I did consider picking up the first NBA Street after playing a demo, but the fascination faded quickly. Now I'm back in the think tank again, because, yes, the inclusion of freakin' Mario makes me want it.

Now why is this? I think I've identified several reasons.

1) Mario stands for quality until proven otherwise. Even with all the crazy spinoffs, sub-franchises and innumerable re-releases, he still has a better batting average that anybody else out there. So, bizarrely, I'm ready to accept NBA Street v3 as a quality title based on Mario's inclusion alone. I know, this is the third game in a series that has maintained great reviews... but Mario makes me trust it all the more because I don't believe Nintendo would allow their precious mascot in a lousy game, especially one that comes wholly from a third party. I've said this before, but you would need years of rattyass Mario product to tarnish the dude's rep. You'd need weak games like Mario Pinball Land every month to make a dent in that overwhelmingly positive perception.

2) It's an easy-in to a genre I rarely play. I don't know a damn thing about basketball, about the teams, players or rules. I would never bother with a traditional NBA game. Yeah, I buy official NHL games, but it's only for fast action exhibition play; I can't muster the interest to care about trading players, stats tracking, or playing an entire season. When EA debuted the Street series, I was interested solely because the Street vibe seems to strip away the formalities and sports fan detailing. Throwing Mario in there gives me an instant connection to the game. I would play his team, on his silly Nintendo court with all the usual Mario SFX.

3) And how surreal would it be to see the Mario/Luigi/Peach team facing off against real NBA players? I haven't seen any screenshots of that yet, but I bet it will be hilarious.

This is just a great move on Nintendo's part, something that really differentiates the GameCube version from the PS2/Xbox version. It plays to one of Nintendo's strengths, and it's a bonus feature that nobody else can match. It's commonly known that the GameCube version of Soul Calibur 2 outsold the other two... an unbelievable feat all due to Link. (Heihachi... Who? Spawn? Yuck.)

Will NBA fans care? Not likely. Will PS2 and Xbox fans care? Of course not. It's certainly not going to improve Nintendo's cred in the eyes of those who already are on the bash wagon. But it's going to bring in people who hardly ever touch sports titles, and that's what it was meant to do. Who knows, maybe it will suck... but that would be one hell of a surprise.