gaming Why Nintendo games are so popular?

[Vefka 1,499]

A bit of explanation: I grew up in a culture where Nintendo fans is one of the smallest gamers community, Mario generally associates the very first game released in 1985 and before Switch their products sales here were looking like a statistic margin of error. So before forums I thought that such games are niche thing, but apparently I was greatly mistaken.

So as a person without nostalgia feelings for Nintendo games or mario I don't get why the games are so popular. Why would I choose Mario kart instead of dozens of high quality racing games, mario fighting game (I don't know it's name) instead of mortal combat or injustice, etc?

I really want to know what's the key of nintendo games popularity

[Will Guide 21,325]

They're like the Disney of Video Games. They make family friendly game that can be enjoyed both by children and adults. And have many different franchises from Mario to Zelda to Kirby to Metroid to Pokemon to Pikmin to Animal Crossing and so on

 

The Mario Fighting game is called Super Smash Bros. And is more its own Franchise of mostly Nintendo themed franchises mentioned above coming together to Duke it out. While other fighting games are about beating your opponent until their health is all gone, Smash Bros. is about knocking your  opponents off screen and and the more damage you do to them, the further they'll fly when you smash them. Plus it also acts like a museum and love letter for many Nintendo franchises and their histories

One special thing about Mario Kart when it first started was the ability to use items to get an edge on your opponents and not just having better racing techniques. It helps shake things up

[Misty Shadow 7,080]

Their games appeal to the broadest demographic, "ordinary" kids and adults. Many, many hit non-Nintendo games are made to appeal to alternative demographics.

[Steve Piranha 28,768]

1 hour ago, Vefka said:

A bit of explanation: I grew up in a culture where Nintendo fans is one of the smallest gamers community, Mario generally associates the very first game released in 1985 and before Switch their products sales here were looking like a statistic margin of error. So before forums I thought that such games are niche thing, but apparently I was greatly mistaken.

So as a person without nostalgia feelings for Nintendo games or mario I don't get why the games are so popular. Why would I choose Mario kart instead of dozens of high quality racing games, mario fighting game (I don't know it's name) instead of mortal combat or injustice, etc?

I really want to know what's the key of nintendo games popularity

I’m a big-ass Nintendo vet. Despite being born in the 90s, I was lucky enough to have a mom who owned and played the NES. THE GODDAMN NES . I don’t believe my image towards Nintendo would have been the same if I began with the SNES, which I also owned back then, and still works last I’ve checked. Anyway, I believe the main appeal with Nintendo games is their creativity, and their success in making you disconnect from the real world, but I’m sure there’s a better term for it which I don’t remember .

 Nintendo lost it’s spark with WII however. I didn’t feel their games to me so.... Nintendo. But hey, Switch is here to...

Spoiler

 

 

[Vefka 1,499]

41 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

Anyway, I believe the main appeal with Nintendo games is their creativity, and their success in making you disconnect from the real world, but I’m sure there’s a better term for it which I don’t remember .

Yeah, it makes sense. But every game meant to disconnect you from reality and indie or family games are not very popular now (still more people prefer AAA over indie). And somehow Nintendo successfully competes with COD which is the most popular game in US (according to google), I just can't wrap my mind around it

48 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

Nintendo lost it’s spark with WII however. I didn’t feel their games to me so.... Nintendo. But hey, Switch is here to...

Funny that here Switch was received coldly and wasn't successful

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

2 hours ago, Vefka said:

Funny that here Switch was received coldly and wasn't successful

That's crazy to hear! The Switch has almost outstripped the Nintendo Entertainment System (the NES) in sales! The NES was one of the first home gaming consoles to ever exist. I wonder why it's not popular where you are?

But yeah, no, Nintendo is MASSIVE. I love it and I'm not even that nostalgic for it. I'm nostalgic for Pokemon, which is a Nintendo property. So I had any Nintendo console that had Pokemon on it. But I didn't get into the other Nintendo properties until around the time the Switch came out, and by then I was 26. So yeah, I'm an adult and kind of a Nintendo newcomer.

Basically, I'm into Nintendo because it caters to what I'm interested in. Like @Will Guide said, Nintendo is the Disney of gaming. The only non-Nintendo console I own is a PS2 because I wanted Kingdom Hearts (which, appropriately enough, has Disney characters in it).

