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Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary
- isaacdl 11y agoFor those like me who were curious, this year is in fact the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros[0]. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros.
- arbitrage 11y agoHopefully a positive sign (hint?) of Nintendo rereleasing its extensive back catalogue onto new mobile and internet platforms. I really hope they pull through on that.
- chasing 11y agoThey already do: The 3DS and the Wii U. I suspect we shall not be seeing a Nintendo-approved Mario platformer on iOS or Android anytime soon. Seems like it would just undermine their hardware sales.
- louhike 11y agoFor old games like that, it can be interesting financially. I'm not sure it matters a lot in the sales of the 3DS and the Wii U.
- tracker1 11y agoGames designed for a gamepad don't work well on a phone/tablet. There have been attempts at normalizing a standard input, and it simply hasn't emerged. I think nVidia Shield is probably the most successful, but I don't even have a controller for mine (it was simply the closests to a sucessor the the Nexus 7 when google went the "premium" route). I would truly love to see Nintendo move towards a more open (in terms of platform) space... I don't know how much they make on hardware, but if they released a bluetooth controller that combined with software for iOS/Android could be a boon to their back catalog sales... though sharing 30% with Apple/Google is probably what keeps them away more than anything... not sure how open Google would be to a reduced sales rate given their size, I know Apple would be unlikely.
- maxsilver 11y agoYes, exactly. I don't understand the obsession people have with Nintendo releasing their games inside Apple's walled garden. Nintendo already releases really great games, on good hardware specifically designed for playing those games. It's widely available, designed well for it's intended purpose and priced very competitively (32gb iPod Touch is $250, 32gb Wii U is $300 but also usually includes a ~$50 game). They also sell a reasonable back-catalog of their older games. Their Wii U hardware is backwards compatible with nearly everything they've ever released (hardware-native compatible with Wii and GameCube, software-emulates N64, SNES, NES, GBA, DS, etc). Nintendo isn't perfect by any means. But their setup right now is pretty competitive, and their hardware has been intelligently selected and priced. Nintendo might gain a little bit of sales by jumping into iOS, but they'd loose a lot too -- way more than most people might realize.
- belthasar 11y agoSmall correction, the Wii U does not play GameCube discs. Other than with Smash Brothers there is no way to use the GameCube controller.
- maxsilver 11y agoRight. The GameCube discs don't work in the drive. But the Wii U hardware is still compatible with GameCube games. (A Wii U can naively run GameCube games without any modifications. So if Nintendo released one on their online store, for example, you could download and run it without any emulation)
- belthasar 11y agoThanks, I didn't know that.
- mikeash 11y agoI think the reason people are obsessed with this is because no matter how good Nintendo's hardware is, or how cheap it is, or how available it is, it can't compete with the smartphone I already own and carry around in my pocket all day. All else being equal, I'd rather have Nintendo games on my iPhone than pay $1 for a 3DS or a Wii U, simply because I always have my iPhone. The problem, of course, is that all else won't be equal. Business concerns aside, the games are unlikely to be very fun on a touchscreen. Every fast-paced touchscreen game I've played has been an exercise in frustration and I don't think Nintendo can overcome that. But if a person hasn't figured that out, or thinks Nintendo can overcome it, then it's pretty reasonable to want their stuff on iOS (or their other mobile platform of choice).
- personlurking 11y agoI hope so, too. It's funny, I've had no problems staying away from video games for 20 years but I'd jump at the opportunity to play Super Mario Bros 1, 2 & 3 on iOS.
- monochromatic 11y agoPretty graphics are fine, but for me video games are mostly fun because of nostalgia.
- bradjohnson 11y agoWhy not just run an emulator then? I don't think nintendo is eager to capitalize on that market and I don't really understand why there is any hype surrounding it.
- personlurking 11y agoI would but I've never been able to get them to work properly. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. On the second point, there was 'recent' news about Nintendo bringing games to iOS, etc. http://9to5mac.com/2015/03/19/nintendo-games-iphone-ipad/ http://9to5mac.com/2015/03/19/nintendo-games-iphone-ipad/
- martijn_himself 11y agoI hope not. Unless they release a mandatory controller. Nintendo shouldn't accept vastly inferior (touch) controls.
- jader201 11y agoI hope by "mobile" you don't mean "mobile phones". Ugh. I know Nintendo has partnered with DeNA [1] to build mobile apps, but I hope they remain mostly disconnected, and that Nintendo remains focused on continuing to build games for handheld and home consoles. [1] http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/17/nintendo-s-long-awaited-step-into-mobile/#.upwbur:FNmd http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/17/nintendo-s-long-awaited-ste...
- ZenoArrow 11y agoA graphic in that story indicates that Nintendo are moving towards a device-agnostic, subscription-based approach to game releases. Sort of Netflix, but for games. Challenges would certainly exist from a controller point of view, but if they can provide a controller standard to work across multiple devices it could work. Of course, this is mostly rumour at this point. Interested in seeing what the Nintendo NX turns out to be.
