MS and Sony Should Handle Franchises Like Nintendo

Craig Hasselback writes: "Both Sony and Microsoft could learn a little something from Nintendo and how they handle their major franchises and mascots. Microsoft has milked the Halo franchise to the point that the original developer can’t stand the idea of making another one. Sony on the other hand has pushed the God of War franchise a bit too much (six releases, with a seventh coming in Ghost of Sparta in under five years), but hasn’t sacrificed quality for quantity as fans of the series and critics alike both rave about each entry. But the master of making a franchise last has to be Nintendo."

[GunShotEddy]

Agree 100 percent. So tired of Halo.

[booni3]

Why yes, yes they could.

[MasFlowKiller]

7 different God of Wars?

and here i thought Ive played every single one.

God Of War chains of Olympus
God Of War 1
God Of War 2
God Of War 3

My Math must be wrong

I like Mario, here is a game that doesn't make you think about the story. Its very ignorant to compare the way Nintendo Releases Mario than the way Microsoft Releases Halo or Sony Releases God Of War. Halo and God of War are games that Live and breath by their stories, Mario is not. A Mario game never has to worry about the stories making sense.
When you have a franchise you have to make sure that each iteration not only follows the story you are trying to tell but entices enough people justify the cost of such a production, am not saying Mario games don't cost money to make its just that games like Halo and God of War have more cost associated with them.

[charlescox4]

I guess your math does suck as one of the comments checks out. 7 releases in 5 years...
#1 God of War
#2 God of War II
#3 God of War: Betrayal
#4 God of War: Chains of Olympus
#5 God of War Collection
#6 God of War III
#7 God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Thanks to the comment on the story for the game titles. It's alright. I'm sure you just thought you were right.

[RageAgainstTheMShine]

I must say he did a fresh article here some thing overlooked by many gaming geniuses that only talk about installed -bases and sub-HD graphics.

Speaking of Sony franchises man, did you forget a little game called .... Man Furismo Jive. I think Sony handled it with utmost care just like Nintendo handled Mario.

The thing about Mario and most Nintendo franchises' commercial success is that this games are for younger gaming market - a market that stays fresh, new and ever expanding every passing year. This is the main reason their franchises sell very very well.

I can go on with many elaboration to support this stuff but I bet you understand what I am saying.

Also you should point out that Nintendo relies on its own well crafted first party exclusive evergreen games/franchises that kept them alive through years of PlayStation domination. That is a remarkable feat.

They invested heavily on their own IPs and took very good care of them instead of just being money driven & lazy, relying on 3rd party developers to do the work for them.

The Wii is a testament to this as their own IPs are enough to print money for them. With AAA exclusives like Uncharted, God of War and Man Furismo series Sony does the same thing Nintendo did in the N64 and Gamecube years and it pays off.

One gripe I have with my PS3 today is the lack of AAA exclusive games for the kids. Don't tell me the PS3 is not built for younger gamers because I will ask you what LBP, Lego games, Sonic, Ratchet & Clank, etc are doing on PS3!
I believe this is the reason many parents were skeptical on buying the PS3.

If PS3 'Only Does Everything' you are right! It should do everything Nintendo does to its games - make more quality games for the young and young-at-heart.

The kids are playing Rocket Knight to death!

It was a breath of fresh air on our PS3 at least for them.

PS.

Oh that EyePet thing I think it as SCARY as hell! It scare the living hell out of me! Leave the mascot design to the Japanese they are the expert on these types of games.

[BrianC6234]

Charlescox4 - Sony didn't really release seven GOW games. They released three. They released an update for the PS3 that was the first two with improved graphics but the games are the same. There's one game for phones and the PSP game. And GOW 3. The trilogy was always planned to be a trilogy. I don't know why they did a game for phones but that isn't even for the same market so it doesn't even count. The PSP game is a portable game. How many games does Nintendo release over and over again of all their frnachises? Way too many. They're the king of franchise milkers.

[badz149]

one with heavily story driven game and another one is a freak which came out in all types of games with no sense of story or what so ever! yeah...that make sense! /s

[seinfan]

EL OH EL yeah, MS and Sony should release 200+ games and spin-offs of one damn franchise. Nintendo brainwashes, they have to. Same BS every game. No innovation for over a decade.

