Why the Sonic-Mario game DOES matter
Thursday, March 29th, 2007 at 12:26pm by Staff
O, Blake. You are wise beyond your years, but on the upcoming Mario & Sonic at the Olympics title you are just out to lunch. And I thought Denver, not Salt Lake, was the Mile High City. But I digress…
Here’s why you’re wrong (and I’m going to go to the dark side and have Matt Casamassina help me on this one):
1. It’s not 1995, but it is 2007. Times have changed, that’s for sure. Mario is arguably on the up-and-up, while Sonic is on life support. But the blue guy’s eyes are fluttering with a little life after the Secret Rings. Mario alone makes this game a profitable one, Sonic just ices the cake (as long as he has no speaking roles whatsoever).
2. SEGA, in its twilight, is the developer. True, SEGA is the automobile in this development relationship, but Shigeru Miyamoto is the driver, and Mario is not the kind of icon I can honestly see Nintendo throwing to the wolves simply for SEGA’s sake. I imagine Miyamoto and his staff will have the ultimate say in what stays or goes in this title. The character reputations at stake here are too important to sacrifice for a quick buck. It’s also SEGA’s sports division, NOT Team Sonic.
3. Timing is RIGHT. Like the Wii launch itself, the release of this title during a maelstrom of competitor activity (Halo 3, Metal Gear Solid 4) is precisely what needs to happen. Did the PS3 impact Wii sales at all? Its games? Not really. That’s because, as is with all of Nintendo’s strategic decisions from here on out, the competition doesn’t matter because it is irrelevant. It’s the blender competing with the airplane analogy I made the other day. People buying Halo 3 are of no concern to Nintendo or SEGA with this title. People who are of concern are guys like me who got a Nintendo in 1986 and lived through the infamous SEGA-Nintendo wars of the 1990’s. This game will succeed or fail based on its own merits, unaffected by the wild success of Halo or Metal Gear.
4. Game mascots are here for-ev-er. New Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart DS, and the veritable orgy of media hype surrounding Super Mario Galaxy beg to differ with Blake’s point that mascots are pale shadows of their former selves. And while Zelda is losing popularity in Japan, I’d never have considered Link and company as much of a *true* mascot as Mario — because you can really have only one mascot. Today, when something Mario ships, Nintendo can almost predict to within 100 units how many units are going to sell (as long as it’s first party developed — what the heck happened with 3v3 basketball!?).
5. People cared about who was faster until the fatter guy kicked the blue guy’s ass. True, Miyamoto was doing his marketing best to sell units when he said ““Now that [Mario and Sonic] have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster.” But, people don’t care about who’s faster today because Mario already won the race. And handily. It’s fair to say people don’t care who’s faster, but it’s not fair to say they won’t care about this game. I think people will start to care very much so when they see a Wii Sports-Olympic Games mash up starring Mario and Sonic. That level of interaction, combined with two very memorable and nostalgic characters? GOLD, Jerry, gold.
6. BONUS ROUND: “Some gamers also seem to have missed out on the significance of this announcement. Nintendo and SEGA are actively working together on a cross-license product. Do you honestly believe that Sonic won’t be in Super Smash Bros. Brawl at this point? Of course he will! It would be an injustice if the mascot wasn’t.” (Matt Casamassina)
March 29th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
This is the reward for a long wait and loyalty to both franchises (though less to Sonic, arguably). I think people my age who remember the old 16-bit wars have been praying for this for a long time. SEGA had a great thing going for a while, up until they stopped developing consoles. I’m not ashamed to say I owned and loved my Dreamcast.
March 29th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
My only argument to that list is that Mario is still a relevant video gaming icon; Sonic is not.
The hype surrounding a new Mario game - Super Mario Galaxy - is astronomical, and the game will sell millions of copies. Neither can be said about Sonic’s last outing. Less and less people care because of how greatly the quality of the games has diminished over the years.
March 29th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
And I can see how some people would think that Sonic is no longer a relevant icon… but I think he is.
Retro is KING now. 360, Wii… they both are offering games from retro-ville, with great success. TMNT and Transformers are/are going to be HOT HOT HOT in the theatres… and who is going to see them? People ho loved them way back when. Who will they be dragging along? Their kids.
This stuff never goes away while someone from that generation remembers and loves it. People on the Sega boards are going bonkers over this and commenting how many people have joined their community JUST from this announcement. Something is pertinent in their lives, and it’s growing bigger every day.