I have no interest dark, depressing games with lots of blood and pessimistic essays on human suffering. Much like how I would rather watch MLP rather than Game of Thrones, I want to play games as an adorable cartoon character (Mario) or cute anime elf (Link) and save magical princesses, fight monsters, and soak in the beautiful, brightly colored worlds they live in. And hey, Nintendo actually isn't all sparkles and rainbows. They're surprisingly good at traumatizing the pants off of people, especially the 90s kids. There's no creepy quite like Nintendo Creepy. XD

Spoiler

 

[Dark Qiviut 22,172]

1. As what @Will Guide wrote above, Nintendo is the Disney of video games. Their games are intentionally made to be fun for both kids and adults alike, and they're successful at delivering the goods.
2. The quality of their games has been consistent. Since Super Mario Bros. revived the video game industry in 1985, they not only established a standard of quality in their games, but maintained it over the last thirty-five years. When you build that strong of a reputation for that long, people will trust your brand.
3. They have a massive lineup of high-quality franchises, both the main series and spinoffs. Mario is iconic, but there are the Paper Marios and Mario Karts, Super Smash Bros., Zelda, Pokémon, Kirby, Metroid, and Donkey Kong.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Dark Qiviut

[Vefka 1,499]

46 minutes ago, ShadOBabe said:

That's crazy to hear! The Switch has almost outstripped the Nintendo Entertainment System (the NES) in sales! The NES was one of the first home gaming consoles to ever exist. I wonder why it's not popular where you are?

Because of really small Nintendo games community Switch was considered as another "normal" console and compared to PS4 and XBox one. And obviously lost. Basically a lot of reviews was like "For the price of PS4/XBox you get potato-performance console with only one good exclusive game (Zelda) and ton of indie games for the price of AAA"

I remember in 90x-00x here were popular Sega, Dendy (Famicom rip-off) and PS1/2

1 hour ago, ShadOBabe said:

I have no interest dark, depressing games with lots of blood and pessimistic essays on human suffering. Much like how I would rather watch MLP rather than Game of Thrones, I want to play games as an adorable cartoon character (Mario) or cute anime elf (Link) and save magical princesses, fight monsters, and soak in the beautiful, brightly colored worlds they live in

Yeah, it makes sense, I can't really remember any colorful cute game on consoles/PC

11 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

They have a massive lineup of high-quality franchises, both the main series and spinoffs. Mario is iconic, but there are the Paper Marios and Mario Karts, Super Smash Bros., Zelda, Pokémon, Kirby, Metroid, and Donkey Kong

I don't even know what half of these series are about. I wonder if bad marketing is one of the reasons why Nintendo is unpopular here

[Envy 5,998]

Why choose Mario Kart over other racing games? Because Mario Kart is not even comparable. Mario Kart is a party game. It's absolutely nothing like other racing games, except for the knock-off games based off of it.

I wasn't aware that Nintendo was ever niche. Nintendo was my video game company of choice throughout the 90s, and I always knew lots of people playing them. At daycare, at school, etc.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

When it comes to Mario specifically, the games are genuinely fun, and while that is a key component, there's something deeper. On the surface Mario's games are quite simple to pick-up and play, but there's an inherent depth to the games that seemingly keep them fresh. While I'm sure this can be seen as subjective, this is actually the general feeling that I get when I look at various reviews of the Mario games.

If you have time, look up the YouTube reviewer Nitro Rad. He did a series of videos covering many of the mainline series of Mario title; including some really in-depth looks into the 3D titles since Mario 64. I'd recommend them for a good in-depth look into the Italian plumber and overall context of his games.

[Splashee 28,537]

8 hours ago, Vefka said:

I really want to know what's the key of nintendo games popularity

Well, first of all, it is branding. Similar to how Coca-Cola is using all of their money to advertise their brand in the most efficient way (at the Olympics). Nintendo boosts their core gaming brands everytime they get a chance. Then, it is quality of their products, they are not made to break untill they have been totally forgotten (which might not happen at this point).

But with the focus of bad marketing and broken products out if the way, they try to stand out as a company who makes fun games for the family. They don't try to win a competition of best or fastest.

Lastly, they are lucky. Sometimes too lucky. They have been saved by luck many times, and they make sure to show they cannot lose.

So what about their games? What about the big ones? Behind the scenes, they are hiding their problems. If a problem gets visible, they make it look like a feature, and keep damage control.

