Jam=Win

Sounds good hope you get an A on your College paper, Wii is always a good topic:

1. Age and Gender: Male 24

2. Would you consider your self a "gamer"/fan of all games related to Mario?: I consider myself a fan of Mario and a Gamer

3.What in particular about Mario Galaxy drew you into the game?: Mario

4. How often and for how long would you say you play video games?: About 2 hours a day or 4 hours on the weekend, that's an average.

5. Did mario galaxy meet your expectations?: It exceeded them

6. What would you say to those who consider it a "kiddie" game?: No I would consider it an "Anyone can play it" game

Good luck with your paper

1. Many of you do not care if others consider Mario games, Galaxy in particular, "kiddie". Can anyone try and elaborate and perhaps explain what about the game, or its features are un-kiddie like? (hope this makes sense):

I think what your trying to say is; Why do people believe that this game is suitable for children only? and what features does this game have that make it suitable for all ages?:

I think Mario Galaxy may be perceived as a Kiddie game because of two things: One the fact that Mario is so different than all of the more Adult based Shooter games for example Halo's Master Chief, the fact that Mario looks non-threatening gives him a saturday morning cartoon feel. Secondly Mario is a Character that has roots in many parents and consumers past, they see it as a childhood memory and as such label Mario a "kids thing".

2. Do you relate to any of the characters in the video game?:
Not really, I'm not a plumber.

3. Many of you have stated that one of the main reasons you like to play this game is because of its great visual appeal. How is this game, specifically, superior to others in that regard?:
First off this game looks awesome, but thats not to say its got the best Graphics on any system. What I do think is Galaxy uses its Graphics capacity to it's fullest to deliver a fantastic looking video game, they used a great theme (space) and used everysingle aspect to match that in a colorfull artistic manner.

4. When did you begin playing? Do you think the age at which you started playing affected how you perceives this type of subculture now?
About 7 years old, and yes I think I was very much affected by that. My nostalgia and Nintendo's great line up of games and consoles is what keeps me coming back to Nintendo over and over again.



Thanks again you guys!!![/quote]

1. Many of you do not care if others consider Mario games, Galaxy in particular, "kiddie". Can anyone try and elaborate and perhaps explain what about the game, or its features are un-kiddie like? (hope this makes sense)

Well, the mario franchise at times was the only and biggest and therefore appealed to a vast audience and from there on in the developers have stuck to the thought and tried to appeal to the whole audience rather then the hardcore, this tactic often leads to the more hardcore consumer (Who is used to the more serious difficult side of the industry) feeling let down due to the game being particularly easy or to much of a childish theme is present therefore aimed at the casual market. I Say that the game does have some features that appeal to the hardcore consumer such as how new ideas have been put forward into the final product and offer us a learning curb and a different aspect of how we look at gamers.

2. Do you relate to any of the characters in the video game?

Not in particularly, no. Mainly because it is mainly kind of a stereotyped yet taken to a new dimension with the whole saving the princess scenario, to some extent I may relate to one or more of the characters however I have never really gave thought to the matter.

3. Many of you have stated that one of the main reasons you like to play this game is because of its great visual appeal. How is this game, specifically, superior to others in that regard?

This game has had more time put into and had more effort. The lush surroundings you see which have the benefit of the excellent lighting effects, every environment is something new therefore all this things make it a visually appealing game.

4. When did you begin playing? Do you think the age at which you started playing affected how you perceives this type of subculture now?

Not as such, I think it may effect the majority but as for me in particular not really, even if I started playing the games at a later date and started to look into the industry further it would of intrigued me more as I had not experienced it before.

Hi - Interesting post. Here are my answers.

