So... Um... Yeah.
I don't think I need to say that the system is in deep shit. No amount of image macros or whatever will say otherwise. But with that being said, there's a lesser-seen problem that is coursing through the thread. Mario is failing. Hard.
It's not as if the title being shown isn't quality enough. Multiple outlets were singing the praises of the system when the game released and has a aggregated score of about 93/94. But it isn't driving people to buy systems and that's the main thing. Plus there's the whole thing about overusage. Here's a list of all the titles that have had Mario/Yoshi/DK/Wario as a starring/Title role in the last 5 years, plus what's coming next year:
2009
Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher - Arcade
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis - Wii
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Nintendo DS
WarioWare: D.I.Y. - Nintendo DS
WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase - Wii (WiiWare)
Mario Calculator - Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)
Mario Clock - Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! - Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games - Wii/Nintendo DS
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Wii
2010
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Wii
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! - Nintendo DS
Donkey Kong Country Returns - Wii
Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition (Also known as Super Mario All-Stars - 25th Anniversary Edition) - Wii
Mario Sports Mix - Wii
2011
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Coin World - Arcade
Super Mario 3D Land - Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Wii
Fortune Street - Wii
Mario Kart 7 - Nintendo 3DS
2012
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party 9 - Wii
Mario Tennis Open - Nintendo 3DS
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - Nintendo 3DS
Paper Mario: Sticker Star - Nintendo 3DS
New Super Mario Bros. U - Wii U
Nintendo Land - Wii U
2013
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon - Nintendo 3DS
Game & Wario - Wii U
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move - Nintendo eShop
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - Nintendo 3DS
New Super Luigi U - Wii U
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX - Arcade
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games - Wii U
Super Mario 3D World - Wii U
Mario Party: Island Tour - Nintendo 3DS
2014
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Wii U
Yoshi's New Island - Nintendo 3DS
Mario Golf: World Tour - Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart 8 - Wii U
Yarn Yoshi - Wii U
Total: 42 Titles
Some say that this is better than the 5 years before that: 2003-2008 with 82 titles (!!!)
but it still is pretty damn bad. Plus the lack of general awareness (When was the last time you've seen a modern game in this series parodied or mentioned in popular culture?), merchandise, etc... doesn't help at all.
But lets just say that things changed. Let's say that Iwata's replacement comes in and magically fixes all their problems. New IP's are introduced up the wazoo and get people talking. You still have to take care of your old flagship series. Superman comics are still being made while DC experiments and Mickey Cartoons are still being made while Disney relies on Cars/P&F/Fairies, so it's not impossible for it to be done.
Which brings me to my topic question. Say that Nintendo's new president has put you in charge of the Mario series while every other one of their developers employed is busy making new IP's people want (While also throwing a bone to fans of their older IP's once in a while by releasing one game per system). What would you do with said series? Where would it go? Would it even be remotely similar to what we know today?
Personally, I'd reboot it. The industry has grown to leaps and bounds from what it once was in every direction. Even kid friendly franchises such as Skylanders and Angry Birds have thought put into their worlds through expanded mediums (Such as a cartoon in AB's case) or in-game lore. People demand more these days from all aspects of entertainment. It's basically impossible to have a legacy series stay the same in the entirety of it's career. Superman went from a flying boy-scout to a multi-faceted icon with multiple interpretations. Mickey went from a trouble-making scamp to a squeaky clean kindergarten teacher. Nearly every beloved icon I can think of is experimenting with what their worlds can do. For shit's sakes, Archie comics now has a Zombie apocalypse spinoff! Mario has had none of these transformations. Whether this stems from the company's fear after that live action Hollywood mess or from something else, we may never know. But the fact is, if the series can't provide what people desire in entertainment from it's current state, it should be redone so that it can.
So TL;DR: You have the power to reignite one of gaming's most beloved icons to appease a more vast industry. Everybody else in the company is making new IP's, but you're in charge of the Super Mario series. What do you do?
Pardon me if this seems a tad to reactionary to sales figures, or if this seems too cliché given my posting history (I don't want to be pigeonholed by anyone. I love all aspects of this wonderful industry), but It's been on my mind for a while.
