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New Super Mario Bros. Wii Tops 10 Million Sales
According to a report from Japanese publication Nikkei Net, Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii has now sold 10 million copies worldwide. The game needed only 45 days to pass the already impressive sales numbers of Super Mario Galaxy. Quoting Gamasutra:
"NSMB Wii has sold 3 million units in Japan, where it launched on December 3; 3 million copies in Europe, where it launched November 20, and 4.5 million units in North America, where it launched November 15. Super Mario Galaxy has sold 4.1 million units in North America since 2007. The game's design hearkens back to the two-dimensional, side-scrolling style of earlier Mario titles ... The numbers would seem to suggest that these traits successfully generated more mass appeal for NSMB Wii than for the three-dimensional and far less familiar Super Mario Galaxy, which sent the plumber navigating more innovative spherical space environments."
It is very similar to Mario World and is a lot of fun.
A cool thing is that you can play two player where you both navigate through map together.
One of the few side strollers I really enjoyed.
If you're going to rehash old franchises, this game is the way to do it.
Now I hope they'll give us a high-resolution, all-new, top-down Zelda game in the caliber of Link to the Past and Link's Awakening.
Not overly milking the core Mario franchise like Sega did with a certain hedgehog. In four or so years Sega puked out 7 similar Sonic games while Nintendo now have 8 since 1985 (Mario 1,2,3, World, Land, Land 2, New SMB and new SMB Wii)
There has been a few misses (like Mario is missing) but overall Mario is a quality stamp and I think that's the reason why Mario Wii can see this well now.
For anyone trying to grasp just where 10mil would fit in, here's how it would compared to some other games based on VGChartz' data:
Ahead of: Halo (any of them), Xbox 360 versions of Call of Duty (any of them), Myst, GTA4 (360), Gears of War (any of them), Final Fantasy 7, Gran Turismo 4
Some games it's behind: Starcraft (11mil), Gran Turismo 3 (15mil), The Sims (16mil), Super Mario Bros. 3 (17mil), GTA: San Andreas (PS2, 18mil), Mario Kart Wii (20mil), a massive number of handheld games (which sell well because they're cheap), and several pack-in titles such as Wii Sports (60mil), Super Mario Bros. 1 (40mil), and Super Mario World (20mil).
It's a good seller, but it's not close to being the best-selling game of even this generation of consoles (that would be Mario Kart). Unless it has long legs (which is entirely likely), it's not likely to cross any of the original Mario games other than SMB2, since it still needs another 7mil units to catch up to SMB3.
While I applaud Nintendo for their financial success, I can't help but worry that this will simply encourage developers to skimp on innovation in future games. After all, if you can make an inexpensive game that sells millions to casual gamers, why bother spending time and money to create an innovative new experience? Still, I must admit 2D Mario has always had great appeal to me. It really is a fun game.
The multiplayer absolutely makes this game. Sure, you end up killing one another a lot. That's part of the fun. Literally, by the third or fourth level you'll be dying because you're laughing too hard to make the next jump off that blue toad's head. Well worth the purchase price if you have 2-3 other people around to play with...
Boopity boopi?
Especially Super Metroid.
Though, there would be something to be said for a well-rendered 3D Samus Aran sans armor....
The reason that developers stopped making side scrollers wasn't because that 3d games were better. In some cases (sony) they pushed the 3d gaming capabilities of the PSX so hard that if I remember correctly, they forbid the publication of 2d games on it. The fact is that 2d games are still fun and can still be fun. Just because a particular console has a feature doesn't mean it's needed, and that goes for wii too, with too many games adding motion sensor to it even though it's not necessary. It's good to see some good old arcade action come back full circle.
Its a really good game with excellent levels and layout. The real fun starts when you play it with a couple of friends. I really hope there will be more games like this coming out.
HTTP/1.1 400
While all the details aren't known, they are working on another Metroid. While part of the development team is Team Ninja, the other part is the same guys who worked on Metroid Fusion, which is the department which descended from the department which made Super Metroid.
