Nintendo's frustration with 3D Mario

Glowsquid

Glowsquid

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I recently came across this interesting piece and I figure I might as well share it. It's about Nintendo's perception that SM64 "split" the fanbase and how Sunshine's underperformance pushed Nintendo sto shift to the more linear design of Galaxy and (more overtly) the 3D __ series.

The Register spoke to Satoru Iwata [in 2003] and reported the following: “Iwata blamed falling games sales on overly complex titles that are too tough for newcomers and casual gamers. They’re also bad for the business, [Iwata] added – gamers can spend months playing them, and while they’re doing so, they’re not buying other titles. Those who find they can’t win get so fed up with the experience, they don’t feel inclined to buy an alternative title. Nintendo’s message to the industry seems to be: forget about discs jam packed with ever more complex levels and involving gameplay, and give the punters something they can complete quicky – and get out to buy more of the stuff. Iwata wants Nintendo to focus on games that have a broader appeal.”
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More importantly though, it's a perhaps uncomfortable reminder that Nintendo make games for consumers, not fanboys.
 
Tough games should be a good thing, IMO. People these days, they get baby fed by some games.
 
So....Nintendo makes these games because most gamers suck ass at video games?
 
Bilbo Baggins said:
i knew a guy who said NSMB for ds was hard
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I found it hard when I was a kid.

Now it's easy for me.
 
if their real goal is to get people to buy a multitude of shorter games, wouldn't it make sense to lower the price from $60 a pop?
 
Nabber said:
if their real goal is to get people to buy a multitude of shorter games, wouldn't it make sense to lower the price from $60 a pop?
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That.

I don't love the 3D Mario games (64, Sunshine, Galaxy), whether they are hard or not; I love them because they feel like there is a place to explore, an excitement of the reality and creativity of it all.

I honestly don't care about difficulty when I play video games; I just love the asthetics of the game and the plot and basically everything else. Gameplay is great and all, but I feel that plots and design really run my personal preferences for what I get and don't get. It's why Zelda is always my favorite series, since it basically does that.

While I am glad that they are making games for consumers and not fanboys, I still wish that they would stop making these small rehashes of the same game. It's one thing to try and make money, but it's another to just basically relabel the same game and then expect the same amount of money for it.
 
I wonder why they didn't apply this precedent to the new Donkey Kong games?
 
I really do prefer Galaxy's linearity to SM64 and Sunshine's open-worlds. Because, let's be honest, a lot of stars are very hard to get. When I used to play SM64DS, I used to play it on my cousin's file, where he had all the worlds open, because I wasn't good at finding stars at all. I never beat SM64DS on my own, whereas I beat Galaxy and Galaxy 2 easily.

It's about accessibility. Mario games are catered to a young audience, and they find it more difficult to work out a goal without instructions. I'm not saying they should hand-hold them every step of the way, but they should make it reward exploration while making the goal clear. The Galaxy games were very good at that in some big levels. Like how some planets had rewards on the underside. And the Comet Medals in Galaxy 2. And the secret missions.
 
Chuck Ballymoo said:
I wonder why they didn't apply this precedent to the new Donkey Kong games?
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Because Retro is a better studio than Nintendo when it comes to making platformers.

I love Super Mario 64 DS to death and I beat it many times (I 100%'ed the game in about 12 hours or so in my last play-through). And, coming from a gal who doesn't give much damn about difficulty, it's pretty neat to adventure through the game with also a sense of tension and danger, something unlike the Galaxy games where they just often throw the star and where you should go right in your face. Getting lost? That's just part of the adventuring fun.