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Mario vs. Pokemon - Which is the bigger game IP

A

AntMurda

Member
There always seems to be some contention whether which IP is the biggest for Nintendo. While Mario is definitely the purer intellectual property having been fully developed in-house, as opposed to Pokemon where Nintendo is involved with a trio of partners, there's still a matter of which IP sells more? Well here is some IR Nintendo data (also some from sourced wikipedia) that may lead to a more conclusive answer.

Mario series - Top 30 Sellers
01. Super Mario Bros. [40.24 million]
02. Mario Kart Wii [36.83 million]
03. New Super Mario Bros. [30.80 million]
04. New Super Mario Bros. Wii [29.90 million]
05. Mario Kart DS [23.60 million]
06. Super Mario World [20.60 million]
07. Super Mario Land [18.06 million]
08. Super Mario Bros. 3 [18 million]
09. Mario Kart 7 [13.94 million]
10. Super Mario Galaxy [12.72 million]
11. Super Mario 64 [11.89 million]
12. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins [11.09 million]
13. Super Mario 64 DS [11.06 million]
14. Super Mario 3D Land [10.98 million]
15. New Super Mario Bros. 2 [10.60 million]
16. Super Mario All-Stars [10.55 million]
17. Super Mario Bros. 2 [10 million]
18. Mario Kart 64 [9.87 million]
19. Mario Party DS [8.90 million]
20. Mario Party 8 [8.85 million]
21. Super Mario Kart [8.76 million]
22. Mario Kart 8 [8 million]
23. Super Mario Galaxy 2 [7.67 million]
24. Mario Kart: Double Dash [7 million]
25. Super Mario Sunshine [6.31 million]
26. Mario Kart: Super Circuit [5.91 million]
27. New Super Mario Bros. U [5.45 million]
28. Super Mario 3D World [5.19 milion]
29. Super Paper Mario [4.23 million]
30. Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World [4.18 million]
* Did not consider Luigi/Peach/Yoshi/Wario games nor co-starring games like Mario & Donkey Kong or Mario & Sonic.

Pokemon series - Top 30 Sellers
01. Pokemon Red / Blue [23.64 million] *2 SKUS
02. Pokemon Gold / Silver [23 million] *2 SKUS
03. Pokemon Diamond / Pearl [17.64 million] *2 SKUS
04. Pokemon Ruby / Sapphire [16.22 million] *2 SKUS
05. Pokemon X / Y [15.64 million] *2 SKUS
06. Pokemon Black / White [15.62 million] *2 SKUS
07. Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire [13.18 million] *2 SKUS
08. Pokemon HeartGold / Soul Silver [12.72 million] *2 SKUS
09. Pokemon FireRed / LeafGreen [11.82 million] *2 SKUS
10. Pokemon Sun / Moon [11.00 million] *STILL SELLING
11. Pokemon Yellow (Green) [8.86 million]
12. Pokemon Black 2 / White 2 [7.97 million] *2 SKUS
13. Pokemon Platinum [7.69 million]
14. Pokemon Emerald [6.32 million]
15. Pokemon Mysteru Dungeon: Explores of Time / Explorers of Darkness [4.93 million] *2 SKUS
16. Pokemon Stadium [3.97 million]
17. Pokemon Crystal [3.85 million]
18. Pokemon Trading Card Came [3 million]
19. Pokemon Snap [2.72 million]
20. Pokemon Ranger [2.70 million]
21. Pokemon Colosseum [2.54 million]
22. Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire [2.50 million]
23. Pokemon Stadium 2 [2.15 million]
24. Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia [2.04 million]
25. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of SKu [1.4 million]
26. Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness [1.25 million]
27. Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon [1.22 million]
28. Pokemon Pinball [1.22 million]
29. Pokemon Battle Revolution [1.20 million]
30. Pokken Tournament [1 million]

TOP 30 MARIO SALES (411.18 million) > TOP 30 POKEMON SALES (229.01 million)


Besides Mario Kart being the IP with the highest sales mark (SMB on NES data is a bit questionable), how do general Mario and Pokemon sales compare?
 
A

Already Torn

Banned
I think Mario is bigger in the sense that it's basically Nintendo's Mickey Mouse. Like Pikachu didn't show up at the Japanese Olympic presentation.

Pokemon is a bigger deal though.

I think Mario is more likely to be identified by your grandmother, while Pokemon is more likely to sell a gaming system. Or merchandise. Or weird playing cards.
 
Z

Zalman

Member
Pokémon received a boost this year, but overall I still say Mario. The games reached over 30 million last generation while Pokémon was only half of that. Mario Kart and Pokémon are currently pretty close in terms of sales on 3DS.
 
C

captmcblack

Member
There is no IP even tangentially related to gaming bigger than Mario. Mario IS gaming.

Pokemon may get there eventually - and at its current pace, it will - but today, Mario is king.
 
D

dahuman

Neo Member
Depends on the generation you talk to, from Baby Boomer and Gen X, Mario by a landslide. Might be more even with the millennials though.
 
C

clevbrowns94

Member
Those are some crazy sales for both. But Pokémon is even more impressive because a lot of Mario games sales come from pack-in titles, like the first Super Mario Bros. There are some pack-in Pokémon titles, but it's lot rarer.

SinCityAssassin said:
From a cultural standpoint, Pokemon. From a recognition standpoint, Mario.
Click to expand...

yeah this.
 
AfterTheFall

AfterTheFall

Member
Mario is a better known IP. Even my father knows who Mario is. Not sure my parents had heard of Pokémon until Pokémon GO became a cultural phenomena on the news.
 
