By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Nintendo - Mario games are 12 for 12 this gen -- All million-sellers

LordTheNightKnight on 21 December 2007
Erik Aston said:
LordTheNightKnight said:

Not to some. They say Mario's being whored out, as though no other developer would use a character that sold that consistently.

 


Well maybe "whored out" isn't the nicest way to put it, but it's sort of true.

It's only that he's like the Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman of videogame whores.


But the thing is that they imply that it's wrong somehow, as though the loads of money made from this are less important than Mario staying in, whatever state they say he should be in. 



A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.

Plus, just for the hell of it: Kelly Brook at the 2008 BAFTAs

Around the Network
LordTheNightKnight on 21 December 2007
Famine said:
Kasz216 said:


Megaman isn't as many but it's gotta be up there.

Mega Man soccer is still one of the better soccer games i've played. The problem with the Megaman games is that they don't alter them as much.

Lets look at this another way though. Name one character who is bigger then Mario.

Mario gets used more because he's that much above pretty much any character out there, aside from the few other Nintendo characters who don't lend themselves as eaisly outside of their genre and Master Chief who would just look silly in other games.

Other characters have been greatly reused, however they tend to fail either because the characters don't have a wide enough aplicability or because the gameplay gets old. (See Megaman games.)

When you think about it. Mario playing golf makes much more sense then mario fighting a giant dinosaur/dragon monster guy.

I mean he's a freaking Italian Plumber from New York.


And I forgot Mega Man Soccer, but that's all the way back during the SNES days. So let's say Mega Man appeared in a fighting game and a soccer game.

I shouldn't have asked:

"Can you name me one game developer that has used one character in as many games?"

What I should have asked is:

"Can you name me one game developer that has used one character in so many genres of gameplay?"

And from an earlier poster, Sonic most certainly would be up there.

I'm not questioning the popularity around Mario, nor am I discrediting it, I'm just saying that there are an abundance of Mario games out there, and more are on the way.


We know that, but do you realize that Nintendo would not put Mario in so many genres if those games didn't sell so consistenly well? 



A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.

Plus, just for the hell of it: Kelly Brook at the 2008 BAFTAs

Famine on 21 December 2007
LordTheNightKnight said:
Famine said:

Jeez! First, take a pill Robocop!

Second, I totally forgot about Sonic (And I even mentioned him in an earlier post!). Also, the Chocobos maybe had 2 games at most where the games revolved around them,

There are more than two. Again, do the research. 

and Mega Man, while multiple in the franchise, only appeared in one franchise that took him out of his world: Capcom vs. series.

Out of his world? What kind of criterion is that? NO DEVELOPER uses that criterion. The fact is that the OFFICIAL Mega Man games are pretty numerous, and infamous for that.

As for Street Fighter and King of Fighters, yeah, I agree, those franchises just keep on coming and are becoming jaded, and there are numerous other franchises that are still being continued that I can list, but the fact still remains that you are not seeing Ryu or Iori outside of the fighting genre.

So it's the fact that Mario is used in various generes that is the problem? When has that EVER been a law of game design?

Afterall, isn't that the whole reason for this discussion: Mario appearing in games that are really running the gamet?

NO! The discussion was HOW MANY SOLD A MILLION. Or do you mean your discussion, which NOT UNTIL THIS POST did you use ANY words indicating it was the multiple generes that was bothering you.


 


Reread the earlier posts with stof. Here's what I said in one of the earlier posts:

"I had no qualms with the Mario franchise, just my beef was that Mario is just in so many games, in so little time."

If you look at the various sports, party, RPGs, etc., those are different genres, wouldn't you say? That's what I meant with Mario in appearing in so many games.

While not the best example, I did mention GTA, and Soriku metioned Madden as franchises that are being overused. Still, I didn't place the magnifying glass on franchises, just the character, Mario, being used in various games.

Also, I never mentioned that it's a problem (Aside from me not liking the fact that Mario has appeared in so many different games) with them putting Mario in so many games, as it is paying-off dividends.

Finally, touche with the list of Chocobo games. Didn't know so many were released, but they did stay in Japan and many of them didn't make it elsewhere.