- jader201 11y ago> The graphic in that story indicates that Nintendo are moving towards a device-agnostic, subscription-based approach to game releases. Where are you seeing this? I only saw a progression of the Super Mario Bros. games over the past 30 years. Nothing (that I could see) hinted at moving in this direction. If you're referring to the hand drawing the board, this is more in reference to forthcoming Mario Maker title for the Wii U: http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/i7YeZxnWhEFX6ST-sLdUBGmLoZivzNP5 http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/i7YeZxnWhEFX6ST-sLdUBGm...
- ZenoArrow 11y ago> Where are you seeing this? The graphic with "Jointly develop and operate a new membership service that encompasses smart devices and dedicated video game systems" in the centre.
- jader201 11y agoAre we looking at the same thing? [1] I'm not seeing this at all. The only thing I see is about the history of SMB. [1] https://www.nintendo.co.uk/games/oms/mario30/index.html https://www.nintendo.co.uk/games/oms/mario30/index.html
- JonnieCache 11y agoI'm still wondering if they'll ever turn on that mythical infinite-money-firehose, the pokemon iphone MMO. In practice it wouldnt really work, the rock-paper-scissors battle system couldnt be rebalanced for online PvP, but it sure is fun to think about the chaos that would ensue if they tried it.
- nitrogen 11y agoInstead they should have expired from copyright starting at least two years ago so we could do it ourselves.
- jathu 11y agoSomeone made a near perfect JS port of SMB https://github.com/FullScreenShenanigans/FullScreenMario https://github.com/FullScreenShenanigans/FullScreenMario
- sgarbi 11y agoThanks for sharing this! it got me playing like a kid ;)
- jccalhoun 11y agoWhen the Nintendo page showed "now loading," I was hoping Nintendo had posted their own javascript version of SMB...
- entelechy0 11y agoFeels a bit slow to be called "near perfect" but cool, I always love seeing Mario projects :D
- logicallee 11y agothe NES ran on an 8-bit processor at nearly 1.79 MHz with 2 kB of slow onboard work RAM. On the surface it would seem we could expect a 32-bit or 64-bit CPU sixteen generations later running at between 2 and 4 GHz with dozens of times that memory in just L1 cache, to be able to match that. But then Javascript is a helluva drug.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- austenallred 11y agoDid Mario always have this much... inertia?
- kmooney 11y agoI remember the first time I played Super Mario Bros on an NES. It was like the first time I used an iPhone. It was immediately obvious that everyone else had been doing it wrong all along.
- sehugg 11y agoThe first time I played it was in the arcade. I was flabbergasted when I realized the NES version was exactly the same.
- m_st 11y agoThis is not about the arcade title 'Mario Bros.'. 'Super Mario Bros.' was never released to the arcades. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bros https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bros. and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros. Edit: OK, seems like I was wrong :-)
- Karunamon 11y agoIt did in a roundabout kind of way - a Nintendo arcade system called the Playchoice-10 let you play various NES games on a paid timer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayChoice-10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayChoice-10
- dbloom 11y agoYes, it was. (I saw one in the wild many years ago) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayChoice-10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayChoice-10
- jader201 11y agoIn m_st's defense, this wasn't really an "arcade" version of SMB, but rather they took an NES, slapped 10 games in it, and put it in an arcade cabinet (not literally, but functionally). Most games that originated on the arcade and later became console games were usually ports. However, in the case of PlayChoice 10, all of these games originated on the NES, and were "ported" (but mostly unmodified) from the NES. So when sehugg thought they were playing an arcade game, they were actually playing a (slightly modified) NES. Mario Bros. arcade was ported to the NES, and it was modified. [1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bros.#Reception http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bros.#Reception
- cjslep 11y agoThanks for reawakening my nightmares of getting absolutely clobbered by Super Mario Land on that brick of a GameBoy.
- coldpie 11y agoSML was the first game I ever got "good" at and could beat regularly. Largely thanks to hours and hours spent on airplanes. It's a difficult game, but fairly easy to master if you put the time in.
- agumonkey 11y agoSML was HARD as in hyper strict, like GameGear Sonic (last time I couldn't beat the first boss). SML2 was quite complex but less hard. WL (aka SML3 ?) too, first (and only) game I owned 100%, got all the secret paths, tricks, gems, and even alternate endings.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- codewithcheese 11y agoI fully expected the post intro screen to be playable, would have been epic :)
- yzh 11y agoSince this is relevant today. Here I want to recommend this awesome game to you guys. It's two of my favorite games in one (portal+smb): http://stabyourself.net/mari0/ http://stabyourself.net/mari0/
- gknoy 11y agoThat looks remarkably awesome. Thanks for sharing!
- Killswitch 11y agoOh man, I'm not a full blown gamer, but I do play games. I fondly remember getting violently mad at my nintendo playing SMB in the livingroom. Throwing the controller, screaming. All that good stuff. I remember fighting endlessly to get to the end and save the princess... Just to be on the final level and my mom comes in, hits the power button and says "Time for bed." Those moments growing up were the bane of my existance.. Super Mario Bros was the first game I ever fell in love with.. To this day, even with modern gaming and modern graphics. Super Mario Bros still holds my attention longer than any of those games ever could imagine. Here I am sitting at my computer having just turned 30 years old 5 days ago, and I see this. My childhood friend just turning 30 years old too. I can't wait to introduce my daughter to the wonders of Super Mario Bros, and I will do it on the same Nintendo Entertainment System that my mother bought me and my sisters in 1985, that I've kept this whole time and still works flawlessly today.