Today's fans are quite new. I remember an internet where Sonic was much more popular. But time changes, and maybe with the leaks from Nintendo, more real fans dedicated to really understanding their games will show up.

Only fans that dedicate their lives at something really matters to me.

[KirbyFluttershy 2,517]

Well I started playing nintendo games since 1988-1990s, but i was new to this whole nintendo games and then watched my brothers play nintendo games. Apparently NES was the 1st nintendo system that i have. I believe nintendo games became popular since 1980s.

Anyway, well I do believe that i agree with other people about mario kart being a party game, but the other party game was mario party which it started on N64 days. The Most popular games were not just mario, but also Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Super Smash bros, pokemon, star fox, fire emblem, and splatoon. I wouldn't say that Super Smash bros is a mario fighting game so It's more of a nintendo all-star fighting game.

As of popular games go, well It's true that super smash bros, mario kart, mario party, and pokemon are popular games, but as for other games go, well For Legend of Zelda, I do believe most people liked Ocarina of time and Breath of the wild, but mostly it's ocarina of time. Animal Crossing, well i did see a lot of ppl play animal crossing, but mostly new horizons, and pocket camp at this time. Pokemon, well it's every pokemon games including spin-offs if interested, but us pokemon fans and players play these games regardless of negative reviews. Metroid, well we haven't heard much since the last metroid game was released so ppl tend to play the latest metroid games or go back to the classics at this time. Star fox, well usually the only games with 2-4 players are star fox 64 (multiplayer if 3DS version) and star fox assault for GCN (local play only), but I don't know much about the current popularity with Star fox series at this time. Kirby games on the other hand, well not much as I know. I just play every kirby games to make it an adventure although Super Kirby Clash has multiplayer, but the server stability for that game can be unstable making it hard to do online play. I do believe splatoon is another popular game, but never played the games myself so I only watched the gameplay videos and it's also online multiplayer game as well. Pikmin, i'm not sure about the popularity with the game. Fire emblem on the other hand, well i never played the game myself so people play fire emblem games as I know about including the mobile version which is Fire Emblem Heroes.

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

3 hours ago, Vefka said:

I can't really remember any colorful cute game on consoles/PC

PlayStation DID have the Spyro franchise when I was a kid, and I LOOOOVED that. I almost considered getting a PS4 just so I could play the Reignited Trilogy remakes of it. But then it came out on the Switch and I didn't have to.

2 hours ago, Envy said:

I wasn't aware that Nintendo was ever niche.

I think OP is saying it's niche where they live (Russia) and they assumed it was the case in other countries.

3 hours ago, Vefka said:

I don't even know what half of these series are about. I wonder if bad marketing is one of the reasons why Nintendo is unpopular here

If you're interested, here's a VERY basic rundown on the big Nintendo Franchises.

Mario: You know what this is. Colorful platform games in which you save a princess (usually Peach) from a villain (usually Bowser).

Paper Mario: Franchise formula has changed in recent years, but started out as turn-based RPG games that just happened to star the Mario characters and had a flat, paper-like aesthetic. Usually had far more dense stories than the usual Mario fare.

Luigi's Mansion: Luigi (Mario's brother), is basically a Ghostbuster. He runs around haunted locales, fighting ghosts to save people he cares about, oftentimes Mario himself. Adventure games with lots of environment puzzles.

Zelda: Fantasy adventure franchise that usually follows the various incarnations of the the Triforce bearers; Princess Zelda (Wisdom), Ganondorf (Power), and Link (Courage). They star Link, who usually has to save either the World, the kingdom of Hyrule, or sometimes just Zelda, from the clutches of evil. Lots of dungeon puzzles to solve and lots of monsters to fight.

Pokemon: You know this one. RPG games in which you are the trainer of a team of super powered animals. You must train them to defeat powerful Gym leaders, the Elite Four, and some kind of villainous team whose structure ranges from common punks, to mafia, to terrorists, to world destroyers.

Metroid: One half of the originators of "Metroidvania" style games. Large, intricate maps full of platforms and monsters in which you are encouraged to backtrack to previous areas that become accessible after you get more upgrades. Stars the incredibly bad@$$ space mercenary Samus Aran.

Donkey Kong: More platformers in which you play as Donkey Kong and his friends in side-scrolling levels. Collect bananas, fight enemies, get to through the stages.

