Nintendo President: Mario Games Aren't Too Frequent

[SnakeoilSage]

At least put Mario on the shelf for a year or two and create something new, Nintendo.

 

[WaysideMaze]

I couldn't agree more, because this list [http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Mario_games] just isn't long enough dammit.

There are 156 Games on that list that in some way include mario himself or is otherwise part of the mario franchise.

That is just ridiculous.

It really is. Even when you consider the fact that he isn't the main character in all of these games, it's still such a rediculously large list, the fact that nintendo has gotten away with it for so long baffles me. Still, as long as people keep buying them, why would they consider stopping?

It may be a pipe dream for Ninetendo, but it would leave us in the U-bend.

Please, stop that.

Sorry 4 being a Goomba, but I'm not all that familiar with Mario games. The plumbing angle was the first that came to mind.

Never stop the puns. Never!!

 

[Meight08]

You know Nintendo, I'm only speaking for myself, but I wouldn't mind these frequent (yes Mario games are frequent, don't deny it) Mario games and the reboots of old milked IPs like Zelda, if you guys actually released something...oh I don't know...SOMETHING ELSE!? Anything!? You guys put so much effort into rehashing these old IPs yet make none to put that same effort into something new.

Seriously, I bet Nintendo could make the most awesome new IPs because they really do have great imaginations, but their stuck in 1990.

Edit:

At least put Mario on the shelf for a year or two and create something new, Nintendo.

Stop asking for new ip's untill people start buying them!
Ever heard of supply and demand? Right now there is no demand for new ip so there is no supply.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Mario games aren't too frequent are they?

<a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_featuring_Mario>Riiiiight...

I suddenly find myself in even more agreement with Jim Sterling's last vid.

New Super Mario Bros. 2006 Nintendo DS Platformer (2D)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii 2009 Wii Platformer (2D)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 2012 Nintendo 3DS Platformer (2D)

Looks like Mario Bros games are on a three year cycle.

 

[The Great JT]

If they're going to do a DLC method, one of them needs to be a Level Editor. Can you imagine how much money that would make?

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Mario games aren't too frequent are they?

<a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_featuring_Mario>Riiiiight...

I suddenly find myself in even more agreement with Jim Sterling's last vid.

New Super Mario Bros. 2006 Nintendo DS Platformer (2D)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii 2009 Wii Platformer (2D)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 2012 Nintendo 3DS Platformer (2D)

Looks like Mario Bros games are on a three year cycle.

Perhaps single titles in the franchise are released less frequently, but that doesn't mean that the franchise as a whole isn't milked for every penny. The two studios responsible for CoD only release every two years, yet people don't stop ragging on Activision for releasing one CoD game a year. SMB may release every three years, yet that hasn't stopped Nintendo slapping Mario's name on six titles this year alone - and it's still August.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

I know this may seem strange to you guys, but I can see his point. If you look at the different spin-offs as seperate franchises, which they by all means should be, than the only one that got a bit excessive was Mario Party. Yet there is still a major issue here, the New franchise is already feeling samey despite the fact that there is only one per console. It should also be noted that the New franchise focusing solely on being a rehash of the old games makes it much harder for the series to feel unique. Nintendo needs to do something to solve this rather than try to deal with arguments that wouldn't come up if they actually felt like different games.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Perhaps single titles in the franchise are released less frequently, but that doesn't mean that the franchise as a whole isn't milked for every penny. The two studios responsible for CoD only release every two years, yet people don't stop ragging on Activision for releasing one CoD game a year. SMB may release every three years, yet that hasn't stopped Nintendo slapping Mario's name on six titles this year alone - and it's still August.

That isn't what Iwata is talking about even if the headline is misleading. Trickily phrased in order to make people angry like all blog headlines have to be if they want people to click on them and comment.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Mario games aren't too frequent are they?

<a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_featuring_Mario>Riiiiight...

I suddenly find myself in even more agreement with Jim Sterling's last vid.

New Super Mario Bros. 2006 Nintendo DS Platformer (2D)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii 2009 Wii Platformer (2D)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 2012 Nintendo 3DS Platformer (2D)

Looks like Mario Bros games are on a three year cycle.