- coldpie 11y ago> the same Nintendo Entertainment System that... still works flawlessly today This is what worries me about modern gaming's "Day One patches" and other games released on disc in an unplayable state. Sony and Microsoft are going to take down those update servers someday. Will I be able to take DriveClub out of the closet in 30 years and play it on a PS4 purchased off eBay? I doubt it. And thanks to DRM & Friends, the patches will never be distributable by 3rd parties.
- agumonkey 11y agoThe internet era aka the coupling era.
- madez 11y agoI think there should be a law forcing to release into public domain published works after their copyright has ended. And, independently from that, the prolonging of copyright needs to stop.
- MereInterest 11y ago
- gdubs 11y agoI don't know how many people remember "The Wizard", but man what a brilliant bit of marketing on the part of Nintendo.[1] 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_%28film%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_%28film%29
- noblethrasher 11y agoI love The Wizard, it's so bad.
- xacaxulu 11y agoWow. Now I actually feel old. What great memories though.
- par 11y agoHey, I don't see Mario Paint on here! :)
- starshadowx2 11y agoPaper Mario isn't there either...
- FunkyRhombus 11y agoWebsite takes 5x longer to load than the game they made 30 years ago.
- dasil003 11y agoWell if they didn't make it load fast kids would pull it out and blow all kinds of saliva into it, slowing rusting the connectors and ruining the cart. If you blow that hard on your screen it's not so bad.
- simonswords82 11y agoThis is the one website that I wouldn't have minded having sound, so long as they played the mario theme tune :)
- velox_io 11y agoThen you may like this, Super Mario Levels. He has some moves! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_apb7EcsWgc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_apb7EcsWgc
- derefr 11y agoJust a note: this is definitely not one of those "fall from grace" stories where SMB was some sort of pinnacle achievement in gaming. If you want to relive your childhood by playing a Mario game on a TV, get a Wii U and play NSMBU. It'll look "as good as you remember" (rather than having aged), and more importantly, it'll be a fresh set of challenges exercising the same skills, so it'll be just as hard as you remember, rather than just an automatic muscle-memory cruise. You will actually feel like a kid again, rather than an adult reminiscing. People get so excited about "modernized ports" of the old Mario games... but Nintendo has already made them, with new levels! (I should also mention that Mario 3D World is everything I ever wished for while playing Mario 64.)
- hroi 11y agoAs always, Luigi is totally neglected.
- insin 11y agoLuigi just had a whole year to himself :) http://www.mariowiki.com/Year_of_Luigi http://www.mariowiki.com/Year_of_Luigi
- pdknsk 11y agoThe Japanese site has polite Mario in the source. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/mario30th/ http://www.nintendo.co.jp/mario30th/
- drewblaisdell 11y ago(I think s/he means that it works with Flash disabled)
- dewarrn1 11y agoI think s/he means that the HTML source includes ASCII art showing Mario: <!------------ SUPER MARIO BROS. 30TH --------------- \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ #########++++++###+++ #########++++++###+++ ###+++###+++++++++###++++++ ###+++###+++++++++###++++++ ###+++######+++++++++###+++++++++ ###+++######+++++++++###+++++++++ ######++++++++++++############### ######++++++++++++############### +++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++ ######\\\######### ######\\\######### #########\\\######\\\######### #########\\\######\\\######### ############\\\\\\\\\\\\############ ############\\\\\\\\\\\\############ ++++++###\\\+++\\\\\\+++\\\###++++++ ++++++###\\\+++\\\\\\+++\\\###++++++ +++++++++\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\+++++++++ +++++++++\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\+++++++++ ++++++\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\++++++ ++++++\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\++++++ \\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\ ######### ######### ######### ######### --------------- THANK YOU! -------------->
- jimmaswell 11y agoSomehow, going through it in my head 10 times, I kept coming up with new reasons that's only 20 years. "1985, 1995, 2015, that's 20.." I finally had to check with a calculator and that's when I realized I skipped 2005. This same kind of thing happened to me on that clock problem. Why does this happen?
- pikachu_is_cool 11y ago> This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Japanese release of the Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo Entertainment System on September 13th, 1985. Wait... what? They're like 4 months early.
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y agoI'm excited for Nintendo's new "Mario Maker". It's exactly what it sounds like: a game that lets you make Super Mario Bros. (or ~ 3, or ~ World, or New ~) levels! That video you see, with the switching between games? Noticed that the blocks have a drop-shadow? That's because it's actually a Mario Maker level!
- littleweep 11y agoThat's what I love about those Koopa Troopas, man. I get older, they stay the same age.
- Oatseller 11y agoI didn't realize SMB was that old. Pac-Man just turned 35 on the 22nd [0], I wouldn't have guessed that it was only 5 years older than SMB. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9593502 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9593502