Alright so recently I've been listening to some Nintendo fans talk, and I've noticed a few things that I'm starting to wonder about...

First off let me give some background here.
One was an article about Nintendo making mobile games. In this article the writer said that they felt like Nintendo would need to put "a little Mario magic" onto mobile to make it really work for them, or in other words, they needed a mobile Mario game if they wanted to do much profits wise.

Next I spoke with a Nintendo fan and when discussing system exclusives I noticed that a large portion of their recommended games had Mario and/or Luigi in them.

Finally I started thinking of Wii U or 3DS games that might interest me, but all I could find were games that...well, had Mario or Luigi in them!


Then there's Pokémon, the other exclusive that's touted and used by the fanboy elitists (you know the kind: every company has those fans who believe that no platform aside from theirs is any good and you're an idiot and lame if you play anything else) as a reason why the Vita stinks: it doesn't have Pokémon and 3DS does.
Seriously? One franchise makes it awful? Because logic. Sorry, elitists of any kind annoy me.


So this brings me to the question at hand: as an owner of a Nintendo system - ANY Nintendo system, but especially the newer ones - do you enjoy Mario and/or Pokémon games or not? I ask because I want to see how many people play Nintendo systems but don't play anything with characters from these series in them. Basically I'm wondering if Nintendo has over hyped these two franchises so much that outsiders (and some insiders) see them as Mario and Pokémon machines with some extra goodies to boot.


Now one more time, just to be clear, I am not making the ignorant statement that Mario and Pokémon is all Nintendo has to offer - that's just silly. Rather I'm wondering if they've become so synonymous with these titles that they've actually cost themselves gamers that aren't interested in these games.

I'm probably one of those guys that are in it just for Pokemon. Less now, but back when I got my 1st 3DS, I ONLY had Pokemon X, and I'll admit that once I beat the game, I traded it in ALONG with the 3DS, I could never bring myself to playing other kinds of 3DS games. That changed a bit once I got my 2DS game last August and I branched out a bit more, but I'm still heavily influenced by Pokemon games lol. I'll still play them more than any other 3DS game.

Its actually hard to say. I think I enjoy pokemon hack games more. Does it count? If not then I'll go for the super Mario bros on the original wii. I really enjoyed that game a lot because I got to play it on the big screen and with adding a whole lot of new experience to it in a way. There are other wii games that I have and enjoyed playing in the past but super Mario bros was the best one for me. Maybe one day I can go back to playing the game. Its not easy I got into some worlds I think I am on world 5 or 6. So when I can I'll have to go back and finish playing the game and completing it as well.

You can't blame me this time!

Wow man I have no comment for those fanboys elites. I think we can respect our differences in tastes towards games and consoles/handhelds here since we are on Vizzed. Vizzed is the retro game community and we came here for the retro games. Pretty sure that's why many of us came to Vizzed in the first place because there are so many retro consoles/handhelds to choose/play from. I think it depends on whether or not you are willing to go outside of your comfort zone or should I say outside of your favorite gaming company? But at the moment, I feel like the console wars are more intense than the past. The advertisements are trying so much to help these gaming companies in exchange for their money and to get their attention as well. They do a pretty job on them too to persuade millions of people to buy their games. Why else do you think people like Call of Duty, Pokemon, and etc? If we like one of the games from the series, we are most likely to buy more of them on the long run (which is why we stick to a game series or similar to them). Of course though... it starts from somewhere like targeting children(who are the main targets) to sell games to because they are interested and they are impulsive to try to get the games on the spot.

I, myself, am a Nintendo fan who currently owns a 3DS at the moment and you already know about this from our conversations. I am also a Pokemon and Mario series fan especially when they have been a part of my childhood as Playstation is to yours. I do have Pokemon Y, Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, Mario Kart 7, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games on my 3DS but I also have other games as well. The Pokemon and Mario game series may be a part of my childhood memories but I am also willing to try out other games as well if it is available and accessible to me.