Perhaps single titles in the franchise are released less frequently, but that doesn't mean that the franchise as a whole isn't milked for every penny. The two studios responsible for CoD only release every two years, yet people don't stop ragging on Activision for releasing one CoD game a year. SMB may release every three years, yet that hasn't stopped Nintendo slapping Mario's name on six titles this year alone - and it's still August.

Those two seperate cycles are in identical genres featuring nearly identical gameplay and a two year cycle is still a bit rushed. Do not try and equate the two release cycles of CoD games to how Mario games have been made in just about every genre in existence.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Perhaps single titles in the franchise are released less frequently, but that doesn't mean that the franchise as a whole isn't milked for every penny. The two studios responsible for CoD only release every two years, yet people don't stop ragging on Activision for releasing one CoD game a year. SMB may release every three years, yet that hasn't stopped Nintendo slapping Mario's name on six titles this year alone - and it's still August.

That isn't what Iwata is talking about even if the headline is misleading. Trickily phrased in order to make people angry like all blog headlines have to be if they want people to click on them and comment.

It's kinda difficult for non Nintendo fans to separate out which games are produced by which devs though. Iwata and his team may indeed produce to a measured release period, but to the layman the market is constantly being flooded by the latest Mario title.

Those two seperate cycles are in identical genres featuring nearly identical gameplay and a two year cycle is still a bit rushed. Do not try and equate the two release cycles of CoD games to how Mario games have been made in just about every genre in existence.

I'm not trying to compare the single CoD shooter series with the entire Mario franchise, merely individual series within it. CoD focuses purely on military FPS games whereas the Mario franchise straddles platformers, racers, puzzlers, and so on and so on. I'm not trying to compare those aspects of the games. What I am saying is that there is as much (or as little) innovation between the first and newest CoD games as there is between, say, the first and newest Mario Kart games (which - for the record - I think is quite a bloody bit).

Mario clearly has his fingers in more pies than any other franchise going, and I wasn't trying to argue that point. What I was meaning is that when you look inside the overall franchise and seize on an individual series within that overarching blanket brand, the newer games can often come across as simply updated versions of the last game.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

I'm more concerned by the fact that this seems to be a new trend.

Consumer Base: "We really like That Game Series (TM)!"
Publisher: "Oh, snap! We got ourselves a cash cow! Let's milk that fucker down! ONE INSTALMENT PER YEAR, GOGOGO!"
Consumer Base: "Well - we don't like it *that* much..."
Publisher: "FUCK ALL O' Y'ALL, GIVE US YOUR MONIES NAO! MORE OF THE SAME SHIT FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WOOHOO!"

I figure what's going to help the industry is a second crash. Maybe if EA and Nintendo go burning down in flames and the hobby becomes a bit of a distant memory for some, then maybe we'll be more inclined to explore new avenues for game development, and new franchises. As is, Nintendo's just resting on the laurels of its video game icons because, well, they're video game icons.

"Mario is classic, ergo we can pump shit out like nobody's business as long as it has his face on the cover" isn't what I'd consider a decent defence.

 

[Shadowstar38]

The last time they did anything new with Mario was Galaxy. After that its been, a sequal to galaxy, and throwbacks to the sidescrollers with a new coat of paint. It gets tiring after awhile.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Perhaps single titles in the franchise are released less frequently, but that doesn't mean that the franchise as a whole isn't milked for every penny. The two studios responsible for CoD only release every two years, yet people don't stop ragging on Activision for releasing one CoD game a year. SMB may release every three years, yet that hasn't stopped Nintendo slapping Mario's name on six titles this year alone - and it's still August.

That isn't what Iwata is talking about even if the headline is misleading. Trickily phrased in order to make people angry like all blog headlines have to be if they want people to click on them and comment.

It's kinda difficult for non Nintendo fans to separate out which games are produced by which devs though. Iwata and his team may indeed produce to a measured release period, but to the layman the market is constantly being flooded by the latest Mario title.

Those two seperate cycles are in identical genres featuring nearly identical gameplay and a two year cycle is still a bit rushed. Do not try and equate the two release cycles of CoD games to how Mario games have been made in just about every genre in existence.

I'm not trying to compare the single CoD shooter series with the entire Mario franchise, merely individual series within it. CoD focuses purely on military FPS games whereas the Mario franchise straddles platformers, racers, puzzlers, and so on and so on. I'm not trying to compare those aspects of the games. What I am saying is that there is as much (or as little) innovation between the first and newest CoD games as there is between, say, the first and newest Mario Kart games (which - for the record - I think is quite a bloody bit).

