Danny
New Member
Yea.. Liister is away and he took it down so I decided to finish it up and revive it for him.. Anyways Enjoy the Pictures.. and the History lesson. All Shortened to your enjoyment. I may double post because of the Post Limit and Image Limit.
1981-1983 - The Arcade
Donkey Kong was his name, and he was created to help Nintendo crack the lucrative American arcade industry. Assigned to the task were two up and coming game designers - Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi. In the game, a giant gorilla flees his abusive owner and kidnaps his girlfriend into the bargain. Scaling some convenient scaffolds, he jumps up and down (forming even more convenient ramps), and makes with the barrel throwing. The carpenter, going by the rather self-explanatory name of Jumpman, must ascend the scaffold, leaping over the rolling projectiles or smashing them with his hammer.
1985-1990 - The Nintendo Entertaiment System
Mario made his debut on the NES not in a new game of his own, but by making cameo appearances in other titles. As well as the obligatory 1983 Famicom ports of Mario Bros and the Donkey Kong games in Japan, during 1984 the NES Tennis game featured his hirsute visage warming the umpire's chair, while the lead character in Golf looked bugger all like Mario, yet boasted a familiar moustache so it's probably him.
1990-1996 - The Super Nintendo Entertaiment System
By the time Nintendo got around to launching its 16bit console, Sega was already pulling ahead with its cool, none-more-black Genesis/Megadrive machine. With Mario established as the official face of Nintendo gaming, it didn't come as much of a surprise that the Super Famicom/SNES hit the shelves with Mario all over it like a rash. Super Mario World was the game, hurriedly developed to launch with the console alongside Pilot Wings and F-Zero, and it took the Super Mario Bros 3 template and infused it with the sort of complexity and colour that the wheezing NES simply couldn't manage. Indeed, the game was even known as Super Mario Bros 4 in Japan for a while.
1996 - 2001 - The Nintendo 64.
Launching the N64 with twice the processing power as Sony's console, but still using the expensive and chunky cartridge system, it's clear in retrospect that Nintendo was out of step with the market for the first time in over a decade. This didn't stop some of the greatest games of that generation appearing exclusively on the N64, but it did mean that lots of people never bothered to see them. It was Super Mario 64 that had most of us intrigued, of course. How would this prototypical 2D platformer work in a 3D world?
2001 - 2006 - The Nintendo Gamecube
If the Nintendo 64 era found Nintendo wrong-footed by unexpected shifts in the gaming demographic, the dark barren Gamecube period had the once-mighty console leader bloodied and punchdrunk on the ropes. Even the familiar foil of Sega had fallen by the wayside, leaving Nintendo stuck between two new gaming goliaths, both out for each other's blood. And as Sony and console newcomers Microsoft traded body blows, the Gamecube - often mocked for its plastic handbag appearance, tiny discs and childish demeanour - sank without trace.
2006 - Present - Wii
Sometimes you have to go backwards in order to move forwards, and so it was that Nintendo's decision to opt out of the increasingly expensive console race between Sony and Microsoft found them getting their groove back (if not their scheduling). For the first time since the heyday of the SNES, Nintendo is sitting at the top of the home console heap with both the Wii and DS flying out of shops like shop-phobic flies.
Nothing illustrates this shift in fortune, and the change in perspective that brought it about, more than New Super Mario Bros which danced merrily onto the DS in Spring 2006. The first traditional 2D Mario platform game since Super Mario Land 2 on the GameBoy, it showcased a Nintendo that was embracing its past and putting faith in old fashioned gameplay to win the day over gimmicks. It worked. A breath of fresh air, elegantly poised between the wisdom of age and the thrill of innovation, New Super Mario Bros immediately reminded players of why they'd grown attached this podgy plumber in the first place.
Then along came the Wii, and with it the ability to download and play the untouched originals that started it all via the Virtual Console. OK, the prices are wonky and the old PAL conversion problem irritates visual purists, but as a symbol of Nintendo's past and future in cheerful harmony it's hard to beat.
This time around, they got the timing right. Super Paper Mario arrived with millions of Wii owners ready to enjoy its quirky joy, finally breaking the curse that left previous Mario RPGs dangling in the void, while Super Mario Galaxy at last gives us the 3D sequel we've been waiting for since 1996. With Super Smash Bros Melee and Mario Kart Wii to come in 2008, it's not hard to imagine the silly old Italian stereotype being around for another quarter century. When we'll probably control him in hologram form. Using our mind.