I do agree with you on Nintendo bringing too much hype to the Pokemon and Mario series. For example, Pokemon GO just came out on mobile and Mario Party Star Rush coming out soon (the Mario Party series has gone way downhill and changed for the bad after Mario Party 8 but yet Nintendo still continues to make more of them). Both of these game series are the biggest money makers for their company because they are both family friendly and everyone can play them whether if you're 4 years old or 80 years old (I may be exaggerating here but you get the picture here). There are so many other game series in Nintendo that don't gain much recognition and they are great games. Sometimes it is okay to take a break from these series since they can be quite overwhelming.

That's why there are other great games that Nintendo has to offer. We have Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon (your favorite series), and much more. Sony and Microsoft also have a various amount of games from different genres as well. It shows that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are not all of that different and very similar if you look at the big picture.

If you want any recommendations from the 3DS, I would be glad to recommend you some and give you more specific feedback and details outside of this thread.

zanderlex : Hey, no shame in that. I mean I bought a PS Vita because it was a PlayStation product, so essentially it's the same, or at least similar.


Eniitan : I've yet to play that, but I have played New Super Mario Bros. on the 3DS. It was okay I guess. Couldn't compare to Super Mario World or Super Mario 64, but what Mario game can? Best in the series as far as I've seen personally.


ghostfishy : Well said. And in the end most system purchases are made because of one or two game series', I'm just curious how many Nintendo gamers have no interest in either of the series I mentioned because I'm not sure I've ever met one personally. In all fairness though, Mario has been moved to just about every genre (adventure, platform, sports, RPG, even various forms of art) so it could be due in part to the large selection of genres that he's in.

And yes, all of the companies seem to be pushing harder than before, and we're seeing more gamers than before too, probably as a direct result, along with the new possibilities brought in by newer tech.

And on a side note, it's so sad to hear that about Mario Party. I used to love that series.

Eirinn : Yeah that's pretty much why it has a lot of love than the other games do. In any case everyone has their favourites for that. And that's something to at least be happy with. I mean not everyone is not going to like the same game forever on a particular console they will change it due to what they have seen and how they played it.

I'm selling all of my video games except for a few, those also include Pokémon X and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorer's of Darkness, so that should show you what I think about  Pokémon.
I can't get it, I somehow can't think that Pokémon is bad, for instance I hated Mario 3D Land, I don't hate any main series Pokémon game. 

Also this poll closed pretty quickly sadly.

Eirinn : No, you bought a playstation vita simply because it was awesome. :p

You forgot to consider that Pokemon is on the same road as Mario as well.

Pokemon also turned into a puzzle game (Pokemon Shuffle on 3DS and mobile) and a fighting game (Pokken Tournament on the Wii U). They're not bad games but I think Nintendo just wants to reach out to different fans and combined them with their casual/typical audience as well. I mean whatever makes business and money. >.>

It is like the same reason you brought your Vita and PS4; they both came from Playtstation and Sony.

Don't worry, we are still best buds after these console/handheld wars.

No, not anymore. I used to enjoy some when I was a kid but I got bored of them already. I own the 3DS for the third party games (there might not be many, but they're mostly great like Rune Factory 4, Stella Glow, Project Mirai and Style Savvy to name a few). Even Zelda which I really liked during the Gameboy Color age is becoming stale already (for me, that is).

   Why of course I do! Also I feel like when you were talking about elitists you were talking about me because I asked why you have a PS Vita and not a 3DS. 
  
While I do enjoy Mario it is not really my favorite game on the system. My favorite game on my 3DS is a Zelda game or Animal Crossing New Leaf. To me Mario and Pokemon games are good but are not fun after playing them for a long time.

awesomeguy279 : Oh no dude, I wasn't talking about you. Besides you own a PS3 as well as a 3DS, so you aren't all "Nintendo or death!" about things. I was talking about people that think one company is the only legitimate gaming choice and hate on everyone else. A good example is people claiming PlayStation is for little kids who think every game needs a gun. And yeah I've been told that. lol

Nah, your question was a legitimate one. You asked why I would prefer the one that you felt was the inferior of the two, but you didn't belittle me or mock my choice and all that jazz.


