"Excitebots didn't have much if any of a marketing push, and not to mention that it was announced quite close to its release date if I'm not mistaken."
Yet people go on the internet almost every day, and I did see some sidebar advertisements. I was going to buy the game regardless of its look, and that was the main problem. Its overall looks. Not to mention not so high media outlet scores. People unfairly wrote it off as a casual cash in thanks to the glut of copycats that came with Mario Kart Wii.
Wario Land Shake It, which was also cartoony but in a completely different genre, manage to move more copies despite having the same amount of advertising. That game sold better, but Excitebots sold worse? Both are great games.
People can say Nintendo sent the game to die, but can you blame really blame them if people compared the game to casual shovelware just by its cover alone.
Chibi Robo DS was good. Not great, good. Flawed, but good.