R

random25

Member
As a video game? Mario. There's a reason why people keep complaining about Nintendo always making Mario and nothing else, even if it's not true.

As an entertainment franchise as a whole? Pokemon. The anime alone is still up and running.
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
It's Pokemon right now. Though as a game IP, it's close since Mario has three BIG guns in 2D Mario, 3D Mario and Mario Kart.


As an IP, it's Pokemon. Mario doesn't have cards, cartoon, movies, toys anywhere close to Pokemon.
 
J

J3ffro

Member
AfterTheFall said:
Mario is a better known IP. Even my father knows who Mario is. Not sure my parents had heard of Pokémon until Pokémon GO became a cultural phenomena on the news.
Click to expand...

Exactly - Pokemon may be bigger for the younger generation, but Mario is video games to the majority of Americans. The Mickey Mouse of video games comparison made above is spot on.
 
Kamina

Kamina

Golden Boy
I think for Nintendo as Game company Mario is always bigger. In general though, counting all merchandise, movies, tv shows,... pokemon is more lucrative overall as trademark.
 
L

L Thammy

Member
Mario is supposed to be a normal human, right? So let's assume he's five feet tall in his normal state regardless of how the artstyle depicts him, and double that to ten feet when he eats a Super Mushroom.

That actually makes him very large in Pokemon terms. The only ones bigger are legendaries, serpent-like Pokemon such as Gyarados, and Ultra Beasts. I think the only other Pokemon on that scale are Wailord, Alolan Exeggutor, Dhelmise, and Wishiwashi's school form.

Business-wise, I think it's Mario.
 
T

Tadaima

Member
L Thammy said:
Mario is supposed to be a normal human, right? So let's assume he's five feet tall in his normal state regardless of how the artstyle depicts him, and double that to ten feet when he eats a Super Mushroom.

That actually makes him very large in Pokemon terms. The only ones bigger are legendaries, serpent-like Pokemon such as Gyarados, and Ultra Beasts. I think the only other Pokemon on that scale are Wailord, Alolan Exeggutor, Dhelmise, and Wishiwashi's school form.
Click to expand...
He looks more like 4 feet without the mushroom and 6 with, tbh.
 
S

sanstesy

Member
Kamina said:
I think for Nintendo as Game company Mario is always bigger. In general though, counting all merchandise, movies, tv shows,... pokemon is more lucrative overall as trademark.
Click to expand...

The movies and TV shows aren't as lucrative as you think and even then don't come even close to what Nintendo money made exclusively with all mainline plus spin-off Mario games sold on their own gaming hardware.

Should just show you how much bigger Mario really is.
 
G

gosox333

Member
sales-wise when considering them as strictly video games it's certainly Mario. That isn't even close.

I'd be willing to argue that Pokemon has had the bigger cultural impact as a franchise though.
 
D

Dougieflesh

Member
Pokemon. It's popularity was very explosive. Mario beats it in the realm of video games, but Pokemon wins the media war by far.
 
G

Gartooth

Member
Mario takes it in the gaming landscape but I think Pokemon wins as an overall brand. Like the money made from Pokemon merchandise has to be fucking insane.
 
TDLink

TDLink

Member
It's definitely Mario. That list alone is enough proof. Pokemon has no game that even has touched the sales of the highest selling Marios. And this is after taking out games that feature other Mario characters to better prove the point...It's even more ridiculous once you consider those.
 
R

random25

Member
If we just stick to how their video games sell, what Mario does well is that not only it's main line 2D games sell well, but its spin-offs also do pretty damn well. Sometimes better, in fact.

As for Pokemon, it's pretty much the opposite. New main line and remakes do tremendously well, but its spinoffs aren't as hot. This is the best selling Pokemon spin-off from the list:

15. Pokemon Mysteru Dungeon: Explores of Time / Explorers of Darkness [4.93 million] *2 SKUS

Even the lowest-selling Mario Kart beats it by comparison:

26. Mario Kart: Super Circuit [5.91 million]
 
B

Busaiku

Member
I5pMnE8h.jpg
 
ThatStupidLion

ThatStupidLion

Member
mario.

everyone would enjoy taking their children to see a mario movie

not everyone would enjoy taking their children to see a pokemon movie


mario = mickey mouse for gaming industry
 
B

blakep267

Member
As a brand as a whole Pokémon destroys MARIO. I think there was a thread that Pokémon as a brand makes 2 billion a year and growing. It's neck and neck with Star Wars. In gaming you could say MARIO because of it's past. That's dwindled of course today. I mean if you compare 30 years of sales for SMB vs 20 for Pokémon red/ blue of course smbwwould sell more. But Sun Moon is gonna dwarf whatever new MARIO comes out
 
S

sanstesy

Member
blakep267 said:
As a brand as a whole Pokémon destroys MARIO. I think there was a thread that Pokémon as a brand makes 2 billion a year and growing. It's neck and neck with Star Wars. In gaming you could say MARIO because of it's past. That's dwindled of course today. I mean if you compare 30 years of sales for SMB vs 20 for Pokémon red/ blue of course smbwwould sell more. But Sun Moon is gonna dwarf whatever new MARIO comes out
Click to expand...

Like Pokemon GO is dwarfing Super Mario Run right now, right?
 
B

blakep267

Member
sanstesy said:
Like Pokemon GO is dwarfing Super Mario Run right now, right?
Click to expand...
How much money has super MARIO run made? We know how much Pokémon Go made. Downloads mean nothing if people ain't buying anything. I even downloaded run to see what was up. Didn't buy the full game thoigh
 
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