Friday 16th November sees the release of Super Mario Galaxy for Nintendo’s Wii console. Some say it is the product launch of the year, though I’m not sure Apple would agree. The release of a Mario game is always a high profile media event, given his status as one of the most recognisable company mascots of the past 20 years, but Nintendo have a more difficult job this time around.
For those that don’t follow the video gaming industry – which this year grossed more than the movie and music industries – Nintendo are in first and second position with their best selling DS and Wii consoles. Both machines have brought new gamers into the fold, so with Mario Galaxy they have to cater for two distinct groups: the long-standing gamers who have played every Mario game since Donkey Kong and also the more recent group of people who have never owned a home console before being captivated by the Wii and will be playing this game as their first Mario game and possibly their first game other than Wii Sports.
Nintendo, and their video design guru Shigeru Miyamoto, seem to have relished the challenge. Company head Satoru Iwata has been posting a steady stream of interviews with various team members in an attempt to show the amazing amount of thinking that has gone into the game. Technical details take a back seat and it reads more like an analysis of the psychology of a gamer.
So, have they managed to do a good job? Well, review compilation site Metacritic – a site that collates reviews from all over the internet into one easy to read page of excerpts and an average score – currently lists the game as its highest ever, with an average score of 98 out of 100. Popular opinion has never been so unanimous.
Sounds like there’ll be quite a few people reaching for the stars this weekend.