Juliet : Rune Factory? Only awesome people say that. :3

I really hate Mario games. I do not see the appeal to them and never did. It's just a recycled franchise that ALMOST never adds anything new (the Galaxy games were great I'll give it that) and I really just don't see why people still like it.

Pokemon on the other hand I still enjoy, though I'm not as much of a fanboy over it as I used to be. I'll pick up the new games but I won't be obsessed over them.

To be honest Eirinn. . . I have had a lot of fun with Mario games. Mario Bros Wii was the last one I put quite a bit of time into and had fun with. Mario Galaxy I couldn't get into though Bombchu link loved it. I don't know why I didn't enjoy Mario 3D land more. Maybe Mario games are just released too often, and the fact that they aren't different enough/carry a story is what hinders them.

I thought Mario was one of the those games that never needs to change really. . .

Maybe it does.

Sometimes I feel that Pokemon and Mario is all Nintendo has. I mean, it's great to see Star Fox get a title recently. But still, what about Zelda? We used to get two Zelda games per console, and even though I'm not a great fan of that series, it still has potential. (Hoping the new game is alright.)

Fzero, Metroid. . .the rest of them. . .eh who knows. You already have talked about how Nintendo's lost it.


Does Nintendo hype their two biggest series to a point of putting other people off who might want other games? I don't know. To be honest, no 20 year old male in their right mind should own a Wii U for games like Assassin's Creed or COD if they don't have kids, or don't want the Nintendo exclusives. PS4 is looking so much better right now and the Wii U doesn't even have that many Mario games!

In the past it was different. The N64 could compete, the GC had a variety of titles including shooter titles and basket ball games, but not the Wii U. The Wii U has dropped it, and I'm not even aware of that many games for the 3Ds I might like.

I think I'm just done with Nintendo. It's as if Mario is the only series of decent quality and now it's somewhat failing. Give me Steam and I'll be just fine, but Nintendo has done so little compared to what they used too. At least they aren't running as fast as they can into Pachinko though. There still may be hope.

In short, the answer is yes, and that's the problem. I need a lot more than Mario to be happy. I don't even have a Mario Title for the 3Ds. What does that tell you? That even their most consistent series isn't exactly enticing on it's own. Oh well. . . we have one more try. Please do well with the NX Nintendo. . . I really feel like I'm about to give up. We'll just have to wait and see.

Over-hyped? Maybe.

Most of the 3DS games I got are Pokemon, one I think being Mario, and the Wario-Ware Maker that I havent touched in years [because I obviously don't want to make games anymore huehuehue], and a couple others not as related. My childhood was one half Pokemon, so you can say that is where a lot of time went into. The other half was other games, I had a NES and a PS2 back then, so that's where the rest of my time went.

I owned the Wii before and had a selection of games on there, but last year or so I took it all out and have it in a storage unit. Now the only I got going for me these days is the 3DS, Xbox 360, and the ol' lappy here.

Getting back to the topic again, I can say that yes I DO enjoy these games, but the thing with Mario and Pikachu is that there are only so many times you play it until ya gotta move on to something else. Their franchises have a repetitive habit, even if they add on other extras and bonuses to the games. Mario is more likely for this in my opinion, because after clearing everything...what then? A new game to do it all again? I guess so. Pokemon has a repetitive habit too, catching, training, and sending them off to other people. Besides battling online if you are confident of your abilities, which I for one am not, that's all you do really.

And that's all I do, actually. But I don't hate doing this, because I discovered that being able to train Pokemon that no one want because of all the work they have to put in, and giving someone a super strong Pokemon through all of my hard work might make them super happy, and possibly giving that stranger a reason to play some more. Not that I would ever know though, but the thought counts.

