Ha ha, I know exactly what kind of person you are, Kaid. A by the book, by the fact kind of guy. If it isn't proven and isn't statistical, who cares? You have to see it to belive it. You point out every counter point and misthread noticeable. You also seem to like using irrelevant points to prove your stand. Irrelevance never did any good for anyone.
Well then, let's dance, shall we?
Let's start with the intial defintion of popular itself.
Popular - regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general
That may be only one of the meanings encompassed in popular, but it's the one that is applicable here and the one we are discussing. Now then, by definition, in this case, it isn't necessarily a factor of how many different franchises have sold how many copies of what games, but how many people know and like the product itself. I guareentee you Star Fox fans are amongst one of the more loyal group of fans out there.
A couple points.
The following nintendo franchises sold a game for more copys than Starfox 64. (source)
Mario (SMB, 40.24 mil)
Pokemon (Red/Blue/Green, 31.37 mil)
Duck Hunt (28.31 mil)
Mario Kart (MK64, 9.87 mil)
DK (DKC, 9.30 mil)
Nintendogs (7.71 mil)
LoZ (OoT, 7.60 mil)
Smash Bros (Melee, 6.10 mil)
Tetris (5.58 mil)
Dr. Mario (GB, 5.34 mil)
Kirby (Dreamland, 5.13 mil)
Animal Crossing (Wild World, 4.89 mil)
* Dr mario (NES, 4.85 mil)
Excitebike (4.16 mil)
Brain Training (4.11 mil)
Starfox (64, 4.00 mil)
*Starfox (SNES, 2.99 mil)
*Starfox (Adventures, 1.85 mil)
*Starfox (Assault, below 1 mil)
If you actually look at the numbers, Starfox is NOT one of Nintendo's "more popular franchises."
Hell, DOCTOR MARIO has sold more games than Fox!
We're talking about iconal value. If one says Nintendo, you don't think of Excitebike, you don't think of Kriby (Which is HAL, by the way, not Nintendo), or Animal Crossing. You think of Mario, Samus, Link, or Fox. They are the icons of the industry.
So how many halo and GTA junkies actually LIKE Starfox?
I think you are getting the meaning of popular mixed up here. One doesn't have to like something to make it popular. A huge number of people dislike Final Fantasy VII, but it is still popular. It's a wide spread knowledge of something that makes it popular rather than likeability. For instance, I might not like GTA, but if I've heard of it, I'm adding to it's popularity. The more people that know about something, the more popular it is. Halo is as popular as it is because it was such a largely advertised thing. The more people know about it, the more popular it is. Sales do not reflect to the dot a series' popularity. Also, on the opposite side of the spectrum, one can easily like a game, but not play it. I know many people who won't play or have never played Final Fantasy VII, but boy they sure like it because of the plot, story, and characters, and that's what people love about Star Fox. The universe of it all. The depth behind it's worlds and characters. The unfolding story. Despite the not-so-successful recent entries in the Star Fox franchise, people still enjoy the concept and game as a whole.
Ahem, pardon me. My mind was splashing every which way and I couldn't turn off the valve. Sorry if my ideas and points are scattered and unorganized.
Considering Vice City alone sold more than the entire starfox series put together, it appears very few if any were willing to put their money where their mouth was.
Again. Sells don't necessarily reflect a game's popularity. The Pope can be a popular guy, but that doesn't mean you're Catholic and that you are going to switch over to Catholosium.
My mind is everywhere right now and I'm not able to focus right now. That should be sufficient enough for now. Anyways, back to the other people. Revisions, ideas, or other points I can add to that list?