/me holds up glass
He's to a true sequel to Super Metroid that isn't a clone and doesn't withhold gameplay elements (eg: single-column wall jumps)
"A witty saying proves nothing." - Voltaire
Well, my family and I have played and completed just about every Mario game imaginable (my parents are mad for it, but virtually no other game at all). We played through the Wii version just the other day and I can't say I noticed any delay in the controls at all. It *would* piss me off because I can't stand things like that (even if a good player learns to compensate for them very quickly) - SuperTux, for instance, annoys me because it's "not the same" as Mario jumps, etc. There's something about the Yoshis that is different but I can't pinpoint it, it just "feels" different to SMW Yoshi. I wouldn't say better or worse, just slightly different.
And Wii Mario is actually very good. It could do with a rethink of the "player dies if their friend pulls the screen too far" part (Gauntlet used to handle that exact situation much better nearly 20 years ago), but the game mechanics are pretty solid and traditional. I wouldn't call Wii Mario highly graphical at all - I view it in the same class as Mario All-Stars - an old game, with some revamped but virtually identical graphics, and the same old gameplay. All they've done is tuck some moves from newer Mario games into it and upped the animation / graphics a little. I actually found it pleasingly traditional, as did my parents who have never really enjoyed the 3D games... they still like to trounce each other on All-Stars Mario 3 Battle Game. The only question that remains, really, is when is Super Mario War coming out for the Wii? :-)
>> It could do with a rethink of the "player dies if their friend pulls the screen too far" part
They did re-think it: Just press the "A" button and "bubble up" to your companion whenever he or she lands on a safe spot. It took my wife and I a few games before we realized that pattern (we tend to skip the instruction manuals): She would die when left behind, and I would inadvertedly press the "A" button while smashing the D-pad and turn into a bubble at the wrong moments. Fun!
-dZ.
Carol vs. Ghost
I like how they mapped it like the old style Nintendo controller as well.
Indeed! The Wiimote was laid out the way it is specifically to accommodate that kind of controller layout, which is quite handy. Honestly though, I think it was done so, though, to allow play of $5-a-pop virtual console (read: buy me again :-P) titles.
Never underestimate the power of sales.
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
TVs have PC inputs nowadays.
The average TV is much bigger then the average monitor.
I am aware of that. But TVs display PC video just as easily as console video, as long as the right cable is between the two. A VGA-to-composite adapter for a PC is no more expensive than an official component cable for a console. If the problem is that the TV and the PC are in separate rooms, Acer Aspire Revo and other nettop PCs with an NVIDIA chipset solve that handily. So why aren't PC games designed to use TVs?
It is a fucking game, I am supposed to enjoy my time while playing it.
If only there were more people like you in game development and design.
I simply don't buy games anymore for several reasons, aside from the asinine price tags, but one sticks out most above all: I shouldn't be punished because I suck.
A very large number of games that I've tried lately have punished me for failure. I won't go deep into details about this one or that one, but the latest Wolfenstein title comes to mind as the last one I played for about an hour and then quit. My "allies" and I were sieging a train station, and, just as in the opening cut scene I had just watched, I tried to sprint around and go Rambo on all of the Nazis behind the door. I must've reloaded the game fifteen times and tried a different approach every time I got through this door, but alas, I kept dying. Hiding under cover to reload and recharge my "stamina" just aren't my kind of thing.
At the very least, in NSMB, when you fail too many times--and yes, even if it's because you're trying to play in a manner that's just too cavalier for your skill level for you to pull off correctly--you at least have the option to skip the level by watching Luigi one-up your ass and breeze through it. Ironically, even if you can't win it the way the developers intended you to, you can still play, have some fun, and at the very least, feel like the game was worth your money by beating the damned thing.
....I'm gonna go play some DotA and kindly get back off the hardcore gamers' lawns.
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
I've used that with my parents a lot - they often "bubble" and then wait for me to do the tricky bits for them. Not really a useful trick on the more difficult areas - all you do is increase the risk that if the non-bubbled person dies then you have to start the level over (possibly from a halfway point). Non-bubbled, you can at least continue with the other player. There's no reason the screen can't zoom out a bit more, or prevent one player running off too far in one of the directions. The game itself even enforces "the screen will push you" at certain points, so why it couldn't just work like that rather than the player disappearing off-screen into certain death, I don't know.
