BIT.TRIP RUNNER released on May 17, 2010 for the Wii, through the WiiWare service. The game was developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games. It received an ESRB rating of "Everyone" with no content listed for gamers or parents to be aware of, and released at a price point of 800 Wii Points, which is $8.
How many total hours have U.S. Wii owners spent running, jumping, kicking, and sliding their way through the 2D Bit world with CommanderVideo? Does Bit.Trip Runner offer enough hours of game-play to justify its WiiWare asking price of $8? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!
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| Download a free demo for Bit.Trip Runner on your Wii console, through the Shop Channel. |
The Brew
BIT.TRIP RUNNER has approximately 12,040 U.S. Wii owners that have reported data through the Nintendo Channel, with 784 days possibly reported. Wii owners are averaging just under an hour each time they sit down to play the game, with the average play-time per day/session being 46 Minutes.
The game has a "professional" review score average of 76.07%, based on 15 reviews on GameRankings.com. While I wasn't able to find a list of individual customer reviews, I was able to find a few "overall" customer scores for Bit.Trip Runner and how many "recommend" it on Steam.
Bit.Trip Runner's PC version on Steam has 12,928 players that would recommend it to others, and the Wii version has a "User Score" of 8.3 out of 10, on MetaCritic.com.
How much has Bit.Trip Runner's WiiWare release made for Gaijin and Aksys? The U.S. WiiWare release has made about $96,320 for the developer and publisher over the last 2 years, before any state/federal taxes or profit sharing with Nintendo, based on the number of players that have reported data and the game's $8 price point.
Caffeinated Thoughts
I have been playing the WiiWare demo of Bit.Trip Runner a good bit (ha!) over the last month. If you have never seen any game-play footage of Bit.Trip Runner, below is a video me playing through the first level, "First Contact", and the first "Retro Challenge" level as well:
Because the demo of the game plays so well and I have really enjoyed my time with it, I have added Bit.Trip Complete to my "wish list" of Wii games.
What is Bit.Trip Complete? If you don't know, according to the description on Amazon.com it has "All 6 BIT.TRIP games with new difficulty levels" on a physical game disc, so it's not just digital copies. Complete has a list price of $39.99 on Amazon.com, whereas GameStop.com has its price as just $19.99.
I own another WiiWare version of one of the Bit.Trip games, but haven't played it very much and never completed it, which is why I'm surprised I have been playing and enjoying this one so much, if only in demo form.
Based on the reported game-play hours, do I think Bit.Trip Runner is worth the $8 asking price for it on the WiiWare service? Absolutely! $8 for a game averaging 9 Hours, 2 Minutes, I think is a great deal. Considering Bit.Trip Complete has five additional games as well, I would say Bit.Trip Complete is probably a steal at $19.99 from GameStop.
Questions
Have any of you played and beaten Bit.Trip Runner? If so, is it a game you would recommend to other gamers?
If you own Bit.Trip Complete, and/or have completed other games in the series, do you have one Bit.Trip game that you favor more than the others?
If any of you are interested in Bit.Trip Runner, you can still download the game from the Wii's Shop Channel for $8, get the PC version on Steam for $9.99, or get it in the Bit.Trip Complete set which is linked below to Amazon.com and GameStop.com:
Time for an embarrassing admission: I've only played Void, and the demo for the Pong-themed game (I forget its name). Runner has always looked good, but I've never got around to playing it.
ReplyDeleteThese games have always struck me as the "action" version of the Art Style games. They share a similar minimalist appeal with art style and basic gameplay, but these aren't puzzle games.
I have not played this for the Wii, but I did pick up Runner and Bit Trip Beat (I believe the one Matt is referring to that he demoed that was Pong-style). I liked Beat better than Runner myself. Runner was - colorful, and I enjoyed the music and premise okay, but it's harder than it looks. My youngest was really excited to try it but got frustrated and gave up pretty quickly. I just did not enjoy it a whole lot personally, but I could appreciate the aesthetics of both it and Beat.
ReplyDelete@Matt Embarrassing indeed! ;) You should definitely check out COMPLETE or SAGA someday, though. BIT.TRIP is my favorite series of all time and I will contend that anyone who doesn't try it is missing out.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the questions: I've played and beaten RUNNER, yes, and would wholly recommend it to other gamers as a hardcore rhythm-platformer that features amazing music and charming retro aesthetics. I have beaten every game in the series (both in their WiiWare incarnations and in SAGA, the 3DS compilation). I also own COMPLETE, though I have yet to beat any of the games in that form.
FLUX (the final entry in the series, which shares its Pong-like gameplay with BEAT) is by far my favorite title because of its ethereal presentation and unprecedented level of story and player interactivity. I only pick it over RUNNER, my second-favorite, because I have played the entire series and have pieced together the story through playing it and by discussing it with others online, which has enhanced my understanding and therefore appreciation of the story in FLUX. RUNNER is my favorite purely from a gameplay perspective.
Embarrassing indeed! ;) You should definitely check out COMPLETE or SAGA someday, though. BIT.TRIP is my favorite series of all time and I will contend that anyone who doesn't try it is missing out.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the questions: I've played and beaten RUNNER, yes, and would wholly recommend it to other gamers as a hardcore rhythm-platformer that features amazing music and charming retro aesthetics. I have beaten every game in the series (both in their WiiWare incarnations and in SAGA, the 3DS compilation). I also own COMPLETE, though I have yet to beat any of the games in that form.
FLUX (the final entry in the series, which shares its Pong-like gameplay with BEAT) is by far my favorite title because of its ethereal presentation and unprecedented level of story and player interactivity. I only pick it over RUNNER, my second-favorite, because I have played the entire series and have pieced together the story through playing it and by discussing it with others online, which has enhanced my understanding and therefore appreciation of the story in FLUX. RUNNER is my favorite purely from a gameplay perspective.
