Onechanbara: a new low?

Game publisher D3 recently reaffirmed the release of two titles, Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers and Onechanbara: The Bikini Squad. T&A game titles aren’t anything new, but in a surprising development D3 announced that these titles are for the Nintendo Wii game console.

This announcement seems to be somewhat at odds to the console maker’s marketing campaign targeting casual gamers, women and families. Nintendo Wii’s best selling games are the Wii Fit and games from the Mario Brother’s franchise. A title where you take on the role of a bikini-clad, zombie killing, katana weilding female protagonist tends to stick out like a sore thumb. Is this an  intentional strategy to market against type or has Nintendo just missed the boat on this one?

Make no mistake, this isn’t a high brow title. As with previous Onechanbara titles (yes, this game franchise has already made an appearance on the Sony PS2 and Xbox), you’re not playing to advance the plot. Instead, the game is a gratuitous attempt to exploit the jiggle factor of the main characters and see zombies eviscerated in a mass of bloody gore.  The main purpose of the game seems more to unlock increasingly sexy outfits for the characters and see them in action.

I’m not making a moral judgment on this game. There’s clearly a market for this type of game and if done well, such as the Dead and Alive series, this type of game can offer good escapist entertainment. However, the question seems to be whether or not this announcement harkens a shift in marketing strategy for the Wii. Is  Nintendo is purposely trying to attract a different demographic of gamer?

See Kotaku for screenshots and impressions on Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers.

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