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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - A retrospective of Nintendo launches from Nes to Wii (Digital Foundry)

 

Most impressive launch game?

Mario Bros 12 11.21%
 
Super Mario World 14 13.08%
 
F-Zero 4 3.74%
 
Mario 64 56 52.34%
 
Waverace 2 1.87%
 
Luigi's Mansion 5 4.67%
 
Star Wars: Rogue Leader 7 6.54%
 
Wii Sports 7 6.54%
 
Total:107
DivinePaladin on 31 July 2016
AlfredoTurkey said:

Depends on how you define 'impressive'. If we're talking about impact, nothing beats SMB because it's the game that put the entire company on the map in the console industry. Without that game, there might not even BE a Nintendo right now or at least a Nintendo that sells video games.

SM64 (the current leader in the poll) launched on a console that represents the first time the company failed to win a generation. It's their first failure. So how could SMB64 be the more impressive launch title? It ended up being the antithesis of a great launch title because it wasn't compelling enough.

To me, it goes SMB and then Wii Sports because they actually achieved the goal of getting their machines in more homes than their competitors and that's what defines a great launch title.

I don't think sales are the only metric for "impressive" when it comes to launch titles. Mario 64 changed the industry in a way that only a Mario game could. It may not have been the sales powerhouse that SMB1, World, or Wii Sports were but step back and imagine 3D console gaming without Mario 64 birthing the modern console analog stick. We'd have gotten sticks eventually for sure but the impact of NOT having Mario 64 would be just as big as any impact Mario World ended up having, at the very least. 



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curl-6 on 31 July 2016
DivinePaladin said:
AlfredoTurkey said:

Depends on how you define 'impressive'. If we're talking about impact, nothing beats SMB because it's the game that put the entire company on the map in the console industry. Without that game, there might not even BE a Nintendo right now or at least a Nintendo that sells video games.

SM64 (the current leader in the poll) launched on a console that represents the first time the company failed to win a generation. It's their first failure. So how could SMB64 be the more impressive launch title? It ended up being the antithesis of a great launch title because it wasn't compelling enough.

To me, it goes SMB and then Wii Sports because they actually achieved the goal of getting their machines in more homes than their competitors and that's what defines a great launch title.

I don't think sales are the only metric for "impressive" when it comes to launch titles. Mario 64 changed the industry in a way that only a Mario game could. It may not have been the sales powerhouse that SMB1, World, or Wii Sports were but step back and imagine 3D console gaming without Mario 64 birthing the modern console analog stick. We'd have gotten sticks eventually for sure but the impact of NOT having Mario 64 would be just as big as any impact Mario World ended up having, at the very least. 

It wasn't just analogue either; Mario 64 also essentially wrote the book on how to do a free camera in 3D space.

And it was no sales slouch either; according to VGChartz numbers, it's actually the single highest selling game of it's generation.



Ruler on 31 July 2016
Goodnightmoon said:
Ruler said:
i disagree about Luigis Mansion, these real time shadow effects werent new at the time. Silent Hill 2 had them before, everything else is correct i guess. SH2 was also larger in size and open world for its time, i hope they make a video about this game as well.

That's not true, Silent Hill 2 was released 10 days after Luigi's Mansion.

SH2 was shown in Tokio gameshow 2000, Luigis mansion in E3 2001



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Goodnightmoon on 31 July 2016
Ruler said:
Goodnightmoon said:

That's not true, Silent Hill 2 was released 10 days after Luigi's Mansion.

SH2 was shown in Tokio gameshow 2000, Luigis mansion in E3 2001

So what? Luigi's Mansion was released before, a showcase on a conference doesn't make it an earlier game, and they are not saying shadows were a new thing in videogames, they say is the first time they saw them like that on a console, and is true, dont understand why do you need to nitpick about that, both games were pioners of that, do we need to put them to battle?



Guitarguy on 31 July 2016

Very cool video. Wish they had delved deeper into the other milestone games like Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox, Goldeneye, Conkers Bad Fur Day etc. Games that really pushed the hardware technologically. But it was focused on the launch titles so all good. I love digital foundries retro videos.



