Is Mario Only Alive Because of Nostalgia?

Why doesn't the plumber have to prove himself again?

[98xpresent]

http://youtu.be/GD6qtc2_AQA

The title should be "Is Nintendo franchises Only Alive Because of Nostalgia?"

[Vengeance1138]

*Are Nintendo franchises Only Alive because of Nostalgia?

[KimoNoir]

merked

[Christopher]

What?

[3-4-5]

uhhh, Some of the most fun gaming I've had in the past 2-3 years has been on 3DS & Wii U.

* Nintendo offers a certain quality nobody else except maybe Blizzard can compete with.

Wii U's only real negative is that you can't play games like Order 1886, or NBA 2k15, or WWE or Destiny,Halo, Call of duty.

Aside from that...for pure games that are fun, Nintendo almost always brings their A game.

Haters gonna hate though.

[DarthZoolu]

It's easy to make quality games from 2001. It would take nintendo 20 years to make Skyrim.

[ashen122]

No imo 3d world is super fun and proves Mario has a reason to be here .

The real question is why is Kirby around but not metroid ( samus )

[SmokingMonkey]

I ask this all the time except,

They made Donkey kong Tropical Freeze instead of a new Metroid?!

Big Reveal!!!

You get to play as Cranky Kong!!!!

[scark92]

Well, there is a certain truth to that statement if you ask me, though the games are fun.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

No. He is alive because his games are great. As well as most Nintendo games.
Or maybe because Mario is one of the few remaining options for people who want to play good 3D platformers.

The writer says "we know the mario formula is good" but what formula is that? being a good game?. The difference between every 3D mario is far greater than the difference between almost any other franchise.

[GreenRanger]

Those magic mushrooms are adding years onto his life.

[gangsta_red]

Nintendo franchises including Mario are alive because they constantly not only re-invent the character along with taking the series in new directions that are successful but in general Nintendo just makes great games.

[Highlife]

I disagree. 2 games I couldn't wait to get my hands on were smash and Mario kart. I got bored of those games so fast. They felt like hd remakes of the wii versions. I played the wii versions for much longer.

[CorndogBurglar]

This article screams of someone who hasn't played Mario in ages. Mario games are consistently fun. Moreso than just about any other franchise out there.

It would be one thing if all of his games were horrible failures. But they aren't. They are great.

[Highlife]

Or maybe he has played them. I have and I don't like any of them. I don't care for the Mario world, Kirby, pokemon, and others just not my taste . Yes Mario has made some changes over the years. But it's the same group of characters same story. So people like me just don't gravitate towards Nintendo. If Nintendo would just do something different instead of relying on the same franchises over and over again I might jump back in but until then I'll pass.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

No because as far as I can tell Nintendo is not using my nostalgia at all on their Wii U games unless we are talking about the Virtual Console. But as far as their new Wii U games and me being a huge fanboy of the SNES, N64, and GCN my nostalgia strings are not really being pulled which is not a bad thing though. The Nintendo games I feel nostalgia from are Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, Mario Kart 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Animal Crossing. None of the new Mario games relate to those games I mentioned at all and I still think the older ones are better even though I still buy all of the new ones.

[Software_Lover]

Mario would sell boat-loads (more) if it were multiplatform. I know "multiplat > single console" but you just can't say that about every game. Mario is one of those games that would sell forever.

[Jalva]

Nostalgia is the cancer of the industry.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

I love nostalgia and I wish Sony would use it but with the PS4 instead of pulling my nostalgia strings they cut them off. Long live their dead PS1 IPs, specifically The Legend of Dragoon, MediEvil, and Ape Escape.

[Jalva]

Well done Sony, forward not backward!

[Blackleg-sanji]

Mario games are actually consistently good now if you would have said yoshi or Kirby....still mad both of these have had 2 games each recently and I'm still waiting for metriod

[bangoskank]

He's alive because his games are awesome. As long as Mario games continue being fun and innovative I'll keep playing them.

[InTheLab]

I'm not in the camp that believes each new mario is innovative and fresh , but they don't need to be. As a gamer, my first console game was SMB. 28 years later, my kid's first console game is NSMB Wii and the circle of my gamer life is complete.

The formula for these games are perfect. All they need is a new suit and levels and new gamers get to experience almost exactly what I did the first time I slid that cartridge into my NES.

For me, Mario is the symbol of not only Nintendo, but gaming in general so no, I don't think it's nostalgia. It can't be nostalgia when so many new gamers are playing these games than any time before.

