Nintendo releases new Mario video game

By Ben Berkowitz

LOS ANGELES: He's short. He's fat. He's not a snappy dresser and he spends his day fantasizing about princesses. He's also responsible for billions of dollars in global sales since the mid-1980s. He is, of course, Mario the Plumber, star of stage, screen and the most successful video game franchise in history and on Monday, he returns to stores in his first original console game in six years, "Super Mario Sunshine" for the GameCube.

The little man with the mustache and the red overalls has been the backbone of his corporate master, Japan's Nintendo Co. Ltd., since 1985's "Super Mario Bros.," which was his first starring role in a video game. "There's a lot of memories and a lot of nostalgia tied to Mario," said Mark MacDonald, executive editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly, a leading industry magazine. "People want that Mario game."

The GameCube player made its debut last November with "Luigi's Mansion," a game based on Mario's erstwhile brother that has done relatively well at retail. Decent sales aside, though, it was little comfort to rabid fans who have been shaking in withdrawal as they waited for "Sunshine" to hit retail shelves and provide the fix they've dreamed of since 1996's "Super Mario 64."

But while the new "Mario" is highly anticipated, some of its limelight is being absorbed by new games in Nintendo's also-heralded "Zelda" and "Metroid" franchises. At this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, the game industry's annual trade show, game fans were as eager to play "The Legend of Zelda" and "Metroid Prime" as they were to spend time with Mario.

Web site IGN.com (http://www.ign.com) voted "Metroid Prime" the best game of the entire show, while Gamers.com (http://www.gamers.com), the Web site of Electronic Gaming Monthly, gave its nod for the show's top title to "Zelda."

Of more than 7,500 votes cast in a unscientific poll at game site GameSpot.com (http://www.gamespot.com), 32 percent said they were most excited about "Zelda" of all the upcoming Nintendo games, followed by 30 percent for "Metroid" and 22 percent for "Mario."

Game writers generally have praised the new Mario and expressed their eagerness to get their hands on the game, but have also compared it with "Super Mario 64"

"Super Mario Sunshine is here, and while it may not live up to the ridiculously high expectations set by its predecessor, it's still an enjoyable game that any platforming fan will immediately latch onto," Giancarlo Varanini, a GameSpot editor, wrote in a review of the Japanese version of the game.

Nintendo dominated the U.S. video game industry until the mid-1990s when Sony Corp. hit it big with PlayStation, so it's no surprise Nintendo is putting a huge marketing push behind "Sunshine" to help the company restore its old luster.

On Thursday, Nintendo celebrated the game launch at a San Francisco event where, in a nod to Mario's heritage, it served more than 1.5 tons of pasta in a bowl three feet high and 10 feet wide. Nintendo claims the serving was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest of its kind.

Nintendo also will roll out a bundle package on Oct. 14, offering the GameCube, "Super Mario Sunshine" and an external memory card for $189.95, a savings of about $25 from what consumers would pay if the pieces were bought separately.

Nintendo hopes all the promotional hype will, of course, turn in strong sales of "Mario," but as important as sales and profits, Nintendo investors need a confidence boost, too. Its shares have fallen 34 percent on Japan's Nikkei index in 2002. Japanese financial analysts have said "Mario" sales are already partly factored into the stock price but could provide a boost with stronger-than-expected results.

While not a financial analyst, Electronic Gaming Monthly's MacDonald provided some perspective of his own on the game's sales prospects. "There's going be a ton of people who are going to buy a GameCube now because they see Mario on it," he said. "It's bankable ... it's the kind of game that has legs. It'll sell constantly and consistently over the next couple years."

© Reuters