Would Sonic and Mario be anywhere NEAR as popular as they are right now if....

[Vrex360]

There's a lot of love for Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog these days. People just adore these mascots, they claim they are the best characters ever and have the best games. It's amazing how much people will tolerate from these two as well, Mario has become a real media sellout and Sonic has... well made a consistent list of terrible games. Yet people still buy into it unquestioning. Both Mario and Sonic got their start in the early years of gaming with the NES and Sega Genesis, and it strikes me that that's a possible reason as to their success. People remember how good they were back in the past and how they entertained them as kids (thank you Yahtzee) and as such they've become very popular so much so that they get a very undeserved free ride and get to make bad games and do stupid things and no one will question them.

However I'm playing the magical 'what if' game and suggesting that if back in the eighties Mario and Sonic had never been released, instead the very first Mario brothers was released on the Nintendo Wii and the very first Sonic game was too. Both of these games would have to offer little more than jumping from thing to thing and running fast. Next to games like Portal, Bioshock, Halo, Half Life, Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, Mass Effect and various others I don't think these games would even be noticed. They wouldn't be popular.

Seriously imagine it, would Sonic and Mario even MATTER if they got their debut in this console generation?

 

[Sneaky Paladin]

probably not as much or very little unless advertised like hell. probably wouldnt notice it from me.

 

[Darkeagle6]

Of course they wouldn't be as popular. Ever heard of nostalgia?

Mario Galaxy was a really fun game in my opinion, but it's success is partially grounded in the fact that every one knows who he is, and how his world functions (ie, warp pipes, goombas, koopas and their shells, etc.). The game most likely wouldn't be designed the way it is if those things had not been established since the 80's. That doesn't mean the game wouldn't be good, of course... Then again, you wouldn't see all of those mario spinoffs on which Nintendo make so much money.

Sonic, well... I'll just say that he wouldn't have had more than a single game if his only game was released this generation. I'll leave the rest to people who hate him.

 

[BUG.exe]

nostalgia does little more than get peoples attention. nostalgia will get people to buy the game initially, but it does not make them a good game and doesn't make most people consider it to be a good game. sure there are some people that will say its incredible just because its sonic (just look at gamespot user reviews), but if its a bad game then people will say its a bad game. then they feel dumb for waisting yet another $50 on a crappy sonic game. mario would still be popular because his games are actually good. he wouldn't be AS popular, but still popular. mario sunshine wasn't that good of a game and people admitted it and it didn't do as well.

 

[Kiutu]

If you did not have an elite as your picture I may listen to you bash them more intently. However, I do not see this love for them that you seem to see. Most people are quick to put down them, Sonic more. Even recently me and my brother joked that Sonic is not even the character anymore and that Sunik the hedgechoog switched in and ruined the games. (His retarted cousin that we made up)

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

I think everyone before me has said it very well, it is all nostalgia.

 

[NeutralDrow]

What do you mean "no one will question them?" I've seen little but bile for most of the recent games for either character. The fact that they still sell well might be attributable to nostalgia (after all, it's the characters who are as popular as the games), but probably more due to the fact that the games aren't (with the exception of the 2006 Sonic game) widely considered as terrible as the loudest commentators think.

 

[SnowCold]

I though Mario TURNED to a mascot cause his games were good, not cause nintendo made him for that.

 

[Roamin11]

I never thought of them that good, or popular....

 

[jboking]

I though Mario TURNED to a mascot cause his games were good, not cause nintendo made him for that.

But can you really deny that he has become a bit of a sell out. Mario tennis, Mario baseball, etc. I don't think the op is trying to say that the original games are bad, just that they are getting a free ride because their original games were good.

I think Mario Galaxy would still be pretty popular without the nostalgia factor. Also, without the original mario leading the platformer genre, it would probably be pretty refreshing next to the likes of gears of war (as though it already isn't). Sonic's games on the other hand would have turned him into a bad video game joke, even more so than Lair (once again, as though it already isn't).

Other than Nintendo getting sued for racism(?) regarding Mario's accent, mustache, and obsessive use of the phrase "Mama Mia", Mario would probably still sell his best games.

