Super Mario is one of Nintendo's biggest franchises. Some games have been developed by third parties, from Hudson Soft (early Mario Party games) to Ubisoft Milan (Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle) and Ape and Jupiter (Mario Picross), but the vast majority of the many, many Mario games have been made by Nintendo itself.
It's interesting to wonder how other developers might have approached things if they got their hands on the franchise. And that's something explored in a very cheeky fan concept video for 'Super Mario Bros but by EA'.
See how to preorder Switch 2 for Nintendo's latest machines, but this video might also make you want to consider one of the best retro games consoles.
"Who doesn't love to hate Electronic Arts, the innovator of 'surprise mechanics'?" the illustrator and animator Vivi the Drawn says introducing the video on YouTube. The tongue-in-cheek concept imagines a EA-made Super Mario with loot boxes, microtransactions, preorder bonuses, deluxe editions, downloadable content (DLC) and "abusive pricing"
The result is comedic genius. It's a version of Super Mario in which it's very much the developer who collects the coins... from the players. Although some people aren't entirely convinced it's accurate. "If it's a EA game, why does it have such an impeccable animation?" one person quipped in the comments.
The video was made two years ago, but it's still causing debate today. Some suggest Nintendo already released a version of this in the form of Super Mario Run, although that's a little unfair. Although the free-to-start title requires payment to unlock the full game, there are no further mandatory microtransactions or game currency. Other fans fear Nintendo could end up going in this direction since US president Doug Bowser used to work for Electronic Arts.
While EA obviously has its fans, and its strategy has helped sustain some popular franchises, many gamers seem to agree with the video's sentiment. It's making some feel nostalgic.
"This is the reason I rarely play my PS5 anymore. I've gone back to retro gaming," one person wrote. "There was a time called my childhood, when all things which are monetised now, where part of the base game and unlockable by actually playing the game," another gamer commented.
For more Mario design fun, see the Super Mario 64 bug discovered after almost 30 years and Nintendo's reaction to the Super Smash Bros dating app.
