Howdy Malstrom
I noticed in your blog that you pointed out that Mario Odyssey didn’t have a lot of hype around it despite it being a main Mario game. What was most interesting was how you noticed that not even Nintendo seems to think that this game will be that big.
I’ve noticed some patterns in the industry where a company would release a mediocre or small game in a franchise before bringing out the real deal. I’ve noticed this with:
Zelda: Triforce Heroes was an Aonuma dung pile with its Toon Link characters and puzzles and such. Then Breath of the Wild came out and it was the complete opposite of that.
The Metroid 2 remake on 3DS didn’t have any hype around it but it was made to fill in the 3DS launch library (and possibly to save face from Nintendo’s take down of the AMR2 game). Soon they’ll be releasing the next Metroid Prime game in a year or so.
Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps was an action multiplayer shooter that no one asked for but Capcom desperately wanted to make it anyway. Then Resident Evil 7 came out and brought back the horror that gamers had been demanding for years.
My point is that, after noticing these patterns, I believe that Mario will have this game to fill the Switch library for the Christmas holidays and then a big 2D Mario game in a year or two. Nintendo knows what works and what doesn’t yet doesn’t seem to enjoy making games that sell their consoles for the most part. Odyssey might be the prelude to 2D Mario if we take into account these patterns, is this a credible prediction?
I think Nintendo might make more 2d Mario because it sells. If you look at Nintendo’s list of best selling games, it is reasonable to conclude they will make more of those games.
But it is different with 2d Mario. You see, Nintendo, including Miyamoto, hate 2d Mario. Well, that is not accurate. Miyamoto doesn’t hate 2d Mario. He hates 2d Mario fans. In other words, Miyamoto despises Malstrom.
“Fuck you, Malstrom! Buy my 3d Mario already! Stop this 2d Mario nonsense!”
Super Mario Brothers and its sequels are the most successful video games of all time. Yet, Nintendo didn’t want to continue making them which is EXTREMELY ODD seeing how Nintendo keeps making sequels to games like Fire Emblem and Pikmin (Miyamoto: “We must have more Pikmin! Cannot have enough Pikmin! Pikmin 4, 5, and 6 are all coming, omg!”).
So I have no idea what Nintendo plans to do with 2d Mario. I do know that Nintendo hates 2d Mario, and they want it to die. I think Mario Maker was their way for trying to get 2d Mario to die. “Here, assholes, make your own levels to your heart’s content. We ain’t making this 2d Mario shit anymore!” Boy, they really hate us.
Imagine a living room of a family, including great grandma, all surrounded by the TV playing NSMB Wii. Miyamoto walks in, finds out they are not playing 3d Mario, and he loses it. Miyamoto upends the coffee table, throws the controllers across the room, and even kicks the puppy. How dare we play 2d Mario and not 3d Mario! The bitterness and rage in the Miyamoto is real.
I have no idea what Nintendo will do with 2d Mario. The business side of Nintendo loves 2d Mario because it sells so much. The creative side of Nintendo despises 2d Mario.
At this rate, I’d take a NSMB All-Star Collection of NSMB DS, NSMB DS 2, NSMB Wii, and NSMB U + Luigi. That would make an amazing cartridge!