Is Mario fatigue setting in? AKA How Mario lost his smile

GameZone's David Sanchez writes: "Nintendo has done great things with the Mario franchise, but as of late, it seems to be losing its luster. That magic that first propelled the iconic platforming series is now but a faint light bulb, barely surviving on the success that every cash-in so unremorsefully chugs along by. There's nothing novel about Mario anymore, and it's a shame."

[NYC_Gamer]

Nintendo needs to add some new flavor to that old fashioned gameplay of the plumber

[Kalowest]

"add some new flavor to that old fashioned gameplay"
They did with Super Mario 3D Land; that game is awesome
(That's coming from a 21yr old).

[CalvinKlein]

MORE GUNS!

[klecser]

Numbers say otherwise. He's still popular. But, the premise of the article is absolutely true for hardcore gamers.

So, the real question is: Does Mario even NEED the hardcore crowd to make Nintendo money? It can't hurt.

[Baka-akaB]

It's more about people pretending the whole 28-30 years (not sure) of Mario is about them and made to cater to them .

It's not , of course every once in a while there will be rehashes to introduce it to a new generation of gamer . Doesnt mean that you have to buy and enjoy all of them .

[klecser]

I'm a Nintendo gamer. But I hate Mario games. If you like them, and your friends like them, great. But you represent one part of the hardcore gamer "population". My point is that for some of us who are both hardcore gamers and Nintendo fans, Mario jumping around is a little tired for us.

Ultimately sales are all that matter. So, if Nintendo can still sell it, it doesn't matter what everybody's preferences are.

[CalvinKlein]

yes hardcore only like cover shooter 3 and FPS multiplayer 7.

I would buy a Nintendo system again if they just made mario 64-2 for the wii U. I loved mario 64 it is amazing. Also make a cool looking 2d mario game that doesnt look cheap and made to play in flash player. more like mario world or yoshi island.

[LOL_WUT]

Either add something more appealing or let the plumber rest for a while. This goes for those New Super Mario Bros. games and was not intended towards the 3D games.

[SnakeCQC]

i guess that mario finally worked out that the princess was doing bowser

[Lucretia]

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee en lost his awesomeness. Snes was the last time i liked mario.

although New super mario bros was pretty good

[Fel08]

Mario still going strong after decades. I don't know if this guy is living under a rock, or just simply is a Nintendo hater.

[TheSanchezDavid]

I'm not arguing against the series' popularity. I know Mario's a strong franchise. But the fact is the 2D games have grown stale.

Also, "this guy" isn't living under any rock, nor is he a "Nintendo hater." For years the only current platform I owned was the Wii. I'm a fan, but I've grown tired of the series. You don't have to love Mario to be a Nintendo fan. Xenoblade and Last Story? Pre-ordered and own both. Kirby? Easily one of my favorite franchises of all time (getting the Dream Collection on September 16, actually). Super Mario Bros. 3? Quite possibly my favorite game of all time.

So yeah, I'm a fan. I'm just not a fanboy.

[TheDivine]

I dont think Mario is stale at all. The New SMB series is stale because they released so close together in the same style with the same gameplay. If they switched up the style i would be fine. If one was like SM World with capes, hidden secrets everywhere, and everything from that id be fine. When the ds title released i loved it. Then the wii title felt like more of the same and now with the 3ds tile and wii-u title on the way its too much. Galaxy was fresh. 3d Land was fresh. NSB WAS fresh but they kept on too long.

[Acquiescence]

If they put some serious effort into making triple A new IPs, instead of just relying on Mario games and Mario-related spin-offs all the time. They're not just milking the brand; they're bleeding it dry. I don't know if it was last week or the week before, but there were 4 3DS games in the UK Top 40 Video Games chart, and they all had Mario in the title. I mean geez, give it a rest.

[Baka-akaB]

See i dont get that . When there are 4 or 3 mario games running simulatenously in tops , doesnt mean they are all designed for you .