[Parapraxis]

Please NO.
Too many franchises today are already milked to death.
Halo, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Mario, etc. yes, Mario, the Mario games are endless. To think they are "making it last" or making better use of Mario and all the spinn-offs is absurd.
Mario's man boobs are sore from all the milking.

[IrishAssa]

Sorry but how has Halo been milked to death? 1,2,3,ODST and now Reach.
Wars doesn't count it's not the same game, was made buy a differant studio but I agree that they used the name just for sales.

When was Halo 1 out? then 2 ,then 3 years later halo 3 then an expansion . And now years after the release of 3 , Reach is coming out.

[AAACE5]

Microsoft and Sony will never be able to do what Nintendo does, primarily because they deal with a different audience than Nintendo does!

Nintendo gamers are more concerned with a fun experience, while us (MS and Sony fans) are more concerned with getting the total package in graphics, gameplay, etc.

The downside for us is that our games cost alot to make primarily because of the consoles we have and the amount of work it takes to get to what gamers expect. This leads to alot riding on just a few franchises.

Sony is more willing to take a gamble because some of their old franchises have died off so they are trying to get new IP to replace those so the experience on Ps3 will be similar to that of the Ps2.

MS are still trying to earn respect in this industry, but are more concerned with getting more well known franchises on their console in an effort to make sure the competition doesn't have those as reasons for gamers to choose one console over the other. MS aren't too sure what kind of new games to invest in, so they do what they do best and focus more on software applications for the xbox 360.

One thing I hate is it seems like the industry is leaning toward shooters more than anything. We need more adventure experiences. This is where Nintendo has the edge. They have Zelda, mario and a few other different genre types. Sony has God of War and a couple others. MS has almost nothing in this area.

Nintendo makes fun games that everyone can play. Sony has games but most are targeted at mature aaudiences. It almost feels like you need to have all 3 consoles in order to have a complete experience.

[badz149]

like put Mario in every game they release? put no emphasis on stories? one day he's a plumber, another day a kart racer, a brawler, now an astronaut? no thanks! playing Mario after Mario without the sense of story telling and attachment to the previous games, is the reason I'm not a fan! praise Mario all you guys like but I hate him!

[N4g_null]

I have some questions.

We play games right?

Does checkers have a story, is it milked? What about chess? Does sports really have a story? It's always the same. Now let's go back to video games.

What nintendo has done is not rely on the gimicks of cool. They always rely on game play. On top of this most devs they fun is easy to be. Fun is in the challenge and finally winning.

Mario games and nintendo games always make you think how can I get an edge. The really good one where not always about just following the guide books.

Also milking happens when nothing good or of worth is added.

Mario kart added arcade racing, 64 added 3d game play.

With the other guys you just get forced stories. Maybe because they don't care about game play as much. It's like the industry believe they can creat the gamer they want.
It's really weird but it's almost like they all gave up on hooking people with game play.

Video games do have two componets though visuals and game play. I think next gen we will see the visual side

[NYC_Gamer]

everyone just loves that short plumber....

[vgn24]

I can't lie. It's hard to not like Mario.

[vgchica]

No matter what atform you favor, no one hates Mario or Zelda. Really says something about Nintendo.

[TheHater]

In fact, I hate ever Mario game (Party, Tennis, baseball, basketball, soccer, Golf, pinball, etc) after Mario 64. Nintendo has release over 200 games feature Mario since 1981.

[sikbeta]

I hate Mario, too many games about almost the same crap going on and have to save that freaking Peach! or crap like that really get me tired, Everything is Cool with Link tho... lol

[gaffyh]

I hate Mario, he's been milked to death, with so many games and so many appearances in other games. I like Zelda though, it isn't milked anywhere near as much.

[kanetheking]

hes not change in like 20 years if u look at snake his change though the years.

+ mario has the same story over over over his milked more den any other game

[ChickeyCantor]

" I hate Mario, too many games about almost the same crap going on and have to save that freaking Peach! "

If you actually care for the story with a mario platformer...( not talking about the RPG's) then i think you missed the point.

And mario is just used in other games, but the platformers arent in over 200.

" hes not change in like 20 years if u look at snake his change though the years. "

Really? Snake actually gets old because the story says so.
Its DIE FOX remember? screwing up his normality.
And are we forgetting Baby mario...not that it matters.

