The annual Mario series

by **robometal cowboy** » 28 Apr 2012 09:52

The annual Mario series
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When we realized it or not, there have been 6 main Mario games released in the last 7 years. We usually have to wait longer to get our hands on Mario titles, but it seems that recently the Big N has made Mario a yearly franchise. Without having to wait so long for Mario games, are consumers going to tire of the plumber and his pals as they head out on yearly romps?

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by **stealth** » 28 Apr 2012 10:06

Tom Bramwell, you are a fool

Mario is not an annual series in any way.........the 3d and 2d games are completely different sub series

Hell before this gen it was 15 years since the last 2d mario

by **Jikkle** » 28 Apr 2012 10:35

The only one with the risk of getting stale is New Super Mario Bros.

I think it's fantastic to have 2d Mario games but every release is fairly similar in terms of style and gameplay so you have the risk of that becoming something gamers will get tired of seeing.

by **void3953** » 28 Apr 2012 11:00

6 Mario games in 7 years, each exclusive to it's original platform and many of which feature drastically different game play vs 6 CoD games in 7 years many of which appeared on the same platform (ALL OF THEM) with only minor differences in how they play.

Yeah... that's an apt and fair comparison.

Jikkle wrote:The only one with the risk of getting stale is New Super Mario Bros.

I think it's fantastic to have 2d Mario games but every release is fairly similar in terms of style and gameplay so you have the risk of that becoming something gamers will get tired of seeing.

It's a little early to be making those kinds of predictions. There's been 2 NSMB games so far and many people seem to think that the Wii version is far superior to the DS one. Now we have a few screen shots from NSMB 2 and so many people are already writing it off because it doesn't "look" different enough.

I think we should probably wait until we see what Nintendo has planned for the title before people start complaining about it. Sure, the graphics are pretty similar, but that doesn't mean the entire game will play exactly the same. There's bound to be at least one new costume that will end up changing a lot of how the game plays.

by **LegendofSantiago** » 28 Apr 2012 11:09

@Jikkle I think it will at least play differently. It might look similar in screen shots but still. As for the ds version and the Wii version, they are both basically newsuper Mario bros 1 so that is probably the reason they are similar

by **COlimar788** » 28 Apr 2012 11:45

I personally think Nintendo needs to slow down with Mario. The more recent Mario games (with the exception of the Galaxy duo) have been less and less original, less and less brilliant as time goes by. Frankly it's a shame. I don't want to see Mario grow stagnant, but it appears to be heading that direction even as we speak.

by **Chosenoneknuckles** » 28 Apr 2012 11:55

@COlimar788 Agreed.

That said, I'm real curious as to what the initial sales for NSMB2 retail VS digital will be [especially since the later will probably mainly consist of those, like myself, that agree that such series looks and feels like it should've been a digital title in the first place]...

by **CHAOSDRAGON88** » 28 Apr 2012 12:01

Chosenoneknuckles wrote:@COlimar788 Agreed.

That said, I'm real curious as to what the initial sales for NSMB2 retail VS digital will be [especially since the later will probably mainly consist of those, like myself, that agree that such series looks and feels like it should've been a digital title in the first place]...

I don't think it's going to be discounted in price significantly enough to benefit the sales of the digital title, but this is all conjecture and we'll have to wait and see. I believe retail will win out though.

by **MrGameBoy** » 28 Apr 2012 12:08

@COlimar788
@Chosenoneknuckles
Same here as well. I used to remember a time when Mario platformers were special in that once-in-a-while type of way and also well-rounded/polished all around. As excellent as 3D Land was, it doesn't quite match up to the Galaxy standards. I do hope EAD Tokyo takes its time in making a surprising and outstanding game.

by **sonic7877** » 28 Apr 2012 12:33

Jikkle wrote:The only one with the risk of getting stale is New Super Mario Bros.

I think it's fantastic to have 2d Mario games but every release is fairly similar in terms of style and gameplay so you have the risk of that becoming something gamers will get tired of seeing.