Some people like only 2d mario games , other 3d titles , some other only the non platform spin offs like tennis or Kart .

And if you like all genres liek some others , well it's up to the individual to not burn and tire itself with an overdose imo .

[from the beach]

The new games all add new things, 2D and 3D series, to build on what is already a highly refined formula, always a pleasure to return to.

If you like hop-n-bop platformers you've got Nintendo's, Sega's and ... ... ... the indie junk?

[wingman32x]

Galaxy 2 was probably the best mario game I've played in a long while. They fixed nearly every flaw the first game had. They pretty much perfected the galaxy style gameplay.

3D Land I thought was pretty neat. There were a couple of neat ideas in there. The big drawback of 3D Land, though, is that the levels felt way too short. I see big potential for a sequel featuring less condensed levels.

NSMB Wii and NSMB 2 are okay, but they feel a little uninspired to me. The coin idea in NSMB 2 is neat, but to me the series seems to scream safe. Even in the 2D format, I feel there's still a lot they can do with it.

So overall I don't think I'm tired of Mario yet. It'll be interesting to see the first 3D Mario game with the Wii U. What they do with it should give a better picture in terms of where they're going with the core series.

[MelonSaurus]

Mario is dying. I don't care what people think, they've gotta be simply delusional at this point. At the 3DS E3 conference, there was basically nothing but Mario related games announced, and it made me sick. You can't keep rehashing this shit over and over again. At some point you're going to run out of steam, and it's just now finally happening. Even Zelda is getting stale, but from recent rumors, it looks like they're at least changing it up. The lack of change in NSMB2 was just embarrassing, and other future Mario titles just feel like a complete waste of time. Hell, I don't even want Luigis Mansion 2 and I loved the original.

Sure, sales probably won't see much of a difference since there's so many fanboys and loyal Nintendo fans out there that worship Mario like a cult. I just think in the scope of things Nintendo needs something new, a new IP to continue success for future generations and hardware. The last actually original Mario title to be released imo was Super Mario Galaxy in 2007. Go ahead and dislike this, but somewhere down the road the turning point will be seen by all.

[TheSanchezDavid]

Best argument on here, hands down.

[Baka-akaB]

How so ? Saying it's going to die despite cosntant proofs of otherwise and no alarming hints and signs yet , seems hardly like such a good argument .

I dont even like mario mind you . I can only enjoy him in stuff like Kart and Smash bros ... but it's quite a stretch to say it's going to die because you personally are tired .

Sales do need to show a sign of fatigue , and it's not .

It's not as if people were exactly rushing toward a fresher pikmin instead

PS :

While it has indeed been a while this gen . Nintendo has actually explored quite a variety of genre and new ideas imo . They just "hidden" it in a coat of mario franchising . But they've created quite many ips from it .
So it's hardly as if it was the same damn exact genre and game

[TheSanchezDavid]

I don't think it's going to die, but there's no denying that MelonSaurus makes some great points. And I really think it's only a matter of time before more people realize that Nintendo's been doing the same thing over and over again. Already a few folks have figured it out.

[Freakazoid2012]

@DavidSanchez,
Melon didnt make one valid point in their entire rant. All she did was spout her opinion as fact. Just because it matches your doesnt make it the best argument. Did you even read what they posted?
"and other future Mario titles just feel like a complete waste of time"
Now here they claim to have played future Mario titles and know how they play. Do you really think they can go into the future? Of course not you just blindly agreed without even comprehending what was said.

So what they are tired of Mario? Who said they ever supported Mario games to begin with? Nobody. They cry about the DS conference and that is it.

Do you know why people keep bringing up sales? Because 30 million people didnt buy a game they were sick of. That is the point, the only point that matters , that you cannot seem to grasp.

They ask for new IP's and you agree with them? What about Last story, Pandoras tower, Xenoblade, Disaster, and that is just on Wii this gen? Forgetting that Wii Sports is a new IP too.