Star Fox: A bit of a struggling series atm, but still a very big brand. Most Starfox games are flight games in which you play as Fox McCloud and his friends. Fly through levels in the Arwing and shoot down flying opponents and obstacles.

Pikmin: A series of real-time strategy puzzle games. You play as tiny space travelers and become the commander of an army of little alien plant creatures known as Pikmin. Pikmin come in many varieties, each with different skills, and you use them to explore, fight enemies, and salvage resources.

Kirby: ANOTHER platformer series. You play as Kirby, a little pink alien with the ability to inhale enemies and imbue yourself with that enemy's powers.

Splatoon: One of the most recent franchises. Team shooter games in which you play as Inklings: human, squid hybrid people that can turn into and transport themselves through ink that they cover the stage in using various weapons.

Animal Crossing: Probably the chillest franchise of them all. You’re the only human in various communities of adorable animal villagers, and you maintain friendships and decorate.

Smash Bros.: Please see @Will Guide's description above.

Edited August 14, 2020 by ShadOBabe

[Ittoni 536]

Because of that sweet and well known Nintendo polish in their controls and gameplay. Because it's family friendly and I can grab any game at any point and it leaves me with a smile on my face. Like @Will Guide said, it's the Disney of videogames. You are almost guaranteed that you will have a good time. 

I like to escape for a little bit on videogames and I prefer when they are innocent, colorful, "simple", but at the same time not mindless, with challenge if you look for it, with a very good built, and add something original and weird in the mix because it's different and boom, you got Nintendo. 

Others don't align with my own method of fantasizing or play. Like, mortal combat or street fighter are both really good and they don't have to tell me but I don't want to see bisembowelments and I'm not into the competition and artstyle. I just want to play and enjoy my time. I don't like many shooters because they are mostly edgy and all masculine and shit, but Splatoon is fun and hard if you want to be competitive. The characters are weird and cute just like me. 

[KirbyFluttershy 2,517]

Star fox is not just a flying game, but also on land such as landmaster and on foot like star fox 64 and star fox assault. Of course the game focuses on flying only, but usually there's a vehicle verities as well in other star fox games.

For Animal Crossing, well you get to name your own town (GCN, WW, CF, and NL only) / Island (NH only). In New leaf, well if you're the 1st player, you get to be a mayor of the town. For new horizons, you'll be the resident rep of the island. You get to make your own town / island tune and your own designs and of course you can share your own designs. You can help out your villagers as you want as long as you complete them before the deadline. The other part is you can make your town perfect (GCN, WW, CF, and NL only) / 5-star island rating (NH only) for rewards. for NH, well you can decorate and terraform the island as much as you want and/or as you see fit. You can craft your own furnitures as long as you have the DIY recipes learned and enough materials to craft them. The tools, well in GCN, WW, CF, and NL, you can use them as much as you want however in NH, they will not last after certain amount of use, but you can repair the durability by using the custom kits except for the golden tools. If the tools break, you'll have to craft (if enough materials) or buy them again. The moneymaking in animal crossing is easy as long as you sell stuff that you don't need, but in new horizons, moneymaking is a lot easier as long as you sell fossils, bugs, fish, and sea creatures that you already donated. Overall moneymaking across the series would be turnips, but of course, you have until sunday to sell all of your turnips at a higher price. if you can't find a high price, you'll have to expand your search for the high turnip price since the turnip prices changes every AM at the opening time and 12PM till closing (all time zones) although this normally applies to WW, CF, NL, and NH only and this change doesn't apply to GCN animal crossing.

[Steve Piranha 28,768]

 

8 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

I’m a big-ass Nintendo vet. Despite being born in the 90s, I was lucky enough to have a mom who owned and played the NES. THE GODDAMN NES . I don’t believe my image towards Nintendo would have been the same if I began with the SNES, which I also owned back then, and still works last I’ve checked. Anyway, I believe the main appeal with Nintendo games is their creativity, and their success in making you disconnect from the real world, but I’m sure there’s a better term for it which I don’t remember .

 Nintendo lost it’s spark with WII however. I didn’t feel their games to me so.... Nintendo. But hey, Switch is here to...

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

ESCAPISM, that was the word I was looking for 

[Sunset Rose 251]

Many slightly older Nintendo game are ones I don't have to take very seriously or invest a lot of time in, and they're easy to get my hands on.

