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Halo and mass mainstream=Mario and the hedgehog

SantaC

Member
Ghost said:
Kinda like no one cares about Mario now....

Sorry but its true.

yeah but master chief will never earn the status mario once had. In late 80s, and 90s mario was videogames, whether it was in europe, us or Japan didn't matter.
 
Ghost said:
Kinda like no one cares about Mario now....

Sorry but its true.

Not the same thing, nobody cares about Michael Jackson anymore either but that doesn't make Justin Timberlake a bigger icon.
 

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
what do you think POP stands for in popculture?


Mario had status through the 80s & 90s, he's like the Yo-yo he'll come in and out of fashion but at the moment he's out (or at least way down from where he was), Halo, Madden, GTA, are in.



Edit: Oh and Pokemon.
 

mumu

Member
The thing is nobody will know anything about some Justin Timberlake in 20 years, while everyone will know who that Michael Jackson was. Master Chief is just a weak character, the only thing he has going for him is his badass name and badass attitude. Other than that he is just your average soldier. Halo as a franchise is a different story.

We can begin to compare Master Chief and Mario when you'll see games selling only because they are named after the Chief or you see virtually everything in stores with his face on it. Pretty much every Mario merchandise possible exists. There is Mario soap, Mario food, Mario clothes, Mario everything. The Chief is not very marketable outside of his very limited Halo world. He is totally unknown to the general public, Mario was even a question on Who wants to be a Millionaire here!

The time of Mario being more popular than others is fading away, but i don't think the Chief is going to replace him. Really you have to think on a broader scale, not just in your limited video games world. Those first day Halo2 sales really got to some people heads :)
 

Prine

Banned
Microsoft got my Neighbour talking abuot it (he's 8)

Didnt some news channel broadcast Halo in one of their election programs?

Its huge alright, MC will be an icon if they get some cartoons and movies out. Pikachu > Mario > Sonic
 

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
mumu said:
The thing is nobody will know anything about some Justin Timberlake in 20 years, while everyone will know who that Michael Jackson was. Master Chief is just a weak character, the only thing he has going for him is his badass name and badass attitude. Other than that he is just your average soldier. Halo as a franchise is a different story.

We can begin to compare Master Chief and Mario when you'll see games selling only because they are named after the Chief or you see virtually everything in stores with his face on it. Pretty much every Mario merchandise possible exists. There is Mario soap, Mario food, Mario clothes, Mario everything. The Chief is not very marketable outside of his very limited Halo world. He is totally unknown to the general public, Mario was even a question on Who wants to be a Millionaire here!

The time of Mario being more popular than others is fading away, but i don't think the Chief is going to replace him. Really you have to think on a broader scale, not just in your limited video games world. Those first day Halo2 sales really got to some people heads :)


Its nothing to do with Chief, its HALO that everyone is talking about.


Its like Madden, i didnt even know who the hell john madden was 4 or 5 years into that series, i still knew the game.
 

lordmrw

Member
Ghost said:
Kinda like no one cares about Mario now....

Sorry but its true.

For a character that people "supposedly" don't care about anymore, his games still sell multiple millions.
 

Quartet

Member
Kurt (MDK) > MC, so MC is not that cool.

Sonic and mario (pac man fit also) are not just brand name, they are total company logo in their own right. They might still be use in 20 year.
 

Flynn

Member
Also, consider that the FPS (and a great deal of 3D gaming as a whole) is not as accessable to the mainstream audience.
 
Ghost said:
Kinda like no one cares about Mario now....

Sorry but its true.


please. Not only do Mario games still sell out the ass, but you can still ask some 90 year old grandma who has never played a videogame in her life who "Super Mario" is, and odds are she will know. Mario is like the Mickey Mouse of videogames. Comparing Master Chief to Mario as far as mainstream popularity and icon status goes at this point, is like comparing Neo from the Matrix to Mickey.
 

shuri

Banned
mumu said:
There is Mario soap, Mario food, Mario clothes, Mario everything. The Chief is not very marketable outside of his very limited Halo world. )

-Mario. A franchise aimed at younger gamers, that can be played with everyone
-Master Chief. A franchise not aimed at younger gamers that has more appeal to late teenagers and adults. I dont see any marketing interest in Covenant Soap, Plasma Bubble bum, or Marine Trucker Hats. The franchises are aimed at two different demographics.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
FoneBone said:
Not quite, probably because Halo will never be as friendly to mass-market merchandising (toys, cartoons, etc) as Mario and Sonic were at their peak.
When Mario and Sonic were at theri peak, however, gaming was much more of a "kid's thing" than it is now.
 

Bigfoot

Member
Meier said:
As mentioned, not even close. Show a picture of Master Chief to 100 people and maybe 15 get it right. Show a picture of Mario to 100 people and probably 60 of them (as a bare minimum too, number would likely be considerably higher) get it right. Halo is becoming a part of popular culture, but "Master Chief" is more or less just an unknown.
I doubt even 15 people would know the name "Master Chief"... I'm sure 15 people would say "that's the guy from that Halo game" however. I bet a lot of people couldn't identify Solid Snake by name either and I'd say he is as big or bigger than Master Chief.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Master Chief is such unimaginative character design it's not even funny... he's not even in the same league as Mario or Sonic (and I'm not a Nintendo fanboy)...
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
"Master Chief is just a weak character, the only thing he has going for him is his badass name and badass attitude"

I know it's not a true defence, because most people in America can't read, but people should check out the books (1 and 3, skip 2).
 
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