And "BUBBLE!" is a common shout when the poorer player is about to die - if you can hit A fast enough, you can avoid the death and just bubble harmlessly back to your partner.
On the latest Iwata Asks (where the president of Nintendo interviews his staff) there's a lot of interesting info about how Miyamoto came up with the sound effect for the propeller mario, why mario wears overalls, why use a mushroom as a powerup, why turtles as opponents and other interesting info.
http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/nsmb/vol1_page1.jsp
PCs [...] don't come with any controllers or other gaming niceties, so typically gamers customize them in very one-player-specific ways.
Wii consoles don't come with multiple controllers either. In fact, PC-compatible USB gamepads for players 1 through 4 often cost less than Wii Remote + Nunchuk for players 2 through 4 or Dual Shock 3 controllers for players 2 through 4.
Consoles fit in with the "entertainment area" of homes where there's a lot of seating so everyone can view the television.
As does a suitably installed Acer Aspire Revo or any of several home theater PCs. So why aren't video games designed to take advantage of home theater PCs?
I'm very worried that Other M will be so busy forcing you to play through Samus' backstory that it won't let you do anything on your own, it'll be one of those stupid linear Metroids like Fusion that completely lose what makes Metroid good. Zero Mission was nice but the level design was a bit lacking, the stealth section total bullshit and the item distribution completely questionable (Power Bombs only when you can just go for the final boss instead?).
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
It could do with a rethink of the "player dies if their friend pulls the screen too far" part (Gauntlet used to handle that exact situation much better nearly 20 years ago),
Press A. Problem solved.
There is a war going on for your mind.
Target had none.
Kmart had none.
Walmart had none.
Blockbuster had boxes on the "Buy this stuff" shelf. I picked one up, went to the counter, and told the clerk I'd like to buy it. She looked behind the counter for a while, then went to the back. Returning, she placed the empty box back on the "Buy this stuff" shelf and said "Sorry, we don't have any of these."
Lack of immediate gratification seriously made me consider dusting off my pegleg and eyepatch.
"Ahead of: Halo (any of them), Xbox 360 versions of Call of Duty (any of them), Myst, GTA4 (360), Gears of War (any of them), Final Fantasy 7, Gran Turismo 4"
:)
Which means it has now also outsold MW2 on every platform, including the 360, _individually_ (not all combined.) Just like Reggie bet that it would. He originally said it would beat Modern Warfare 2 on one platform by the end of January. (The person he was interviewing then specified the 360 and Reggie didn't seem to object. Which led to a lot of controversy amongst fanboys when it seemed like Mario might beat the PS3 sales but not the 360 sales, but that's all moot now.)
After the response to the initial sales of Modern Warfare 2 in November, a lot of people are going to be eating crow over that one
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If you are playing with 3 or 4, have one stand somewhere relatively safe while the person attempts it and the other 1/2 are bubbled.
It'd be nice if it automatically bubbled you if you fell behind, but they'd have to leave an exception for being squished against the edge by an obstacle.
And we found it mildly funny when we got to the second part of the final battle and everyone bubbled at the same time to avoid the initial flame breath. Is there any way for everyone to avoid that first breath, when you are against the wall, other than helicopter hats or bouncing off somebody's head?
The physics of moving and jumping were definitely different (slightly) compared to the older games. This really threw me off at first, but I got used to it.
If the delay is really bad, though, you might make sure that your TV isn't trying to do any video processing. I played with one friend who left that on, and it added about 0.5-0.75 seconds lag to each button press.
when is Super Mario War coming out for the Wii? :-)
If you have the homebrew channel then last year
Someone even ported Supertux, but it needs some huge tweaks.
Sometimes, life itself is sarcasm...
I concur with just about everything you've said - I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way. Historically, very little story was directly told in the (2D) Metroid Games. What little story there was was shown through the gameplay itself - no text, no talking. There was no need to say "Surpirse! Samus is a woman" or "Surprise! She still has a heart, and saved the young Metroid," or "Surprise! The Metroid came to save her" etc. I'm quite worried the trend will continue as it was in Fusion, with far to much text/speach.
