TheMario Partyfranchise may be one of the most popularMariospin-off series, but Nintendo has not done much with it in the Nintendo Switch era. The Switch has seen two differentMario Partygames during its lifespan, but each severely lacked content and received no post-launch support. If this trend continues then fans will have little reason to keep buying into this franchise, which may ultimately prove to be its downfall.
After the controversialMario Partycar era, fans of the series were excited to see what Nintendo would do with it on the Switch.Super Mario Partywas promising, but the studio quickly dropped support for it in favor ofMario Party Superstars. Two years later, it seems likeSuperstarswill suffer the same exact fate as its predecessor, and that makes many fans feel like they wasted their money. If this series wants to truly redeem itself, then the next entry cannot repeat this same model.
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The Latest Mario Party Titles Lacked Post-Launch Support
For a couple of years,theMario Partyfranchiseseemed focused on the new car mechanic that was introduced inMario Party 9. This mechanic saw every player travel across the board together, and that proved unpopular within the community.Super Mario Partygot rid of this mechanic and was supposed to mark the grand return of the franchise. While it was fun at first and introduced interesting new mechanics, its long-term content proved pretty lackluster.
Super Mario Partymay have had one ofthe largest playable rosters inMario Partyhistory, but it only had four boards for players to play on. It also featured a bunch of new mechanics that utilized the Switch hardware, and the minigames were strong. Its low board count seemed primed for post-launch DLC, but Nintendo never added anything. The game had a strong framework to build from, but the studio chose to drop it three years later.
Mario Party Superstarslaunched in 2021 and was supposed to be a big celebration of the franchise’s past. It took the series back to the basics, and featured 100 remade minigames for players to test their mettle in. The board count was also increased to five, each of which was a remade version of a Nintendo 64 board. While it offered a bit more content on launch, Nintendo has yet to add any form of DLC to it, thus leaving it feeling incomplete.
Mario Party Cannot Continue Like This
There is still a chance that Nintendo hasplans forMario Party SuperstarsDLC, but right now it feels like the game is following inSuper Mario Party’s footsteps. That would mean that the Nintendo Switch era has had two majorMario Partytitles that have felt like they were missing something, and no DLC to make up for that. IfMario Party Superstarsgets dropped, then the community may have little reason to buy into the next title.
Asking players to fork over $60 or $70 for a small game that the studio will not support seems like a risky move. IffutureMario Partygameslaunch with the same amount of content as the Switch ones have, and receive no DLC, then fans will just be throwing their money away. It could tarnish the brand and make players cautious about buying into the new title. If Nintendo wantsMario Partyto continue to be as popular as it is, then it needs to pack these games with more content or support them with DLC.
In the age of DLCs and microtransactions, it seems strange that Nintendo would not capitalize on theMario Partybrand. Maybe it has something in the works, but right now it feels like the studio is just planning on abandoningMario Party Superstarsin favor of the next title, which will then likely be abandoned similarly. If Nintendo wants fans to support this franchise, then it needs to step up.
Mario Party Superstarsis available now on Switch.
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