SnackBarGames:
When you hear the phrase “online team-based shooter,” Nintendo is usually the last company you think is involved. The company best-known for colorful, cartoon-like platformers and family-friendly franchise party games has dabbled in competitive online play with recent Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. titles, but those modes were additional options to their respective games and never the main attractions. But at E3 last year, Nintendo unveiled Splatoon to the world, representing both a new IP and a new approach toward online play from the house that Mario built.
Nintendo has recently restored Wii U Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon online after five months of being offline.
Game Rant Writes "Mar10 Day is a fun yearly celebration of the Super Mario series, and Splatoon may warrant a fan-designated day of celebration in its own right."
How, exactly, did Splatoon reach heights rivalled only by Pokémon in Japan? New IPs from the House of Mario appear as often as shiny Pocket Monsters, yet typically move comparatively mediocre numbers or fall into relative obscurity behind the premium marques of Mario, Animal Crossing, Zelda, and Pokémon. Take Pikmin and ARMS, for example, which we adore but struggle to compete with the tentpole franchises when it comes to sales numbers or mainstream mindshare.
So, again, how has Splatoon risen to become one of Nintendo's most important series in Japan?