1. I am male and 28 years old (i'm form th UK if it matters!)
2. Definitely a gamer. I have been playing games since i was five and have had every nintendo console since the NES and have played all the mario games - also have playstations and XBoxes so not exclusive to nintendo but in my mind nintendo are the best game creators and mario is their flagship.
3. Was always going to get this game regardless of how it reviewed - the specifics to what drew me in was mainly the fact that it is the new super mario game and therfore i must play it having loved all the others. In addition the graphics are amazing and clearly the best on the Wii - although many people moan that the wii doesn't have hi def - it is not always how sharp or realistic the graphics are but what you do with them - the actual range of colours and actual presentation and animation is what counts and in some respects mario is one of the best graphically designed games ever - across any console. Also the concept of the gravity is very well done and progresses the platformer genre in a way i though was not possible after Mario 64 technically broke new ground with the 3d platformer and this has not been surpassed - until glalaxy.
4. Now tht i am old and work long hours, game time is significantly reduced to an hour maybe two on a weekday - weekends can vary but if i get a new great game (like galaxy) then i still pull the old 'all dayer' and can play up to 12 hours. On average though across the year it prob is a couple of hours a day.
5. Interesting.... As said i am a mario fanatic, having been there since super mario 1. Galaxy delivered on amazing visuals (not that this necessarily matters) and the new gravity and planetoid concepts, however part of me feels slightly let down by the more linear feel to the game and i miss the big sprawling areas of mario 64. Too many levels are do something on planetoid a - warp star to planetoid b - do something else and so on. DOn't get me wrong i love this game and prefer to sunshine but i don't think it beats 64 in total.
6. The kiddie issue people have attached to nintendo is something that has always angered me. Partly i still play nintendo games becaue i have been playing them for 20 years and that must sway my opinion slighlty but at the same time nintendo games are generally rated higher than all others because they are amazing. Cutesy graphics (which galaxy has) does not in my opinion make a game childish. Also difficulty is surely a factor in this debate. Now Mario is not the hardest game in the world but despite my experience (and i reckon i am better than the average gamer, specifically at platformers) the odd level kept me going a few attempts before i nabbed that star. Kids would struggle. I would also like someone to define what age kiddie games refer to. Pre teens? Under 18's? I think if you enjoy a game, play it regardless. It is the current generation of gamers that first found console gaming via some generic fps on the playstation that bandy about the kiddie term, mainly to fit in with the 'cool' gang. PLay games, enjoy them, if people chose to ignore a great game becasue they view it as childish, it is their loss. As for factors in mario that make it unkiddie like - apart form the difficulty mentioned above - i cannot really say. Again it depends what kiddie means? Not realistic? Not 'mature' ie killing and blood? It is difficult to say as i personally do not define games on this basis. Games are good or bad , i wanna play them or i don't. Graphics style would never effect my decision.

As for your additional comments i have tried to incorporate answers above - as for relating to any of the characters i would have to say no. Difficlt to relate to a rather fat italian plumber who is launching himself around space to find stars to power a spaceship to go to the centre of the universe to rescue the princess of the mushroom kingdom! I would like to think that if i was in mario's situation i would do my best to save the damsel in destress but it is a bit too far fetched for me to relate.

Enjoyed this post, sorry i went on a bit. Incidentally i would like to know the outcome of your paper and also i wonder if you would answer the questions yourself...unless this goes against the writing of the paper's rules.

Staggly,
Thank you so much for your response, it was very well thought out and detailed and it is exactly what i was looking for. My paper is due in about three weeks, once i receive my grade i will let you know the outcome. As for me I do not consider myself a gamer. that is the reason for my paper. Many friends, including loved ones, are very much into video games. What is interesting for me is that the majority of them are over the age of 20, and I wanted to try and understand the great fascination with video games, especially Mario. I used to play until the age of about 13, but lost my interest after that. I do not consider them childish though, i've tried playing them recently and some are just way too hard for kids (either that or im just really bad) As part of my research i will also engage myself in a video game session and attempt to get first hand experience with this game in particular. Would you be interested in a more in depth questionare? Please let me know if you have time, and I will email you some questions. thank you again!!

I have no social life, I will be happy to help out

that would be great....I will try and email you my questions soon...thank you!

I'll put a response together for you if I have time (a little tight on resources this week, prepping for a trip to DC) - the wife and I are older-ish gamers so it might be an interesting statistical change-up.

1. Many of you do not care if others consider Mario games, Galaxy in particular, "kiddie". Can anyone try and elaborate and perhaps explain what about the game, or its features are un-kiddie like? (hope this makes sense)
This game has 'kiddie' written all over it and those who deny it probably confuse the word 'kiddie' with 'childish'. The designs are colourful, the music is cheerful and the characters are cute but that's what I like about the Mario franchise. I would not play a Mario game if it weren't kiddie.

