Topic: Is Nickelodeon the Sega of Cartoons?

Whenever I think of Nickelodeon's animation catalogue, I can't help but feel similarities to Sega. Think about it, they were both known for quirky, experimental titles. They both marketed themselves as cooler and more cutting edge than the alternatives. and several of their products are similar in one way or another.

SpongeBob = Sonic - Long running pop-culture icons
Rugrats = Alex Kidd - Former mascot retired
Avatar = Skies of Arcadia - Vibrant and epic RPG-esque adventure
My Life as a Teenage Robot = Space Channel 5 - Cute girl kicking alien backsides (Plus, Jenny has a very similar design to Ulala)
Hey Arnold! = Jet Set Radio - Urban setting and Jazz/funk based soundtrack
ChalkZone = Nights - Heavy focus of visuals and atmosphere

As for other kids networks. I always saw 90s/early 2000s Cartoon Network as very similar to Nintendo in a lot of ways. They didn't care too much about demographics so much as they did about showcasing their respective mediums. Plus, they were both a bit heavy on censorship. And Disney Channel believe it or not, was similar to the PlayStation IMO. A semi-upstart product hoping to court a slighty older audience, in DC's case, it was the 9-14 year old "Tween" market. Nowadays, Modern Nickelodeon is like Microsoft, a company who cares nothing for their target audience, nor the medium they're known for, and will hype up whatever mediocre crap that makes them the most money, rather than quality content.

Nickelodeon actually has a few interesting shows left. So no.

Yes. There the Sega of my childhood too. I loved Nick as a kid, every since the yellow old sponge got his first episode. Now it a waste land of crap show after crap show. They will never recover.

Not being mean but, why do you shoehorne comparisons between animation and video games, even when their not that similar?

I kind of lol when I read the topic because I made that same comparison years ago during the Snes and Genesis era when I was a kid. Granted I couldn't make certain video games comparisons to show like you did since most of the shows wasn't created yet, but the feel for the overall system and demographic is spot on to what I imagine back then.

nickelodeon is more like capcom. they could be really awesome make tons really awesome things instead they choose to be bad only make like 2 watchable things the only thing that seperates them is that where capcom threw their mascot nickelodeon clings to their

Like I said, Disney Channel in the early 2000s was kinda like the PlayStation. At the time they fully transitioned to basic cable, they were relatively a new competitor, rather than try and go after the 6-11 market directly, they decided to court an older audience, kids 9-14. Of course all the kids networks had at least one 9-14 targeted block on their schedule, Cartoon Network had Toonami, Nickelodeon had Snick/TEENick. But Disney Channel was the first one to build almost their entire network around this demographic.

Yep.

If CN is the Nintendo of the animation world, then Teen Titians Go! must be their Other M #Checkmate

Eh all the big networks are pretty bad if you want high quality serialized action cartoons. Young Justice and Green Lantern were killed due to CN only being interested in Comedy cartoons and Warner not having the guts to force them to carry it. Nickolden is in the same boat and the way they let Korra die was shameful, Ninja turtles is only safe because it moves major merchandise.

Only network invested i action cartoons is Disney XD and 3 out of their 4 maruquee programs are straight up meh worthy.

Considering how only one of its properties is still alive here that isn't entirely someone else's work and IP, that's a decent comparison.

code name kids next door is the Fzero of CN......It needs to come back

OUCH.

But tbh I can't really name a show that catches my attention. I'd actually much rather watch CN now.

What annoys me is that people think that action and comedy are the only two genres of Cartoons. Sure most cartoons today have comedy in them, but that doesn't make them strictly comedies though.

Adventure Time is an adventure cartoon like Duck Tales is

Steven Universe is a Dramedy meaning it's equal parts comedy and Drama

Gravity Falls is a mystery-adventure cartoon

MLP is a Slice-of-Life/Adventure hybrid

It's more about the tone, really. Most cartoons are light-hearted, which isn't necessarily a problem, but sometimes you want a different emotion. Sadness, anger, melocholy...those are difficult for episodic, light-hearted stories to present. In fact, I haven't watched a cartoon that gave me a mix of emotions, sometimes at the same time, since the season leading up to the second time Futurama "ended". Granted, my cartoon-watching dropped drastically after that, so feel free to prove me wrong.

Hey Steven Universe had one episode that was pretty deep and sad.

^Futurama had at least two per season, IIRC...but that's better than nothing.