What is that super successful video game series that takes numerous properties mostly owned by Nintendo and mashes them together, simultaneously making millions and shedding light on otherwise forgotten franchises, possibly garnering enough popularity for future releases?
Fire Emblem succeeded (and is one of Nintendo's rising properties) because of Smash Bros. These things take time. Some franchises might only appeal to niche audiences. It's business. It's risky to invest money in something that might not yield much profit, no matter how good the game is. The Mother franchise was never a household name, not after three games. It has retired until further notice. F-Zero has undersold since GX, hence its demotion to handheld titles and then disappearing almost completely (Nintendo Land includes it, above Star Fox interestingly...). Let's look at some Nintendo franchises from a genre perspective:
- Super Mario — Multi-Genre (Platformer, Racing, Sports, Adventure, etc.)
- The Legend of Zelda — Action-Puzzle Adventure
- Donkey Kong — Platformer
- Metroid — Adventure Platform Shooter
- Yoshi's Island — Platformer
- WarioWare/Wario Land — Microgaming, Platformer
- Pokémon — RPG
- Star Fox — Rail-Shooter, Action-Adventure
- F-Zero — Racing
- Pikmin — Real-Time Strategy
- Kirby — Platformer
- Fire Emblem — Tactical RPG
- Mother — RPG
- Kid Icarus — Rail-Shooter, Action, Platformer
- Golden Sun — RPG
Half of those are either primarily or secondarily platformers. Four are RPGs, or a variant thereof. Three are adventure-like games. Here are observations I've made:
- F-Zero, a racing-only game, loses in sales to Mario Kart.
- Mother, a quirky RPG with a ton of personality loses in sales to the vastly more popular Pokémon.
- Star Fox, primarily a rail-shooter, fills a very niche, arcade-style market. It has potential, and I want it to succeed, but Nintendo doesn't seem bent on reviving it.
- Metroid competes with Castlevania and Batman: Arkham. Arkham Origins is on the Wii U and Arkham Origins: Blackgate, a Metroidvania-style game is on the 3DS. Metroid has a sizable following and Nintendo knows that. Donkey Kong Country Returns was far more successful than Metroid: Other M, hence Retro Studios being issued with another DKC and not Metroid Prime.
- Pikmin has been fairly successful, despite only seeing three releases in the past 12 years.
- Kirby games are hit and miss. They explore platforming creativity in ways the slowly evolving Mario and Donkey Kong do not, which may or may not alienate people.
- Kid Icarus has only recently been revived and it did moderately well, so who knows if it has a future.
- Golden Sun has yet to escape handheld confines and continues to do "okay" with each iteration. Not a console seller, barely known. It needs to evolve out of its generic anime/rpg-ish aesthetic into something more "Nintendo" to nab that feel.
- The Legend of Zelda continues to be very successful, especially in the west. It's a flagship series and frankly, it's awesome. I'm super biased because it's my favorite, but c'mon, it's THE LEGEND OF ZELDA. Keep in mind, its most popular title Ocarina of Time has been regarded by most to be the best game of all time since 1998. I understand that Super Mario Galaxy's aggregate score beat it, but OoT held that spot for a long time.
What it comes down to is: which franchises are household names? Super Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon. Even non-gamers are familiar with these. Time has passed and new generations of gamers have come to life. Younger people have less a chance of knowing what Metroid, Star Fox, F-Zero, Mother, Ice Climber, and Punch-Out are. Nintendo makes attempts to revive their properties, but they usually fail. That's why you see more Marios, more Zeldas, more Pokémon, and to a lesser extent, more Donkey Kongs and Fire Emblems. Super Smash Bros. should be a testament to what Nintendo hasn't forgotten. Even Nintendo Land for that matter, which championed the likes of Balloon Fight and Game & Watch. Nintendo is a business and they've gotta do what's best for the business.
Maybe we're seeing more of the same because: a.) they sell well and b.) they're trying to stay ahead of the curve, because the curve
is catching up. Nintendo has gratuitous amounts of cash and can afford to fail a console or two, but they don't want to. They will instead do what they can to save the Wii U by releasing more Zelda, more Mario, more Donkey Kong, a Smash Bros., and hopefully in the next year some surprise revivals. A huge, open-world Metroid game could move the console if executed properly. F-Zero would not, though you wouldn't hear me complaining if they made one—I love the series. Oh, and let's not forget the LAST RESORT option to save anything. A full-fledged console Pokémon MMORPG.
Man, I don't even know where this post started or really where it went. My spontaneous thoughts on the matter. Cheers.