There is one other point to consider. If they didn't have previous titles the developers would have to work doubly hard on each game in order to ensure it sold because it didn't already have a huge fanbase. So then there games would actually be really very good. In that sense, they might still be just as popular, but not "iconic", if that makes sense.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

If they started out with mario world and sonic 3 and made them arcade releases then maybe. if they started out with galaxy and sonic and the dildo of time or whatever the hell his last game was

 

[Stewie Plisken]

Seriously imagine it, would Sonic and Mario even MATTER if they got their debut in this console generation?

You have to assume that they would either not make their debut in this generation or if they did, they'd be different. And it's pretty much something we can't possibly imagine, the success of a vastly different Sonic and Mario, based on the standards for this generation.

The early Mario and Sonic games are, to this day, good games for what they are. They were a lot more back then, but then again, if they didn't exist then, who knows what the competition would be now. Even beginning to make sense out of this scenario is one giant mindfuck!

I don't see the unconditional love about either of them, especially Sonic, either. People haven't been particularly shy about bashing them to death; rightfully so, too.

I can't agree that it's all about nostalgia. These games weren't average platformers that are just held high in the memories of fanboys. These were truly good games that, to this age, play more than adequately.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

i wish they would come out with good platformers like these again (apparently there are some, I'm just not paying attention to them). i think games like paper mario still hold up in the current generation, while sonic's newest work just sounds like a disaster. the real crime is that there aren't any new MegaMan games.

the major difference between the two characters tho, is that mario was a hold-over from the popularity of arcade games: namely, Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers. The original Mario Bros was a decent game, but nothing to write home about; Super Mario Bros. on the other hand was so great that when the opportunity to bring it home came about, it made Nintendo rich as hell. Sonic, on the other hand, was born with the purpose of being the make-or-break mascot for the Sega genesis, something to compete with mario and underscore all the benefits of the Genesis in comparison to the Nintendo (blast processing, 16bit graphix and all that bull). the result was a game (and character) that epitomized the future of console gaming: better graphics, better game play, more detailed design.

What I'm trying to say is, I don't think the characters would come to life in this generation, given their backgrounds, but the current generation wouldn't have come to fruition without the early success of the console market, which was fueled by the popularity of Mario and Sonic. If it hadn't been for these two, Doom would have blown up the PC gaming market so wide that consoles would have bit the dust; and instead of the Playstation 3, XBox and Wii, we'd have the Sony Mediastation and Microsoft Media Center, and no nintendo.

tl;dr = if Sonic and Mario were introduced today it would create a PIME TARADOX

 

[Vrex360]

If you did not have an elite as your picture I may listen to you bash them more intently. However, I do not see this love for them that you seem to see. Most people are quick to put down them, Sonic more. Even recently me and my brother joked that Sonic is not even the character anymore and that Sunik the hedgechoog switched in and ruined the games. (His retarted cousin that we made up)

...... not quite sure what me having an elite picture on my profile has to do with the validity of my arguments. I can only assume this means you are choosing to disagree with my statements based solely on my choice of profile picture.

 

[Insomniaku]

i disagree... for Sonic you`re right but for mario if there were no predecessors before galaxy i think it still would be very well received... not globally known but still, well received because it`s an awesome game

 

[ironmace2.0]

well I think theyd get quite alot of poblicitey because the original sonic games were a thing that hadent been really done before so theyd get a lot of sales but mario would just of goy tossed asied like all the games with potential. But as weve seen mario has actually become quite a decent game its fun but they should get a difrent story evreytime its like "mamma mia peach's been kidnaped!" If mario had started recently it would have a diffrent story and the story would change. So hmmmmmmmmmmm it way be as popular depends on if it would be exactly the same or not so im not sure depends on that so I say no they wouldnt be as popular.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Man, you are right. The character design that is Mario is totally forgettable and bland when compared to generic space marine #5 (the one with the short brown hair and permanent frown). I would of seen this earlier if not blinded by HIDEAS NOSTALOLGIA. I'll strive to only accept serious military game characters into my heart in the future as this is more progressive and forward looking in a general but somehow definable sense.

 

[Sevre]

Well Sonic hasn't produced a decent game since Sonic Heroes, which wasn't the best game but points for originality? Mario on the other hand would still take the world by storm if you wittled down his game list to just Galaxy and Super Smash Bros Brawl.