It should be obvious to anybody familiar with the video game landscape that Nintendo puts Mario in a lot of things, and in most new ventures since Mario's debut, Mario would usually be at the forefront. As an example, certain consoles got a new Mario game as one of the frontrunners, including the legendary Super Mario World (SNES/SFC) and Super Mario 64 (N64). Another would be that in the Super Nintendo World, the first attraction to be introduced is Mario. Nintendo's promotional artwork tend to use Mario a lot, meaning that it's rare to have something else, like maybe a Legend of Zelda artwork celebrating Christmas.
In terms of amount of games, none could rival Mario. In fact, Mario surpassed having 100 unique titles that includes his spin-offs and side-character series (think Yoshi or Wario), ever since his debut in the 1981 Donkey Kong game. They're not without merit though, as a lot of those titles have over a million sold. Others like Legend of Zelda or Kirby doesn't have that sort of reach that Mario has, so one might consider Mario overused.
On one hand, there is a reason Mario is frequently used: he is a very renowned and proven character and what he stands for. Meaning, his games will most usually be a quality game, and this trustworthiness is key to Mario being more easily accepted. His multiple spin-off series are itself powerhouses that could stand on their own, so things like Dr. Mario, Mario Kart and Mario Party are treated independently due to having multiple (successful) iterations for each, unlike most franchises that didn't have that luxury (usually the Kart spin-offs are the most successful; ask Sonic and Crash). Some would say that this treatment of Mario is the reason he's still a big thing even after he's approaching 40 years of gaming.
On the other hand, some fans of a smaller franchise wishes that they could get the attention and effort that Mario usually gets, in order to boost their profile a bit further. Maybe for example, a Kid Icarus fan wishes that its universe could get a new game. Another opinion one might have is that whenever a new concept is introduced, Mario would "usurp" the exciting concept, when it could have been used for a less-popular universe. As an example, Panel de Pon was converted to a Yoshi game in English territories, although the game's usage of "Tetris" is the bigger issue in my opinion.
As for me, I suppose I don't see much of an issue with Mario being used as frequently as he is, since I already liked Mario so I don't see an issue with his overuse. It's also a very amazing thing to have a video game character from the classic era being as successful as he is now, since the older characters are more prone to being forgotten compared in favour of the modern stuff or that their representation is mainly from their older stuff. Pac-Man is one such case for the latter, where his attempts to modernise is not very successful, whereas his classic stuff that made him famous are often used.
Even though the nature of the community means that the topic might be biased, let's still hear from all of you and see what you think of the topic's question.
Thank you for reading.
In terms of amount of games, none could rival Mario. In fact, Mario surpassed having 100 unique titles that includes his spin-offs and side-character series (think Yoshi or Wario), ever since his debut in the 1981 Donkey Kong game. They're not without merit though, as a lot of those titles have over a million sold. Others like Legend of Zelda or Kirby doesn't have that sort of reach that Mario has, so one might consider Mario overused.
On one hand, there is a reason Mario is frequently used: he is a very renowned and proven character and what he stands for. Meaning, his games will most usually be a quality game, and this trustworthiness is key to Mario being more easily accepted. His multiple spin-off series are itself powerhouses that could stand on their own, so things like Dr. Mario, Mario Kart and Mario Party are treated independently due to having multiple (successful) iterations for each, unlike most franchises that didn't have that luxury (usually the Kart spin-offs are the most successful; ask Sonic and Crash). Some would say that this treatment of Mario is the reason he's still a big thing even after he's approaching 40 years of gaming.
On the other hand, some fans of a smaller franchise wishes that they could get the attention and effort that Mario usually gets, in order to boost their profile a bit further. Maybe for example, a Kid Icarus fan wishes that its universe could get a new game. Another opinion one might have is that whenever a new concept is introduced, Mario would "usurp" the exciting concept, when it could have been used for a less-popular universe. As an example, Panel de Pon was converted to a Yoshi game in English territories, although the game's usage of "Tetris" is the bigger issue in my opinion.
As for me, I suppose I don't see much of an issue with Mario being used as frequently as he is, since I already liked Mario so I don't see an issue with his overuse. It's also a very amazing thing to have a video game character from the classic era being as successful as he is now, since the older characters are more prone to being forgotten compared in favour of the modern stuff or that their representation is mainly from their older stuff. Pac-Man is one such case for the latter, where his attempts to modernise is not very successful, whereas his classic stuff that made him famous are often used.
Even though the nature of the community means that the topic might be biased, let's still hear from all of you and see what you think of the topic's question.
Thank you for reading.
