Cheesy Mario Hoops ad hits YouTube
by Joystiq Staff 
{ Jul 16th 2006 at 3:55PM }
In case you were at all curious how you might play Mario Hoops 3-on-3 on the DS, there's an absolutely pitiful Japanese ad on YouTube that will show you. Apparently, there will be a lot of tapping going on. The one thing we may be even more curious about is why Nintendo still insists on using grown men dressed up as Mario and Luigi to peddle their wares. You know, Nintendo, that style is sooooo 1988.
[Via Digg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
William @ Jul 16th 2006 3:59PM
The ad isn't pitiful. It's the Japanese...
I think I see Pac-Man and Dixie Kong in there...
Josh @ Jul 16th 2006 4:01PM
What the hell are you guys talking about? Hot Mario Bros. ads are great! They're so funny!
El Hajjish @ Jul 16th 2006 4:02PM
I actually like the ad. It's simple, effective and it shows you how to play. It also makes the game look fun. As for the grown men, that's pretty par for the course in Japan.
Also, the ad may appear strange to us, but "pitiful?" I don't think so.
Zo K. @ Jul 16th 2006 4:16PM
I dunno what your complaint is, Robert. Ain't nothing wrong with this ad.
Looks to me like they were half trying to spoof the old Nike Basketball ads from the late 90s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HTvGvNSSk8
Pitiful @ Jul 16th 2006 4:18PM
I find it ridiculous that a Japanese man is dressed up like an Italian. Mario afterall is an Italian Plumber.
That ad is one of the most pitiful things I have ever seen.
Nintendo fails in so many ways. They have really lost their edge since the NES, Super NES, and N64 days. N64 was there last great attempt at gaming. The Gamecube and WII are a joke.
Indiana Jones @ Jul 16th 2006 4:26PM
he's italian-american
Artimus @ Jul 16th 2006 4:28PM
Lol, it's Japanese, Joystiq. The Hot Mario Bros. are a big hit over there.
Marc @ Jul 16th 2006 4:34PM
That commercial was great! It made me laugh, and showed me a quick "tutorial" on how to play the game.
Also, did anyone else drink something when Hot Mario went "DAI!"?
Marc @ Jul 16th 2006 4:36PM
One more thing.
That video implies that you have to tap the touch screen to dribble. But IGN says dribbling is automatic.
can someone explain this to me?
VaultedCeilings @ Jul 16th 2006 4:37PM
I don't know why you hated the commercial so much, I thought it was pretty good. I like the foot tapping nature of it. Maybe you just don't like the game? Anyway, it seemed like a perfectly light hearted commercial - it seems Joystiq is the only one taking it so seriously... and I guess commentor #4 also...
Matters @ Jul 16th 2006 4:39PM
This ad freaking rocks and those guys are great. They did the Mario Kart ads also.
Jesus christ Joystiq. Remind me not to ask you for your opinions on anything EVER. This blog fucking sucks.
Crosswayboy @ Jul 16th 2006 4:39PM
Looks like fun to me.
And that's coming from someone who doesn't like basketball or basketball games. The last Basketball game I think I ever played was NBA JAM back in the day. If this is anything like that I might have to lace up the all-stars for the first time in over a decade.
Robert Summa @ Jul 16th 2006 4:41PM
*note to self*
Never piss off a Nintendo fan.
kyou @ Jul 16th 2006 4:45PM
Because silly grown men dressed like Mario and Luigi are funny. Thus... when making a commercial which targets kids, teenagers and adults; funny is one of the way to go.
Oh and if it's sooooo 1988 then it's retro too! Which makes it funny AND cool.
TheBlunderbuss @ Jul 16th 2006 4:47PM
Going more than 24 hours between posts.
Slow weekend?
Dylan @ Jul 16th 2006 4:49PM
Youtube? Well yeah, everything hits youtube, but the original, smoother, crisper version is on the japanese website at http://touch-ds.jp/mediagallery/st45.html
David D @ Jul 16th 2006 4:56PM
Haha, Luigi just took Mario to school.
Anyhoo, I thought the commercial pretty fun and lighthearted. It made me smile, anyway. Sorry, Pitiful, but if you think that is one of the most pitiful things you have ever seen then you are one sad, sad little man. Or girl. Whatever.
David D
Robert Summa @ Jul 16th 2006 4:59PM
Maybe I just expect something a little more creative then the same sort of old-school videgame commercial I saw 20 years ago. But, hey, to each his own.
How bout some CGI? Or creative use of in-game footage? But two dudes dressed as Mario and Luigi? Been there, done that.
idioteraser @ Jul 16th 2006 5:02PM
IGN previewers often have a way of missing a secondary control scheme on Wii and DS games.
