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TheJellyJar said:
A a fan of both franchises and being a history buff, I think I can help you answer this.
You've probably heard of the art of rhetoric, which includes propaganda, sensationalism, and most importantly MARKETING. This is where a person or group uses facts, their own reputation, and emotional appeal in order to not only draw favor to an action or product, but also feel against the opposite action/product.
Here we see Nintendo and SEGA, two reputable companies of the time, standing at the top with products that directly competed with each other (platformers Mario and Sonic). And what else would they do but use rhetoric in television and magazines to create loyal customers? Many marketers from the time admit that Nintendo and SEGA's competition was remarkably vicious. The result was very loyal Mario or Sonic fans, swayed by the media to despise the competitor. Even when SEGA's hold on the market collapsed, the feelings continued, because these strong opinions now engraved in gamers' minds were passed down through role-modeling to younger siblings/cousins, friends, and future children. So this is why we have the Mario-Sonic problem.
Now that we are in a "Mario & Sonic era" a lot of this heat is withering away, but it still exists, and it probably will for a while.
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