Is mario being whored?

[demondude]

Mario's been famous for years and all of his games used to be top-notch,
but recently he's just been in games so they would sell.

For instance I could name a bunch of games off the top of my head that are only slightly successful because they have Mario in them.
To some extent I'm bored of mario now I mean fair enough mario galaxy is a great game but the other 50 odd that have been released this year aren't.

Does anybody agree with me that nintendo need to go easier on him? or do you think that he'll forever be the main character on second rate games.

[LunarWeaver]

Anything that sells will be slapped everywhere. They're gonna put things like Mario or Final Fantasy or Star Wars on everything possible. These days it's up to the consumer to discern the difference between an actual title and a potential disaster. Just how it flows these days! Hey, if I was Nintendo and I could get people to buy Mario Moth Catching III, I'd do it too.

[Araciel]

The moment Mario became an icon,which was around the time Super Mario Bros. came out, he has been a whore used to sell games. It's a coincidence that the games were good, and the fact that they have had some :skull::skull::skull::skull: mario games is nothing new. remember mario in time or whatever? horrible.

[Roto13]

It's been this way since Mario Kart. Most of the games he's in are pretty good, though. They don't throw him in shovelware.

Super Paper Mario ftw. :P

[Evastio]

This thread better not turn into a thread where everyone starts hating on Mario.................

There's way too much of those on the internet as it is (same with Pokemon and Kirby hating threads).

Anyways, I am quite dissappointed that Mario's games are mostly spinoffs (some of them like Mario Kart and the Smash Bros. series which is only partially Mario I'm personally more than okay with). I would like to see some new platforming Mario games (that have Luigi having a significant role in them). That's what the Mario series was from the start and it shouldn't have changed drastically. I'd also like to see characters like Waluigi and Daisy play major roles in non-spinoff Mario games.

[Crossblades]

Mario's been famous for years and all of his games used to be top-notch,
but recently he's just been in games so they would sell.

For instance I could name a bunch of games off the top of my head that are only slightly successful because they have Mario in them.
To some extent I'm bored of mario now I mean fair enough mario galaxy is a great game but the other 50 odd that have been released this year aren't.

Does anybody agree with me that nintendo need to go easier on him? or do you think that he'll forever be the main character on second rate games.


SE does the same thing with FF. What's your point?

[KentaRawr!]

Is Mario being whored? No doubt at all, really. Why, I can name quite a few Mario Spin-Offs right now!

Mario Kart
Mario Party
Mario Golf
Mario Tennis
Mario Strikers
Whatever that Mario Baseball game was.
Mario RPG's

But at least the lot of them are decent, I suppose. I, personally, like the Mario Kart and Mario RPG games.

[Pouring Rain]

Yeah, I think they're just pretty much whoring out Mario. But, think of Final Fantasy. If you want to stay with Nintendo games, there's also Zelda. Nintendo pretty much whores out everything. I think with some games, there's a terrible plot but they just throw a cameo in there and it sells, no matter how terrible it is.

[Roto13]

Bad plot. :P Most Mario games have good to great gameplay. Who cares about the plot in Mario Golf?

[escobert]

I hate mario.

[KoShiatar]

Mario is being whored, like every single famous brand in the world of videogames, I think.
But no, games starring Mario are not shovelware, or at least they're not intended to be (most, like Super Paper Mario and the Mario Kart games, are actually fun). Nintendo doesn't want to spoil their gold-eggs-laying hens, for very good reasons.

[Big D]

Someone at Nintendo is going to see the title of this thread, then they'll be inspired to make a Mario prostitution RPG...

[Rostum]

Of course he is being whored -- it works! It does sell their stuff, and he is a great mascot for Nintendo, imo.

I like a lot of his games, but there are some pretty bad ones. I so can't wait until I have a go (or watch my girlfriend having a go) at Mario Galaxy.

Mario Kart is just so awesome, and so are the standard games as well as Mario Party and sport games. I like them, they are fun, but I wouldn't spend hours upon hours playing them.

[Slothy]

They don't throw him in shovelware.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Mario is Missing
Mario's Time Machine
Mario Paint
Mario Kart: Double Dash :p

Pretty sure the argument could be made that a lot of the more recent Mario Party games, and possibly even some of the Sports games are shovelware.