[hkgamer]

something about the bland generic look of the NSMB series has put me off, original DS version was great others have improved but the look of the game just tired me out.

but anyway, super mario games have solid controls and mecanics. it got it right the first time in 2D for SMB and when moved to 3D it got everything spot on for sm64.

[iliimaster]

nintendo has been around forever,..... I wonder why could it be games? i can only imagine next gen when graphics will all pretty much be equal nintendo will still have massive ips to go along with third party games its gonna be interesting

[Link2DaFutcha]

Mario games are consistently awesome, Galaxy and Galaxy 2 were fantastic as has been 3D world. Mario proves itself as a solid franchise at every outing.

[higgins78]

You could argue the same about any long running franchise - sequel even. Fact remains, SM3DW, Mario Kart 8, Smash, 3 of the very, very best games this generation, perhaps even of the last 5 years.

[telekineticmantis]

I found nothing enjoyable about Mario 3D matter of fact it was irritating, even the nonsensical sound effects he made during his jumps became fistballingly annoying, also it has some of the mosfloaty jumps I've ever seen. But honestly I didnt play much of it.

[hkgamer]

I personally only like super mario games and the only spinoff i like is mario kart. other mario games such as paper mario/smash/mario & luigi rpg has never really interested me.

anyway with mario kart it has solid controls, and bonus items are pretty balanaced with nice track that fits swell with controls.

Super mario series whether they were 2D,3D or 2.5D they all had solid controls. you understood the mecanics or physics of the game and knew what could be jumped and what couldn't. sm64 is still one of the greatest platformers because of these solid controls and these perfectly mapped out levels. there is no other game that had these almost perfect level designs.

[Vanfernal]

No... SONIC is only alive because of nostalgia.

[jaymacx]

YES! but knowing that makes me sad. Sonic games deserve better.

[LexHazard79]

Yes, Everytime you play a Mario game.....you feel like Anton Ego when he ate the Ratatouille.

[DJrantz]

Mario is alive because nintendo continues to make polished and memorable mario games

[LightDiego]

Mario games are still awesome, what a troll article. Just play Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros for Wii U, Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Galaxy 2. I bet this guy didn't play any of these games, just like some people who are posting here.

[SpiralTear]

Even if they were, who cares? The games are fantastic.

[GokuSolosAll]

Of course not. Most Mario games are good. Every franchise has turds like Mario's Time Machine or CD-i Marios but most titles are at least average, and playable and many are good, and even a few I'd rank as "best" like Super Mario RPG. Sure, general quality as of the Wii and Wii U is far below NES-NGC standards but I don't think it's fair to expect greatness at all times. However, we do need to be honest and voice our opinions.

The last good Paper Mario was TTYD, the only good Mario & Luigi was the first, and I don't know why we can't get a true sequel to SMRPG. Double Dash was the best Mario Kart, and Melee was the last great Smash Bros. These are all common opinions but I'll throw a curveball; Sunshine was, IMO, the last good 3D Mario title. Yeah. I said it. Sunshine was the best and Galaxy series underwhelming. The Mario VS Donkey Kong series should have stayed like the Game Boy iteration, "Donkey Kong." I know Minis are popular but I don't think it was the right direction. The 2D Marios are all pretty solid but obviously nothing touches SMB3 and SMW 1&2.

Anyway...that's my take on most core franchises. Either way, no Mario doesn't live off of nostalgia but quality. Even "bad" ones aren't truly that bad, maybe 3's, never a 1, not even CD-i.

[Wonder_Punk]

I hope no one is actually reading this click bait....The Nintendo hate is so played out around here. The real question should be when will any other developer be held to the impossible standards that people hold Nintendo to? Nothing they do will ever please the haters no matter how creative, graphically impressive or well made.

[LoveSpuds]

I think their older nes and snes games are replayable in part to nostalgia, but to say that each successive release is only well received because of nostalgia is crazy.

With each new Mario game Ninty craft a game full of fun, interesting new mechanics with perfect gameplay, to say they are only successful because of nostalgia is wholly disingenuous.

[Donnywho]

No, and I feel like I've just been given the right to ask an equally moronic yet thought provoking question: Would your job exist without Mario?

[Metallicube]

No, it's alive because Mario games are (usually) of quality. Nostalgia alone cannot bring in the massive sales the series gets..

[level 360]

I see Mario like I see Mickey Mouse.

Best characters/mascots to introduce kids - Mickey Mouse for TV/Film -- Mario to gaming.

[deathtok]

I think you only need to compare the path of Nintendo to companies like Sega and Atari to get your answer... nostalgia only takes you so far. Nintendo deliveries a quality experience more often than not with Mario.