And you cant say the game is milked because it has the same story, in fact Mario plat-formers were never about the story. Its just a way of saying get from point a to point b.
Galaxy wasn't even about peach, while she was the one that got kidnapped.
It was about Rosalina...I mean...still no good story to Peach kidnapping.
So you too like the other above you missed the point of a mario platformer.

[kanetheking]

lol she still got kidnapped u can't get around that it's happen for god know how long.plat-formers don't have the best story but they should have something not the samething over and over.

plat like abe oddesy had a great story.

[badz149]

I'll spend my last bubble to say this! I too, hate Mario. TQ

[Cajun Chicken]

There's only been 4 GoW games to date, 5th when Ghost of Sparta comes out.
Is this article SERIOUSLY counting a HD remake for people to play and catch up with the series as valid games?

Then shouldn't this count Super Mario Allstars as a game? Despite being one of the greatest value game series compilation out there?

[Monkey521]

I was about to say the same thing.

God of War, God of War II, God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War III.

Now there is God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Definitely not 7 DIFFERENT games.

[charlescox4]

count again.

[xHarvey]

I still think Sony should milk the hell out of LBP. That game has potential to be a top mascot. Seriously look at the appeal.

[Ult iMate]

They sell costumes for sack boys.
But ofcourse I would prefer more map packs such as MGS. I think it would be great if Naughty Dog or Insomniac make map packs for LBP, since they are good at making platform games.

[HurstDarkStar]

wish they sold that infamous sack boy i know i would buy it....

[vgn24]

No one else finds it hilarious that Sony fan boys love something called "Sack Boy"? Ya like playing with ya Sack .... boy?

[Hallucinate]

nope because most people are just that much more mature then you

[vgn24]

wow. I'm glad I like all consoles, because the level of sensitivity by fanboys on here is overwhelming. Plus it's impossible to refer to 99.9% of the N4G users as mature in any sense of the word since the pending area is nothing more than a fanboy battleground of kids trying to get their favorite platform supported int he news.

BOT: lighten up! My avatar should be a clue that I own a PS3. But I suppose I don't "worship" it enough?

[Cevapi88]

and why do you have to be a fanboy to love sack boy?? the game got so much praise and won so many awards...when you think of sack boy you think of PS3 just like you would Nintendo when thinking of Mario...the game has a lot of appeal and always guarantees a fun time when you have friends over...yes certain gamers do use games and systems to belittle others, but give credit where credit is due...inflaming fanboys doesnt really help though...

[wissam]

This article = fail. and not everyone on the planet like Mario.

[BeaArthur]

You can't deny it, no other franchise has been able to do what Mario has. It's had a million spin offs (many of them successful) and the main games are still great even after all these years.

[Doc Sony]

I liked super mario bros. 1 the first one where he was still white and red.

After that I couldn't stand the sight of him.

I hate characters that don't talk.

[barakiu]

Sony exec: Exclusives are a thing of the past
http://n4g.com/news/527445/...

[midgard227]

just keep rehashing the same game for 25 years and not try once to make a new franchise.

:p just teasin lol we all know halo keeps getting rehashed already, and well sony does make alot of new ips so they r innocent.

i cnt blame nintendo for making mario only fight bowser for 20+ yrs and link fighting ganon and saving zelda for 25+ yrs either i mean people dont seem to care that nintendo just re-uses that formula and charges u :)

tho im glad team ninja hooked up with them for Other M, those r nice changes i like to see.

but links story being almost exactly the same and same goes for mario....they have been doing it for so long, tho atleast mario has new powers and gameplay....cnt say zelda has changed since OT...gameplay is exactly the same :P

i mean 25+ years and link cant do more than scream and samus just got a voice, and ofcourse! mario barley says anything more than "HERE WE Go!!!!"

[raztad]

". Sony on the other hand has pushed the God of War franchise a bit too much (six releases, with a seventh coming in Ghost of Sparta in under five years"

Six releases? I may be missing two.

GoW PSP is a spinoff and who wasnt eagerly awaiting GoW3 for 3 years?

In the same 3 years or so 4 Mario games were released just on the Wii: Mario Brawl, Galaxy 1, New Super Mario Bros, Galaxy2. I dont think Mario is a good an example of how to manage a franchise. Thats over milking right there. Good thing for Ninty everybody loves Mario otherwise it would be downplayed as "more of the same".