Every release? You mean those 2 games?

by **Chosenoneknuckles** » 28 Apr 2012 12:40

CHAOSDRAGON88 wrote:
Chosenoneknuckles wrote:@COlimar788 Agreed.

That said, I'm real curious as to what the initial sales for NSMB2 retail VS digital will be [especially since the later will probably mainly consist of those, like myself, that agree that such series looks and feels like it should've been a digital title in the first place]...

I don't think it's going to be discounted in price significantly enough to benefit the sales of the digital title, but this is all conjecture and we'll have to wait and see. I believe retail will win out though.

I agree, but still, this will be our first insight into Nintendo's online strategy for the next few years [since this extends to Wii U from Day One too]; demo's and d/l retail games are what gamers have been asking all this gen from them, but will having even The Brand at the forefront of such even provide ample digital sales in comparison?

Just wholly curious! Will be interesting to see how it all pans out...

by **Hadrian** » 28 Apr 2012 12:49

Its starting to get samey with Mario 3D Land which for me feels like it was rushed out so it can be a system seller...which is certainly isn't. However its still a very good game, albeit it a tad easy (especially with the 3D making jumps impossible to miss now) but its a bit "been there, done that".

I see these titles as fillers for the main event...namely whatever will be the next gen Mario Wii U game because while I loved the first two NSMB there weren't a patch on the perfection that is the two Galaxy titles. I'm hoping that NSMB Wii U has changed a lot because it sounds like its going to be a launch title so either it has to be changed (due to 3DS getting when only a few months before) or a free pack in title.

by **LegendofSantiago** » 28 Apr 2012 12:55

sonic7877 wrote:
Jikkle wrote:The only one with the risk of getting stale is New Super Mario Bros.

I think it's fantastic to have 2d Mario games but every release is fairly similar in terms of style and gameplay so you have the risk of that becoming something gamers will get tired of seeing.

Every release? You mean those 2 games?

this

by **LegendofSantiago** » 28 Apr 2012 13:00

@MrGameBoy I thought 3D land was great. It's not mario galaxy (as you said) but it did what it wanted to do nearly perfectly. Also, i don't particularly "get" why people are complaining about the difficulty in mario games. Pretty much all games i have played this gen (aside from dark souls) are relatively easy. The only thing i hear a lot is that Nintendo give the players a lot of lives, but if you look at other games there are pretty much infinite lives and you will return to your last check point. There will always be a challenge in the game if someone wants it and i did think that the last few special worlds in 3D land we very difficult

by **gtt** » 28 Apr 2012 13:11

Chosenoneknuckles wrote:@COlimar788 Agreed.

That said, I'm real curious as to what the initial sales for NSMB2 retail VS digital will be [especially since the later will probably mainly consist of those, like myself, that agree that such series looks and feels like it should've been a digital title in the first place]...

probably more physical. I don't think the majority of nitnendo's audience is on board with digital. I know I'm buying physical. simply because I don't trust nintendo to do digital right. But, maybe some details will come out at e3 to change my mind. (still buying physical, but I want both)

by **FrenchFryGuy** » 28 Apr 2012 13:12

Ugh, I'm more tired by far of the articles coming in now posing this question. In case you haven't noticed, the industry pretty much lives off of safe established franchise sequels these days.

by **nGen** » 28 Apr 2012 13:13

You know, Nintendo has been pumping out Mario games annually for longer than the last seven years.

2001: Super Mario Advance, Super Mario Advance 2
2002: Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Advance 3
2003: Super Mario Advance 4
2004: Super Mario 64 DS
2005: Nothing
2006: New Super Mario Bros.
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
2008: Nothing
2009: New Super Mario Bros. Wii
2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011: Super Mario 3D Land
2012: New Super Mario Bros. 2, Possibly New Super Mario Bros. Mii

Yes, for a lot of those early years, the games were just remakes. But think about that. The GBA didn't receive an original Mario game, only ports. However, since 2006, we've enjoyed new, original games on a nearly yearly basis. Call me crazy, but I'd rather have that than four ports in three years.

by **LegendofSantiago** » 28 Apr 2012 13:13

@gtt"simply because I don't trust nintendo to do digital right"
What do you mean? :/ The way it will work is that instead of putting in a cartridge you can just run it off the system.

by **gtt** » 28 Apr 2012 13:19

LegendofSantiago wrote:@gtt"simply because I don't trust nintendo to do digital right"
What do you mean? :/ The way it will work is that instead of putting in a cartridge you can just run it off the system.

