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Mario Appears in NBA Street V3

by Mike Sklens - December 13, 2004, 8:32 pm EST
Total comments: 33 Source: EBgames.com

The rookie plumber skips college and goes right to the pros.

EBgames.com has updated their product information page for NBA Street V3. The new profile includes the game's box art, which reveals some shocking information. Rumors have been circulating that Mario would be appearing in EA's new off the wall basketball title. It looks as if these rumors turned out to be true. In the corner of new box art for NBA Street Vol. 3 is some art depicting Mario and Luigi along with the words "All-Stars." This seems to confirm that Mario does appear in the game in some fashion, most likely as a playable character. With Luigi on there too, it would make sense that an entire Nintendo team is in the game.

NBA Street V3 Box

PGC will have more information on this collaboration as it becomes available.

Nintendo Confirms NBA Street V3 Partnership

Mario, Luigi, and Peach will indeed be dunking over Kobe and LeBron.

MARIO, LUIGI, PRINCESS PEACH TAKE ON THE NBA'S BEST

Nintendo All-Stars Take to the Street in EA's NBA STREET V3

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – January 5, 2005 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Nintendo announced today a partnership that brings the Nintendo All-Stars – Mario™, Luigi and Princess Peach – to the Nintendo GameCube™ version of NBA STREET V3, scheduled to launch in February under the EA SPORTS BIG™ brand. The game is being produced by Electronic Arts Canada, the studio that also is home to the industry-leading NBA LIVE and NCAA® March Madness® hoops video game franchises.

Featuring today's biggest NBA stars, a collection of the league's all-time greats, a Hall of Fame cast of past STREET characters, and now, for the first time ever, Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach, NBA STREET V3 is non-stop, action-packed fun. Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach are available to play as the Nintendo All-Stars team, while they are also available to compete individually in NBA STREET V3's new slam dunk contest.

"We're very excited to be able to incorporate the Nintendo All-Stars, as well as their own authentic Nintendo court, into NBA STREET V3," said V3 executive producer Wil Mozell. "There's nothing quite like seeing Mario, Luigi and Peach taking the over-the-top gameplay of NBA STREET V3 to the extreme as they square off against some of today's top NBA stars and all-time greats."

"Nintendo's characters have always proved they can compete on the world stage," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Now they'll show that they can compete on the streets as well."

The highly-anticipated third chapter in the multi-platinum-selling series expands on the fast-paced and larger-than-life game play that has made the franchise a hit. The all-new Trick Stick and interactive Gamebreaker control elevates the game to new heights with unmistakable style and attitude. NBA STREET V3 is also packed with highly detailed authentic street courts, deep player customization options, and new Court Creator.

Talkback

odifiendDecember 13, 2004

Better than a game dedicated to Nintendo basketball and the zanniness is present. Win-win if you ask me. EA BIG 4ever

To quote the lovely Paris Hilton, "This is hot".

MarioDecember 13, 2004

Awesome! Looks like I might buy this one for GC. I skipped 2 because it looked the same as 1, hopefully this is good enough to purchase. (yes, I am only considering buying this because of Mario, so what)

Hostile CreationDecember 13, 2004

First we buy the rights to NFL games, then we use Nintendo to make people buy our stuff. WE MAKE OF THE GOOD GAMES VIDEO

I wonder if EA is in negotiations with Nintendo for exclusive rights to the Mario characters.

Ian SaneDecember 13, 2004

It figures that mere hours after I'm given the universal justification for EA hatred that this comes out. Good for Nintendo for doing something like this. Though it does seems pretty weird. I like the idea of Nintendo doing stuff like this with third parties (like Link in Soul Calibur II) but is this the right game for the right character? I mean Mario seems a little, pardon the expression, "tiku tiku tiku! " for something like NBA Street. The NBA is hip and cool. Mario is not. The two properties just seem too different. I don't really see the NBA Street audience being interested in having Mario in the game. Link and Soul Calibur worked well because both franchises appeal to a similar audience. It's a good idea in theory, I just think this specific match-up is odd.

