Worries about the community...

[Gunster25]

I'm actually not sure what Smash has to do with Splatoon at all. Besides some players crossing between the two and Squid/Smashboards being affiliated there is almost nothing. Guess what, Nintendo fans play Nintendo games.

Just because you don't see 1000 members online at any given time here doesn't mean activity is an issue. Like others have said this game isn't even out yet, it's a new game, and it's a new community. You're comparing kiwis and like...melons or some other exotic fruit, take a pick.

I was trying to say that by now the Smash & MK8 communities were much larger and gathering more followers than Splatoon is, that's the only reason some of us are a little worried.

 

[RespawningJesus]

I was trying to say that by now the Smash & MK8 communities were much larger and gathering more followers than Splatoon is, that's the only reason some of us are a little worried.

Like I said before, Smash and MK are already well established IPs that have had multiple sequels to gather a fan base. Splatoon is brand new. You cannot really compare them.

 

[DaKid]

More people from different fanbases will come in time, including people new to gaming and shooters. But I think the Smash Fanbase will... yikes... never mind.

 

[Pivi]

I feel it's just a matter of time. I've asked some of my friends about splatoon and while they like it, some don't consider it a day 1 buy since they stll don't know exactly what they can do.

So in a way, it's up to us to host tournaments, generate content, and overall make splatoon as attractive as possible to newcomers so eventually we'll have a really wonderous community that can rake in newbies with ease.
And as some already said, don't act like the Smash (read: Melee) community, though that would take a LOT of effort anyways.

 

[ndayadn]

They are saying that diversity is important in a community, especially when introducing young/new people to a community, they aren't comparing the two games whatsoever. Also, talking about smashboards does not necessarily mean talking about the game Super Smash Bros.

Oh, ok. I guess I just don't see why specifically people bring up the smash fanbase negatively in this conversation, though? Admittedly I'd be considered a "smash bros player" so maybe I'm not seeing something.

But regardless DAK075 is making the most sense here. If we're going with smash as the example that's a series that has been around for over 15 years. This game isn't even out yet. the only people that know how it will sell is Nintendo's marketing team and even that is all forecasting. And even then, the group that will really push the game's fanbase is a small part of that. Keep in mind it was the same for giants like Mario Kart and Smash, too.

 

[Mr.HawK]

i think all we need is Nintendo to give us a little nudge nudge ;)
Kidding of course~

 

[Pivi]

Oh, ok. I guess I just don't see why specifically people bring up the smash fanbase negatively in this conversation, though? Admittedly I'd be considered a "smash bros player" so maybe I'm not seeing something.

I think when people bring up Smash they mostly mean the negative things that the community is known for, I was...REALLY big on Smash for the longest time, but after a bunch of events from the community (remember how #OneUnit was a huge failure because people didn't wanna compromise? Or how the Melee crowd caused a ruckus during Apex's Smash 4 grand finals this year?), I ultimately ended up ditching it-- this was very recently too. I think others have had similar experiences and are just worried that Splatoon could wind up like Smash and drive people away because of elitism and negativity and all kinds of infighting.

However I doubt that'll be the case considering how comfy these boards are. It's likely we'll get some nasty people but I think we as people who play video games as a whole, have enough experience under our belts to deal with it before it becomes an ingrained issue that can't get washed out.

 

[Cheerio]

I doubt it.
Large varieties of people will come to Splatoon to have fun, and have a (hopefully) friendly competitive scene.
The people who would be considered the 'bad' parts of the community probably wouldn't be interested in Splatoon, because they already have their typical shooters to play and pour money into.
Smash and Splatoon are two very different games (a fighting game and a third person shooter about squids). We shouldn't compare them to one another.

 

[RespawningJesus]

The biggest challenge of the community is to try to get people who aren't into shooters into this game, as well as showing the people who say this is just a kid's game that it is so much more.

