Video game media (books, movies, TV, etc....)

[Teedgee]

I feel like this should be a thread, but im not sure if it exists so im making it just to make sure

Anyway, we all love the games we play, and it's not just us, but millions of people around the globe! And when something becomes this popular, it starts to branch out: it's not just a game anymore, but it exists in several forms, whether they're good or bad.

Let's look at mario for example: if you don't like playing video games:
☆Do you like to watch TV? Well Mario got a fair share of TV shows!
☆Are you a little kid who loves playing with toys, or just some guy who collects toys? Boom. mario toys exists.
☆Do you like to shit on bad stuff? Well they made a movie specifically for that purpose!
☆Do you like to go out in public and just have fun? Well good luck with that cause you'll have to go to japan when the place opens
☆Do you like to read? Comic books
☆Do you like shoes? Puma made some
☆Do you like washing machines? Well.....that's oddly specific but there's gotta be at least one mario-themed washing machine out there....

So yea I made a thread for these things lets talk

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I gotta say I love Kirby right back at ya. One of the few video game anime/cartoon adaptations that stay faithful to the source material

 

[Waluigi Time]

I imagine there's at least a decent chunk of Pokemon fans out there who have never touched a single one of the games.

 

[Ray Trace]

Pokemon plushies are objectively the best part of the franchise.

Pokemon gets a new entry? Meh.

Dragapult get a plushie? Now that is serious hype.

Hoenn region recently got an entire set of them!

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

I really dislike the mainline Pokemon games, especially with that best-selling travesty of a game, Sword and Shield. I've disliked the series probably since the beginning of Gen V when I really liked Gen III and Gen IV and had a really cynical turn for the series. I've come to terms, however, that I really like the designs of the creatures and I can like the Pokemon without liking the games. People might think those things just sell toys, but those toys I really enjoy collecting as a hobby and I have quite a collection of that merchandise. I'm pretty sure those mini figures and a few plushies of Pikachu, Eevee, Zubat, and Dratini helped.

As a fan of Mario, I'm disappointed I can't really enjoy Mario in other media being cartoons, comics, books (eh), at least regarding recent content. Everything Mario had are either old or Japan-exclusive. The only currently running Mario non-game media I do know is the Super Mario-kun/Super Mario Manga Mania (???) and that's mostly Japan exclusive. The shows we do have are not great and also are finished since the late 80s early 90s but I guess they're okay for the sake of dumb camp? We could've gotten so much better though; we already have material from existing games for an example of a script that'll work in a cartoon. There is supposed to be a Mario film coming, but we've heard nothing about it for years and I'm itching to know.

Mario's got a relatively good collection of plushies these days, but outside of Nintendo Power catalogs, there was practically no way to have a Mario plush and I've been yearning for Mario figures, I remember that. I'm glad the selection is a lot better today and chances are good that a favorite Mario character has been made into a plush. Tough luck for MaRPG fans however, but it's always been rough for them.

One more thing, I realize Smash is a major gaming franchise. It's surprising we don't see much branded merchandise for Smash. amiibo were really successful, showing you can sell Smash merchandise successfully. So why not Smash Bros card games, board games, playsets, etc? I think many people would like to buy rather than just buy a bunch of different toys and assemble a scene. Also I wonder if Smash would work well as an anime, but eh.

 

[winstein]

In terms of non-game media, Sonic does have it really good: his comic book series is one of the most thriving ones, and not to mention how some of his animated series still have their passionate fans. Sonic's American comic book series in particular may have changed hands (from Archie to IDW) but it's still generally loved and it does have a rather interesting history. That's not something that could be applied to Mario unfortunately, as his thriving comic book series is a Japanese one while his animated series has long been ended.

Thank you for reading.