I never quite got this. Okay, Donkey Kong has that great DK Vine deal going on, but Yoshi? I never quite got why it seems Yoshi as a character (and sort of as a series) is so ridiculously popular on sites like DeviantArt, Fan Fiction.net and with certain forums.
Is there some audience difference I'm not getting?
The Arcade days, Countrys ground breaking graphical capabilitys, and 2 big name develepors Rare/Retro working on the series, helped DK to form a sizable fanbase, not to mention that Nintendo actually treats the series like a important thing.
Yoshis games on the the other hand, never really generated much fuss(outside the original Yoshi's Island of course).....
And honestly, the Wario series isn't unpopular, I mean Ware is still popular and the Land series is fondly remembert by pretty much everyone who played them.
Nintendo just needs to give the series more love, advertise them, give them more exposure in Crossover games and treat it like it's important.
I'm certain that that would make series more popular, since you know, Wario the character is popular, his series just needs much better treatment.
I'd say it's the lack of anything good from him lately. When Wario Ware Inc came out I saw a ridiculous amount of Wario love on the internet. There hasn't really been a ground breaking Wario game since then. The series keeps declining.
I'd say it's the lack of anything good from him lately. When Wario Ware Inc came out I saw a ridiculous amount of Wario love on the internet. There hasn't really been a ground breaking Wario game since then. The series keeps declining.
Good point actually and to be honest: I've been waiting for quit a while for a new Wario concept to come, you know: something brand new that catches the attention if every Nintendo fan.
Althought chance are good that they would just give that concept to Mario insted......:-(
Nintendo effectively uses DK and Yoshi, Wario is left to collect dust on the shelf, Plus even though it was popular at first people stopped caring, those things together make Wario somewhat niché.
Wario used to be really popular in the 90's when the first Wario games came out + games like Wario's Woods.
But sadly he just isn't that really popular by the general audience anymore.
Wario used to be really popular in the 90's when the first Wario games came out + games like Wario's Woods.
But sadly he just isn't that really popular by the general audience anymore.
Yoshi and Donkey Kong are also much more recognizable among gamers then Wario will ever be.
Non Mario fans will know who Yoshi and Donkey Kong are, but ask these people who Wario is, and the best answer you'll get is, isn't he the fat guy who farts. (*Sigh*) plus their debut games are also more much well known then Wario's. DK debuted in one of the most iconic arcade games ever, with his current form debuting in one of the biggest game changers in the industry. Donkey Kong Country. Meanwhile Yoshi debuted in the critically acclaimed Super Mario World, one of the biggest SNES titles and it's often considered by most people along with Super Mario Bros. 3 to be the high point of the 2D Mario performers. And he's also been refined in Yoshi's Island, which is considered by people to be one of, if not the best 2D platformer on the SNES.
Meanwhile poor Wario debuted in a somewhat not known Gameboy title and probably the most obscure of the mainline Mario games. Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins. Also the Gameboy library aside from it's launch line and Pokemon is pretty
Fucking obscure. Seriously not many people know that Kirby debuted on the gameboy and not on the NES. Or how Castlevania had a female Belmont at one point.
Wario as a character kinda seems to be purposefully designed to be gross. I mean they make him fart in the SMSB franchise : p
While thats cool and original and all, it doesnt really have that wide appeal for the masses that a cute character like Yoshi has : p
Also DK has had some really good console games, I dont think Wario has had many console games of hi sown besides Wario World for GC? Aside from the WarioWare games I mean. And Rhythm games dont appeal to everyone, not as much as an action/platformer game would anyway. The big games I hear people talk about for Wario are handheld games, maybe more people have fonder memories of their console games.
For the Land series at least, could it also be the lack of really anything that defines and encapsulates the series? We went over before how the series really lacks iconography. There's also the fact of the matter that continuity in the series is pretty loose.
That was my main theory. That geeks and casual audiences both tend to like recurring characters and themes throughout a franchise, so Wario have neither may be hurting its popularity. It would at least explain Donkey Kong's greater popularity (has recurring Kongs, Animal Buddies and Kremlings, though the latter need to reappear more recently) and maybe that of Kirby (King Dedede, Meta Knight and Waddle Dees almost always appear in each game).
