New Super Mario Bros. Wii has caused its fair share of controversy in its two months since release. Some would point to IGN's criticism of the game leading to the site's Doomsday (and Negative World rising from its ashes). In the end, some think the game is lazy, some think the game is brilliant, some think it's both. But as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't really matter.
What does matter is this game is now in 10 million hands across the world and that number will certainly grow and grow. Who those hands are attached to is another point of contention. Some say the game is for "casual gamers", no doubt making heavy use of the Super Guide and shamefully escaping to their bubble at the sight of trouble. Others say "core gamers" can play to remember what a real challenge was like with actual consequences for death.
However, these debates seem to exclude an important group: Future gamers. The Wii had ridiculous sales this holiday season, and holidays are all about the kiddies. Let's imagine a young child, maybe 6 years old unwrapping his Wii on Christmas Day. Sure, he'll enjoy some Wii Sports with Mom and Dad, but before long he wants to get into his first full game, so he peels the plastic off his red NSMBW case.
What he gets is not a game that teaches him to sit down in front of the TV and watch long drawn out cutscenes. It doesn't teach him to pick up from a checkpoint 5 seconds back when he dies. It teaches him to play a video game. To learn the levels and master them. To go for the challenge of star coins and be rewarded with crazy bonus levels. Sure, he might use the Super Guide sometimes. After all he's a novice. But chances are he'll go back and do it himself eventually. And his skills will grow.
You can say the game is lazy, uninspired, a rehash, but there is no denying that it is Mario. And just like Mario taught me and probably you and so many other gamers out there how to play (and WHY to play), it's going to be teaching thousands and thousands and likely millions of youngsters how to game in the 2010s. And eventually, those youngsters will be an audience that developers will have to cater to, which means for at least the near future there'll still be games like Mario to come. So when I see NSMBW in the NPD Top 10 for the next several months, I might be crying semen tears, but they'll be semen tears of joy.
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Though honestly, while it may have been a bit more cinematic than most Mario games, it really wasn't super-cinematic at all and still felt very, very old school. So I guess I do disagree there.