"Time for an embarrassing admission: I've only played Void, and the demo for the Pong-themed game (I forget its name). Runner has always looked good, but I've never got around to playing it."
ReplyDeleteHaha! I have one of the other games, the complete version of it, that I won from a contest or something (FREE games...one step closer to the Rewards Program!) I think it was the Pong-themed one where you move the little platform back and forth to absorb the pellets. Not even sure though.
Didn't play it but once or twice though; I should probably give it another try.
I'm not really familiar with the Art Style games, though I have heard and seen a little bit on them.
The Bit games though, appear very "psychedelic" to me. Lots of craziness happening in the backgrounds, and very colorful.
"both in their WiiWare incarnations and in SAGA, the 3DS compilation"
ReplyDeleteBeing that you have played SAGA, what did you think of it? Good port? I read some "iffy" customer reviews on it, that's why I didn't link to it.
"RUNNER is my favorite purely from a gameplay perspective."
As for RUNNER, just from the demo I can imagine how crazy some of the other levels get, and I really do enjoy how "jumping" "sliding" etc., is tide to a beat/sound effect in the game at certain moments, that makes it all flow nicely.
I enjoy platformers a lot, and I don't mind a challenge in games, so that's probably why I'm really interested in RUNNER.
Thanks for the comment and feedback so far!
"Runner was - colorful, and I enjoyed the music and premise okay, but it's harder than it looks."
ReplyDeleteSo says the guy that likes Demon's Souls and Dark Souls? :)
I have heard the game is challenging, and looks like that it could end up being a lot of trial/error based game-play later on...I don't know though.
The demo plays well, and introduces the main aspects I believe, which seemed to all be implemented well.
Do you remember how far you made it in the game?
Thanks for stopping by!
SAGA isn't nearly as good of a package as COMPLETE; it's just for obsessive fans that need to get their BIT.TRIP fix on the go. It's a fairly sloppy port with regards to frame rate and the like, thought I can't imagine a better audiovisual experience than FLUX on a 3DS XL with the 3D turned to the max.
ReplyDeleteCOMPLETE, on the other hand, is bursting at the seams with bonus features--it's truly a love letter to the fans and the ultimate package for the BIT.TRIP newbie. For $20, can't go wrong with that one.
RUNNER is easily the most accessible from a gameplay standpoint, with FATE following close behind (my 9-year-old cousin loves that one, as long as I'm helping him). This is because they're the more traditional, more modern titles (RUNNER is a platformer and FATE is a bullet-heck shooter), and I'll readily admit that they're the easiest for me to get into as well.
Once you start delving into the games' story, etc. it all gets a little more complicated, but I believe that they're all great standalone gameplay experiences, as long as you like a good challenge. ;)
Not really. 2nd set of levels - somewhere in there. Trial and error was a bit of a theme by then it seems. Difference is, I like RPG's more than Platformers. :P actually, the difficulty reference was more of a reference for my daughter though. The game has these bright visuals and nice upbeat music that appealed to my daughter, but she grew frustrated very quickly.
ReplyDeleteoooh, you should try some of the Art Style games! Rotohex is insanely addictive, especially, but they're all great fun.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason I couldn't stomach the $8 WiiWare price point and ended up getting it on steam during some insane sale. This is the only Bit.Trip game that I can get into which pains me a bit to say as the rest look cool. Something just doesn't click and at times all the flashing backgrounds and stuff is too distracting and screws with my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely recommend runner as it's a great rhythm platformer.
I'd second that, the entire series is pretty cool. I got Orbient on release and also want to look at Cubello and Rotohex at some point. Orbient is very psychedelic/trippy with the music especially if you turn off all the lights. Had some friends over once and we all just watched the game while someone played for about an hour. Though it does get insanely difficult which kind of spoils that mood.
ReplyDeleteOsmos on the PC (Hemisphere games) is similar to orbient, better in some ways, if you want to demo on steam.
"Something just doesn't click and at times all the flashing backgrounds and stuff is too distracting and screws with my eyes."
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to get used to the backgrounds, because with all the colors and stuff happening I found myself getting distracted by it all. I think that's perhaps why I had downloaded it, but never gave it a good chance.
Once I learned to concentrate more on CommanderVideo and watch him, objects moving into the space became easier to identify.
Thanks for the feedback!
I actually looked them up after the comment on them, and recognized them immediately from the trailers, and probably from seeing them when they originally released.
ReplyDeletePerhaps if they roll over to the Wii U in the Shop system, I'll pick them up. Nintendo needs to stop back-tracking on comments already made though...
Thanks for the feedback and recommendation!
"Orbient is very psychedelic/trippy with the music especially if you turn off all the lights."
ReplyDeleteThat's how I would describe the Bit.Trip games as well...
I may download the Orbient demo, though I'm going to actually demo some other games first that I have already downloaded, but not yet played.
Dunno why, but I never got around to playing any of the BIT.TRIP games. Probably should, actually!
ReplyDeleteWell, they have demos up for most of them I believe, I know RUNNER and at least one more. Demo = free, but may end up selling you on the games...which isn't a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteHey Mr. Coffee - thanks for the cool (as always) post/article. I went ahead and linked to it on our site - I would have done it last week, but I was swamped at work and couldn't really post to the site.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wiinintendo.net/2012/07/17/coffee-with-games-bit-trip-runner/
Oh yeah, I own the game on Steam and Wii. I really enjoyed Runner on the Wii and had a blast playing it. I really got a kick out of the rhythm and music, plus the graphics were great! I can't wait to see the new version on the Wii U!
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