Today, Nintendo released the video game Devil’s Third for Wii U, although you’d be forgiven if you didn’t know that. Nintendo’s been doing their best to keep it secret. (We apologize for ruining their surprise.)
Devil’s Third, a gruff action game designed by Tomonobu Itagaki of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive fame, was critically panned when it was released in Europe this year. (Keza called it a “dysfunctional mess.”) Rumors even suggested that Nintendo of America had given up on publishing the game—which was originally funded by THQ—but Nintendo quietly announced over the summer that they were indeed bringing it here.
Today, though, they’re silent. There’s no fanfare, no marketing other than a couple YouTube videos. Nintendo’s Twitter and Facebook accounts haven’t talked about Devil’s Third. They didn’t send out review copies for the game and they barely even mentioned it in their weekly round-up, choosing to bury it at the bottom of this week’s press release, way under the discounts and other games.
Go ahead and see if you can find it. (Hint: It’s less important than the new 3DS themes.)
For context, here’s how their weekly round-up looked last week, just before the release of the Nintendo-published Xenoblade Chronicles X:
It’s no shock that Nintendo wouldn’t want to draw attention to a game that’s gotten such widespread negative feedback, but it’s unusual to see the powerhouse publisher actually try to bury one of its own games. Farewell, Devil’s Third. We hardly knew thee.
You can reach the author of this post at jason@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @jasonschreier.