Amazing 'ARMS' Fan Art Suggests Nintendo Has Another Smash-Hit On Their Hands
May 17th saw a Nintendo Direct focused on ARMS broadcast to the gaming public, and with it the reveal of multiple new game modes, new weapons, and - perhaps most importantly - new characters to fight with.
However, following the Direct, something happened that few predicted:
the internet became awash with ARMS fan art! One new character, Twintelle, appears to be the target of a large proportion of this art, suggesting gamers are particularly fond of her glamorous design.
Could this influx of creative talent mean more than just a bunch of artwork to admire? The sheer number and quality of work leads me to believe so. It takes a great amount of dedication and excitement for a game to spawn a fan art community such as the one ARMS is currently enjoying.
I would argue that by looking at recent gaming trends, the amount of fan art being created for this game is indicative of an upcoming popular title, and that ARMS could reach commercial success on a level nobody would have predicted a few months ago.
It's amazing how quickly ARMS artwork emerged to dominate the gaming discussion scene following the Direct, spreading across multiple social media outlets.
And yet, it's not the first time in recent years that a game has inspired a community to express their excitement through drawing.
Nintendo knows this fact well; Splatoon followed a very similar trend, with the Inklings instantly becoming popular targets for fan art due to their unique and fun aesthetic. I strongly believe that the design of the Inklings was a significant factor in the huge success of Splatoon.The early fan art spawned from the Inklings intensified hype for the product, which led to a bustling online community on launch, thereby encouraging more people to purchase the game to join in.
Already it feels like the hype for ARMS is following a similar pattern to Splatoon. By the time the demo period launches, I reckon there will be a large number of gamers who were exposed to ARMS through the fanart and wish to give the game a try because of it. Subsequently, if the game plays great (which I have no doubt it will), these people may decide to buy. In this way, the art will have directly encouraged sales and the growth of ARMS online/competitive community.
Of course, perhaps the king of fan art is Overwatch. The ultimate demonstration that great character design and an active community that embraces those characters through fan art can generate huge amounts of hype for a game and create something of a culture surrounding the title years after its release.
Blizzard and Nintendo are clearly aware than character design is key to a game's success, especially in the digital era where fan art can be created and shared across the internet to build hype and form a community.
ARMS clearly has interesting and unique characters that have captured the imagination of many gamers and this can only be a good thing when thinking about the performance of the title as it releases in June.
Furthermore, ARMS increasingly looking like a fun game to play, with a lot of options and depth while remaining accessible to those not super familiar with the fighting genre.
I think ARMS has the buzz and polish to take fighting games into the mainstream, and will reap the rewards for doing so.
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Aber ein paar stechen für mich gerade sehr heraus.
Ne Mischung aus 'ner LatinaDiva, Lady Gaga und Bayonetta ^^