Only Nintendo and Square-Enix characters will be in.
striderhayasa @ Jul 16th 2006 5:10PM
@ Robert
What's the problem with the ad again? Been there done that? Where the hell have you been for the last 15 years of gaming ads. I thought the commercial was funny and lighthearted as well. CG is a bad idea for the ad considering there is no way the in-game engine would match the CG for the commercial. That just gives the wrong impression to the consumer as to what the actual game looks like.
But hey, to each his/her own. I liked the ad. So I'm with the rest of you guys that liked it as well.
"Remember, keep in mind not to feed the trolls, they breed like weeds."
btboy500 @ Jul 16th 2006 5:13PM
I thought it was a great commercial, it taught you how to play and nicely synced in-game footage with the real-life actions. I hope they make an ad like that for the game when it comes over here.
brandon @ Jul 16th 2006 5:15PM
Not as funny as the New SMB commercials, but still good.
I am tired of the EXTREME marketing campaigns that go on over here!
FIRE FIVE ALL-NEW WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AS YOUR TEAM CONQUERS AND YOUR FUGGIN' HEAD WILL BLOW FROM THE FOAMING, NON-STOP, BALLS-OUT ACTIONNNNNN!!!!! HELL YEAH!
rated t for teen
Robert Summa @ Jul 16th 2006 5:21PM
It's no Riiiiidge Racer or Giant Crab, I'll tell you that much.
mko @ Jul 16th 2006 5:22PM
Thanks for the link to the good version Dylan! This ad rocks! This game isn't about graphics, it's about playing and having fun, like when you play some basketball with a friend. I think it's perfect and if you don't like the commercial, you probably won't like the game :P
Petey @ Jul 16th 2006 5:28PM
There you are again, it would take eternety to count every time you biased anti-Nintendo kids behind Joystiq bash the Mario company, sometimes you manage to be more subtile, nevertheless, you have to be pretty blind not to see how anti-Nintendo Joystiq is, only PS fankids to think Joystiq likes Nintendo when you in here are not in extasy for every breath Crazy Ken take... you have to work harder to overtake Kotaku in Nintendo bashing, they manage to add the lamest and most pathetic support over any 360 related fart... not to say that is only able to coment who they want in this green MS blog og theirs, at least in here everyone can coment, that is when you don't get deleted... great comercial by the way :)
Link @ Jul 16th 2006 5:31PM
It'd certainly be pitiful if those two guys were american (the lameness of it all would be horrifying). But since it's crazy japanese people, it's all good.
Personally I found it funny, but I'm sure that ad wouldn't be well received here. Plus it's got this catchy music from the stylus and dribbling, kinda like those Nike ads.
Mike Williams @ Jul 16th 2006 5:37PM
Let me start off by saying I am no fanboy. I appreciate video games and I don't care if it was made for pc, xbox, nintendo or sony.
Re: 17's "Or creative use of in-game footage?"
Isn't showing the live actors do a move and then switching to the video footage having the same move a creative usage of in-game footage?
Re: 4's "Nintendo fails in so many ways"
Interesting statement...
I wonder why Nintendo DS lite has been the top selling hardware since it's release.
Probot @ Jul 16th 2006 6:01PM
Funny ad. It had some creative use of the gameplay footage and it didn't fall back on lame CG like so many bad ads nowadays.
Brian @ Jul 16th 2006 6:04PM
Oh my God. A shitty basketball game with shitty controls and a shitty commercial.
But it has Mario on it so it must be good!
N1NT3ND0 IZ SO00000 IN0V@T1V3!!!!!1
J B Cougar @ Jul 16th 2006 6:05PM
Newsflash: IN an attempt to look slightly less like a schill for Nintendo, Joystiq bloggers have taken to attacking the Big N where the video game giant is weakest: It's innocent, Japanese-celebrity ridden commercials.
Anyway, just kidding.
But seriously, aren't these two actors actually really famous Japanese comedians? I thought I remember it being a big deal that these two guys signed on for Nintendo commercials a little while back. If that's the case, then I think we all need a little educating in the "context" of things. But why do research when the Internet is so damn fast, right?
Pat Cavit @ Jul 16th 2006 6:10PM
I liked the commerical quite a bit, like others have said it showed you how the game worked while at the same time being entertaining. The two actors are the Hot Mario Brothers and while this wasn't the funniest commerical they've been in I thought it worked really well.
CGI would've looked out of place and DS games blown up to TV resolution don't look all that great either, so I think that this was a good choice. At least they can't be sued for misrepresenting how the game looks or plays.
Robert Summa @ Jul 16th 2006 6:15PM
So, you mean to tell me something like this wouldn't have been cooler?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wglFb5vpCs
PayTheMan @ Jul 16th 2006 6:18PM
This is a perfect example of good marketing. The ad actually demonstrates how to play the game through in-game footage (whens the last time you saw in-game footage in a television ad).