I don't think I need to say that the system is in deep shit. No amount of image macros or whatever will say otherwise. But with that being said, there's a lesser-seen problem that is coursing through the thread. Mario is failing. Hard.
It's not as if the title being shown isn't quality enough. Multiple outlets were singing the praises of the system when the game released and has a aggregated score of about 93/94. But it isn't driving people to buy systems and that's the main thing. Plus there's the whole thing about overusage. Here's a list of all the titles that have had Mario/Yoshi/DK/Wario as a starring/Title role in the last 5 years, plus what's coming next year:
2009
Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher - Arcade
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis - Wii
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Nintendo DS
WarioWare: D.I.Y. - Nintendo DS
WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase - Wii (WiiWare)
Mario Calculator - Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)
Mario Clock - Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! - Nintendo DSi (DSiWare)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games - Wii/Nintendo DS
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Wii
2010
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Wii
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! - Nintendo DS
Donkey Kong Country Returns - Wii
Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition (Also known as Super Mario All-Stars - 25th Anniversary Edition) - Wii
Mario Sports Mix - Wii
2011
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Coin World - Arcade
Super Mario 3D Land - Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Wii
Fortune Street - Wii
Mario Kart 7 - Nintendo 3DS
2012
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party 9 - Wii
Mario Tennis Open - Nintendo 3DS
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - Nintendo 3DS
Paper Mario: Sticker Star - Nintendo 3DS
New Super Mario Bros. U - Wii U
Nintendo Land - Wii U
2013
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon - Nintendo 3DS
Game & Wario - Wii U
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move - Nintendo eShop
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - Nintendo 3DS
New Super Luigi U - Wii U
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX - Arcade
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games - Wii U
Super Mario 3D World - Wii U
Mario Party: Island Tour - Nintendo 3DS
2014
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Wii U
Yoshi's New Island - Nintendo 3DS
Mario Golf: World Tour - Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart 8 - Wii U
Yarn Yoshi - Wii U
Total: 42 Titles
Some say that this is better than the 5 years before that: 2003-2008 with 82 titles (!!!)
but it still is pretty damn bad. Plus the lack of general awareness (When was the last time you've seen a modern game in this series parodied or mentioned in popular culture?), merchandise, etc... doesn't help at all.
But lets just say that things changed. Let's say that Iwata's replacement comes in and magically fixes all their problems. New IP's are introduced up the wazoo and get people talking. You still have to take care of your old flagship series. Superman comics are still being made while DC experiments and Mickey Cartoons are still being made while Disney relies on Cars/P&F/Fairies, so it's not impossible for it to be done.
Which brings me to my topic question. Say that Nintendo's new president has put you in charge of the Mario series while every other one of their developers employed is busy making new IP's people want (While also throwing a bone to fans of their older IP's once in a while by releasing one game per system). What would you do with said series? Where would it go? Would it even be remotely similar to what we know today?
Personally, I'd reboot it. The industry has grown to leaps and bounds from what it once was in every direction. Even kid friendly franchises such as Skylanders and Angry Birds have thought put into their worlds through expanded mediums (Such as a cartoon in AB's case) or in-game lore. People demand more these days from all aspects of entertainment. It's basically impossible to have a legacy series stay the same in the entirety of it's career. Superman went from a flying boy-scout to a multi-faceted icon with multiple interpretations. Mickey went from a trouble-making scamp to a squeaky clean kindergarten teacher. Nearly every beloved icon I can think of is experimenting with what their worlds can do. For shit's sakes, Archie comics now has a Zombie apocalypse spinoff! Mario has had none of these transformations. Whether this stems from the company's fear after that live action Hollywood mess or from something else, we may never know. But the fact is, if the series can't provide what people desire in entertainment from it's current state, it should be redone so that it can.
So TL;DR: You have the power to reignite one of gaming's most beloved icons to appease a more vast industry. Everybody else in the company is making new IP's, but you're in charge of the Super Mario series. What do you do?
Pardon me if this seems a tad to reactionary to sales figures, or if this seems too cliché given my posting history (I don't want to be pigeonholed by anyone. I love all aspects of this wonderful industry), but It's been on my mind for a while.