How does Nintendo manage to do it so often

[jarrod]

RageBot said:

jarrod said:

RageBot said:

How much NSMBW would've sold if it was the exact same game, gameplay-wise, but with different characters, brand, yet still on the Wii?

Oh, there's no doubt at this point that Nintendo's brands have a strength and life of their own.  But really, why is that?  Why isn't there a Sonic or Crash game that can even come close to Mario sales, like there were in each franchise's heyday?  Why have Nintendo brands weathered decades at the top, while few others seemingly can?

Because it's a brand that established itself, both by being a pioneer and inovator and both by sustaining incredible value and fun factor.

Nintendo are an amazing company, did I ever say anything other than that? But the reason that they sell for so long is for the exact same reason that dragon quest sell this amazing for so long (in japan), sustaining high quality and not saturating their markets.

I never said that Mario (and other Nintendo games) sell solely because of their name, but being called "Mario" gives the game incredible boost from the get go, and momentum that would've taken other games years to build

Truth be told, the secret to Nintendo's success is quality control.  Mario could've faltered just as easily as Crash or Sonic, at any point, the real reason it hasn't is chiefly due to Nintendo's extraordinarily high development standards and exacting degree of polish.  Nintendo also tends not to release multiple rapid succession sequels, they really nurture brands like few other companies in the industry.  There's a real palpable difference in their corporate culture, and that comes through in their software.

Yeah, at this point that gives a brand like Mario a huge upfront push.  But by the same token, I'd say if NSMBWii were a far lower quality title with the same brand attached, it wouldn't be hitting the same high benchmarks either.