Sports games are a major part of the gaming industry. Games like FIFA, Madden, NHL from EA and NBA games from 2K are some of the best selling games all year. This is also an area that Nintendo has suffered in in recent years. The lack of sports games on the Wii U were a major factor in the system’s downfall, and even with NBA 2K18 selling well on Nintendo Switch there is more Nintendo can do for Switch. In fact, they have the perfect means of getting sports games on the system: making their own.
Mario sports games are often extremely fun, such as Mario Golf and Mario Tennis but few were better than Mario Strikers. This soccer/football game was one of the most energetic and fun Mario sports games of all, being so different and vibrant compared to other Nintendo made sports games. It had intense arcade like action, somewhat reminiscent of a SNK arcade sports title. It had more character so to speak, for a Mario game and truly felt separate from anything else Mario. This was thanks to o the excellent work by Next Level Games, and they even even managed to up the ante in the sequel with a beefier game and more options.
However, this is where things begin to go into unfulfilled potential area. There was no third game on the Wii U, and such a game was sorely missed. There is now a chance to return to the series on the Switch and this can only help Nintendo. As I stated, sports games are huge sellers in the industry and often help move systems. While the Switch obviously is selling extremely well, often topping sales charts in the past months, there is still more that can be done. A game like Mario Strikers can also stand out in multiple ways. For example, it would not need yearly updates and can be a single title that can be supported with DLC and offer far more value until a sequel is made that actually feels like a full sequel. It can also remain cartoonish but still athletic and stick out that way.
Lastly, Nintendo is still having trouble breaking into some markets and a Mario Strikers game can help. Soccer/Football is the most popular sport in the world and with a proper online mode with multiple play options, this can be the game that truly cements Nintendo in those areas. With the world cup coming up, now is the perfect time to announce a new game in the series!
Disclaimer: The above is the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of Real Otaku gamer or its staff.
It really is determined by how well (or lack thereof) it sold on Wii and GameCube. You have to look more at GameCube because people were blindly buying games on the Wii, with most being introduced to many of these franchises for the first time (Westerners at least as Wii didn’t do as great in Japan- no surprise, it’s a home console). It didn’t really sell well. Sure, it crossed 1 million, but GameCube was considered a commercial failure in the early-2000’s just like many are saying about Wii U today. Since this didn’t support GameCube, and didn’t sell much better on Wii, it’s unlikely to be revived, more of a compilation sports game (ala Superstars) is more likely how you’ll see Mario playing soccer (football) on Switch.