 

[Lyn]

I wouldn't be worried. We've already built up a pretty strong community, and the game is not even out. I am definitely expecting good things from the direct that I believe will likely keep people playing. :)

 

[Flying_Tortoise]

Jeez so much dislike for the smash community. Melee vs smash4 happened b/c there was a natural worry that only one could survive like the Street Fighter series. I play both sm4sh and melee competitively and love both scenes for the good parts of it. Can there be annoying people who are dumb? Yes.. on both sides. I'd appreciate it if we didn't just randomly jab at the community that helped bring new numbers to these boards (including myself).

Besides Splatoon is a brand new shooter for nintendo. No comparisons to smash needed. And there has been absolutely no new news in forever. Us members who are already passionate about this game are picking up pieces of info from interviews. That's dedication already. People will come to this game for the great gameplay, the awesome exposure we give it by streams, tournies etc., and for the awesome community we have.

I can't wait for this game, and so will many others when the game is released.

 

[Siledh]

Splatoon, if made well, will develop its own community and it will thrive. If we keep it going, it may become a franchise and only grow in the future. The future is bright for Splatoon.

 

[Astral]

I understand that this Is a new IP and those games had a larger fanbase before but it is still worrying how big the community is.

The community should grow larger over time, especially with the site being connected to smashboards. In the mario kart community, we have about 4,500 (ish) members and we run just fine. Not to mention we still have time before Splatoon officially releases. I'm expecting a huge wave of members right after the game comes out. Not many people are aware that this site exists yet.

 

[FunkyLobster]

i wouldn't take the quietness of the community as a red flag, since there's not much info on the game as of right now. that might change depending on how much is announced in the direct, but as of right now there's only so much to talk about. not to mention there's already a good foundation for the community here on squidboards, with carryover from the smash community. if something exciting happens to splatoon that makes a wider, competitive audience interested, it's not like we're an inaccessible community

 

[Diableos]

i wouldn't take the quietness of the community as a red flag, since there's not much info on the game as of right now. that might change depending on how much is announced in the direct, but as of right now there's only so much to talk about. not to mention there's already a good foundation for the community here on squidboards, with carryover from the smash community. if something exciting happens to splatoon that makes a wider, competitive audience interested, it's not like we're an inaccessible community

This. A lot of people here so far are from Smashboards, and I know plenty of people are unsure on whether they want the game or not. I'm hoping the Direct puts a lot of people at ease and sways them into buying the game. More members here will be a great thing, though as FunkyLobster said, there's really not that much to discuss at the moment. Most of the discussions have been made already, and I assume a lot of discussions were also held on the Beta version of the site. I think the community activity is bound to pick up after the Direct. Unless some awful decisions are announced in the Drect, that is, but I doubt that.

 

[suavevillain]

Can people stop trying to paint the smash community coming over in some negative light why would try to low diss more people playing the game? New people will join it is a new game. There isn't much to talk about atm. There isn't much hype in general some people are ready and some are on the fence the game will be fine.

 

[Zoot]

I'm honestly surprised by how much activity there is! We really don't have much to talk about, and yet this board is bustling with discussion every day.

Don't forget that there's no doubt a bunch of people lurking around waiting for a reason to sign up. I know I put off signing up for a while because I didn't really see the point yet, so we can expect a bump in activity on Thursday, and of course the huge one after the 29th of May.

Don't panic! This is a very healthy community.

 

[Endymion]

Popular or not Splatoon has started a new trend and a fandom. I still welcome it with open arms.

 

[Shaggy_MN_1975]

Popular or not Splatoon has started a new trend and a fandom. I still welcome it with open arms.

AGREED!! No need to fret over nothing. I think this game has great potential and things like this message board will help it thrive.

 

[Toidiedud]

When I see the Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer still have a community after all this time it makes me not worry as much about this.

Though with how they're treating updates, I just have to hope that'll continue long past what they've already stated or I could see a lot of dead spots in the community life.

Word of Mouth will probably help this game more than anything. Especially if Nintendo has some other heavy hitters later this year,people could pick up Splatoon with it and hopefully find a healthy community.