2. Do you relate to any of the characters in the video game?
There is no depth in characters so the answer is very simple: no.

3. Many of you have stated that one of the main reasons you like to play this game is because of its great visual appeal. How is this game, specifically, superior to others in that regard?
While Wii can't process as many polygons as a PS3 or 360, Nintendo has greater designers than any other software developer I know of. This makes for well designed graphics that are far superior to any game's graphics I've seen on other consoles. I like how colourful (and again, kiddie) the game looks.

4. When did you begin playing? Do you think the age at which you started playing affected how you perceives this type of subculture now?
I've been playing games for as long as I remember, probably when I was around 4 or 5 (I'm from 1988). I had a snes and only one of my friends had a game console (Sega Megadrive). Now nearly everyone plays games and I think it's awesome that I witnessed this evolution while I was already a part of that. I think my interest in games differs from those of newer gamers because I started earlier (e.g. Some of my friends never play 2D games).

Newgirl,

More questions are fine. I generally do not answer until this time but i log on here every night so ask away!

If we have some suggestions for questions can we post them up for you?

Don't want to mess up your thread so I thought I would ask before I posted anything.

NES

If any of you feel like you would like to share anything for which i have not asked, by all means please share your thoughts.....the more info I get the greater sense I get.

DT,
hope to hear your take on my questions.....the wider the age range the better!

okay, uuumm i'm pretty bummed my thread got moved but hopefully I'll get a few more hits.....and i'm pretty "new" and the forum thing, so can anyone explain what a triple post means? I read you get banned if you do this, so did i just triple post?...i feel like such a nerd, so please be gentle with your answers... .....anyways I wanted to present some new questions for those who would like to answer:

Here are some basic questions that i should of asked first:

1. Can you give me a brief synopsis of SMG? What is the main goal?

2. did you reserve your copy, or purchased it after its release?

3. How much would you say you spend on games monthly (average)?

More in-depth questions:

1.Many of you obviously have played many previous Mario games. Besides the games and consoles, do you collect Mario memorabilia in general? If you do what does this collection represent for you?

2. Nostalgia seems to be a significant factor in why many are purchasing SMG, and why many continue to support the whole Super Mario Franchise. do you think Mario's impact in the gaming world would have been as significant to you if it would have first appeared now?

3. Does it bother you that many recent wii games, such as SMG, are being aimed to a wider audience, and not just the hard core gamer?

4. Do you see yourself still playing video games in the next 20-30yrs? Do you think gaming will become a more acceptable "adult" leisure activity in the future? why or why not?

5. Please describe how you feel when playing SMG? do you prefer playing alone or in grops?

6. Can you please explain what gameplay is? (this is a more curious question, many of you have said the gameplay is great, what exaclty is it? excuse me in advance if im a little slow, but i really do want to learn!

3.

Hi again newgirl,

First off i have no idea what a triple post is either, don't do much of this forum thing myself so no worries about me 'flaming' you. Is that the correct term? Anyway on with the questions..

1. The main goal of SMG is, like most Mario games, to rescue princess peach (or toadstool) who rules over the mushroom kingdom (where most of Mario's adventures take place - quite why he hangs around here or where it is supposed to be related to our dimension i do not know!). The princess has once again been kidnapped by the evil Bowser - a big lizard type thing that regularly kidnaps here for no real good reason. This time Bowser transports her entire palace into the centre of the universe while Mario, in a bid to stop this happening, gets thrown into deep space. Mario awakens on a small planetoid and basically meets this space fairy type woman who grants him the power to travel in space. This woman lives in her observatory that travels to the planet the mushroom kingdom is on every 100 years. When bowser stole the princess he also managed to disrupt all the power stars that power the observatory. Mario takes it upon himself to retiree these stars which are now strewn across various galaxies. Mario needs to get enough stars to power the observatory so he can use it to travel to the centre of the universe and rescue the princess and thwart bowser.