[Vefka 1,499]

2 hours ago, ShadOBabe said:

Luigi's Mansion: Luigi (Mario's brother), is basically a Ghostbuster. He runs around haunted locales, fighting ghosts to save people he cares about, oftentimes Mario himself. Adventure games with lots of environment puzzles.

Oh, yeah I remember the famous glitch with Luigi's shadow being "hanged"

[TransitPony 219]

The Nintendo games are popular is because alot of their lineup has some really good franchises that others have mentioned (i.e. Zelda, Kirby, Star Fox), plus it has two of the most well known series in the world that have made a major impact on pop culture, the Super Mario Bros. and Pokemon. It should be important to note that all of the series were introduced and made during the years Nintendo was the biggest video game company in the world (1980s and 1990s); the video game industry suffered a crash back in 1983 that nearly killed it off. Nintendo stepped in with the NES (which sold very well; the console helped gain the public's attention into video games as a respectful medium and as a form of entertainment) along with the aforementioned titles that effectively saved the industry, thus garnering the cultural status it still maintains to this day, and why many people still play Nintendo games. You can also thank Satoru Iwata (God rest his soul) as well. Satoru invested a lot into money into stuff like the DS and Wii (along with the Direct videos later on and Reggie Fils-Aime) that kept people interested in their games. 

Edited August 16, 2020 by TransitPony

[Ittoni 536]

1 hour ago, TransitPony said:

The Nintendo games are really popular is because alot of their lineup has some really good franchises that others have mentioned (i.e. Zelda, Kirby, Star Fox), plus it has two of the most well known series in the world that have made a major impact on pop culture, the Super Mario Bros. and Pokemon. It should be important to note that all of the series were introduced and made during the years Nintendo was the biggest video game company in the world (1980s and 1990s); the video game industry suffered a crash back in 1983 that nearly killed it off. Nintendo stepped in with the NES (which sold very well; the console helped gain the public's attention into video games as a respectful medium and as a form of entertainment) along with the aforementioned titles that effectively saved the industry, thus garnering the cultural status it still maintains to this day, and why many people still play Nintendo games. You can also thank Satoru Iwata (God rest his soul) as well. Satoru invested a lot into money into stuff like the DS and Wii (along with the Direct videos later on and Reggie Fils-Anime) that kept people interested in their games. 

This and also Nintendo is one of the most morally correct videogame companies out there. Iwata in particular and the story of how he preferred to cut his salary instead of firing ppl from the company when they were going through financial trouble speaks volumes of how they try to do the best for everyone while still being a company. How they invest on new ideas even if they might fail because they want to keep pushing the gaming industry and expanding the concept of gaming.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Ittoni

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

It's because they rely on endearing characters, innovation, gimmicks, and knowing their audience just to name a few things. Granted, Nintendo aren't immune from criticism as they have made some questionable choices especially within the last ten years. But, I won't go into those details as that would require its own thread. Suffice to say, they have done much for the gaming industry though the mileage may vary from person to person.

[Sazama Ichida 2,352]

Nintendo also has tons of great RPGs like Pokemon, the Legend of Zelda, Chrono Trigger, and Fire Emblem etc. And they have a massive variety of different genres and characters.

What has Sony got? Mostly just mindless shooters. Compared to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft don't really have much in terms of variety, genres and story except for a few outliers like Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Halo, and the ones you mentioned.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Asbel Lhant

[The Historian 515]

Nintendo doesn't take itself too seriously so the games it produces are primarily based around fun and enjoyment, rather than anything much deeper. Sure, they have some grand narratives like the Zelda franchise for example, and they do produce/develop some decidedly not family friendly content like Eternal Darkness. But, in large part, their games are accessible to a very wide audience and many people have grown up playing Nintendo consoles or handhelds. The demographic reach enables them to produce more open content without feeling the need to pander so hard like other companies do.

How can you not want to play Mario games... or Zelda? They're an absolute blast to play! Also great for speedrunning, which is really cool to watch.

[Cash In 21,501]

Nintendo's games have managed to be innovative and set themselves apart with their unique worlds and gameplay styles. There are so many iconic games to choose from, so there's almost always something for everybody.

Edited October 19, 2020 by Cash In

[Splashee 28,537]

Nintendo was also some if not the first to make certain games, and they are riding the fame in fans eyes