I know how it works :facepalm: I don't trust them to have a good account system, I don't trust them to not make me rebuy it when the next system comes out. To be honest, while downloads are still tied to a single hardware, I'm not really on board with it. Especially not to the tune of 40 and 50$ games.

now, if a physical purchase also gets me a digital version, I have less to worry about, but they still need to fix those issues if they are serious about the digital space.

They don't need to waste time taking baby steps and re-inventing the wheel, Valve has shown everyone what it should be like. no reason to not follow their lead.

by **sonic7877** » 28 Apr 2012 13:23

stealth wrote: it was 15 years since the last 2d mario

This. There have only been 2 recent 2d Mario games. Yes, the art style is similar in NSMB, but that's about it. NSMB Wii added new power ups that change up the gameplay, and hunting down all the star coins was a challenge. The addition of an unlockable extra world, and 4 player multiplayer helped change up the game enough to feel fresh. Yet, everyone complains about the art style. 2 NSMB games released 3 years apart from each other in no way makes it comparable to a copy and paste yearly Call of Duty. Also, we know almost nothing about NSMB 2, so you can't pass judgement on that.

As for the 3d Mario games, well Galaxy 1 and 2 are some of the best reviewed games of all time. Of course the 3d Mario games are a separate series from the 2d Mario games, so no this is not an annual series. Super Mario 3d Land was a new, unique Mario game, built from the ground up for the 3ds. Can't compare this to Call of Duty or Madden.

Also, games like Mario Party and Mario Kart don't count. They are spinoffs, not main series Mario games.

by **NeroSuferoth** » 28 Apr 2012 13:29

I find it sad, the way Nintendo has handled Mario the past years... I wouldn't mind havind to wait years for a new Mario game to be released if they could go back to making them how they used to..

Each new entry was surprising, with new features to blow you away.. Now it's more like rinse and repeat.

by **LegendofSantiago** » 28 Apr 2012 13:32

@gtt I have heard from a few places that they are working on unified accounts for both the WiiU/3DS. But, you will have to wait for a while before they announce that. They could do it at e3 or later if it's true. (supposedly it's going to be implemented on both systems when the Wii U comes out and it might be linked by club nintendo)

@NeroSuferoth Have you played mario galaxy? IMHO it's much better than anything else they have made in previous years. 2 2D games and mario becomes "rinse and repeat"? :/

by **Mike_Intellivision** » 28 Apr 2012 14:39

Three different series of games (2D, 3D and Galaxy).
Three different platforms.

The only real surprise was a direct Galaxy sequael on the same platform.

Mike from Morgantown

by **ocre** » 28 Apr 2012 14:41

As long as we aren't required to upgrade our hardware every year, who is it really hurting? We're not going to live forever; aren't more games good(when they're of such high quality as Nintendo makes them)? It's not like they're soulless cash-ins that Nintendo have to trick you into buying.

At the very least, these new Mario games will strengthen the platforms and will usher in more support for them. It's a good thing.

by **NeroSuferoth** » 28 Apr 2012 15:04

@LegendofSantiago

To be a bit more specific, and I've said his before I belive.. Galaxy, Galaxy2 and 3D Land, are basically the same, and 3D Land was more of a poor Galaxy spin off.

Then you got NSMB, NSMBWii and NSMB2.. I haven't played NSMB2 yet, of course, but I feel like Nintendo wants to cash in more on the obscene millions the previous titles sold by giving us pretty much the same thing.