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Is Mario still a system seller?

Would you buy a Switch 2 for a new Mario?


  • Total voters
    118

German Shocks

GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief and Nosiest Dildo Archeologist
Back in the paleolithic era, Nintendo didn't dare to launch a new console without a new Mario game.
Granted the Switch 2 has a decent library so far, but it is a truly missed opportunity for Nintendo not to release a new Mario this Quarter/Holiday season.

It also does not help that Sony and AshaBox are pushing out good games this year, which would detract people's attention from the Switch 2.

Zelda remake is probably the culprit here, but I find it hard to believe that Nintendo would miss out on releasing a new Mario this year, unless they have a bigger plan.

My guess is that they are eyeing March 2027 to announce a Switch 2 Pro and release a new Mario game, which will benefit from the added power.
 
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Mario games are among the top selling games every generation for the last 40 years. If it's not a system seller then nothing is.
 
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If they stopped making Mario everything, would they sell less consoles?

Hmm…you know what, I think they would.

They'd still a lot, but not as many. Pokemon would continue selling like hotcakes.
 
I mean, yeah, I wouldn't like to miss out on Mario, but it's not something that would make me get a console ASAP. Especially after Odyssey.
 
I do not think any individual game is a system seller nowadays. GTA VI included.
Peace Out GIF
 
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Yes, which is why they should ANNOUNCE A NEW MARIO GAME ALREADY BLLLAAUAAUUGGHGHHHRHHRHH
 
Only the 3D ones for me.
I'm not much of a fan of the slow awkward side scrolling Mario.
Wonder is an awkward game. Neat to look at but not much fun to play.
 
There's absolutely no way Nintendo is launching a Switch Pro in March. Look at the industry right now. Everyone, including Nintendo, is being forced to raise the price of their hardware. Nintendo said at their investor meeting that the upcoming $50 increase wouldn't fully offset rising costs. They don't need a more expensive model. What I'm sure they would love is to be able to launch is a Switch 2 Lite next year, but who knows if they can actually find a way to make that feasible.

There's no 3D Mario this holiday for a simple reason: It's not done. It's probably the second most ambitious game that Nintendo has in development right now (after the next "open air" Zelda), and Nintendo isn't immune to the longer dev cycles that are plaguing the whole industry.
 
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Only the 3D ones for me.
I'm not much of a fan of the slow awkward side scrolling Mario.
Wonder is an awkward game. Neat to look at but not much fun to play.

Wat. Wonder was the closest we've had a game feel to SMW. SMW had less input lag (when we all had CRTs and latency was rather fixed for developers) but Wonder didn't feel slow.
 
Mario 64 had a larger impact back than, Nintendo hopes Mario games today are "system sellers" I doubt they are, let me tell you, people just expect Mario games today, I don't know if Mario Kart World is a system seller but its all that was available.
 
Yew but NPCs are buying Switch 2 anyway so Nintendo doesn't need to panic and drop a bomb.

Also if it looked REALLY fucking good maybe I'd get a Switch 2.
 
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the Mario brand has so many different types of game these days there's no question that it's a system seller. if you're talking about just a mainline Mario game like Galaxy and such, I think so too. it's the mascot of Nintendo after all and it's name recognition alone draws in plenty of players. and I'm speaking as someone who had not touch my Switch in a few years.
 
'Mario' Kart 8, don't need to say anything else.

Mario sells as a launch title, first year or second year or any year. Even not announcing a new Mario game for Switch 2, people know it's coming.

Nintendo can be Nintendo at times and be pretty stupid. I mean 2 Marion movies hitting 1 billion and no tie in games or new 3D platformer?

Nintendo has blind faith in Mario and most of their decisions or products, it's almost as failsafe as Nintendo fans willing to buy almost anything at any cost. They sold cardboard man.
 
Not for me. The only Mario game I've ever finished (and the only one I go back to from time to time) is SMB for the NES. It's all downhill from that masterpiece.
 
