NINTENDO’S MOST IMPORTANT NEW GAMES HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MARIO
Splatoon and Arms represent a big effort for the company
Each time Nintendo releases a new console, it’s safe to assume the usual suspects will follow: a new Mario Kart and Super Mario Bros. are all but guaranteed; new Smash Bros. and Zelda games are likely to make appearances at some point; and maybe another Metroid launches before the next console makes it to market, and restarts the cycle.
In its first few months of existence, the Nintendo Switch has made good on that nascent promise. It debuted alongside the stunning Zelda adventure Breath of the Wild, and its holiday will be propped up by Super Mario Odyssey. At E3 2017, Nintendo teased new Pokémon and Metroid Prime adventures, establishing a release calendar punctuated with familiar faces. But sandwiched among those major releases is a handful of something far less common: new Nintendo franchises.
On Switch, some of the most important games come from comparatively new and unknown series. That includes the just-launched competitive fighter Arms, and the upcoming sequel to Splatoon, a breakout competitive shooter that debuted on the Wii U in 2015. Both games represent Nintendo expanding in a new game genre, and creating a fictional world to match. Arms and Splatoon are the company’s attempt to reach new players and introduce new types of play — ones out of reach for Mario and Link.
According to Shinya Takahashi, general manager of Nintendo’s software division, Nintendo EPD, those two aspects of a new game — the gameplay and the characters — work in tandem. “It’s not just about new characters,” he explains. “It’s also about thinking about how people will accept new systems and gameplay. Sometimes new intellectual property is the best way to introduce that.”
Over the years, the company has semi-regularly created new franchises around new game ideas. Often these have proved incredibly successful. Wii Sports and its sequel have sold more than 100 million units globally, while the Brain Age and Nintendogs series became some of the top-selling titles for the original Nintendo DS. But while those games sold well, they didn’t exactly inspire a dedicated following. Arms and Splatoon are something slightly different.
Nintendo isn’t just a company known for its games, it’s a company that has thrived in large part due to its enviable roster of globally recognized characters like Mario and Pikachu. These iconic characters and settings have allowed Nintendo to branch out from its traditional line of games, expanding into everything from apps to clothing lines to theme parks. For its newest potential breakout hits, Nintendo is utilizing some of its top talent to bring them to life. Arms was created by largely the same team behind Mario Kart 8, while Splatoon is helmed by the longtime director of the Animal Crossing series.
Splatoon not only spawned a sequel that launches next month on Switch, but its inkling characters also joined the roster of the most recent Mario Kart, alongside beloved names like Donkey Kong and Princess Peach.
The success of Splatoon in 2015 also likely had a hand in the direction of Arms. “With Splatoon, we created new characters, and the fanbase responded well to those,” says Nogami. “That may have paved the way for more of that type of new game experience.”
Hol die Spiele endlich mal nach und lass dafür den ganzen anderen Driss erstmal links liegen....
Ich hoffe das ist nicht allzu schwer. Oldschool Games sind (hm... eigentlich zum Glück) ja immer ein bisschen knackiger.
Erschienen sind schon Zelda, Fire Emblem und eine neue IP (ARMS) und dieses Jahr werden noch Splatoon, Metroid, noch eine neue IP (Ever Oasis), Mario, Pokemon und Xenoblade kommen. Dazu kommen noch das Mario x Rabbids Crossover und das Dynasty Warriors x Fire Emblem Crossover.
@Frog: Was ist denn dein liebstes Nintendo-Spiel bisher, bei der Auswahl hat man's ja nicht leicht 
