Should Nintendo Announce a 3D Mario?

I keep hearing a lot of Nintendo fans saying that they expect Nintendo to announce a new 3D Mario soon for the Nintendo Switch 2. I don't necessarily agree that would be a good decision for a great many reasons. Part of the logic on why they believe this is based on the fact that the last "major" 3D Mario game (Super Mario Odyssey) was released 8 years ago for the Nintendo Switch. Okay, that follows. I mean, it's been 8 years, right? That's actually longer than a typical Nintendo console generation itself which is around 5-7 years. So, it is not exactly off base to be expecting one soon, or at least an announcement of one. It's understandable. However, I do feel that announcing a 3D Mario at this particular point in time would be a mistake. One major reason is...Donkey Kong Bananza. Whether people want to accept this or not, despite the Mario universe being spun out of Donkey Kong, he is NOT on Mario's level. AT ALL. People are certainly enjoying Donkey Kong Bananza no doubt, but it's not exactly a game-changer. I don't see hordes of people going out to buy the Switch 2 specifically for THAT game. Hordes of people are buying the Switch 2 because....it's the Switch 2. Right now the Switch 2 is it's own "killer-app." Donkey Kong Bananza played a huge part in my decision personally to buy a Switch 2, but that's just me. Most people I would surmise were expecting a 3D Mario at launch for the Switch 2 before it was revealed that Donkey Kong Bananza was in that spot. People were certainly pleasantly surprised to get a new 3D Donkey Kong game because we haven't seen one proper since 1999 (more on that later,) but if I were to take a poll of Nintendo fans and non-Nintendo fans alike on what their choice would be between the two of them, I think I can go to the bank with most people choosing a 3D Mario over a 3D Donkey Kong. I say all that to say this. If you announce a 3D Mario game now.....that is going to negatively affect sales for Donkey Kong Bananza. Especially if the game is coming within the next six months. Now, if the game is WAAAAAAAAY off in the future like 2027, then I think it wouldn't affect it much. I think Nintendo is smart enough to understand not to put a "major" Mario game up against a "major"Donkey Kong game. History supports this hypothesis. **Disclaimer** This list excludes remasters, ports, rhythm-based games or racing games. This is only for first-run, major 2D and 3D platformers style games. Super Mario World (1991) Donkey Kong Country (1994) Super Mario 64 (1996) Donkey Kong 64 (1999) Super Mario Galaxy (2007) Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) Super Mario 3D World (2013) Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014) So, only once has Nintendo released a "major" Donkey Kong within a year of a "major" Mario game and in every case, the Mario game came FIRST. I just think that it would be a mistake to even announce a new 3D Mario right now. I'm not saying that they won't. I'm just saying it's not a good idea for Donkey Kong Bananza's sake if they want those sales to remain strong in my opinion. I mean, just be honest with yourself. Regardless on how you feel about Donkey Kong Bananza pro or con, if you haven't bought that game yet and if Nintendo were to show us footage of a brand-new 3D Mario game built from the ground up on Switch 2 hardware and the game was less than 6 months away, which game would YOU be getting, or be getting first? I'm just sayin'.

Most "definitive" N64 game ever?

This is a HARD question. I saw this question asked on a Facebook group and it got the gears turning in my head. The four selection they chose were as follows. Super Mario 64

Mario Kart 64 The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time GoldenEye007

Each of these games not only redefined their own IP, but either defined or redefined the entire genres they were a part of. Let's go in order here.

This game was a monumental graphical leap over Super Mario World. While Super Mario RPG did kind of bridge the gap a little bit in terms of visuals, there is a big difference between 2D sprites and 3D models. The first time I saw Super Mario 64 I was blown away. The level of freedom was something that we had never really experience before. While the previous Mario entries certainly had a lot to explore and tons of secrets, in those games everything still felt "linear." Like, even though it was supposed to be a "secret," it still felt like you were supposed to go there rather than something you discovered in happenstance. You also had a timer that was forcing you to keep it moving leaving you little time to explore. Super Mario 64 was the first platformer that you truly felt that you could go wherever you wanted to go and explore whatever you wanted to explore at you own leisure. The levels were not dense with design or assets mind you, but there was enough material and areas to give you that, " I wonder what's over here?" feeling. The foundation of what a 3D platformer can be, started with this.

Super Mario Kart definitely was the start of this franchise, but in many ways that I will not go into here because that is a blog onto itself, I feel that Mario Kart 64 is a totally different game than Super Mario Kart was, and this game is what created the foundation of what Mario Kart games would be up until the present day. Pretty much every single go-kart racer to date has been modeled after this concept.

