10 Video Game Franchises That ALWAYS Get It Wrong
7. Mario Sports Titles
Super Mario Kart did the impossible and showed the gaming world that their favourite mascots would still be able to shift thousands of units, even outside of the confines of the genre they were known for.
Gamers that would never have considered picking up certain genres now would, just because they had Mario and his friends on the cover.
The Mario Sports franchise has been a story of undervaluing the games people have always loved, whilst absolutely flogging the living hell out of the ones they don't. As an example: there have been 16(!) Mario Tennis and Golf titles in total, but only 6 Strikers and Baseball games.
The Sports franchise is often used as a way for Nintendo to capitalise on holiday sales, without ever having to put any effort into making a game that is... actually finished. Mario Sports Mix only featured four playable sports, Mario Tennis Ultra Smash only featured one court to play on, Mario Strikers Battle League only came with ten playable characters and no real campaign. It's an infuriating cycle.
Reused character graphics and animations in the same sports being pumped out with next-to-nothing new introduced? Nice corner-cutting, Nintendo.