Introducing a new property into the crowded video game market can be an absolute nightmare.

Far too often, new games are simply buried by wave after wave of high-profile releases. Even big-time publishers aren't immune, as gamers typically want to spend money on something they know, rather than taking a risk on something new.

That doesn't seem to be the case for Nintendo. Last year, the company announced Splatoon, a third-person shooter centered around controlling territory with brightly colored paint. It sounded bizarre (especially for Nintendo, who had never released anything like it before).

But lo and behold — the game produced a community, and as a result, it was one of the most talked-about games heading into launch this past May.

Hype is great and all, but there are times when a game gathers plenty of momentum only to fall short upon release. Again, that just doesn't seem to be the case with Nintendo. Splatoon has already sold more than a million units worldwide, after less than a month on store shelves.

Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America (via IGN), was obviously excited for both Splatoon and the future of the Wii U:

"Ever since Splatoon launched on May 29 in the United States, we've seen thousands of people go online to have fun in this colorful, chaotic competition. This milestone puts us in a nice position as we prepare to launch 11 more exclusive Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games before the end of the year, plus amiibo, digital offerings and games from our third-party partners."

While it's true that Nintendo's latest console is still in a distant third place to Microsoft's and Sony's hardware, things are starting to look up. The Wii U is finally starting to sell, and Nintendo has posted a profit for the first time in years. If the company continues to push out high-quality games like this, perhaps Nintendo can start to close the gap on its competition.

If you want to know what it's like to be both a kid and a squid, Splatoon is now available to show you firsthand.


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