[Mirage]

stfu, Mario Kart Double Dash is great.

[KentaRawr!]

Mario Paint was awesome!

[Monol]

Amen to that!

And so was marios time machin-......................

.................Hey I liked double dash too! Mario rules!

But yoshi is betta ;)

[KoShiatar]

Someone at Nintendo is going to see the title of this thread, then they'll be inspired to make a Mario prostitution RPG...

God please no. I would have to test that. :(

[theundeadhero]

It's been that way since the NES days. Weird games starring Mario have been around for 20 years.

[demondude]

Links being targeted as well with his new game "links crossbow training"

[Slothy]

stfu, Mario Kart Double Dash is great.

No it wasn't.


Links being targeted as well with his new game "links crossbow training"

I see what you did there. :D

[~*~Celes~*~]

Someone at Nintendo is going to see the title of this thread, then they'll be inspired to make a Mario prostitution RPG...
That made me giggle ^^

Anyway, I like Mario, just not all these...tennis, volleyball, whatever the heck they have games. I don't like sports games, they give me a headache. I'll stick with Mario 64 and Mario Bros 3, thx <3

[Old Manus]

I don't know about you, but I can't wait until I play Shadow of the Marius, Gran Turismario V and Grand Theft Mario.

[Mirage]

stfu, Mario Kart Double Dash is great.

No it wasn't.


What was wrong about it?

[Skyblade]

Yes, Mario has been being whored by Nintendo for a long time. Yes, he is the biggest sellout in the gaming industry. Easily bypassing Link, Sonic, or the entire FF series. Link may be being sold out with crossbow training, but before that he showed up only in his action RPG games and a couple silly fighter games. His later games may keep trying to take aspects from the insanely popular OoT, but I don't really have much of a problem with that, as the feel of his games hasn't really changed that much. Similarly, Sonic games have always been about speed. Even when he switched away from classic 2-D side scrollers, speed has always been the focus of his games, and will continue to be his focus when he arrives in SSBB. And, while the FF games may reuse elements from previous games in the series over and over, they too have been kind enough to stick primarily to what made them awesome. Sure, there are some spinoffs, but even then the characters at least keep the strength that they had in their original games.

Not so with Mario. A fat little plumber with no inherent talent apart from jumping has been whored out so much that he is now an Olympic athlete that excels at every sport from Golf to Tennis, and who knows how many new ones are being brought in with his new sell out with Sonic (which is the lowest Sonic has ever sunk, and is quite disappointing, especially since there is no chance in hell that Mario should be able to come close to keeping up with the blue blur in a track meet). He has tons of games in so many different genres that his character is essentially nothing but a sell out now. Personally, after what they have done with this once awesome series, I would be perfectly happy to see Mario just die.

[Raebus]

Mario might be a sell out but who gives a crap about that, besides people who spend too much time on forums. I like playing games featuring him, they're fun and worth the money I spend. I don't care if he's a "sell out".

[Zeldy]

They should leave it at just Mario Kart games, Paper mario games and Super Mario games; all these.. Golfing ones and Mario Party are just too much.

[Roto13]

They don't throw him in shovelware.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Mario is Missing
Mario's Time Machine
Mario Paint
Mario Kart: Double Dash :p

Pretty sure the argument could be made that a lot of the more recent Mario Party games, and possibly even some of the Sports games are shovelware.

Mario Paint, Double Dash, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games are nowhere close to shovelware. Double Dash may not be as great as the other Mario Karts but it's still leagues above any other kart racer, and Mario Paint? People are still using that TODAY as a creative studio.

And those two pieces of edutainment are to Mario what Wand of Gamelon is to Zelda. :P

[black orb]

>>> Luigi should be the star..

[rubah]

you could say that it started with SMB2.

(or dr. mario)

[Rase]

Mario might be a sell out but who gives a crap about that, besides people who spend too much time on forums. I like playing games featuring him, they're fun and worth the money I spend. I don't care if he's a "sell out".
Yay, someone already made my post for me.