Mario clearly has his fingers in more pies than any other franchise going, and I wasn't trying to argue that point. What I was meaning is that when you look inside the overall franchise and seize on an individual series within that overarching blanket brand, the newer games can often come across as simply updated versions of the last game.

Then you argue rather strangely, because you never mentioned innovation once in the post I quoted. However, I do not think the New series is innovating at all, so I will stop arguing with you unless you fuck up and forget what you were trying to say again.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

It's kinda difficult for non Nintendo fans to separate out which games are produced by which devs though. Iwata and his team may indeed produce to a measured release period, but to the layman the market is constantly being flooded by the latest Mario title.

How hard can it be. Tens of millions of people turn out and buy the New Super Mario Bros games who don't buy any other Mario game except maybe Mario Kart. Are you saying that they are all super hardcore gamers who have a level of understanding of the games industry much higher than Jim Sterling and countless other headline writers and forum posters?

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

In some sense I agree, the core Mario games are in no way frequent or could be considered a yearly franchise. The amount of spin-off or side games they do though makes it seem that way though.

Exactly. Give it time and there will be a Pokemon/Mario cross over game.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Then you argue rather strangely, because you never mentioned innovation once in the post I quoted. However, I do not think the New series is innovating at all, so I will stop arguing with you unless you fuck up and forget what you were trying to say again.

Sorry fella, it's been a long day at work and my head's frazzled.

It's kinda difficult for non Nintendo fans to separate out which games are produced by which devs though. Iwata and his team may indeed produce to a measured release period, but to the layman the market is constantly being flooded by the latest Mario title.

How hard can it be. Tens of millions of people turn out and buy the New Super Mario Bros games who don't buy any other Mario game except maybe Mario Kart. Are you saying that they are all super hardcore gamers who have a level of understanding of the games industry much higher than Jim Sterling and countless other headline writers and forum posters?

I'm not saying that at all...

I think the pair of you have made it abundantly clear that I'm not making any bloody sense, so I think I'm gonna stop digging this pit I'm in and quit when I'm only quite badly behind.

 

[Mr. Omega]

m.

One new feature that New Super Mario Bros. 2 is bringing to the series is paid DLC. DLC is a familiar sight in many recent games on other consoles, but it's something that Nintendo has only recently considered. Although it's a new area for the company, Iwata wants fans who are fearful of the change to know that they will not be given a raw deal. "Our goal," he stated, "is to create DLC in such a way that consumers do not feel that they have been cheated or deceived." Indeed, Nintendo has adopted this idea as part of its company policy. "What we are not going to do is create a full game and then say, 'let's hold this back for DLC.' That's not our plan."

You know, if it was ANY other company saying this, this forum would be singing its praises.

But since it's Nintendo and it involves Mario, the thread has been nothing but "MILKING MIKING MILKING! KILL MARIO BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE IT ANYMORE! NINTENDO DOESN'T MAKE ANYTHING OTHER THAN MARIO AND ZELDA!"

 

[TJC]

I think Nintendo had to push the 3DS hard with software in order to make people buy that stupid thing. Their only choice was to use a franchise with an established market position and no other franchise but the Mario universe is known as well in both the core and the casual customer base. Thus, we got Super Mario 3D Land (Land 3D, 3LandD whatever), Mario Kart 7, Mario Tennis, Mario&Sonic 2012 port for the 3DS and NSMB2 in past few months.

That is probably the reason Mario feels this inflationary. Now, we still have Paper Mario 3DS and NSMB WiiU coming up but after that I honestly believe, we won't see or hear any Mario game for at least an entire year.

 

[Judgement101]

This is a common complaint that I don't understand. "Mario is overused" well, yes he appears in an abundance but I don't think he is over used. He's a main franchise in the video game industry so he's more of a staple and less of and overused character. He's like the McDonalds or Burger King of video games, everywhere, bland, but in the end you're glad to see it again.

 

[Robert Ewing]

God dammit Iwata. I don't care if YOU think mario games aren't too frequent. Everybody else with a brainstem believes it should be smothered to death by now. Only the die hard fans look forward to the next shitty mario title.