The first video game console I ever owned was a Gameboy Advance: a Nintendo product. As I grew older, I acquired many different pieces of equipment to play video games on, such as an Xbox 360 and two different gaming laptops. Even with this variation, it seems as if I have always owned and used at least one Nintendo product, whether it was the Gameboy, a Wii or, as it is now, a Nintendo Switch. To say Nintendo has been a large part of my life would be an understatement, and although I have owned countless Nintendo consoles, there is a main reason I keep coming back to buy more from this company: Mario.
One of the first two games I ever owned was Super Mario World: Super Mario Adventures 2, and this marked my first foray into the world of Mario platformers. The controls were tight, the atmosphere of the game was cute and energetic, and beating levels actually made me feel like I was accomplishing something, that I was getting better at a task. From that point on, I owned many different Mario titles, including Super Mario Galaxy, arguably the best and most inventive platforming game ever made. The important thing about Mario is that he will always be the hero. Growing up as a “video gamer”, it was comforting to know that when I got home from whatever type of day I was having, Mario would be there ready to win with me in some way. To this day, Mario still helps distract me, and I honestly cannot see a point in the future where that will change.
Just as I have a tenured history with the beloved plumber, Mario has an even longer history with Nintendo, this year being the 35th anniversary of the first Super Mario Bros. game on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In his lifespan, Mario has appeared in over 200 different games, either as the main character or as one of many, such as in the game Super Smash Bros. Even though the sales numbers show the logistic importance of the character for Nintendo, Mario has become his own individual entity as billions of people around the world could probably name him if shown his picture. From his iconic triple jump “wahoo!” in Super Mario 64 to his unmistakable hat, Mario is an extremely distinct character in a world filled with hundreds of thousands of video game protagonists.
There is a real sense of magic surrounding Mario, partly steeped in the fact that he has evolved in tandem with the video game industry. As game companies moved from 2D to 3D graphics, Mario also took that leap. Mario is a video game behemoth, and Nintendo has full control over all of his marketing and selling power. With this in mind, it is no surprise that on September 18th, Nintendo released “Super Mario 3D All-Stars”, a collection of the first three AAA 3D Mario titles ever to be released (Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy). I, along with countless other Mario fans, had heard rumors of this product for a couple of months through different online forums and websites like reddit. There were an unbelievable amount of theories surrounding the release and what would be included, but no one predicted what Nintendo actually did with this hot commodity. In fact, the actual release of Super Mario 3D All Stars came with tons of criticism, most of which I agree with. The main points I have seen across all the complaints can be narrowed down to two main issues: the game has a limited release time and Nintendo only offered these three games for the deal.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars was released on September 18, but it has an end date of March 31, 2021 for when people can buy the collection. As a superfan who was going to buy the collection no matter what, this time constraint was not an issue, but I see that for many others, this could prove a serious problem as the question of affordability can come into play. Although all games in Super Mario 3D All-Stars are remastered for the Switch, this does not take away from the fact that these games are all recycled. For many, this will be the second or even third time they have purchased the game. If you were budgeting how much you spend on games and Nintendo says you only have X amount of time to buy their game, it puts an awful pressure on people to buy the game because they will not be able to get it ever again. It takes advantage of people’s love for Mario, their desire not to miss out on any of his games.
The issue tied to which games were included in the collection also shows a predatory pricing scheme by Nintendo. The biggest game missing from the collection was Super Mario Galaxy 2. Almost every post or YouTube video I watched on the topic reflected anger towards Nintendo for not adding it. Now you may be asking, “you are getting three games for $60, why would Nintendo have to add another game for this collection to be worth it?” There are two answers to why Nintendo should have done better. First, Nintendo’s contemporaries have released similar and cheaper remastered collections with the same amount or even more content (e.g., Crash Bandicoot N.sane Trilogy is $40). Second, if Super Mario Galaxy 2 was not released with the original collection for the switch then Nintendo must have plans to sell the game as its own purchase either as DLC or even as a re-release of an individual title. They obviously have the technology to remaster the second Mario Galaxy, but the fact that they did not include it shows that the monetary incentive of their 35th anniversary was more compelling to them than the true catering to their fans.
So, as a superfan, it’s definitely difficult to come to terms with the actions of Nintendo. Being connected and loyal to a specific character should not be a chore in money management. Rather, it should be something to look forward to with no strings attached. In all honesty, I feel disappointed and betrayed by Nintendo, and I know I am not alone. I, along with all of the other Mario fans, have supported and endorsed Nintendo’s past plans for releasing Mario content; their actions force us to question why they took a perfect opportunity to give some cheaper fan service to their customers and instead charged it for premium? Anniversaries of important figures, even fictional, to different communities are supposed to spread the love and message of the original creation or entity. This business decision by Nintendo is a failure to their loyal and devoted fans.
Nintendo is not EA, but in this scenario, they seem to be acting like them. EA is known for microtransactions, and although these actions by Nintendo are not as blatantly “money hungry” as EA, their real intentions are clear. The question, then, is will Nintendo continue to make decisions like this because they can, or will they try harder in the future to make their fans happy?
-Joseph Finkelstein
ar from gamer with respect to mobile game. However, there is a fact none of us can deny: we have all played mobile games, whether frequently or not. People choose to play mobile game for a variety of reasons, including its portability which means you can play on the go. And for those reasons that mobile game, introduced to the large world audience long after PC game, has gained the most popularity over any other gaming mediums. In order to understand more about this ever-growing field of mobile gaming, we have to take a brief look at the history of it.
moment, Tetris was already 10 years old and had conquered the world of gaming, coming right from the Soviet Union. The tile-matching puzzle video games requires players to stack tetrominoes (geometric shapes of four square blocks each) while making sure the figures don’t stack to the top of the playing field.
This excellent piece of technology worked well and with the launch of the App Store in July 2008, the mobile games industry had a platform that enabled consumers to buy their favorite games directly to their phones via iTunes. This new platform also enabled the developers to sell their games directly to consumers without the hassle of dealing with operators or publishers. With the App Store accepting over 1,000 new apps per day you can download anything that interests you, and gaming titles kept growing exponentially.
In contrast to Europe, Asian gamers are more likely to adopt smartphone games, not PCs or consoles. In the past few years, mobile devices have undergone notable changes. Their processors have become more powerful, and RAM sizes have increased at warp speed. This has brought them close to being competitive with PCs, especially when mobiles devices began using the cloud. With the plethora of devices developed, a gamer simply plugs his mobile phone into the docking station connected to a large screen and enjoys the game as if it was launched on a PC. Mobile screens have increased in size and resolution. It has become possible to play games only available on computers a few years ago, for example Grand Theft Auto Vice City.
The figure above shows that mobile game is on its way to dominate the gaming industry. There are trends on mobile gaming now that make the industry even more friendly towards users. With cutting-edge advancements like Google Daydream and Samsung Gear VR, we can say we will sure see new improvements in the in the space of virtual reality experiences. Due to thrills of live events and activities, today’s mobile games offer much more than just fun and entertainment. Developers nowadays leverage certain live elements of the mobile games to create interest, retention, and loyalty.
Another trend is offline games that allow players to continue their game sessions even when internet connectivity falters especially during traveling. Below is the image of one of my games playing World Conqueror 2 offline.
Offline game Fruit Ninja has earned the reputation of the most downloaded offline game in Apple store and made $1 million per month. In conclusion, mobile gaming is gaining much wider reach and impact than PC and console games. And all the credit goes to affordable prices, creative graphics, technology-enabled improvements and user-friendly themes.
New Media: Storytelling in Literature, Films, and Games 
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