Nintendo makes me happy:
Super Mario 3D Land will travel into America (and into your screen, thanks to the 3D effect) on November 13; it’ll be followed by automotive adventure Mario Kart 7 on December 4, which now has a gyro-controlled first-person mode.
“Automotive adventure?” Anyway, yay 3D Mario! Yay 3D Mario Kart!
Then Nintendo makes me sad:
For one, the bizarro second analog nub will be arriving at Japanese retailers starting this December 10, and it’ll run customers ¥1500 ($19.50). … The “Slidepad” will require a single AAA battery for use, which indicates to us that it won’t bolster the battery of the 3DS it’s attached to. We’re making sad faces as hard as we can right now.
*Wa wa waaa sad face*
"For us, we want to work with developers who are experienced in this industry, and are passionate about bringing that idea that’s stuck in the back of their head, that they haven’t been able to compel a large studio to create or a large publisher to bring to market. Those are the types of companies and types of individuals we want to work with. Now whether that’s 2D Boy or Gaijin Games, those are the kinds of independent developers that, for us, are key opportunities. And again, where we try and draw the distinction is that there are people who want to be in this business, but don’t have the training or experience. - Reggie Fils-Aime"
— Nintendo: The Era of the 3DS - Wii Feature at IGN: I really think Nintendo should reconsider this distinction and apologize for it. It doesn’t matter where or who a game comes from as long as it’s good. The thriving iOS game universe is a testament to this. The whole “garage developers” thing has just served to create a negative, elitist image for Nintendo.
"Time for a Nintendo console reboot with a successor to the Wii? Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper asked this very question of Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata. Replied Iwata: “It’s just four years since release. It’s selling over 7 million units a year in North America, so we don’t think it’s at the limit. We’ll make decisions about a successor system at the time when software developers cannot offer surprises (on the Wii)."
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No Wii Successor Yet, Says Iwata - Wii News at IGN: Strictly from a console hardware perspective, the Wii being so underpowered compared to the 360 and PS3 is what has people wondering when Nintendo will release a successor. But here’s how I think Nintendo sees it: we sold a Balance Board with Wii Fit and made a mint. We sold MotionPlus as an add-on, then as a new controller with it built in, and we’re making a mint off that, too. If third-party developers leverage the success these two peripherals enable technologically, the Wii has plenty gas left to run another couple years. Who knows what other accessories Nintendo has in mind for the Wii. A camera, a la DSi/3DS? Who knows.
The big question is whether, in Iwata’s words, developers can continue to “offer surprises” on the Wii. The trouble is, when they do, will it sell? Take Red Steel 2 for example.
The Wii is still a very different experience from the other consoles, but can it still inspire developers who yearn for more raw horsepower to capture the world’s attention? It’s a hard road for developers to walk, and it seems like a harder and harder sell for Nintendo to position.
"It’s ironic because it is precisely the hardcore Nintendo fan who is most influenced by the company’s changed practices. With the rare exception — a morsel of food for the starving — we are not getting the titles we want because Nintendo has hit upon a winning formula, which is to make quicker, cost-efficient software, sit back and then reap the rewards. The expanded audience doesn’t read every word about the next title in the Legend of Zelda franchise. It doesn’t care if New Super Mario Bros. isn’t as beautiful as it could and should be. We do. And yet many of us defend Nintendo even when its motives benefit the business, not the players. We celebrate its monthly sales victories and then we re-play Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, and Smash Bros. while we sift through Nintendo’s cash-ins on the way to its next big thing."
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Column: Nintendo is Lazy and You Don’t Care - Wii feature - at IGN : I couldn’t help but agree with Matt Casamassina’s article about Nintendo’s apparent disregard for making all their games truly exemplary. I caught my first whiff of “why-not?” suspicion when I couldn’t take Yoshi to other levels in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Think about it: in Super Mario World, once you got Yoshi, you had him as long as you could keep him. And not only could you take Yoshi to every level (except the castles, I know), but every level had something in mind for him.
Why couldn’t they do this with Mario Bros. Wii? Why couldn’t Nintendo make Animal Crossing look and play something like an actual new game? Why couldn’t Nintendo make a new version of Pikmin or Donkey Kong Jungle Beat rather than rehashing old GameCube titles with Wii controls (that sometimes don’t quite work)? Matt’s conclusion is they’re more worried about the bottom line than about gamers’ experiences. He sums it up nicely with this line, emphasis his:
And so what if New Super Mario Bros. Wii plays and looks like the DS title before it? Who cares if the game’s graphics aren’t dazzling? It’s fun, isn’t it? That’s what matters.
If the Wii is proof of anything, it’s that taking risks and making bold strides in a new direction are rewarded handsomely when executed right. Nintendo deserves respect for the gumption it took to make that move. But, as Matt’s article points out, what matters is that Nintendo shouldn’t just be making fun games, because lots of companies do that. What Matt wants, and what I want, is Nintendo to always make Nintendo games. And that means the very best that anyone can make.
