Nintendo is listening to the Internet

Take a look at this interview from PAX. It is from NSMB Wii.

The manner and subject of what he says is clearly shaped by Internet criticism of the game. The first thing he says is that the game is brand new and has totally new content (because many people are saying it is NSMB DS port). He goes on responding to other things that are being said on the Internet.

The ‘hate’ this game is generating is not coming from gamers. 2d Mario is not something that gamers hate, even ‘hardcore’ gamers. I believe it is coming mostly from other company’s marketing departments. Remember, NSMB Wii was not talked about too much after E3 2009. Instead, we kept being drowned out by the Sony Wand and, mostly, Natal.

I believe after E3, when the marketing guys got back, they began looking up 2d Mario. Why would Nintendo go this direction? And then once they saw the sales numbers for 2d Mario games, as well as NSMB DS which is still a top selling game, they had to become very alarmed.

It is difficult to predict how this game will perform. But it is definitely a game Nintendo should make. It hits the sweet spot, like Mario Kart, between the core gamer and the expanded gamer. This is also a girl friendly game. It is also a game anyone who played the NES and SNES will instantly want to try out.

I’m happy because children are going to have that 2d Mario experience as you did back twenty years ago. It will be a magical time for them.