| Erik Aston said: To those saying "wouldn't Mario fans already own Wii": How many Mario fans do you think there are? Wii hasn't even sold as much as NES yet, and Mario was the main driver of NES sales, while Wii-brand games are the main driver of Wii sales. Since NES, there's been a whole other generation which grew up on Mario Kart and 3D Mario and Mario Party, which sold so well on Wii. In total, we're talking about a franchise which has sold 370 million games, and half of that total comes from 2D platformers. I won't try to do some phony maths with that, but let's just say I think there are millions upon millions of 2D Mario fans who haven't bought a Wii. |
That leaves the question unanswered, though. The NES is an '85 machine, so we're talking of people who are for the majority 30-35 years old.
He/she has a high chance of having a family with children old enough to be gamers in turn.
So of all those 2D Mario fans you're only looking for those who never bought a Wii for their children in 3 years, Mario Kart and other games notwithstanding, but will finally do so because a 2D Mario comes out. Or those without children that will do so for themselves and friends, and never did buy a Wii before.
My gut perception is that those are contrieved enough profiles that the boost could not be as big as some fans imagine. But maybe my perspective is skewed by the fact that being european, a former computer guy and slightly older than that bracket I never experienced the Mario-craze that so often is reminisced.