[midgard227]

i think the reason they just pump mario out is because he was a success. and because of that nintendo will not innovate because they r scared something new will fail. last new successful franchise was wat? animal crossing which started on 64?

pikmin was w/e and geist....omg lol. and custom robo, wtf! no wonder they rehash.

dont forget like 6 mario party's, mario sunshine, mario gold, mario tennis, mario kart, mario in 2k-hoops, mario in melee (a given i guess) luigi's mansion, were all last gen, and im sure im still missing some haha. nintendo knows how tto milk, thats y they r still here.

look at the ds. Dslite was fine, it was needed improvement and stood same price, but dsi? dsi xl? wtf 3 different priced versions in one gen? lol o nintendo.

[ChickeyCantor]

"pikmin was w/e and geist....omg lol. and custom robo, wtf! no wonder they rehash. "

SO pikmin is whatever, yet deny the fact it was an innovation from their side?

Sorry but you made your whole comment invalid.(not that it made sense anyway)

The reason Mario is still their top character is because the WHOLE WORLD knows about him.
Its what people want, and so its what people will get.
To this day he is still popular.
What does a successful character got to do with "innovation"?
Even if they didnt( and im not saying they aren't) there is a different reason to why his games sell well. ...Perhaps the games are just...good?

You could say the "character" is milked, but thats like saying all those other games where he was featured in are automatically "milked".

But hey guess what, its not Nintendo who is afraid.
Its the consumers who buy this "milk" and thats what Nintendo will give them so get over it.

[Christopher]

For me, one sequel for every two years on each respective platform is perfect. God of War has done this fine.

It's hard to speculate with Super Mario, though, since they've put Mario in practically everything they could (racing, boxing, fighting, RPG, etc.), but each game is technically separated by their genres by about two years. Even Super Mario Galaxy is separated by 3 years.

I'm personally not interested in the Super Mario platform games because they just aren't my cup of tea, but have tremendously enjoyed the Mario Kart and Brawl games, but not because of the Mario references/relationships. So, my dislike of one type of Mario game has done nothing to make me annoyed with the franchise, saying that Nintendo has done a great job at managing the franchise and making it something very marketable.

Having said that, there is one issue with Sony's ability to create a franchise like Nintendo's... they weren't around in the late 80s, early 90s with the upswing of gaming took place when and many of us 30-40 year-old people were getting into gaming all over again. By the time Sony came out, we were having tons of franchises thrown at us right and left that it watered down their potential.

[dizzleK]

you forgot mario kart and new play control mario tennis.

[ipe]

try harder and milk beyond belief?

300 freakin sequels ,i dont get whats interesting more about mario.

TO ME game was interested like 10 years ago

[DigitalAnalog]

Mario is the most FLEXIBLE character in a video game. Throw in any genre unto him and it will be good. HECK I WANNA SEE A FPS Mario!

Sackboy is the only "other" rival that matches that flexibility (LBP2 ANYONE?)

-End statement

[midgard227]

did u mean that mario is the most milkable character ever? while i agree with sackboy but thats only because he was created to do anything. mario doesnt really belong in a shooter or GOW style action game. ofcourse characters like kratos can be put in fighting games but thats really it. u haad a wierd comment, but i sorta understand wat u mean lol.

just cuz something is milkable doesnt mean it shud be. halo is prbly the 2nd most milked series....scratch that, Cod is the 2nd most milked series besides a nintendo series :)

[mcgrawgamer]

you did see a Mario FPS they called it "Mario Sunshine" for the gamecube ;)

[s45gr32]

Mario in a shooter I don't see that happening or Mario in a game like god of war I don't see that happening. To me sackboy is more flexible than Mario.

[SilverSlug]

Kratos Party, Kratos Kart, Kratos Fit Plus, Kratos DDR, New God of War, ...

yes... just like Nintendo.

[s45gr32]

To me Mario is just Mario. Yes Halo has been milked to death first off Halo 3 then in 2009 two Halo games and 2010 another halo game. 4 Halo games just this gen and funny thing tough Assemble Studios did a far better job at making a Halo game than Bungie. God of War 3 changes come in the sense of making its gamers aware of all the different weapons that kratos have and not to rely much on the blades, is gorier, and its visuals blow the first two out of the water...............