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say GIF


I guess we'll see when the next mainline Mario game releases.
But if you mean any Mario game, well, there's kinda a reason Mario Kart has taken priority as a launch release.
 
Yes, of course it's a system seller. People fucking love Mario.

I voted no (because the poll asked if it would make me buy a system) since I haven't really enjoyed a Mario game since SMB3. But I'm in an extreme minority.
 
I don't think Nintendo can snap their fingers and just have a new mainline Mario game ready. My guess is they spend a ton of time just in pre-production brainstorming and testing gameplay ideas before they move forward with actual development. I have no doubt they're working on a new Mario game, but it's definitely going to be a 'it's ready when it's ready' situation.
 
You, or your brother, or your sister, your cousin, your best friend have kids… what do you buy them? Yes. Yes, it is a system seller. What a pointless thread.
 
I really hope they have something other than a remake of a game that's nearly three decades old planned for this winter.
 
Of course Mario is a system seller, and has a very wide range of games. I can't think of a more enduring videogame mascot..
 
Of course it is. The second film, that is even quite bad, broke records again. Just shows how popular the character is. My daughter loves everything Mario and can name all princesses, even though she never played a 3D Mario in her life. But I can bet you when it comes out, she will want it. And so do I, off course.

I did not vote, because I already have a switch 2. I always own a nintendo console for it's first party titles. To be fair, this year there isn't much reason to buy one, yet.
 
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It definitely is.

The problem with Switch 2 is you can argue it hasn't really had that BIG system seller yet, not even sure if OOT will be that.

But a 3D Mario that comes out alongside a film would do massive numbers.
 
My first Switch purchase was Mario Odyssey and Zelda.

So yes, it sells consoles.

Once I finished the games, I sold it not because I didn't like it, but because I don't have time to have two systems to play games.
 
Mario (only 3D), Bayonetta and Metroid are probably all that I missed the past couple of years. Everything else is worse ports, or late ports or stuff I don't care about.

A modern actually new Wave Race, or Eternal Darkness, would also be something I want. But it still would need some more games to actually be enough to buy the platform.
 
Back in the paleolithic era, Nintendo didn't dare to launch a new console without a new Mario game.
List of Nintendo consoles launching with a Mario game:
- Super Nintendo
- Nintendo 64

List of Nintendo consoles launching without a Mario game:
- Famicom
- Game Boy
- Virtual Boy
- GameCube
- Wii
- 3DS
- Wii U
- Switch
- Switch 2

List of Nintendo consoles launching with a Mario game, but not new:
- Game Boy Advance (Super Mario Advance)
- Nintendo DS (Super Mario 64 DS)
 
Forget about Nintendo releasing a "Pro" console. They will release the one with removable battery next and then will likely go with a lite before even going with an oled, just like with the Switch 1 and especially in these times when components are skyrocketing.
 
Is it a system seller, YES
Would I buy a Switch 2 for it, NO

I haven't bought Nintendo hardware since the GameCube. My FOMO immunity is ironclad.
 
I never bought a Nintendo system because of Mario, its always been 3rd parties or the exclusives but I do acknowledge that Mario is a popular enough IP that it does drive the console sales.
 
Mainline Mario? Yep. The movies have done an excellent job in keeping Mario relevant to little kids (and of course their parents/actual system buyers.)

I do not think any individual game is a system seller nowadays. GTA VI included.
Peace Out GIF
GTA6 is a legit system seller but due to how expensive consoles are, it won't move the number of consoles that people think it will (e.g., like 10M+ console units.) It will still move a couple of million of PS5's (y)

Mario Kart is another massive system seller, Gran Turismo — to a much lesser extent — is one as well. There are some games that have (and I mean this respectfully) a very different audience than what we and many others think they have, e.g., politicians being into GT because some of them actually use the game as a 'test drive' for cars they want.
 
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