The different galaxies have different themes (lava galaxy, toy galaxy etc) and Mario must traverse around them (coping with shifting gravity and a number of beasties out to stop him) and perform tasks as it were (defeat various bosses, traverse a particularly nasty lava galaxy, race a shark, surf around a water based course on a stingray etc etc)to get the stars. Once Mario collects 60 stars he has enough to power the observatory. There are 120 stars to collect in total and completists will wan to do this. This then does something which encourages you to play it all through again and then you can receive the secret 121st star and truly complete the game.

2.I was not in my home town upon release day so i reserved it a couple of days before and got on release day (i needn't have reserved as there were many copies available but i didn't want to take the risk being in a strange town and all.

3. Money is a bit tight at the moment so i prob get one wii game and one ds game a month. Generally get them cheaper than RRP via the internet or certain shops so i probably spend about £50. This is approx $90? Not sure on the exchange rate at the moment.

IN depth questions...

1.I have the odd bit of Mario memorabilia, a lot of it is the odd keyring free with magazines however i went out of my way to get an exclusive Japanese set of stylus' for my DS which are Mario themed, i have a remote control Mario kart and that is about it, the majority of my faming memorabilia is retro items (an old NES (first Nintendo console) joypad style keyring, pacman things etc - retro gaming is big at the mo). I wouldn't really say my collection represented much - just that i am a fan. Gaming has always been a part of my life - especially Nintendo and Mario and as such i pick this things up to show my love of the genre. i don't specifically display these, they just are dotted about my room (my film memorabilia however is on proud display 0 but i digress).

2- Great question. Being brought up with Mario must influence me on some level however i think it is fair to say that Mario really defined the platform genre back in the 80s and reinvented it in the 90's (96?) when Mario 64 moved the genre to 3d gaming. Many other games have tried to reproduce this quality but for most part have failed.

Sonic the hedgehog appeared not long after Mario and they were always considered rivals back when i was young (how things change - now they appear in games to gether - this would never have been believed by fans even ten years ago). Sonic still remains close to people - possibly off the back of Mario's stardom however recent characters - Crash Bandicoot, Jax and Daxter etc (other platform stars) have not really got the same effect. This may be because they cannot compete with Mario's strong hold on the genre or maybe they just aren't as good games. Generally i think that if Mario games appeared now, assuming the quality was as high as Nintendo always puts out, they would definitely still appeal as they are fantastic games. It is strange that the largest and most loved character in gaming history is a fat short Italian plumber - something must be going for him, i think it is the gaming. Original, and superb. Long live Mario!

3. I mentioned din the previous questions that my main problem with SMG was the linearity of it. This 'hand holding' takes it away from me slightly. In general the Wiis success has been largely to the attraction it has received form the casual gamer and indeed the non gamer ( parents, grandparents, women (not being sexist but they are a minority in the gaming world) and this success Will only lead to more games and more third party support and the more people invest in the wii the better it will become for everyone so i see the positives. I am irked though that in my opinion the only real hardcore games (hardcore games is a term people dislike but it is widely known what it means so please continue to use it as there is no alternative) are metroid 3, SMG, Zelda twilight princess and a few more that escape me. These are all established franchises for Nintendo and this games are all larger than the average wii game. I think for me certain games should be epic, have lots of playing time and plenty of replayability. These do in spades but (apart form Zelda) they are dumbed down slightly and this is due to this casual gamer effect and to be honest i hope Nintendo bring out more 'big' games for us old school types. I do love all my other wii games though that are more user friendly and have a large amount of pick up an play value. A balance needs to be reached and i think going forward it will do. Now Nintendo has sucked all these casual gamers in , they will slowly get them more involved and perhaps make hardcore gamers of everyone, the games will then change to reflect this.

4. Gaming when I'm 50 -60. I hope so! Ever since i was into games i have played them with (among other people) my dad. My dad has a wii (he is 56) and he and his wife love it. I cannot see any reason why i will not continue to enjoy them in the future. AS for whether they are more accepted it is difficult to say 0 th technology will change rapidly and this may effect things (unsure how). In my opinion if the wii has reached a larger audience and brought gaming to the masses (mainly through the remote's excellent control and 'new ways to play') then the future will surely only increase this. ON the other side, the spate of mature and violent games that continue to appear in the headlines and then get banned could lead to an anti social side. This however is an issue of censorship and not something i will get into here as i am reasonably anti censorship. I feel i have gone off topic. Basically if Nintendo (and others) co