I found the level design in ZM okay. It's nice that the developers purposefully put in creative/indirect/sequence-breaking options (eg: you can beat the entire game without the long beam), but it just worked so well in SM when it was unintentional. And yes, the stealth section was bullshit. I do buy the fact that you got the Power Bombs only *after* defeating the Motherbrain, since Samus never did get them in the original Metroid.
Maaaaybe Yokoi's ghost will haunt Sakamoto in going old-school again, or maybe the Team Ninja folks are actually hardcore SM fans. Maybe.
"A witty saying proves nothing." - Voltaire
It's a really fun game. I'm only in World 7, but I look forward to the rest. My only problem has been when I tried to take it to a relative's house this past weekend. They're in one of the infamous dial-up bubbles all over the country, so they haven't bothered setting up wireless. The disk required a system update before it would play, so we couldn't play it. I scoured the box for a warning, expecting better from Nintendo, but couldn't find it.
I'd assume the release dates had to do with meeting the holiday rush in Western countries. In the United States, launching later than the Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 27 last year) might have cost them some sales. Obviously, having product for Black Friday is not a concern for European retailers as it is in the US, but Dec. 3 still cuts close for Christmas shopping. In Japan, they could have approached the launch date a bit more leisurely.
"FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."
This came out the day after I 100% completed NSMBW, It was worth the money, totally.
Im a troll because I disagree with you.
Your concept of "game" is foreign to me. A game is a contest with rules. You play by discovering/learning/developing the ability to win the contest within the rules. An activity that lets you progress without challenge or accomplishment isn't a game.
I am playing through New Super Mario Bros myself and while I appreciate the ease with which I can advance without ever losing, it does detract from the sense of accomplishment.
On the other hand, I do respect your definition of fun. As an amateur game designer (Starcraft maps, mostly) I've learned that players bring a wide variety of goals to each game. Some want to win by the intended rules. Some want to win by breaking rules. Some want to spend time socializing. Some want to give other players grief.
So I accept that NSMB is not a hardcore game. But I'd be sad if all games were as easy and forgiving as NSMB.
I do buy the fact that you got the Power Bombs only *after* defeating the Motherbrain, since Samus never did get them in the original Metroid.
Yeah but I only got them after destroying Mecha Ridley because there's a junction where you can decide to either go for the power bombs or to the final boss which is extremely bad level design IMO. The least they could have done was make getting to Mecha Ridley without the bombs take some serious sequence breaking, not just shooting one block and there you are.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Think of all the people you know that has a PC. Not just your hardcore geek friends but everyone.
I'd limit it to people who own a PC with a discrete video card or non-Intel onboard video, because gamers don't let gamers use Intel GMA.
How many of them have multiple game controllers?
Anyone who has multiple Xbox 360 wired controllers and a PC running Windows XP SP1 or later has multiple PC game controllers.
How many even have one game controller?
That's why.
But why don't they have multiple game controllers? As I understand it, people don't have PCs with multiple controllers because the major labels don't publish PC games that use multiple controllers, and the major labels don't publish PC games that use multiple controllers because people don't have PCs with multiple controllers. This is a chicken and egg situation. Would it be possible for an indie developer not yet big enough to qualify for a WiiWare license to break this Catch-22 by publishing a few offline multiplayer games and linking to online stores that sell extra controllers?
Nintendo does a compromise where kids with lower motivation and skill can still be rewarded while classic gamers can shift their goals slightly.
The collection system since Mario64:
These are NOT your typical collection quest. They cleverly recycle content while adding actual gameplay skill challenges. Sure, they have a few of the typical hidden, timed, or multiple path situations but the majority challenge your skills like a more difficult level would (but without adding 30 levels.) These goals are fun and not condescending drudgery with a carrot.
The NSMB for the 1st time includes VIDEOS encouraging people to try to show off their skills - its a direct response to the YEARS of Mario contests, Speed Runs and YouTube show offs.
Nintendo then keeps BOTH sides happy.
I don't play games much anymore; however, I spent every weekend since it came out playing it with friends and haven't had so much fun with a game in 15 years - including mariokart!
The only thing NSMB could add is online multiplayer, emailing USER gameplay videos, online contests, and more amazing gameplay videos.
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