MarioDecember 13, 2004

NBA Street had a playable Yeti and a midget Alien, nothing would seem out of place.

I've never played NBA Street 1 or 2, but from what I've read and heard (and what Teh Sexies Man says) it plays a lot like Camelot's Mario Tennis in terms of fast-paced arcade action using the sport as a base instead of its focus.

If that's the case, then including Mario makes sense from a gameplay associativity standpoint. EA or the developers probably noticed that fans of Mario Tennis would enjoy NBA Street, and Nintendo figures it might win some "cool kids" over to Mario Tennis and Mario in general. I wouldn't be surprised if Mario & gang are a little less happy-go-lucky, if Nintendo or EA have the time for a recording session. Surely Wario is itching to throw some insults on the court!

I wouldn't expect Mario & Co. to add much to the gameplay, but I can only see it helping sales on the GameCube. NBA Street has its following by now--I don't think added Nintendo characters would disuade anyone from a purchase, especially since that person would need a GameCube to even consider this version.

Nile BoogieDecember 14, 2004

This is the begaining of the end.
On the surface this looks like good-good after school treats but under that sweet chocolate frosting...

"I don't know Linus, I just don't know."

joshnickersonDecember 14, 2004

Interesting.... VERRRRYYYYY interesting.

And just when I vowed never to buy another EA game again. LOL

Flames_of_chaosLukasz Balicki, Staff AlumnusDecember 14, 2004

I played NBA Street 1 and I admit that its pretty fun, EA BIG is probably the only EA branch I like but Im not sure if im going to get this even if its tempting. The only other 2 EA games I want is Burnout 3 and TS: Future Perfect.

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorDecember 14, 2004

*and mario turns his hat around, buys overalls 5 sizes to big, and a big old gold mushroom necklace*

SaviorDecember 14, 2004

I skipped 2 because it looked the same as 1,


It wasnt. It was better. Much Better. NBA Street was arguably EAS best Sports game IMO.


This is great, It probably means it will sell Very well. Better than Xbox/PS2 possibly. It might not fit though...

foolish03December 14, 2004

yeah ea does arcady basketball games better. I think sega needs to make an exclusive deal with the nba for next five years.

CHENDecember 14, 2004

I still won't buy anything from EA.

BloodworthDaniel Bloodworth, Staff AlumnusDecember 14, 2004

Mario doesn't fit in? Haven't you played the Mario RPGs? Mario is LEGENDARY for his JUMPING. He is going to 0wn on the courts. And what Princess Peach with that hover-jump? It's like Michael Jordan all over again. Word!

BlkPaladinDecember 14, 2004

Well I guess this is a natural development in Nintendo lending its franchises to third party. I was wondering what Nintendo whould give EA, since they are the biggest third party out there, and the other good third parties have had their share. (Well except Konami, but Nintendo had SK remake MGS for them.)

odifiendDecember 14, 2004

Quote

Originally posted by: BlkPaladin
Well I guess this is a natural development in Nintendo lending its franchises to third party. I was wondering what Nintendo whould give EA, since they are the biggest third party out there.


Gamecube sales for NBA Street V3?

BlkPaladinDecember 14, 2004

No, but it will help EA gamesales on the Gamecube, and that is worth something, if just to keep the giant making games for their systems.

And with EA being being an indicator in the US on how well a console is doing its a good thing that Nintendo acted.

JonLeungDecember 14, 2004

I think that this helps both EA and Nintendo.

Some companies, such as EA and Ubi Soft, seem better than others about getting their games to all three consoles (some even to the PC). But unfortunately in North America, where the PS2s and Xboxes are all that, and EA sells bigger here, I'm guessing, getting a GameCube version to sell as well as the others isn't possible without some added oomph.

After Namco's Soul Calibur II featuring Link selling better than the PS2 and Xbox versions, I guess it doesn't hurt that EA and Nintendo would try to do this. More EA GameCube games selling benefits both Nintendo and EA. Which one it benefits more, I don't know, but definitely a plus for both.