Kasz216 on 21 December 2007
Famine said:
Kasz216 said:


Megaman isn't as many but it's gotta be up there.

Mega Man soccer is still one of the better soccer games i've played. The problem with the Megaman games is that they don't alter them as much.

Lets look at this another way though. Name one character who is bigger then Mario.

Mario gets used more because he's that much above pretty much any character out there, aside from the few other Nintendo characters who don't lend themselves as eaisly outside of their genre and Master Chief who would just look silly in other games.

Other characters have been greatly reused, however they tend to fail either because the characters don't have a wide enough aplicability or because the gameplay gets old. (See Megaman games.)

When you think about it. Mario playing golf makes much more sense then mario fighting a giant dinosaur/dragon monster guy.

I mean he's a freaking Italian Plumber from New York.


And I forgot Mega Man Soccer, but that's all the way back during the SNES days. So let's say Mega Man appeared in a fighting game and a soccer game.

I shouldn't have asked:

"Can you name me one game developer that has used one character in as many games?"

What I should have asked is:

"Can you name me one game developer that has used one character in so many genres of gameplay?"

And from an earlier poster, Sonic most certainly would be up there.

I'm not questioning the popularity around Mario, nor am I discrediting it, I'm just saying that there are an abundance of Mario games out there, and more are on the way.


Isn't it better to have a wide variety of mario games then just 50 Mario Platformers like Megaman? That way each genre of Mario game stays fresh and the good majority of them are of a high quality. I mean Mario Strikers charged is all sorts of fun. If it came out every year with minimal changes aside from slight increses in the roster it would suck.

Famine on 21 December 2007
LordTheNightKnight said:

We know that, but do you realize that Nintendo would not put Mario in so many genres if those games didn't sell so consistenly well? 


Dude, even before you came into the picture, I said that Nintendo is banking off Mario.



Around the Network
LordTheNightKnight on 21 December 2007

"I had no qualms with the Mario franchise, just my beef was that Mario is just in so many games, in so little time."

So it's not the franchise, but the frequency? Well wait to see if this happens again next year. Remember how many Mario games were on the DS the first year, but then tapered off when third parties made more games? So in this case, it won't be Nintendo's fault if developers force them to build up a library for their system.



A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.

Plus, just for the hell of it: Kelly Brook at the 2008 BAFTAs

Famine on 21 December 2007
Kasz216 said:

Isn't it better to have a wide variety of mario games then just 50 Mario Platformers like Megaman?

That way each genre of Mario game stays fresh and the good majority of them are of a high quality. I mean Mario Strikers charged is all sorts of fun. If it came out every year with minimal changes aside from slight increses in the roster it would suck.


If Nintendo were to do what Capcom did to Mega Man, then I think they should stick with doing those other types of games.

It will never come into fruition because Miyamoto doesn't work like that: He takes his time to perfect his craft with each entry into the Zelda and Mario franchises.



Erik Aston on 21 December 2007

LordTheNightKnight,

The fact that it's profitable doesn't mean it's pure awesome from every angle. First of all, if it turns some people off to Mario, that makes it less profitable.

But people looking at it from a gameplay/artistic perspective may have some legitimate gripes. Reusing the "power-up" based gameplay, with identical power-ups, across various genres, and trying to imitate a level of randomness and party atmosphere across all these genres could certainly be seen negatively from a gameplay standpoint. Without being boxed in by Mario, maybe these developers could do something more artistically relevant, even if it sold worse.

Of course it is the very fact that these elements are imitated across all the Kart/sports/Party titles that they all can keep selling so well. People know what they're getting with the brand.



"[Our former customers] are unable to find software which they WANT to play."
"The way to solve this problem lies in how to communicate what kind of games [they CAN play]."

Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President. Only slightly paraphrased.

Galaki on 21 December 2007

I welcome a Mario Tactics game.



Pre-order limited edition Blue Slime Condoms

Kasz216 on 21 December 2007
Galaki said:
I welcome a Mario Tactics game.

I'll say. You could do some interesting stuff break out of the mold of your average tactics game.