[leader of mortals]

its a good thing mario is a cheap whore($5 for a suck = alright):eek:

[demondude]

its a good thing mario is a cheap whore($5 for a suck = alright):eek:

Just a shame there isn't much to suck.

[theundeadhero]

Link may be being sold out with crossbow training, but before that he showed up only in his action RPG games and a couple silly fighter gamesExcept for his cameo in mario RPG.

You all act like Mario playing golf is new. He had a golf game on the NES.

[Roto13]

Smash Bros. and Soul Calibur aren't silly fighting games. They're two of the best fighting games ever made. :P

[leader of mortals]

its a good thing mario is a cheap whore($5 for a suck = alright):eek:

Just a shame there isn't much to suck.

now I know why the price is so low

[Slothy]

Mario Paint, Double Dash, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games are nowhere close to shovelware. Double Dash may not be as great as the other Mario Karts but it's still leagues above any other kart racer, and Mario Paint? People are still using that TODAY as a creative studio.

And those two pieces of edutainment are to Mario what Wand of Gamelon is to Zelda. :P

I'm not saying Mario Paint wasn't fun, but it certainly wasn't anything that needed Mario's likeness anywhere near it, except to make sure it sold more than two copies. Also, a bunch of half-assed Wii Sports style mini games made to use the Wiimote and slapped with Mario and Sonics likenesses is pretty much the definition of shovelware if you ask me. I haven't seen any video of that game that makes me think the concept and gameplay weren't thrown together in an afternoon.

As for Double Dash; I've played a lot of Kart racers and it easily ranks among the worst. It may be more polished graphically and have fewer glitches than some of the absolute worst, but the gameplay is horrid. The level design is much too straight forward. There are no cool sidetracks, or shortcuts, and there aren't even that many obstacles that aren't fairly easy to avoid. The tracks are just totally uninspired, especially compared to the original and Mario Kart 64. They also removed the ability to look behind you, or hold items behind your Kart to protect yourself from attack. So not only can you not attack people behind you anymore (a very important strategy in 64), but it's almost impossible to defend against being attacked. Hell, you can't even jump at the last second since they got rid of that too. And finally, the Karts are totally unbalanced. Why pick a lightweight Kart if the heavyweights accelerate so fast that they fly right by me within 3 seconds of leaving the starting line, even when I get the boost? This was especially a problem on 100cc and 150cc. Not to mention that the AI almost never does anything to slow eachother down. Opposing racers almost always rank in the same positions everytime, unless you do something to screw them up, (which you'll have a tough time doing since it's pretty rare to get a decent weapon in the game) which means if you come in anything but first in more than one race, there's a very good chance you'll lose.

Double Dash may be one of the more polished of the crappy Kart Racers out there, but the gameplay is so bad it makes me wonder if the team making it had ever even done a game before.

[Roto13]

Well someone (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/588465.asp) likes them. (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/516710.asp)

Yeah, Mario Paint didn't need to have Mario in it. What does that have to do with anything? It's still a good game. As to why Mario Kart: Double Dash isn't shovelware, just refer to any of the 97 reviews on the site or ask one of the 1539 people who gave their opinions.

[Mirage]

As for Double Dash; I've played a lot of Kart racers and it easily ranks among the worst. It may be more polished graphically and have fewer glitches than some of the absolute worst, but the gameplay is horrid. The level design is much too straight forward. There are no cool sidetracks, or shortcuts, and there aren't even that many obstacles that aren't fairly easy to avoid. The tracks are just totally uninspired, especially compared to the original and Mario Kart 64. They also removed the ability to look behind you, or hold items behind your Kart to protect yourself from attack. So not only can you not attack people behind you anymore (a very important strategy in 64), but it's almost impossible to defend against being attacked. Hell, you can't even jump at the last second since they got rid of that too. And finally, the Karts are totally unbalanced. Why pick a lightweight Kart if the heavyweights accelerate so fast that they fly right by me within 3 seconds of leaving the starting line, even when I get the boost? This was especially a problem on 100cc and 150cc. Not to mention that the AI almost never does anything to slow eachother down. Opposing racers almost always rank in the same positions everytime, unless you do something to screw them up, (which you'll have a tough time doing since it's pretty rare to get a decent weapon in the game) which means if you come in anything but first in more than one race, there's a very good chance you'll lose.

