Do you guys think Mario fatigue is setting in?

[IanTheGamer]

Super Mario 3D World had the worst launch of any Mario game in history. Could that be related to the fact that the Wii U has SIX Mario games released in two years. Don't you guys think that is a bit too much for one IP?

 

[Deleted member]

I don't think that's the case. Mario is a major name in video gaming and is a highly profitable character. So, releasing a lot of Mario games could give Nintendo a lot of money. While 6 Mario games is a lot, this is also tied into this year being the Year of Luigi, so of course there would be a lot of Mario games.

I think that Super Mario 3D World's sales were not because of Mario himself, but for other reasons. First off, Nintendo has been POORLY marketing the Wii U, so casuals might think that the Wii U is just a more powerful Wii or is just an add-on rather than its own console. Second is due to poor timing as the game was released near the PS4's release and on the same day as the Xbox One's release.

So, SM3DW's sales were not because of the Mario brand being used a lot for this year, but rather due to poor marketing and mistiming.

 

[Problem2]

I haven't really been bothered by the release of many Mario games, so long as they're good.
But perhaps you have a point if 3D World is selling so poorly. It's a shame too, because I think it is the best Mario game yet.

But I would argue that Wii U is definitely being overshadowed by XBOne and the PS4. Wii U had it's chance to make its install base in the last year, and Nintendo really failed to deliver in that. Now, Wii U is old news and the talk is about the other 2 consoles. You see many next gen articles leaving the Wii U out entirely. Not good.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

It's the Wii U that's having problems, not Mario.

The problem is that the Wii U's consumer base is a lot lower than previous consoles, so there isn't that many people to actually buy the game.

If you compare wii u owners to mario 3D world sales instead of comparing mario 3D world sales to previos mario title sales I'm sure you would find it's doing well

 

[finalark]

Psycho knows whats up.

If the Wii U sold like the Wii did I would expect to see higher sales numbers for Mario games. However, the Wii U suffers from iffy marketing leaving the super-casual audience who don't understand what a new console generation is confused. As for the "hardcore" gaming fans out there, the Wii U suffers from not being a Sony or MS console.

I'm willing to bet that in a decade we'll see the Wii U suddenly become a well-loved console in hindsight as people flock to its unique exclusives and wonder why they didn't play it back then, while they ignore whatever Nintendo's current console is.

 

[Jade_Rock55]

We need to wait for Smash 4 I will say that the wii u sales with skyrocket with it.Also Zelda,Mario Kart etc.

Just wait and see.

I will not compare the consoles of this gen until maybe 2015 when all those games have been released for a few months.

 

[XTheElegantShadowX]

Psycho knows whats up.

If the Wii U sold like the Wii did I would expect to see higher sales numbers for Mario games. However, the Wii U suffers from iffy marketing leaving the super-casual audience who don't understand what a new console generation is confused. As for the "hardcore" gaming fans out there, the Wii U suffers from not being a Sony or MS console.

I'm willing to bet that in a decade we'll see the Wii U suddenly become a well-loved console in hindsight as people flock to its unique exclusives and wonder why they didn't play it back then, while they ignore whatever Nintendo's current console is.

Hmm... Sounds like the Gamecube. XD

That aside, I honestly do think that it may be due to when the Wii U was released. If memory serves, quite a few companies were unaware of the fact that the Wii U would be announced at E3, so of course they wouldn't have many IPs ready to come out alongside the console, since said companies were just as surprised as the fans at E3 about its announcement.

On the subject of Mario, IMO, Mario has been on a steady decline for a while, due to it usually playing off the Nostalgia Factor, rather than doing anything risky or new. The same can be said about earlier installments of The Legend of Zelda (to a lesser extent than Mario, mind you,) and a few other games in Nintento's clique. That being said, if you always pandering to the inner child of the consumer by introducing the same old, tired mechanics that show up in every installment without shaking things up a bit, of course people will eventually catch on, step back and take a good look at what's going on.

However, Mario 3D World DOES, in fact, shake things up and strive to be something different with the introduction of the Catsuit and the like, so I really don't know as to why it's selling less than its predecessor. If I were to make an educated guess, It likely boils down to what Psycho and Finalark are saying.

 

[finalark]

However, Mario 3D World DOES, in fact, shake things up and strive to be something different with the introduction of the Catsuit and the like, so I really don't know as to why it's selling less than its predecessor. If I were to make an educated guess, It likely boils down to what Psycho and Finalark are saying.

Pretty much this. I'll be honest, I really didn't give a damn about NSMB2 or NSMBU simply because I was ****ing sick of Nintendo copy-pasting Mario Bros 3. but with co-op. Plaything through Mario 3D world with a friend was a genuine breath of fresh air for the series for how it greatly combines the challenging platforming of the early days with the exploration and collectathon game play of the 3D titles. Honestly, my only real complaint is that it's too easy and that the game has a serious problem with depth.