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Post by Nester the Lark on Feb 6, 2007 20:13:54 GMT -5
That's generally my point, yes. I think you'll find most DDR fans are probably not Gamecube fans, and vice versa. By sticking Mario in there they guaranteed a bumload of sales, just because Nintendo fanboys buy anything with Mario in it. Just look at the sales of the Mario Party series if you want proof of that I see what you're saying, but where were those rabid Mario fans when NBA Street V3 and SSX: On Tour were released? I still think DDR is a more Nintendo-centric game than say, Grand Theft Auto (or Resident Evil). I'm sure that at least contributed to its surprise success rather than just Mario alone. If you're right, tho, then it's exactly the reason why I promote 3rd party games. Nice to know I'm reaching my target audience. So much for the theory about Nintendo fans having higher standards.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Feb 7, 2007 4:56:15 GMT -5
We do, but like in all walks of life, high standards often arrives hand-in-hand with stubborn horse-blinders.
Hence my desire to awaken the love of third party games that once flowed through the veins of every NES-loving child.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Feb 7, 2007 12:11:35 GMT -5
I think maybe it's more the case that Nintendo fans used to have high standards, but now they (we?) can be kind of snobby and shallow. When Nintendo throws its weight behind something, it's magnificent. But true high standards means the fans ought to hold Nintendo accountable for not being all they can be.
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thores
Bubbles
Kirby and Pikachu: BFF
Posts: 581
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Post by thores on Feb 7, 2007 23:02:58 GMT -5
[I see what you're saying, but where were those rabid Mario fans when NBA Street V3 and SSX: On Tour were released? An easter egg/cameo in a game is completely different than a game completely revolving around the franchise in question. DDR: Mario Mix, while being a DDR game, also qualified as a new Mario game. NBA Street and SSX definitely did not.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Feb 8, 2007 5:27:01 GMT -5
And yet the characters were clearly put in for that reason alone - to increase sales to the Fanboy crowd. Because we're rabid completists who must own every game with Mario in!!
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Post by Nester the Lark on Feb 8, 2007 12:15:03 GMT -5
And it certainly worked for Link in Soul Calibur II. Not so much for Little Mac in Fight Night Round 2 (despite including the game Super Punch-out!!).
But the fact that Nintendo, itself, has to bribe its core fan base this way just to encourage the sale of 3rd party games is evidence of the problem. Nintendo needs 3rd party support, it's clear that it can't rely on its fans for help, and it wasn't attracting fans from the other consoles. So they have to go back to the ocean to catch some more fish. Hence, expanding the market with DS and Wii.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Feb 8, 2007 13:37:34 GMT -5
I've been following this for a couple of years, hence my desire to look into third party games as well. That's precisely how I have seen everything developing too, Corey. I've gone into this in more detail before. Nintendo believed its greatest assets were its franchises, when actually it was their ability to produce unique game experiences through hardware as well as software. This bleeds through to the third-party developers as well - if Nintendo provides them with a unique platform, then there will be a much bigger pool of new ideas that can't be ported to all consoles. And that's Nintendo's benefit this time. The Wii and DS are in competition with PSP, PS3 and 360 for market share, but they're in a bigger competition for stretched developer resources - and Nintendo's options are cheaper and come with a hefty userbase. So we're likely to see a LOT more third party titles. All we have to do is buy the good ones
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Post by Nester the Lark on Feb 8, 2007 16:16:34 GMT -5
So we're likely to see a LOT more third party titles. All we have to do is buy the good ones Well, it's probably not up to us anymore. With the Wii, the "new" gamers won't have the sentimental bias that nerds like us do. Altho the demographic Nintendo seems to be aiming for don't strike me as the kind that would play The Godfather or Manhunt 2. However, I saw a statistic recently (and I'm sorry, I can't remember where) that most Wii owners were not previously Gamecube owners, nor "new" gamers, but rather former PS2 owners. And Playstation fans (as well as X-Box fans) never had the discrimination against 3rd party software that Nintendo fans do.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Feb 8, 2007 17:39:49 GMT -5
If true, that is an interesting statistic. I wouldn't be too sure about X-Box fans though. Many of them were disgruntled N64 owners who wanted FPS action and didn't want to buy a little purple box. They're not far from being fanboys - Halo fanboys mostly ;D To be honest - if Nintendo keeps up their current trend of releasing hardly any full gaming experiences (including on GC - nearly all of their games have been finger food while I hunger for a main course!) then third party gaming may become the ONLY option. Aside from Zelda, the last filling home console game was Chibi-Robo. And that was released here a year ago. I hunger for action!!
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Post by mrmolecule on Feb 8, 2007 17:55:40 GMT -5
And it certainly worked for Link in Soul Calibur II. Not so much for Little Mac in Fight Night Round 2 (despite including the game Super Punch-out!!). But the fact that Nintendo, itself, has to bribe its core fan base this way just to encourage the sale of 3rd party games is evidence of the problem. Nintendo needs 3rd party support, it's clear that it can't rely on its fans for help, and it wasn't attracting fans from the other consoles. So they have to go back to the ocean to catch some more fish. Hence, expanding the market with DS and Wii. What about those sports games (such as basketball or snowboarding) with Mario & Co. as playable characters?
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Post by Fryguy64 on Feb 8, 2007 18:53:29 GMT -5
You mean the ones Corey has been talking about IN THIS VERY TOPIC!?
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Post by Nester the Lark on Feb 8, 2007 20:12:01 GMT -5
I wish I could find where I saw that statistic. I'd like to verify it myself. I probably found it on Digg (which means I may never find it again). As for SSX: On Tour, to be fair, it was probably the weakest of the SSX games. Forget Mario, SSX 3 and Tricky were better. Now... weren't we talking about some dancing game?
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Post by Dances in Undergarments on Feb 9, 2007 2:53:31 GMT -5
I think I've mentioned it before, but I was all ready to go and buy the NBA Street that had Mario but it never released on Cube here.
I'm not sure what that has to do with the topic, but whatever. I felt the need to said it.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Feb 9, 2007 3:46:22 GMT -5
I did pick up Fight Night Round 2 - but that doesn't mean I've played it yet. I did see NBA Street V3 about here, so there is a PAL release available. But you know what Aussies are like about their sports.
It's AUSSIE RULES or NOTHING!! ;D
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Post by Dances in Undergarments on Feb 9, 2007 4:43:49 GMT -5
Fun Fact - I would buy at least 5 copies of a Mario Aussie Rules game (made by a good developer, not the current AFL game developers) purely on the fact it would no doubt be the absolute duck's nuts. Game of the Year for sure. And Aussies love other things - like Cricket. Hows the cricket going, Fry? You enjoying it this summer? (...actually I don't really like Cricket, but I'll happily get behind anything that lets you pay out the English constantly)
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