Double Dash may be one of the more polished of the crappy Kart Racers out there, but the gameplay is so bad it makes me wonder if the team making it had ever even done a game before.

I had no problems attacking karts behind me, and the thing about the rankings looking similar in many races is something I noticed in the original as well. There are a few sidetracks too, but they aren't always shortcuts.

I dunno what you did, but I got good weapons about as often as on Super Mario Kart.

[Roto13]

Similar rankings exist in pretty much every racing game. They assign each driver a skill level randomly at the beginning of the cup so the player doesn't win by getting 3rd in every race.

Good weapons are rarer when you're in higher places as a way of balancing it out. People who need good weapons to stand a chance, get them. People who are in first place don't get things that put them miles in the lead. It was like that in the older ones, too. When do you ever get a red shell in Mario Kart 64 when you're in the top two?

[Mr Cactuar]

I have an idea for people who hate the Mario games. Just don't buy it.

When practically everyone on the earth knows who and what Mario is what else would you expect?

[Slothy]

Good weapons are rarer when you're in higher places as a way of balancing it out. People who need good weapons to stand a chance, get them. People who are in first place don't get things that put them miles in the lead. It was like that in the older ones, too. When do you ever get a red shell in Mario Kart 64 when you're in the top two?

I got red shells all the time in the two previous Mario Kart games, even when in first. The items you get being based on rank wasn't in Mario Kart 64 for sure. It might have been in the original, but it's been too long since I've played it to remember. As for the weapons being based on your position in Double Dash; Nintendo said it was supposed to work that way, but it never did for me. I could be in last place in that game and almost never get anything better than a banana peel. The system just never worked for anyone but the computer any time I played (and before anyone tries to chalk up my complaints as being a result of not playing enough, I gave this game more than a fair chance back when I got it, beating most of it on every difficulty. Maybe if the game weren't so unbalanced I would have finished it completely).

Double Dash is pretty much the definition of shovelware. They took the basic elements that made the originals great, but totally forgot to put the effort in to make it more than a half-assed money grab. They diluted every aspect of it down until all the depth was gone.

[Roto13]

See, the main thing about your complaint is that it's not true. Everyone else in the world got stars and lightning bolts in last place. Sounds like a classic case of crying that the computer is cheap when you're losing. Again, it's not shovelware. You don't like it. We've established that. It's still not shovelware.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

The whoring began back in the N64 days, which was one reason I never bought the console.

[Markus. D]

He deserves to wh0re himself.

;]

We WANT him to wh0re himself.

[KentaRawr!]

The whoring began back in the N64 days, which was one reason I never bought the console.

It began longer before, my friend. Longer before.

[Breine]

Bad plot. :P Most Mario games have good to great gameplay. Who cares about the plot in Mario Golf?

I agree. Some games don't need a good plot as long as they just have a good gameplay. I wouldn't know if Mario Golf is any good, though.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

The whoring began back in the N64 days, which was one reason I never bought the console.

It began longer before, my friend. Longer before.

Perhaps you have a point - some of the SNES games struck me as merely overusing Mario as a mere marketing tool like the original Mario Kart. Possibly even before then, in the NES and even Arcade and Atari days, though I haven't played many.

But when a so-called good game like Super Mario 64 feels rushed with very poor controls (it's almost impossible to hit an enemy on the first try) and in my opinion not very entertaining, when that's the first game that's supposed to catapult Mario onto a new console and indeed 3D gaming for the very first time...

That's when it really hits you that Mario's being blatantly overused. At least the majority of Mario games before then are considered classics, or at least pretty good.

[Lawr]

You think Mario is being whored? Take a look at Final Fantasy 7.

Edit
No wait, Mario Party 8. I spoke too soon. =/

[Northcrest]

I agree about this statement. I like Mario he's my favorite Video Game character of all time,but games like SSX World Tour (correct me if that title name is wrong), a old basket ball game meant for NBA basket ball players were put in. Mario was in it. When those games didn't have Mario in it nobodyn really cared. Now though everyone is trying to get Mario just for the publicity.