How Come Mario Galaxy Didn't Sell More?

[mortono]

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

nitekrawler1285 said:
Because 3D mario is too boring to bring continual enjoyment and engagement to people who haven't been playing them for 13 years. 3D platforming tends to be.

The genre isn't that big and never really has been. Have we ever seen a 3D platformer sell over 10 million even with Mario in the title? I like them plenty but that doesn't mean they have ever had great relevance in the market. Compared to any other game in the genre SMG's sales are awesome.

That 3rd Dimension just seems to be a barrier for most people in terms of less fluid feeling control, awkward cameras and time it takes to traverse and discover something interesting or new. I can't blame them as most of the time i feel the same way.

Do you even know what you're talking about?  The 3D 'barrier' is what newer gamers want and what a lot of them got started on.  And it has overtaken the 2D genre in populairty in the last 2 generations.

Yes, there is something to the whole '2D has more accurate controls and plays more fluid/quicker/etc'.  But as for that being the major deviding line keeping people from buying the 3D Mario titles, I doubt it.  At least in America, where 3D games are now WAY more popular than 2D.  In Japan, perhaps this could be the case, with a mixture of nostalgia.

Keep in mind that he's not talking about 3d games in general, only 3d platforming.

Obviously 3d works very well for shooter, sport, and racing games, but for a genre that's basically about jumping and avoiding bottomless pits, adding that extra dimension complicates gameplay. Think about how easy it was to jump on an enemy in a 2d Super Mario Bros, but taken into a 3d world it becomes frustrating because you never quite know where Mario is going to land.

Of course now take into consideration that Super Mario Galaxy has you running upside-down and all around those crazy mini-planets. To me it's quite obvious that, while the game is amazing to me and many other Nintendo fans, to a mainstream audience it can be too confusing and difficult.