302: Who Cares About Mario?

Chris Chafin

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Apr 12, 2011
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Who Cares About Mario?

Kids used to consider "Nintendo" to be synonymous with "videogames," but the company's shifting priorities may have changed that forever.

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Cool Welshy

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Mar 15, 2011
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Really?
I find this hard to believe.

There is fact that Mario is more known than mickey mouse.
 

Mister Benoit

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Sep 19, 2008
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Now I feel old. I hold all kinds of retarded nostalgia for Nintendo and the NES >.>

Me and my sisters have a 12 & 13 year difference so we didn't talk much, my dad always worked nights and my mom usually slept in the afternoon so I simply played the NES in absurd amounts.

One of my earliest memories in regards to anything is constantly failing the first level of Contra yet still enjoying myself.
 

Plinglebob

Team Stupid-Face
Nov 11, 2008
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I really glad to see this article as its something I've been saying for a long time. However, it was hard to tell whether or not the author sees this as a good thing.

Personally, I do and have always defended Nintendo in their shift. Instead of trying to follow the players and keep the same player base, they are folowing the route toy makers have carved out and going for generational loyalty. They are something that a kid can play safely and will eventually grow out of. Then when that person has kids and looks around for something for them to introduce the kid to video games, the fun they had in their youth with Nintendo will resurface and then they'll buy it for their kids.

Its risky, but as long as they keep selling the hardware at a profit from launch, it should succeed.
 

beema

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Aug 19, 2009
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Pretty interesting to get the insight of kids these days. I had a hunch it would turn out how it did. It is pretty sad that they are being introduced to Mario through these shovelware titles and not his core platforming games. But like you said, it is apparently what Nintendo wants, and they are doing well off it, for now.

Now for crotchety old man mode.
Man, kids are so spoiled these days. This kid is 13 and has an Xbox 360, Wii, DS, and an ipod. When I was 13 I think all I had was a SNES and maybe 3-4 games, and those were games I got like... once a year.

Also, can you punch your brother/sister in the face for naming their kid Caleb?
 

CrystalShadow

don't upset the insane catgirl
Apr 11, 2009
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beema said:
Pretty interesting to get the insight of kids these days. I had a hunch it would turn out how it did. It is pretty sad that they are being introduced to Mario through these shovelware titles and not his core platforming games. But like you said, it is apparently what Nintendo wants, and they are doing well off it, for now.

Now for crotchety old man mode.
Man, kids are so spoiled these days. This kid is 13 and has an Xbox 360, Wii, DS, and an ipod. When I was 13 I think all I had was a SNES and maybe 3-4 games, and those were games I got like... once a year.

Also, can you punch your brother/sister in the face for naming their kid Caleb?
Lol. Yeah, I know right? To even get an Snes I had to buy it with the pocket money I'd been saving for years.

But, that's actually completely wrong, because I also had several other computers around me.
For someone from that period, I actually had a huge amount of gadgets.

Oh well. Memory is what you make of it. XD
 

-Dragmire-

King over my mind
Mar 29, 2011
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It feels like brand loyalty died with the dreamcast. It might be because games these days carry our interest for shorter periods of time, it feels like getting any game a couple game generations ago was a major decision (because if you didn't like the game, tough luck) and now it's just a trip to gamestop to trade and try something else.

Brand loyalty died with the Dreamcast and up from that grave rose the twisted, mangled and rotten to the core entity that is fanboys.

brand loyalty = an extreme preference to one brand.
fanboy = a condition where the subject feels that a particular brand is almost religiously sacred and must attack all possible slander, competition, and logic until all threats agree with their opinion.
 

NaramSuen

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Jun 8, 2010
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I can't blame these kids for not having any brand loyalty. My loyalty to Nintendo was betrayed by their complete and utter lack of decent RPGs for the N64. Quest 64 was utter garbage and Paper Mario came out 5 years after the console was released. And yes, I am still a little bitter.
 

rayen020

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May 20, 2009
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i'm never ashamed of liking and playing nintendo stuff. people who do have bigger problems in my opinion. as if somehow liking Twilight princess and mariokart are guilty pleasures no one else should know about. It the end, and i hate to say it this way, its just a game.

What we shouild have taken away from this is what Caleb said very pointedly "it just isn't fun." and that is where nintendo is going wrong. no matter who the game is targetted at if i can have fun playing backyardigans adventure awesome regardless of who the game targets. I don't think nintendo is making kids games i think nintendo is doing the sme thing it did back when me and my grandmother would play NES, making games for all ages. its just a shame developers have confused "for all ages" with "for kids".
 

ccesarano

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NaramSuen, sounds like you could have used a copy of Ogre Battle 64.