The End.
Original Link: Here
1981-1983 - The Arcade
Donkey Kong was his name, and he was created to help Nintendo crack the lucrative American arcade industry. Assigned to the task were two up and coming game designers - Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi. In the game, a giant gorilla flees his abusive owner and kidnaps his girlfriend into the bargain. Scaling some convenient scaffolds, he jumps up and down (forming even more convenient ramps), and makes with the barrel throwing. The carpenter, going by the rather self-explanatory name of Jumpman, must ascend the scaffold, leaping over the rolling projectiles or smashing them with his hammer.
1985-1990 - The Nintendo Entertaiment System
Mario made his debut on the NES not in a new game of his own, but by making cameo appearances in other titles. As well as the obligatory 1983 Famicom ports of Mario Bros and the Donkey Kong games in Japan, during 1984 the NES Tennis game featured his hirsute visage warming the umpire's chair, while the lead character in Golf looked bugger all like Mario, yet boasted a familiar moustache so it's probably him.
1990-1996 - The Super Nintendo Entertaiment System
By the time Nintendo got around to launching its 16bit console, Sega was already pulling ahead with its cool, none-more-black Genesis/Megadrive machine. With Mario established as the official face of Nintendo gaming, it didn't come as much of a surprise that the Super Famicom/SNES hit the shelves with Mario all over it like a rash. Super Mario World was the game, hurriedly developed to launch with the console alongside Pilot Wings and F-Zero, and it took the Super Mario Bros 3 template and infused it with the sort of complexity and colour that the wheezing NES simply couldn't manage. Indeed, the game was even known as Super Mario Bros 4 in Japan for a while.
1996 - 2001 - The Nintendo 64.
Launching the N64 with twice the processing power as Sony's console, but still using the expensive and chunky cartridge system, it's clear in retrospect that Nintendo was out of step with the market for the first time in over a decade. This didn't stop some of the greatest games of that generation appearing exclusively on the N64, but it did mean that lots of people never bothered to see them. It was Super Mario 64 that had most of us intrigued, of course. How would this prototypical 2D platformer work in a 3D world?
2001 - 2006 - The Nintendo Gamecube
If the Nintendo 64 era found Nintendo wrong-footed by unexpected shifts in the gaming demographic, the dark barren Gamecube period had the once-mighty console leader bloodied and punchdrunk on the ropes. Even the familiar foil of Sega had fallen by the wayside, leaving Nintendo stuck between two new gaming goliaths, both out for each other's blood. And as Sony and console newcomers Microsoft traded body blows, the Gamecube - often mocked for its plastic handbag appearance, tiny discs and childish demeanour - sank without trace.
2006 - Present - Wii
Sometimes you have to go backwards in order to move forwards, and so it was that Nintendo's decision to opt out of the increasingly expensive console race between Sony and Microsoft found them getting their groove back (if not their scheduling). For the first time since the heyday of the SNES, Nintendo is sitting at the top of the home console heap with both the Wii and DS flying out of shops like shop-phobic flies.
Nothing illustrates this shift in fortune, and the change in perspective that brought it about, more than New Super Mario Bros which danced merrily onto the DS in Spring 2006. The first traditional 2D Mario platform game since Super Mario Land 2 on the GameBoy, it showcased a Nintendo that was embracing its past and putting faith in old fashioned gameplay to win the day over gimmicks. It worked. A breath of fresh air, elegantly poised between the wisdom of age and the thrill of innovation, New Super Mario Bros immediately reminded players of why they'd grown attached this podgy plumber in the first place.
Then along came the Wii, and with it the ability to download and play the untouched originals that started it all via the Virtual Console. OK, the prices are wonky and the old PAL conversion problem irritates visual purists, but as a symbol of Nintendo's past and future in cheerful harmony it's hard to beat.
This time around, they got the timing right. Super Paper Mario arrived with millions of Wii owners ready to enjoy its quirky joy, finally breaking the curse that left previous Mario RPGs dangling in the void, while Super Mario Galaxy at last gives us the 3D sequel we've been waiting for since 1996. With Super Smash Bros Melee and Mario Kart Wii to come in 2008, it's not hard to imagine the silly old Italian stereotype being around for another quarter century. When we'll probably control him in hologram form. Using our mind.
The End.
Original Link: Here
