads showing kids and kids toys is for adults(PS3 ads) ????

how about.....

The Red Steel ad is for adults who aren't insecure.

^At Martin

As much as I despise the PS3 ads. They are supposed to be creepy and show it's power. Like the rubiks cube paint explosion? It's "supposed to show the cells power". I don't agree with you that ads have to be directed towards an audience using actors of the target ages.

how about...

it's an ad for people with a fucken sense of humour.

Oh wah! Red steel had a lackluster comercial. I'm not buying the Wii now! I hate nintendo. Nintendo is fo teh kiddies!

...Seriously, it's a freaking comercial. I don't think I've ever seen a good video game advertisement.

God, I hope Santa comes through this year!!!!!

Any chance of a non-Youtube link to the ad? Youtube is blocked here at work...

For those of you hating on the PS3 "Crazy Robo Baby" ad, do your self a favor and watch the entire add from the beginning. (Youtube it)
When I first viewed it I too was like "What the heck?? That sucked!", but like anything that's just caught in the middle you miss the meaning or idea behind it.
It's actually a really smart spot with a lot of deep metaphorical meaning behind it. Not everyone is going to understand or appreciate it.

An update from my previous post: IGN just recently reported that Super Smash Bros. Brawl will in fact be online.

Red Steel TV spot aired, for the kids

Reader Comments (38)

Posted: Nov 8th 2006 8:30PM (Unverified) said

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