# Why no Mario Bros print media tie ins? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799 "2011-10-26T00:57:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/1 "2011-10-26T00:57:04Z")
Is there some reason no printed materials (children’s books etc.) seem to exist for the Mario Bros franchise? I know that in the past there was a series of choose your own adventure books based on the characters. Those were fondly enough remembered that they are collectors items now fetching $400 a pop. So why no current books? ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/2 "2011-10-26T13:43:12Z")
Because Nintendo doesn’t publish print in-house, so someone would have to go after the license, and realistically - you need to be reasonably sure that you’re going to sell enough to recoup your costs. Mario’s still recognizable, but he’s not as hot with the kids as, say, Pokemon. Back in Nintendo’s heyday, though, he had a cereal and several comic books, and a cartoon show… ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/3 "2011-10-26T13:59:58Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Mario’s still recognizable, but he’s not as hot with the kids as, say, Pokemon. Untrue. Your average Mario game will sell twice the number of copies of your average Pokemon game. As for why there’s no books, Nintendo actually felt a little burned by the Super Mario Bros. movie and they decided that any “story” bits pertaining to Mario would all be done in-house. But they’ll happily plaster his likeness on folders, shirts, toys, board games, etc, etc, etc. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/4 "2011-10-26T14:49:36Z")
Yes the presence of all the toys, shirts etc. made the absence of books really stand out. My child really wants to go to his school’s book character day as Luigi, and I thought “No problem, I’ll just order a book for him to take along” (one of the requirements is to bring the book the character you are dressing as appears in). I find absolutely nothing. I’ve even been scanning big retailers looking for any tiny, paltry, psuedo-book which might suffice but have turned up absolutely nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/5 "2011-10-26T14:51:13Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Untrue. Your average Mario game will sell twice the number of copies of your average Pokemon game. True, but Mario’s appeal is a very broad demographic. People from 5 to 55 play the Mario games. But that same demographic isn’t going to be buying the merchandise tie-in junk. I think the Pokemon outsells Mario in the age group that would be the market for these tie-ins. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/6 "2011-10-26T14:55:22Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > True, but Mario’s appeal is a very broad demographic. People from 5 to 55 play the Mario games. But that same demographic isn’t going to be buying the merchandise tie-in junk. > I think the Pokemon outsells Mario in the age group that would be the market for these tie-ins. Believe it or not, a lot of the people playing Pokemon today are the same people that played it back when it first came out in 2000 (or 2001, I’m never sure). They’re just ten years older, the same as the Mario games. I don’t understand it either. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/7 "2011-10-26T15:04:41Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Untrue. Your average Mario game will sell twice the number of copies of your average Pokemon game. Not really relevant. Pokemon merch outsells Mario merch. The proof? If Mario merch sold well, Nintendo would make more of it. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/8 "2011-10-26T15:05:41Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > True, but Mario’s appeal is a very broad demographic. People from 5 to 55 play the Mario games. But that same demographic isn’t going to be buying the merchandise tie-in junk. > I think the Pokemon outsells Mario in the age group that would be the market for these tie-ins. You’re exactly right. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/9 "2011-10-26T15:11:02Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Not really relevant. Pokemon merch outsells Mario merch. The proof? If Mario merch sold well, Nintendo would make more of it. I’m confused. There is just as much Mario merch out there as there is of Pokemon merch. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/10 "2011-10-26T15:15:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I’m confused. There is just as much Mario merch out there as there is of Pokemon merch. Oh, really? Damn, I gotta get in on the Mario CCG, Mario Manga, and Mario TV show! :rolleyes: No, there’s not. You’ve got some T-Shirts, some keychain charms, and a very small line of non-articulated figurines, maybe a handful of other things with logos on them. With Pokemon, in addition to the comic, card game, TV show, t-shirts - you’ve got several toy lines in different scales. Things kids apparently actually play with. Unlike the Mario figurines, which look like they’re made for thirty-something computer programmers to set on their desk at work. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/11 "2011-10-26T15:18:07Z")