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Goodnightmoon on 31 July 2016
Guitarguy said:
Very cool video. Wish they had delved deeper into the other milestone games like Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox, Goldeneye, Conkers Bad Fur Day etc. Games that really pushed the hardware technologically. But it was focused on the launch titles so all good. I love digital foundries retro videos.

Me too, I like DF overall but their retro stuff is the coolest thing they do imo.



AlfredoTurkey on 31 July 2016
DivinePaladin said:
AlfredoTurkey said:

Depends on how you define 'impressive'. If we're talking about impact, nothing beats SMB because it's the game that put the entire company on the map in the console industry. Without that game, there might not even BE a Nintendo right now or at least a Nintendo that sells video games.

SM64 (the current leader in the poll) launched on a console that represents the first time the company failed to win a generation. It's their first failure. So how could SMB64 be the more impressive launch title? It ended up being the antithesis of a great launch title because it wasn't compelling enough.

To me, it goes SMB and then Wii Sports because they actually achieved the goal of getting their machines in more homes than their competitors and that's what defines a great launch title.

I don't think sales are the only metric for "impressive" when it comes to launch titles. Mario 64 changed the industry in a way that only a Mario game could. It may not have been the sales powerhouse that SMB1, World, or Wii Sports were but step back and imagine 3D console gaming without Mario 64 birthing the modern console analog stick. We'd have gotten sticks eventually for sure but the impact of NOT having Mario 64 would be just as big as any impact Mario World ended up having, at the very least. 

Again, it comes down to what you're talking about. To me, launch titles are judged not by their individual accomplishments on the tech side of things but by their ability to sell the console they released with. SM64 changed all the rules for 3D gaming, true. But from a company stand point, what did it do for Nintendo's bottom line? Did it accomplish it's goal? 

And even if you wanted to focus just on the tech side of things or industry influence, what is more influential than the first SMB? I'd argue that more games copied SMB than SM64. I mean, how many indie games released in the last 5 years were STILL aping SMB's mechanics? You can't say the same for SM64 because 3D platforming died years ago.



Jumpin on 31 July 2016

Easily Mario 64. Weakest was GameCube because no one can even remember what games launched on it. Second weakest is Wii U, because in a couple of years no one will remember that one either. Then it is really just preference between Wii U and GameCube for weakest launch titles.



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curl-6 on 31 July 2016
Goodnightmoon said:
Guitarguy said:
Very cool video. Wish they had delved deeper into the other milestone games like Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox, Goldeneye, Conkers Bad Fur Day etc. Games that really pushed the hardware technologically. But it was focused on the launch titles so all good. I love digital foundries retro videos.

Me too, I like DF overall but their retro stuff is the coolest thing they do imo.

Me three. They seem to publish a retro analysis every Sunday, hopefully this continues. (I don't see why it wouldn't, the videos get plenty of hits and positive feedback)

In addition to the games already mentioned, I'd also love to see writeups on Yoshi's Island, Perfect Dark, the Metroid Prime games, Other M, etc.



Proxy-Pie on 01 August 2016
AlfredoTurkey said:

Again, it comes down to what you're talking about. To me, launch titles are judged not by their individual accomplishments on the tech side of things but by their ability to sell the console they released with. SM64 changed all the rules for 3D gaming, true. But from a company stand point, what did it do for Nintendo's bottom line? Did it accomplish it's goal? 

And even if you wanted to focus just on the tech side of things or industry influence, what is more influential than the first SMB? I'd argue that more games copied SMB than SM64. I mean, how many indie games released in the last 5 years were STILL aping SMB's mechanics? You can't say the same for SM64 because 3D platforming died years ago.

If the N64 launched without Mario 64, I highly doubt that it would've sold what it did. That alone makes me think of it as an amazing launch title. I still agree that SMB was a better "launch" title even though many of Mario 64's mechanics continue to be used to this day (like the free camera).