I'm not so sure I would like to see this kind of thing happening too much, but with Mario characters tending to jump a lot, basketball kind of fits.

RennyDecember 14, 2004

This really isn't a fit at all. Unless Mario will provide commentary. I've wanted to see that in sports games since Pac-Man Vs showed his genuine talent at providing vocal coverage of ingame action.



Only 30 seconds left!

He goes for three!

Oh, noooooo!

nickmitchDecember 14, 2004

I'm confused on my hatred for EA

DjunknownDecember 14, 2004

Who knows what's going on behind the scenes? Did Nintendo approach EA hoping to repeat its sucess lending out its characters? Did EA give an ultimadum "EA products have to sell over 100k on a Nintendo system or ELSE!"?

There were some numbers released (Though not completely reliable as of this writing) for NFSU2 for November. Both PS2/Xbox were well into the 6 digits, but the 'Cube version barely cracked 50k. Wow.

Oh well. It'll be interesting if Yoshi's in the game. 'Nuff said.

Infernal MonkeyDecember 14, 2004

Quote

Originally posted by: Renny
This really isn't a fit at all.


Oh but it is. tpg.gif NBA Street is the Mario Tennis of basketball games. If Mario were to make an appearence in EA's bore-a-thon NBA Live 2006/07/whatever they're up to then yeah, THAT wouldn't fit. Street's zany enough for this to work.

KulockDecember 15, 2004

Restricting it to just Mario characters doesn't make as much sense to me, though. A group of All-Stars that's just a bit more "street" (and I mean that in a vague sense), like say Mario, Link, Samus (sans most of her armor, probably? It'd be fun to see the lady under the battle plating still doing what she does best), and Fox McCloud, might fare better.

I mean, I like Peach, but if that corner logo is depicting some or all of the Mario characters included, I don't think she'll be a very popular pick, particularly for a game like this. Heck, Miyamoto hates the idea of Peach not being a damsel in distress anyway (I really don't think he liked what HAL did with her in Melee), I'm surprised it's OK for her to rough it up in a game of football, unless she's just going to watch from the sidelines and wave stupidly or something. (Not putting down Peach, but the way Nintendo insists she be depicted lately, like she's on a permanent dose of Valium.)

phatfarmDecember 16, 2004

phatfarmDecember 16, 2004

Nintendo overpimps their characters...

D-Mac DoubleDecember 16, 2004

It's reported in IGN's Mailbag that only Mario, Luigi, and Peach are the playable Nintendo all-stars, so there'll be no Wario or Yoshi in the game.

Oh well. I'll still be picking this one up for sure, because I'm in need of a new NBA game, and I really enjoyed the first NBA Street, though I'd only rented it.

DasmosDecember 17, 2004

Quote

Originally posted by: Bloodworth
Mario doesn't fit in? Haven't you played the Mario RPGs? Mario is LEGENDARY for his JUMPING. He is going to 0wn on the courts. And what Princess Peach with that hover-jump? It's like Michael Jordan all over again. Word!


What about Luigi?? Remeber in Paper Mario Koopa Koot wanted "Air" Luigi's autograph. Forget LeBron...Luigi is the next Jordan!!

nolimit19December 24, 2004

does mario only appear in the nintendo version of the game, or all versions?

KDR_11kDecember 24, 2004

Well, duh, would you really expect Nintendo to give Mario to their competitors? They saw the sales numbers of Soul Calibur 2 and wanted a similar success with another game.

3rdrocketDecember 28, 2004

So do they have special moves? like mario eating a mushroom and slam dunking? or a Luigi triple jump dunk?

MaleficentOgreDecember 28, 2004

from what I hear mario peach and luigi are a few feet shorter than all the other characters in the game. which should mean crazy antics. I wonder if we'll get to use a metroid as a basketball. or maybe even have samus as a ball.

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