Can The 3DS Sell Without Mario?

GenGAME writes: A year and a half into its life span, the 3DS has carved out a pretty decent fanbase with all signs pointing towards increased sales over the next half a year or so. When you really think about it, it’s almost a no brainer that the 3DS has had such success early on; the system has seen far more than its fair share of Mario titles. As the highest-selling video game series of all time, Mario is a title that simply makes a system sell.

You can’t blame Nintendo for showering us with their biggest money-maker of a franchise early on, but sooner rather than later they’re going to have to stop relying on Mario so much to boost 3DS sales. As much as gamers flock to a new Mario game, there’s still a limit to just how much Mario we can take, and the 3DS is getting dangerously close to that limit. How will the 3DS continue to be prosperous in life after Mario?

[DivineAssault]

mario alone or mario karts n all?? idk very good question.. Im sure it would sell some but no where near as many

[aviator189]

Sure, it can sell, but it will sell at a slower rate without the franchise. The same can be said with a 3ds pokemon game (the rumored grey version).

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Okay, we got it. They milk Mario just like CoD and Uncharted and GoW and Assassins Creed. But Most of those can do a yearly release and not let the games get stale, including Mario.

[hardandsloppy]

Why did you put Uncharted and GoW. If you mean God of War, I dont understand you, 2 games in one generation is so much milking right. And Uncharted 3 games, plus one handheld game? I would only call it milking if another one came out next year. Mario has like 3 games come out each year, that is pretty crazy if you ask me.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

I meant Gears because there already doing a Halo and making an unnecessary prequel.

[omarzy]

The DS had one Super Mario game that was not a port. I think the 3DS can handle it.

[sloth3395]

can any system sell without its top brand?

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

What can Nintendo do without Mario?... What can Microsoft do without Halo?

Then Nintendo has Zelda... and Microsoft has Gears of War...

Then what do they fall back on?

This is where I've come to love Sony and their ability to have enough exclusives out of the box that are strong enough franchises that they don't have to purely milk the top tier franchises!

[AdmiralSnake]

Sony has nothing to do with this article, you sound like a fanboy.

Especially when Sony came out with HOW many Ratchet and Clank games this gen ? Exactly.

I like Sony as much as they next guy, but there's no need to involve them in every topic on this site.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

I mentioned all 3... so what's your beef bro?

[dasbeer88]

Yup Sony fanboy alert!! We have someone who is speaking on a bias opinion regarding how Sony is a superior company regardless this is a NINTENDO/SUPER MARIO-related artile.

[omarzy]

Have not played enough Xbox and Nintendo if you think those are the only exclusives they have to sell big on.

[tehpees3]

Nintendo have more franchises than Sony. What is Pokemon, F-Zero, Metroid, Wave Race, Pikmin, Kid Icarus, Fire Emblem, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Starfox. The list goes on.

[Xof]

I've never bought a Nintendo console for Mario. It's not an issue. Mario really only appeals to casual gamers and nostalgia-junkies.

Now, a Nintendo console without a Zelda? That's a different matter entirely.

[admiralvic]

Is it me or is the writer a complete moron?

Yes there are a number of games with Mario characters in them, but you can't say Nintendo is relying on Mario and or they all equate to the same thing. No one is buying Mario Tennis because Mario is in it, they're buying it because they like how the game plays. The same goes for any number of titles like this, so it's not a problem.

[Rrobba]

It probably would not sell as much, but it definitely still would sell loads with Pokemon and Monster Hunter.

[InTheLab]

Pokemon and Monster Hunter. N is just fine without Mario..but it does help considering the 8 Mario related games that come out every year for both of their platforms...