In response to "Mario is Unmarketable" from The Escapist Forum: Frankly, I think the entire idea behind the article is flawed. You can't simply say, "If Mario was introduced into the gaming world today, would he be successful?" because you seem to believe that if Mario hadn't been introduced when it had that the gaming world would now be as it is. If Mario hadn't been introduced at the time that it was, it's highly possible that the entire home gaming experiment would have ended with the Atari and the Amiga. Even if it hadn't ended, gaming would still be in a completely different place than it is today. It's like trying to ask what would happen in A New Hope was released today, whether or not it would fair well in the world of Hollywood Blockbusters. A New Hope was the movie that showed it could be commercially viable to make a big budget action movie. The fact is, you can't remove the foundation of an entire medium and then expect that medium to remain the same.
- thequixoticman
Why do people feel nostalgic about Mario showing up in sports games, games that have NOTHING to do with his turtle-smashing roots? Aside from the Mario series characters, the sports games have no connection to the old games and ruin any semblance of nostalgia. Just because Mario is in the game doesn't mean its automatically nostalgic- sure, if he was playing soccer while stomping on turtles and jumping over platforms, all while the screen scrolled right, I might be a bit nostalgic. Even that, though, might be a stretch.
Too many of Mario's games have nothing to do with the actions performed in old Mario games. I get it, 2bit side scroller's don't look and play as good as they used to but a side scrolling platformer is the essence of what Mario truly is. Its not his mustache or his jean overalls that make him unique, its the fact that his hard work jumping on turtles and collecting stars made games what they are today. I just can't be nostalgic every time I see a character, he has to be doing what I remember him doing. I have yet to play any Mario game aside from the originals, and super Mario 64. I hate sports games, just because Mario's apart of something I hate doesn't change the fact that I don't want to play it.
- Ranzel
Mario is not a character, he's a brand. As far as game companies go, Nintendo is fairly unique. They create their games different than anyone else. While most is kept under wraps, some things you can deduct.
Other companies usually create a game like this: "Lets make a game on a space dungeon! (insert your own cool environment here), the main character will be an emotionally constipated male with control issues (or whatever), all right! lets make that into an FPS". See the sequence? setting, character, gameplay.
Nintendo does not do this. They test scores of gameplay ideas first. They have this fantastic inhouse engine they have been refining since Super Mario 64. Plenty of ideas are discarded, the ones that turn out good (I've read of Nintendo employees referring to this as "sifting for gold") are strung into levels, which eventually get combined into a whole game and branded -its either Mario or Zelda. Ever wonder how come Mario/Zelda games have so many things to do without getting repetitive?
This is why Mario does not need a background story: He is the real "Nintendo Seal of Excellence". To us gamers, the name "Mario" emblazoned on a game means that the game has been built to Nintendo standards. I don't think anyone plays the Mario games for the story, do you?
Nintendo has taken very good care of Mario, Like all brands, it takes time and effort to build brand awareness.
Could you do that today? Build a new brand like that? Yes you could. But keep in mind how long is going to take, and how consistently good you need to be. It will take vast amounts of resources. And you have a lot to learn along the way. Nintendo has mastered the process over many years. They have become damn good at it.
- imagremlin