Data point : Amazon has 6 times as many listings for Pokemon in ‘Toy and Games’ as it does for Mario. Twice as many books for Pokemon as for ‘Super Mario’. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/12 "2011-10-26T15:25:00Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Oh, really? Damn, I gotta get in on the Mario CCG, Mario Manga, and Mario TV show! :rolleyes: > > Data point : Amazon has 6 times as many listings for Pokemon in ‘Toy and Games’ as it does for Mario. Twice as many books for Pokemon as for ‘Super Mario’. There was a Mario comic and there was three Mario TV shows. And did you look at those Amazon listings? Half the Pokemon entries are individual cards/lots created by third-party sellers. The numbers are artificially inflated. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/13 "2011-10-26T16:51:30Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > There was a Mario comic and there was three Mario TV shows. Emphasis on ‘was’. In fact, I mentioned those things before! In one of my very own posts! Talking about when Mario’s popularity with kids USED TO BE similar to Pokemon’s popularity amongst kids today. But the OPO wanted to know why there’s no print media Mario stuff NOW. > [@](#): > > And did you look at those Amazon listings? Half the Pokemon entries are individual cards/lots created by third-party sellers. The numbers are artificially inflated. I didn’t view all 18,000, no. But if there was similar demand for Mario merch, there would be a similar number of third-party sellers hawking his stuff. There isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/14 "2011-10-26T23:07:22Z")
I remember enjoying the choose-your-own-adventure books, but they were of very variable quality. I remember one of them described Mario as “spitting” fireballs after getting a fire flower. Kids of the late 80s often described Mario as “spitting” fireballs because of how the animation in _Super Mario Bros._ looked, but Nintendo’s official line has always been that he throws them from his hands. I also remember a _Legend of Zelda_ choose-your-own-adventure book that referred to the currency of Hyrule as “rubies.” Some people just can’t do research, which I imagine is a major concern of Nintendo’s when it comes to licensing their characters. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/15 "2011-10-26T23:26:40Z")
Because the characters of the Mario universe are lame and boring. Why would anyone, kid or otherwise, want to read about the adventures of a plumber in mushroom land? Mario and his ilk are secondary to the action of the games. The platforming is what keeps him in the spotlight. Hell, I don’t think he’s even had an actual speaking role in any of his games. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/16 "2011-10-26T23:59:43Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Because the characters of the Mario universe are lame and boring. Why would anyone, kid or otherwise, want to read about the adventures of a plumber in mushroom land? Mario and his ilk are secondary to the action of the games. The platforming is what keeps him in the spotlight. Hell, I don’t think he’s even had an actual speaking role in any of his games. Charles Martinet has been the voice of Mario since the mid-90s. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/17 "2011-10-27T00:08:39Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Charles Martinet has been the voice of Mario since the mid-90s. That’s true, though Mario, historically, has only had incidental dialogue (“It’s-a me, Mario!”, “Let’s-a go!”, “Woo hoo!”, etc.). Even in games in which you’d expect him to speak, such as _Super Mario RPG_ and its successors, he either communicates mostly in pantomime or his dialogue is implied rather than written. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-mario-bros-print-media-tie-ins/600799/18 "2011-10-27T04:20:08Z")
I just thought of something else. Very few of Nintendo’s main franchises have any kind of media tie-ins. There was the Super Mario Bros. movie (as already mentioned, it was a disaster), a Kirby anime, and there’s a Legend of Zelda manga, but that’s pretty much it. There’s no Metroid stuff or Star Fox or Donkey Kong (though there was a DK cartoon in the past). So what’s different about Pokemon? Nintendo doesn’t own Pokemon outright. They share ownership with the franchise’s developer, Game Freak. It’s probably this arrangement that lead to Pokemon’s media franchising frenzy.