my umbrella goes directly to Bankai
Quote from Opium:
I think it's quite possible that sales could really surprise us. This is going to be the first time that they've release a 'real' non-mario video game since the whole wii phenomenon invaded the US. There's a good chance that alot of nooby people might be interested in this. When MP3 came out, alot of those people either didn't have wiis yet or were too intimidated by it's apparent complexity. I think luring those people is what ninty had in mind when they were adamant about not including the nunchuk.
i don't see how a casual-filled userbase could help a game aimed at hardcore gamers. Nintendo's minor series haven't gained noticeable sales compared to what they did on N64 and GC. only the more casual-friendly titles like Mario and the Wii line have really gained sales because of the userbase but stuff like Wario Land, Fire Emblem and Metroid have retained similar numbers to their GC/GBA-era predecessors.
also, i don't see this game bringing in many new gamers. so far only people who know the series are aware of it and even in that group, there's a lot of people who aren't going to buy it. add in Nintendo's bad advertising and the game would be lucky to sell on par with even mp2 or hunters. i haven't seen anyone come and say "hey, that new metroid game looks rad. i haven't played a single game in the series but i'll give this one a try!" anywhere yet and that was supposedly Nintendo's goal going by their design choices.