What I get from this is that you know little to nothing about gaming and are just looking for hits for your site. Agreeing with her post proves that 100%.

[TheSanchezDavid]

Like I stated before, I personally don't think Mario is dying (pay attention, people), but there are some truly valid points about the series getting stupidly stale. Sadly, that's all I can say as this is my last bubble. Attack all you want.

[PopRocks359]

@MelonSaurus

Exactly how is a franchise dying when its sales haven't gone down? Your opinion that a franchise has gone stale does not mean that franchise is dying or ever will die.

[MelonSaurus]

Lol. Sales do not reflect a franchise's good standing. Just look at Call of Duty. It sells more and more units for every installment, but so many people agree it's the same rehashed shit over and over again. Why would it still sell then? Because people buy it to keep up with the series, in an almost cult-like manner. It's mindless and idiotic. And Activision continues to do it for all the money that rolls in.

[PopRocks359]

That doesn't matter. Apparently the people who hate Call of Duty are a minority on the internet, because last I checked MW3 sold over 6 million copies very quickly.

That means that as far as it goes, it's still a very healthy and successful franchise. The people who are buying the games are not relevant at that point.

If it makes money, it's successful. Period. That's it. There's no working any way around that other than being hateful or a fanboy.

[Blastoise]

Iv grown kinda tired of Mario games tbh. They're always good, rarely do I play one and think "This is less than a 7 out of 10" but nothing gives me that feeling that Mario 64 or Super mario world did.

Also, I couldnt care less about sales. Sales don't affect my enjoyment of a game.

[browngamer41]

"Is everything Nintendo does it's still doomed articles" getting old?-AKA how writers have lost their touch..

[from the beach]

Yeah, ironically the whole "Mario has been milked dry" thing has now been milked dry.

[browngamer41]

Oh no...disagrees from Sony fans-what ever will I do? I know I'll go play me some Mario..

[Sheep4life]

Haven't played a Mario game since Mario 64. I'm 33 years old, and I have played Mario since Donkey Kong back in the Arcade days. Nintendo is doing a great job re-hashing and re-packaging their catalog for the new adopters and old school. You have to look past everything they have created to really appreciate Nintendo. In my opinion, Nintendo is like Disney, everyone knows their characters. Like Disney, they rehash the originals when a new platform is created. For that, Nintendo will never fall like Sega did. Nintendo knows exactly what it is and what it isn't.

[PirateThom]

My first game ever was Super Mario Bros so I feel I'm pretty well placed to make a judgement call on Mario fatigue and, to be honest, I do feel it. I don't really care about the franchise any more. That's not to say the games are bad, the gameplay has been consistantly good, but there's only so much Mario you can have in one lifetime and my limit was reached after Galaxy. That's a pretty solid period of Mario but, now, it's just a case of attempting to appeal to my nostalgia for the series rather than pushing it anywhere meaningful.

[wiiulee]

lol...this must be an article by a sony or microsoft fanboys...people who actually play a mario game knows the magic that is in those games....but now that new super mario is selling like crazy and having those nintendo characters always give nintendo a leg up......now sony and microsoft fanboys are trying everything possible to downplay those magical characters

[ZeekQuattro]

Mario has been around since 1981. I think Nintendo understands what they are doing. Stale? Not by a long shot. People say they want changes but often times those games are ill received. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[Griffin4871]

lmao @ people disagreeing with this...

Zeon is right. There's nothing wrong with Mario. If people actually took the time to play ALL his games, they would realize that there is innovation for each one, even if the playstyle is still the same.

The core audience is kids. Alot of us oldheads have been playing Mario for more than a decade, so yeah, of course it's gonna be stale for us. The games are targeted toward the younger crowd, just like it was when we were kids.

So don't count the fat plumber out yet. Just because we're too old doesn't mean the franchise is. I personally still find Mario enjoyable.