Here is the article. The interviewer incorrectly lists Aonuma as the co-designer of Ocarina of Time. Aonuma came in late on the Ocarina team and his job was only to design the dungeons and some of the monsters. The dungeon design (think Water Temple) was what everyone complained about in Ocarina of Time. Naturally, Miyamoto gave the entire Zelda franchise over to the guy people were complaining about.
Aonuma confirms that Wind Waker HD is to push the art style on players.
It was certainly a new graphical presentation – the Zelda world with its toon-shading, and also the younger, smaller Link. We heard the opinions of those Zelda fans that were somewhat critical at that time. They were saying that they didn’t want it, quite frankly.
But now with the HD power, the shading, we’re hoping to really bring a new graphical presentation to this product that, yes, when it was released some were negative about. We hope to bring those people back.
So let me get this straight.
A fanbase hates the art style of a game. So the company responds by re-releasing the game again with the same art style but with bloom? Does Nintendo REALLY think these people are going to say, “I hated the Wind Waker art style. But omg look at the bloom. I must buy it immediately.”
Aonuma and Nintendo still can’t get over the market rejection of Wind Waker and its atrocious art style. Generations later, it is still in their minds.
The best way to describe how Nintendo’s minds work is that they live in a very different world than you or I do, reader. Let us call it Nintendo World. (Since Nintendo already put out Nintendo Land and is putting out 3d World, I will put out ‘Nintendo World’.)
Nintendo World is a bubble (not unlike financial bubbles). An example of Nintendo World is that they think Metroid: Other M is amazing and brings excitement to Metroid. In the real world, we think Metroid: Other M is crap and want Metroid to not be about maternal instincts. Nintendo World sees the real world’s response and does not think Other M is crap. Instead, they think the real world isn’t sophisticated enough to see the genius of Other M. This is what is going on with the Zelda art style. The Wind Waker art style is internally loved at Nintendo, therefore it is time for you guys to get on board.
It is like Iwata saying he doesn’t care what other companies do. With the Wii, Nintendo cared very much what other companies did especially Sony. Nintendo intentionally timed the Wii release to be within days when the PS3 released.
All I’m hearing from Nintendo is ego. They don’t accept any flaws. There is no humility. There is ‘false’ humility like Iwata constantly bowing and saying, “I apologize for the lack of games…” The ‘Please Understand’ meme of Iwata became so due to Iwata getting stuck in a pattern.
But back to Aonuma, Wind Waker HD is all about rewriting history. They want to believe the market reaction to Wind Waker on the Gamecube was just a fluke by people who were ‘too surprised’ by Nintendo’s ‘far seeking visions and innovation’. Seriously, this is how they think. And if you know they are thinking that with Wind Waker which had a very clear negative market response, you know they see 2d Mario with revulsion and seek to destroy it. They don’t like to develop it so why should you want to play it? I can’t wait for Pikmin 3 to come out and watch no one buy it.
Notice Iwata running around and saying ‘doing unique things with the hardware’. Why doesn’t Iwata talk games anymore? No one wants games to do things with the hardware. No one likes these gimmicks. What people want are substantive games, not the same game we’ve already played with the new hardware gimmick. This ‘software/hardware integrated’ strategy is destroying Nintendo.
Nintendo World is destroying Nintendo’s finances. Unfortunately for Iwata, Nintendo’s finances exist in the real world and not in fantasy Nintendo World. In Nintendo World, financial concern is ‘silly’ according to Miyamoto. But in the real world, it is everything.
It’s like no one in Nintendo is responsible for market failures anymore. Wii U has failed and no one gets blamed (except for us for not ‘understanding’ the Gamepad). Zelda games keep failing and Aonuma keeps getting a pass. NSMB U is seen as a yawn yet Nintendo insists it is the best 2d Mario ever (hahaha). And now Nintendo thinks Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, 3d Mario, Pikmin, and Wind Waker are going to make the Wii U sell when none of those franchises made the Gamecube sell.
It would be an interesting question to ask Iwata why he thinks the Wii sold and why he thinks the Wii U isn’t selling. My take on it is simple: Wii was an anti-Gamecube while Wii U is a Gamecube HD. Nintendo doesn’t want to think in those terms. They don’t want to think their 3d obsessions have destroyed their consoles.
What Nintendo is doing is changing the relationship between game makers and gamers in a radical way how Microsoft changed the relationship between owning games and ‘licensing them’. Nintendo developers wish to become an overclass that is elevated above and beyond the gamer. If the gaming market doesn’t respond to their products, then it is the gaming market that is stupid and unsophisticated to understand the overclass’s genius. This is how Nintendo developers feel and explains the behavior behind the games they choose to make.
-You must have Wind Waker Wii U for the unsophisticated critics of the Gamecube era another chance to understand its genius.
-You think you like 2d Mario but you really don’t. Nintendo just needs to tune 3d Mario correctly so everyone will just default to 3d Mario and will never buy that hated 2d Mario again!
-You didn’t like Luigi’s Mansion? Here it is again for you to properly understand it.
-You never rejected 3d gaming with the Virtual Boy or the N64 and Gamecube. You just have been a victim of limited technology that didn’t allow you to properly be accessible with 3d. Therefore, the 3DS will be made and make you love the Virtual Boy.
-You rejected the Gameboy connectivity with the Gamecube. You don’t know what you are thinking. Therefore, we will make a console around such a feature.
-You didn’t really like Wii Sports. You liked party games instead. Here is Nintendo Land and Wii U Party.
-You don’t really want to play classic games from the Virtual Console. Therefore, we won’t release classic games and only release classic games we want you to get into such as Balloon Fight and other 1985 NES games everyone hated playing even back then.
This is all about Nintendo developers having fun, not about you having fun.
I believe Nintendo’s strategy in Generation 8 is far more radical than the Xbox One. Nintendo acts like it is game development aristocrats and you, the lowly gamer, are a bunch of peasants. Quality gaming isn’t defined by the gamers, you see, but by the developers. This is what Nintendo seeks.
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