In conclusion? Yes, I enjoy these games almost all the time, Pokemon more than Mario, but I feel the need to back away from them on occasion and move on to other games, like Kirby, Fire Emblem, and Viva Pinata Pocket Paradise. Actually now that I got an Xbox I don't play the 3DS game of it anymore, but that is besides the conclusion. These games were given to me as a kid, so rather than promotional uses through commercials and broadcasts, it was rather finding the love for something, and fostering that love of it until it consumes you. Even up to now, I am considering getting myself Pokemon Go the day it finally arrives to Canada! I'd have to set up some things until then, but yeah, there is a whole lot of love for the franchises to spread around.

I find that with the Wii U the main selling point is the first party games therein games from iconic franchises like Mario, Zelda, Smash, Mario Kart etc. If one doesn't like any of those games then they're probably not going to want a Wii U as it doesn't offer much else. I think it's different with the 3ds since being the dominant handheld console has made it so it has access to a wide variety of games, among these a lot of lesser known 3rd party gems you won't find on any other console competing or not. Which has personally become the main draw to me, they're not as talked about but when looking into reasons to get a 3ds I'd say they may be worth looking into.

To answer your question though I currently own a 3ds and enjoy both of those franchises though the only one I play actively is Pokemon. I do think a lot of people see the Pokemon games as reason enough to buy a 3ds, with how it's a franchise that is dearly beloved by a lot of people both young and old. It's not the only reason you'd want a 3ds though considering how vast the game library still is outside of that. The same of which can't be said for the Wii U.

Deviating a bit from the question because you did talk about this. I think what I find makes the Vita inferior to ME personally is how it doesn't really have much to offer in terms of exclusives or in its library over the 3ds. The few interesting exclusives we've seen are usually either ported to consoles like the PS3/PS4 (like Tearaway and Gravity Rush) or are simply remakes/remastered versions of previously released games (Persona 4 Golden and Tales of Hearts R).  Meanwhile the 3ds has many both heavy hitting franchises with high production values like Pokemon, Mario, Animal Crossing and Zelda, and 3rd party exclusive games, like Fantasy Life, Rune Factory, Bravely Default and many obscure offerings. All of which actually stay exclusive to that console, and are appealing to a wide array of people. It has games that appeals to nearly every type of gamer.

There's barely any reason for someone who owns a PS3/PS4  to buy a Vita unless they mainly want it to be able to play some non exclusive games on the go. Since pretty much anything worthwhile can usually be found on the home consoles consoles as well. For those who don't own one the 3ds still has the much wider selection of games. Sure the Vita itself might have the superior tech but as history has shown it's typically the games that make or break a console and that's the case here.

I enjoy both Mario and Pokemon (they're in my top 4 favorite videogame franchise of all time). I enjoy every Mario game, and every main Pokemon game. I own many Nintendo systems (Wii, Wii U, DS and 3DS). I can play the oldest ones if you want

Well back in the days I used to like them both but I enjoyed Mario games more than Pokemon games, not that I had anything against Pokemon but I was more familiar to Mario until I kinda got the hang of Pokemon a little later. Sadly, I don't own them on any consoles mainly because the only console I have is my Playstation 4. Luckily I have emulators to play them on so yeah its kinda like I'm re-owning them again.

I enjoy them quite a lot, they are good games and I really have fun playing them. They could use a bit more variety though.

I'm not that huge of a Pokemon fan. Although I do enjoy the games to a certain extent, it's not something that I'm that worried about playing EACH entry into the franchise. I was on the bandwagon early on when Red and Blue was released but my interest kinda waned over the years.

I like Mario a lot as well, but it kinda depends on the game itself. I don't just blindly love a Mario game because it bears the name MARIO. Although some Mario/Luigi games I love a lot. The Mario/Luigi RPG series has some fun games and SMB3, SMW and SM64 are among my favorite games of all time.

I also am a fan of the Luigi's Mansion Series.