[WMW]

nintendo can keep putting out the same trash as long as they want i like that sony always has new franchises each generation. i can't see what the appeal of saving the princess from a turtle/dinosaur for the millionth time is and the same goes for pretty much all nintendo games they all use the same story every game. if sony and ms did that the industry would be dead now. the only reason it is still around was because of the ps1 and ps2 which is why ms came in nintendo only started mattering again this gen.

[eagle21]

Mario is the best. The world loves Mario and top all-times game lists love Mario. The people who don't almost sound racist because it makes no sense at all to dislike Mario. You have no taste in gaming and you are not a gamer I trust. :)

[Colonel-Killzone]

I dislike Mario to a certain extent. People complain about halo etc but not Mario ??? Milking is milking idc what form it is its still milking. Nintendo just knows how to absorb your dollars and idiots keep giving it to them so of course they will milk. Nintendo does the samething constantly tbh the story never fails like I said before Peach gets kidnap by bowser you save her. Pokemon collect 8 badges and collect the same pokemon you have done in the previous installments. Sony at least trys something new. Its w.e the nintendo fanboys will just use the fun factor as a excuse and continue to deny that mario is being milk constantly. And honestly I don't find it fun playing the same story over and over. Reviews bash games for not being original etc but Mario never gets that treatment. Lol ironic.

[eagle21]

Mario is more original. The industry isn't going to let foolish noobs and console wars stop the best franchise in the world. There is no doubt in my mind SMG2 is the most fun to be had all year so far in terms of gameplay hours/original ideas. ;)

[neogeo]

Mario FTW

[Shendow]

Yes if Sony an Microsoft handle themselfs like Nintendo we would see a system only out for a short time and alot of games that no one wants to play.

Nintendo is good for what they do but in a marketing, if everyone was handling it the same it would kill the marketing for it.

[Meryl]

nintendo makes consoles for kids trouble is once you hit 20 mario no longer appeals to you anymore, unless you are a girl like myself:):)
they get away with it because each new generation of kids does not know mario has been around since the 80's, at least my daughter has released pokemon games are all the same and she has complained to ninty, maybe they will listen, maybe they won't who knows...

[dizzleK]

nintendo: the masters of marketing nostalgia goggles. they've been putting a new hat on malibu stacey for 25 years and get a free pass for it.

[Pika-pie]

Holy feathers.. This article states point blank that Nintendo doesnt milk its franchises....

SERIOUSLY WTF PLANET IS THAT GUY ON!!!

@ Disagree
I counted 7 games where Mario has appeared in the last 2 years... Just on Wii

[Meryl]

lol that is funny because last time i looked all i see is mario, zelda and metroid those ip's have been around for longer than the playstation brand itself, do us all a favour a get non casual new ip's out there ninty if you can that is....
Sony leads the way in new IP's created this gen with Uncharted, Heavy Rain, Infamous and Resistance, LBP and MNR!!

[prettyboy1]

i love mario dont get me wrong but lets face it that franchise has been getting milked for 25 years.if that ant milking then i dont know what the hell is

[eagle21]

Go read a top all-time game list and see why he's been boss for 25 years. :0

[MadMan00]

How the hell does a retard compare Mario to GoW? Gamers are getting more ignorant every day.

[soren]

Halo is one u should hate not mario atleast mario has a face. who makes like 3 games with the main guy not haven a face??? *I NEED A WEAPON*

[lizard81288]

then again Nintendo has been around for a while. sony had some then lost a few, lara, crash, spyro ect.. they still have some other though. M$ on the other hand needs to make some more mascots. they only have master chief & Gears of war, however, i heard GoW2 wasn't as good. plus MC was made by bungie so i guess he's like kirby?

[soren]

then thing dis e3 for sony will just be all Seqals o.0 recent ones at that XD I dont wana hear about more new shooters the hell with shooters ._. 3d dot heros is the most orginal none orginal game on ps3 besides fokelor :/

[tunaks1]

when sony and MS have been making consoles for as long as Nintendo,
then we will talk about milking,
and to straighten things,
mario party is an IP
mario kart is an IP
Mario Galaxy is an IP
they arent all magically under one banner

[WLPowell]

but if we're on the subject of not milking, we should stay as far away from words like "mario" and "nintendo" as possible. They released new super mario bros (which is basically Mario's greatest hits) twice within a year, and the funny thing is, there are people who honestly argued with me that nsmb was never released on the ds...