Sonic may have lost his consoles to Mario, but he has by no means lost his place in people’s hearts. I am personally more excited for THIS particular game (and to run my own ‘Olympics’ at my house) than I am almost anything that has been announced… EVEN Super Mario Galaxy.
March 29th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I agree with Blake. I could care less. This is far overdue since I’m pretty sure that the mass population of gamers couldn’t give a damn.
March 29th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
I agree with JewWario…what because Sonic has had a few shitty game recently he no longer matter? Bullshit, Sonic is as much of an icon as Mario. Sonic just needs to branch out into other styles of games, simply running does not cut it anymore. Mario has had many types of games including RPG’s, sports games, racing games, and who knows what else I am forgetting. Yes Sonic’s spot light has dimmed a bit, does that make him less relevent..NO.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
You know what, I’m tired of people treating Sonic like he’s a nobody.
Just because STH 06 and Shadow sucked horse balls does not mean the entire series is doomed.
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle was worlds better than Super Mario Sunshine and Sonic Rush is YEARS ahead of the frustratingly easy NSMB. Mario isn’t exactly the knight in shining armor he used to be and while I’m not saying Sonic is at top form, neither are in a place to be saying who’s better.
I think that this game will finally put the two mascots back into the shape they used to be (get it? shape? Olympics? I kill me!).
oh and BTW: ask any kid between 8-18 who is cooler and i bet sonic would win hands-down. he has videogame fans and otakus drooling at his heels. Not to mention Sonic has been on MANY more platforms than mario and has his claim to fame that he bested Mickey mouse. So don’t downplay the guy. He’ll kick your ass.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
OH and I forgot to add: Sonic 3 and Super Mario world are the two greatest games of all time. You can’t say that one is better than the other because they are BOTH that good.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:06 am
Sorry, but I’ll have to side with Blake on this one:
The timing IS terrible! Granted, the Halo 3 and Super Mario fanbase has only one overlap (me!), but this game is going to go against Super Mario Galaxy…
People would be WAY MORE interested in seeing an Olympics competition between Master Chief and Kratos, I guarantee you!
March 30th, 2007 at 3:32 am
Oh, and another reason why this game might not take off that Blake didn’t even mentioned:
At the Olympic Games??
Why??
March 30th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Ahem…it’s Sonic Team, not Team Sonic…
March 30th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
“Mario is arguably on the up-and-up, while Sonic is on life support. But the blue guy’s eyes are fluttering with a little life after the Secret Rings. Mario alone makes this game a profitable one, Sonic just ices the cake (as long as he has no speaking roles whatsoever).”
Oh yeah, Sonic is on life support all right. After Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic 360—TWO WHOLE GAMES not selling very well, the series is doomed, etc., etc., etc. And everyone hates Sonic’s voice, so you’re absolutely right, it’d be perfect if Mario talks and Sonic doesn’t talk at all!! Great job speaking for everyone there, Jack!
Bullsh**t.
“People cared about who was faster until the fatter guy kicked the blue guy’s ass.”
I don’t know if anyone noticed this, but Sonic had stong sales up untill Shadow the Hedgehog. And that’s only on consoles, he still sells strongly on handhelds. Oh, but Sonic’s ass is kicked because of jaded old schoolers who think they know how a 3D Sonic game should be made…
I eagerly anticipate this game as a fan of both characters, and not to hang my head low saying “O Sonic where art thou?”. My only regret is that Yuji Naka cannot be involved with this project.
March 31st, 2007 at 2:38 pm
SONIC IS THE BESTEST AND WILL PWN MARIO AT CURLING YO
March 31st, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Gojiguy, you’re my hero! You spoke the truth about Sonic better than I ever could. And you brought up a very good point: Sonic is still more popular with kids, which I believe are the more important demographic to Sega (especially since Shadow and StH 06, which were more adult-oriented…kinda sucked). I don’t know if Sonic Adventure 2 Battle is better than Super Mario Sunshine, but that and Sonic Heroes are two of my favorite Gamecube platformers.
March 31st, 2007 at 7:24 pm
It WOULD be a mistake for Mario & Sonic to go up against Mario Galaxy.
…but then, there’s just no way in Hell Mario Galaxy is coming out in 2007, no matter what they say.
This also makes it a lot less likely we’ll get SSBB this year, since it’s almost a given that Sonic is in it. That would potentially cannibalize sales of both titles, really.
Anyway, anybody who doesn’t think this game is important or matters either missed the golden age of gaming and came into it in the PS1/N64 era or later…or they’ve forgotten their roots.
That’s all there is to it.