I've been trying to introduce my niece to video games, who is going to be six this summer. She partially gets the concept of "download play" since one of her school friends must have one, but she doesn't grasp the idea that you can only use it for certain games.

What amazes me is how few games there are for someone her age that are good. My mom got her the Tangled game for the Wii, and the major issue is that the 3rd dimension is honestly rather complicated for a child. Swapping between characters and using specific abilities in certain sections is also more than some kids her age can handle. I'm having this trouble with her again after buying her LEGO Batman for the DS. Nintendogs was her first game, and holy crap did I not realize how much reading was required. Since she's not all that good with reading yet (getting better, but not good enough for Nintendogs) she doesn't have much of an idea on what to do. Even Castle Crashers is a bit complicated for her. The only game she can really play without my having to help her is New Super Mario Bros., where she excitedly jumped up, ran to me and showed me how the giant mushroom made Mario huge.

That these kids don't remember Mario much is surprising to me, as it seems to be the only game franchise to maintain a simplicity that even little kids can grasp (at least, the New Super Mario Bros. series. Galaxy would likely raise some issues).

I wonder if the best place for kids games might actually be in the digital downloads market, where you make smaller games like the old days. In fact, I should see how she likes World of Goo. Aside from Mario Bros. the only other game she can truly play is Castle Crashers, and that's not really meant for kids anyway.

The modern games industry seems built for kids 10 and up, which is a bit problematic. As for your 13 year old nephew, well, he's 13. He's entered that phase where...well, when I was that age I hated Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker because it looked like Blue's Clues.

He'll wise up and learn.
 

Tiswas

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Jun 9, 2010
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I think it doesn't help that what is 'cool' these days is different. A lot of the kids who bought a DS/Wii those years ago have grown up somewhat (if you can call it that.) they probably got bored of shovelware titles (or don't get magazines and find out about the likes of Okami or Little King's Story.) and the like and whenever they walked into the store the store was advertising Halo/Call Of Duty or another shooting game etc. Not to mention these games are also considered to be 'hardcore'

Few of these children have seen true 'hardcore' games. Few of them challenged Contra. Few of them wept as they were killed once again in Castlevania. I'm sure none of them even experienced the woes of a 16-letter password screen. None of them probably had to spent a few minutes blowing into a cartridge to make the damn thing work.

I actually shown one of my younger cousins my old N64. A few hours of playing on Blast Corps, F-Zero X, Goldeneye and Mario 64 he's like a born again gamer. Instead of asking for Homefront on his X-Box for his birthday he now wants an N64 and a few games. (Which in fact is significantly cheaper than buying Homefront)
 

Tempest13

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Aug 23, 2010
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I won't make any jabs about target audiences or appearances or whatever nintendo is deciding for themselves, I'm just going to say this: Bring back about half the franchises you dropped off the map, nintendo. Starfox, F-Zero, Custom Robo, all begging for console sequels. >_> short rant over
 

Sougo

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Mar 20, 2010
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My love of Nintendo died a long time ago. Frankly, I despise Mario now and wouldn't be bothered at all if there were no more Mario games.

In fact, I wouldn't care if Nintendo pulled out of the console market altogether like Sega, because it would mean that the rare good game that Nintendo and its sidekicks make would be readily available on the consoles I do play.
 

YodaUnleashed

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Jun 11, 2010
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Isn't that strange, I cared enough about Mario to click the article link but then I saw the Nintendogs image and any measly ounce of care I had left evaporated and I decided not to read the article after all.
 

ThisNewGuy

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Apr 28, 2009
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There is a problem with the connotation of Nintendo. Kids don't want to admit they're Nintendo fans because Nintendo has a connotation of being "kiddie" and no kid wants to admit to being kiddie. Deep down, I'm a Nintendo fanboy, but it's in a way of a nostalgic childhood memory because while I've grown older, Nintendo hasn't. Still, playing kiddie games isn't the same as playing crappy games. Kiddie games can be very good sometimes, and mature games can be terrible sometimes.
 

The_Emperor

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Mar 18, 2010
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I had a mega drive, streets of rage and all that jazz. I've never really been into Mario. my fave games on the sega involved coop play.

To be honest I'll play anything with decent coop.

The main reason I have a 360 and not a PS3 is the strong titles that include coop, The shape of the pads, and it wasn't ridiculously priced at launch.

think I paid £350 for mine with a number of games from HMV reasonably close to launch.

Nintendo used to be the best at universal appeal and accessability, they were first too, so they were seen as the original, now 30 years have passed and there are more consoles now than ever, all doing the same thing in their own way.
 

vxicepickxv

Slayer of Bothan Spies
Sep 28, 2008
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A gaming system is simply used for enjoyment. Why should anyone care what system you have? As long as you're having fun, screw what everybody else thinks. Now, back to Pokemon White.