Grant @ Jul 16th 2006 6:25PM
Summa, how is that SMA4:SMB3 commercial really any different from the Hoops commercial? You've got adults looking like Mario, you've got live action footage mirroring in-game footage...
Robert Summa @ Jul 16th 2006 6:28PM
Because it's something that is more original, cool to look at. And that footage still includes actual gameplay footage.
Sorry, but whenever I see two dudes dressed up in Mario garb, I can't help but think of this disaster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrzI8f4wh2Y
Pitiful @ Jul 16th 2006 6:33PM
I laugh everytime someone says that Nintendo DS is the top selling hardware. Listen guys its a portable system. Does Tiger Electronics count then? No. Why? Its a portable.
Nintendo wont do any better this generation than last. Why is that? Because the Wii is way to underpowered. If Nintendo would of done 360's power, with its online and then incorporate the controller you see as well as the current controller for the 360 then the console may succeed.
The Wii controller should be a side controller that is optional not the standard.
The Xbox 360 has shipped over 6,000,000 units by end of June with all of those having been sold. Thats right kiddies Xbox 360 has sold 6,000,000 units.
The Xbox is the console for this generation. The Next Generation race will be over by the time the Wii is released.
Nintendo home consoles suck. By long and far they are now the worst consoles. However their portables are by and far the best.
The former President of Nintendo new gamers better than Satoru Iwata. I am not a fan of Satoru Iwata.
Do you know how the NES came to dominance? I will tell you how. The NES came to dominace with Power, Price, and revolutionary controller. Those three things led that Revolution. This Revolution has price, controller, but no power. It is a weak system.
Weak home systems fail.
You can flame all you want if you are a Ninty fan but in a year when I am right you will all shake your heads when reality sets in.
Probot @ Jul 16th 2006 6:39PM
@Robert
First, the SMB Advance ad was playing off the fact that everyone knew the game, so they didn't need to explain anything. Whereas the Mario 3on3 game is completely new, so they have to show how it's played on the DS. And, as others have mentioned, those actors are popular in Japan.
Second, I doubt that The Super Mario Bros. show made it to Japan, so critiquing Japanese commercials by American pop culture standards doesn't make any sense.
And what does Joystiq have against the Super Mario Bros. Show? It was classic Saturday morning fun. Cheesy, sure, but that's what kids find funny.
Robert Summa @ Jul 16th 2006 6:45PM
I never said it wasn't OK for the fine people of Japan. It's only my American ignorance that prevents me from really digging it.
If this kind of thing aired in America, you'd all be down for it?
You mean to tell me half of you wouldn't be yelling about Nintendo perpetuating their "kiddie" image?
bill pullman @ Jul 16th 2006 6:51PM
"Do you know how the NES came to dominance? I will tell you how. The NES came to dominace with Power, Price, and revolutionary controller. Those three things led that Revolution. This Revolution has price, controller, but no power. It is a weak system.
Weak home systems fail."
hrm... so why didn't the Sega Master System hand the NES its ass? when it came to power, the SMS had the NES whipped front to back. you're cracked.
Grant @ Jul 16th 2006 6:52PM
Because milk cultivated a kiddy image with that guy in the milk carton suit, and MSN cultivated their kiddy image with a guy in a butterfly suit, and Fruit of the Loom cultivated their kiddy image with guys in fruit costumes. People in funny costumes in commercials is the NORM, yo, even in America.
bill pullman @ Jul 16th 2006 6:53PM
"You mean to tell me half of you wouldn't be yelling about Nintendo perpetuating their "kiddie" image?"
if they did, they'd be denying the very nature and style of Nintendo's first party licenses. obviously, the commercial would have to be in english, but i see no inherent flaw in running this style of ad in the US.
Grant @ Jul 16th 2006 6:55PM
By the way, Pitiful, do you mean to tell me that the Xbox 360 DOES have "Power, Price, and revolutionary controller"? Or the PS3? Or that the PS2, last gen's winner, had those three?
Probot @ Jul 16th 2006 7:00PM
#37
It's not airing in the US and no one is arguing for that at all. I can plainly see it's a Japanese ad and that's exactly how I jugde it; in correct context.
Even though I've never lived in Japan, I do find it funny. Guys in Mario and Luigi costumes playing basketball is just plain funny.
"You mean to tell me half of you wouldn't be yelling about Nintendo perpetuating their 'kiddie' image?"
Nintendo has a family-friendly image. The "kiddie" part was added by detractors. It's the same as Sony's reputation for poor quality consoles. People believe whatever they want to believe, and advertising has little to no effect on them.