The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time was a masterpiece from every conceivable angle. I myself was never even interested in Zelda games and had never played one for more than a few minutes at the most up until I bought this game. I'm not sure what genre Zelda games are supposed to be categorized in. I just say Action/RPG. That is what makes the most sense to me, but this game feels like a cornucopia of genres. There are platforming elements, RPG elements, action-adventure elements, dungeon-crawling elements, and many others as well. This game feels like it takes the best elements from many different genres and rolls them up into its own thing. In that vein, while the Zelda series was redefined with Ocarina Of Time and many games certainly are inspired by it, I don't think it really redefined the Action/RPG genre so to speak because it is too much of it's own thing and no one does it like Zelda.

GoldenEye007 most assuredly redefined the first-person shooter genre. That's not even arguable as far as I'm concerned. While first-person shooters certain existed before GoldenEye007, the concept of FPS games and multiplayer was not really a thing yet. Up until this point, FPS games like Wolfenstein and DOOM were predominately on PC, and multiplayer was considered a luxury rather than the foundation. The N64 having 4 controller ports built into the console made things a lot easier. This, in my humble opinion, is where "competitive" FPS gameplay started. This game ignited a fire in many people to seek more FPS games in the competitive FPS space like Quake, Unreal, Half-Life, etc. and people were willing to build major PC gaming-rigs in order to get the same experience that they had on the N64. These games walked so that franchises like Halo, Battlefield, and Call Of Duty could run. It all started with GoldenEye007. So, the question is out there. Which of these 4 games was THE more definitive N64 game? Or, is there another game out there that defined the N64? To be totally transparent here, I honestly do NOT know. I can make strong arguments for every single one of them and a few others not listed here. I'll will say this. When it comes to gaming as we know it today, it is not unreasonable to suggest that perhaps............the N64 itself might have been the "definitive" console in the past 30 years.

Most "definitive" N64 Title

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  0%Super Mario 64
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  0%Mario Kart 64
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  0%Ocarina Of Time
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  0%GoldenEye007

The REALITY of Content Creation

I've grown pretty tried of content creators that got fat when food was plentiful saying that there is a feast still on the table when in reality it is a bunch of messed-over scraps. No one else has the testicular-fortitude to say this, so I'll say it because it needs to be said. People that already had a large following of people before algorithms took over have a skewed viewpoint of what "organic growth" looks like today. Back in the 2000s - 2010s, there was an explosion of organic growth because these social-media platforms were trying to grow their brands. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter were not the juggernauts 15 years ago that they are today. They needed as many people on their platforms as possible to build a solid foundation. Back then, everyone saw ALL of your posts, and you saw all of theirs. Advertisements were minimal at best. It was easy to gain followers. A lot of people became social-media celebrities overnight. A lot of people started making significant amounts of money on these platforms. A lot of people quit their 9-5 jobs and became full-time content creators. Once these platforms reached the point of equilibrium and these companies saw that they had millions of people over a barrel, that is when the .com social-media bubble, BURST. Now, they've changed all of their policies to take the power and control away from the content creators. They started to ransack feeds with ads. They started to limit engagement on accounts and let the algorithm decide what you should see from others and IF others should see anything from you. Now, in order to maintain what you have or get back what you had, you have to play the game their way and as I mentioned earlier, many people have made content creation their bread and butter. They support their families with this. So, now you see people that you have followed for years stooping to new lows with their content whether it be click-bait titles, or content dripping with social or political agenda. Why? It's because that is what the algorithm WANTS and if you want to get paid, that is what you have to do. People that already had a huge following with tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of followers across multiple platforms can't see it through the eyes of Joe Blow that is trying to launch a new brand today, in 2025. They think like... "Hey it worked for me, it should work for you, too. You just aren't doing it right." Or...

"You just aren't trying hard enough." The stuff that worked for those people then, doesn't work now. The tips and instructions that the social-media platforms shamelessly claim work, do NOT work. Too many big time content creators on YouTube that have HUGE followings have either had to downsize and disband the teams they had, engage in other financial ventures to make ends-meet, get a regular 9-5 job on the side to help make ends-meet, or quit content creation altogether. Too many MAJOR artists that I follow that have hundreds of thousands of followers on EACH of multiple platforms and work for MAJOR comic book companies, animation studios, video game companies, etc., have ALL stated that engagement for them these days is a fraction of what it used to be. Maybe Captain Picard can help me on this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkpNwm_tB-s

It's not about the quality of your art. It's not about the timing in when you post it. It's not about how you view your own creations or even how others view your creations. It's not about volume or pacing. It's about that fact that if you want to succeed on a social-media platform, then you have to play THEIR game and by THEIR rules, which means you cease being an artist and become THEIR tool. In effect, you become their own organic, AI prompt.