Namco Bandai Turning Wii U Game Into A Free-to-Play Title

Tank! Tank! Tank! was one of the Wii U launch titles in all territories, but by looking at Miiverse activity it seems like the arcade game didn’t catch on at home in Japan. Tomorrow, Namco Bandai is taking a different approach with Tank! Tank! Tank!—they’re turning it into an upgradable demo.

Wii U owners in Japan will be able to download a Tank! Tank! Tank! basic pack for free on the eShop. The basic pack allows players to select the city map for Free for All, Team Battle, and Giant Monster modes. Tank! Tank! Tank! basic pack supports multiplayer, but you can only play the game three times each day. Purchase any downloadable content and this restriction disappears.

Namco Bandai has extra maps like the beach, canyon, and volcano levels for 200 yen each. My Kong mode, one of the features made for Wii U, lets a fifth player control a giant monkey monster with the GamePad. You can purchase this for 1,000 yen ($12) or at a sale price of 200 yen ($2.30) until January 31, 2013.

Campaign mode costs an additional 2,200 yen ($26). Altogether, it costs 4,800 yen ($57) to upgrade the basic pack to the full game. If you want until the My Kong sale is over Tank! Tank! Tank! is 5,600 yen ($66). Yeah, that’s less than a full downloadable version of the game, which costs 5,040 yen ($60), but that won’t be available until February 21, 2013.

While it costs more to buy Tank! Tank! Tank! piecemeal, you can opt to only by the parts you want for a low price. My Kong mode for like $2.30 is worth it when you have friends over and that’s probably enough Tank! Tank! Tank! for everyone. So far, this promotion has only been announced for Japan.