J B Cougar @ Jul 16th 2006 7:04PM
Grant, why bother? His post spoke for itself: Simple message that made sense in his head, so he made a comment. Like so many other similar posts that dot the Joystiq landscape, it lacked depth or facts. Weak systems lose? Let's compare DS to PSP... ok, Pitiful fails the first test. PS3 has all three? 360 does? If we go by Pitiful's Sony logic, then NO SYSTEM in the next-gen will make a profit!
Do you know what happens when you ask a quesiton in a post and then just decide to answer it yourself in the same post like an arrogant, ill-informed jackass? Right, no one listens. Please move along.
Adam @ Jul 16th 2006 7:07PM
OMG, a DS game that involves tapping? What are the odds, Joystiq?!?!?!
bill pullman @ Jul 16th 2006 7:14PM
"Do you know what happens when you ask a quesiton in a post and then just decide to answer it yourself in the same post like an arrogant, ill-informed jackass? Right, no one listens. Please move along."
hilariously masturbatory.
Marc @ Jul 16th 2006 7:19PM
Pitiful,
O.K. fine I agree with you that (maybe) they shipped "6,000,000 consoles". But how do you know they were all sold? More or less, how do you know that they weren't returned to the store as an unwanted item?
"Weak home systems fail."
That's not true. The PS2 is the weakest home console, but it sells the best (probably because you have to buy two of them, seeing as how one always breaks).
"The Xbox is the console for this generation. The Next Generation race will be over by the time the Wii is released."
How can you say that? Neither the Wii or PS3 is out yet. Don't count you chikens before they hatch. Besides, the Wii is dominating popularity polls right now, with the Xbox 360 just ahead of the PS3. Last time I checked on a poll, the Wii was at 87% popularity (even though it's not released). With the Xbox 360 at 7% and PS3 at 6% in popularity.
Apparently, power isn't everything. Next time you should think that not EVERY gamer loves complete power.
But you are entitled to you own opinion, so to each his own.
striderhayasa @ Jul 16th 2006 7:21PM
@ cougar
I feel you on that note. There are too many examples as to why his logic flat out wrong.
"Trolls. trolls everywhere,
trolls, trolls, I don't care,
Alway talking, makes no sense,
always funny at their expense"
Probot @ Jul 16th 2006 7:22PM
Since Joystiq apparently has a rule against making interesting posts on weekends, I guess I'll just have to respond to Pitiful.
"I laugh every time someone says that Nintendo DS is the top selling hardware. Listen guys its a portable system. Does Tiger Electronics count then? No. Why? Its a portable."
Nintendo DS is the biggest selling portable video game system in Japan, which is where this ad is from, so that's what the poster was referencing.
It also was the biggest selling portable video game console in the US for the month of June 2006.
Show me reliable data that says a single Tiger Electronics game of comparable quality has outsold the DS. Don't bother looking because there is no video game system made by Tiger Electronics of comparable quality.
I'll ignore the next part because it's pointless to argue about something that hasn't been released.
"The Xbox 360 has shipped over 6,000,000 units by end of June with all of those having been sold. Thats right kiddies Xbox 360 has sold 6,000,000 units."
Check again buddy. As of March 2006, they had sold only 3.2 million units.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360#Sales_data
I seriously doubt they've managed to sell a million each month since. (They average about 260,000 in the US, their biggest region.)
Source: http://videogamecharts.com/page3.html
"The former President of Nintendo [knew] gamers better than Satoru Iwata. I am not a fan of Satoru Iwata."
Hiroshi Yamauchi was a very smart, very shrewd business man, and he knew who to hire to get the job done. But make no mistake, he did NOT know gamers. He rarely, if ever, played games himself. He was a business man and he knew how to do his job. That is how he became successful.
And you say you dislike the Gamecube, but that was Yamauchi's last product.
I don't care what you think about Iwata, but he is a former developer and he has a much clearer sense of what Nintendo needs to do in order to remain successful and how to do it.
"Do you know how the NES came to dominance? I will tell you how. The NES came to dominace with Power, Price, and revolutionary controller. Those three things led that Revolution. This Revolution has price, controller, but no power. It is a weak system."
No, actually, the NES succeeded because of clever marketing and relatively no competition. And even when the superior-powered Genesis came along, the NES still outsold it.
"Weak home systems fail."
The PS2 is the weakest of the previous gen systems. It did not fail. Therefore, you're argument has no merit.
Again, it’s a boring Sunday afternoon and I am simply using this commenter for my own amusement. I know it won’t change his mind, but I don’t care.
Exo @ Jul 16th 2006 7:31PM
"Do you know how the NES came to dominance? I will tell you how. The NES came to dominace with Power, Price, and revolutionary controller. Those three things led that Revolution. This Revolution has price, controller, but no power. It is a weak system.
Weak home systems fail."
You must have a diffrent definition of fail, because the fact is, the most powerful console each generation has never sold the most, its always the weakest.