Rayman Origins

[FirstBlood]

Mario sells because it's fucking Mario, and 2D Mario sells for nostalgic bullshit reasons.

This.

if anything, NSMB Wii reiterates the point that Mario sells because it's Mario, because instead of being anything new, it's SUPER THROWBACK MARIO now with bullshit 4-player multiplayer! That's like post-SNES Nintendo's bread & butter.

You could compare it to Blizzard and Starcraft 2. Millions and millions of people were so pumped for Starcraft 2, and they all bought it. It doesn't mean that real time strategy is all of a sudden huge again. It's simple brand loyalty, nothing more.

[Hero]

The original Rayman wasn't that good, but it was OK. Rayman 2 on the DC was the business. Never played anything past that, though.

Rayman 1 is ridiculous. Lots of unfair dying. 2 really is the business - a better 3D platformer than Mario 64, et al. Rayman Origins is all sorts of fun - linear run to the goal but always a challenge. The multi checkpoint prevents raging over deaths. And plenty of cleverly hidden goodies tucked away.

[Hero]

it's SUPER THROWBACK MARIO now

The original argument was that Mario sells through brand recognition. If 2D Mario sells better because of nostalgia, then doesn't that mean 2D platforming has some brand recognition of its own? Why would 2D platforming + Mario stir more resonance with an audience than Mario-anything?

You mention Starcraft 2, but think instead of fighters. SF4 could be pinned as nostalgia-bullshit, but then how would other fighting game efforts be seen as viable? I don't know if MvC3 is blowing up sales, but it's doing well enough for itself. MK9 is doing well too. I'd like to think it's because SF4 put interest in the genre back on the map and made other series worth pursuing again. I would think the same of Mario in that sense - sure, people come for the Mario/nostalgia/brand/whatev but that sets them up for potentially wanting to look for more stuff like 2D Mario when they're done.

[Hero]

So I got this for Christmas! <3

(360 version, haven't had a chance to play it yet though)

[MechDeus]

The original argument was that Mario sells through brand recognition. If 2D Mario sells better because of nostalgia, then doesn't that mean 2D platforming has some brand recognition of its own? Why would 2D platforming + Mario stir more resonance with an audience than Mario-anything?

To answer your absolutely godawful attempt at whatever it is you think you're saying: Mario was originally 2D, thus a throwback to original efforts will create more nostalgia than something that didn't previously exist. People are immediately attracted because it's Mario, then they recognize it looks vaguely like something from their childhood and become more attracted. They don't look at the 2D platform aspect first and then afterwards look at the title.

You mention Starcraft 2, but think instead of fighters. SF4 could be pinned as nostalgia-bullshit, but then how would other fighting game efforts be seen as viable? I don't know if MvC3 is blowing up sales, but it's doing well enough for itself. MK9 is doing well too. I'd like to think it's because SF4 put interest in the genre back on the map and made other series worth pursuing again. I would think the same of Mario in that sense - sure, people come for the Mario/nostalgia/brand/whatev but that sets them up for potentially wanting to look for more stuff like 2D Mario when they're done.

The only thing being opened up is nostalgia for preexisting brands, with evidence being that not a single one of those fighting games is a new property. SF4 opened up the notion that creating fighting games which played closer to their older counterparts would sell. Which they did. And yet, not only has there not been a single new fighting game brand, even lesser-known brands like Darkstalkers are having trouble getting a chance at a reboot.

Again, people are looking at the title first, then the game. No one is going to purchase MK9 and then suddenly be interested in Fight Off: The Revenge.

[James]

We'll see how that holds up when Skullgirls arrives. It obviously won't have the selling power of the Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat brands, but will it do ok? Better than poor Rayman's 50,000?

James

[Finch]

Of course not. Are the developers expecting it to sell that many? Does every game have to sell over 1,000,000 copies, or would an independent effort like Skull Girls be successful if it sold somewhere in the range of 20,000 within the first month and kept selling because we have a market where things keep selling after initial release?

[Gooch]

Got this for $29.99. Good price for a good game. Better than I expected.

[bVork]

I got this for Christmas. It's utterly amazing.

[Hero]

Played through the first world with two friends. Holy crap, if you thought New SMB was bad...

You can hit each other and while it doesn't damage, it stops your momentum cold. A real pain when trying to run or pull off a long or narrow jump. Charged attacks send other people FLYING. It's fun if you're screwing around and a great way to grief, but I could see it getting tiring if you just wanna do some pinpoint platforming.