So dismissive. We like 2D Mario because we’re stupid and simple minded… even though I have no trouble navigating in 3D games. Ugh.
Oh, check this out too:
“Throughout the years of Nintendo creating new hardware, Miyamoto admits that the dev teams would butt heads when trying to figure out how to evolve Mario. Back in the early days, some devs were really against the idea of taking Mario into a fully 3D world, as they felt it would take away from the series. Similarly, many years later Miyamoto saw devs that felt that the 3D movement of the Galaxy games was the most important element of the series.”
Also, what’s incredible in that story above is that RawMeat managed to ring their bell simply by asking them why they’re using the 8-direction control scheme instead of the free-moving control scheme from prior 3D Mario games. Could you imagine how badly he could have nailed them if he simply asked, “Why do you keep forcing these 2D Mario elements into 3D Mario games when 3D Mario ALWAYS sells far less than 2D Mario? Why not just focus on improving 2D Mario?” They’d lose their minds.
The problem I’m noticing though is that Nintendo seems to be acting like the White House. It invites its special group of select journalists to ask tailor-made, fanboy questions which don’t dare challenge Nintendo’s ideas. This has been occurring recently with Zelda fan sites being asked to interview Aonuma, and it’s happening with the Mario team now too.
I think Mario in 3D Land has sold more than NSMB 2 but 3d Land has also been out for a year longer (and literally looks like you’re getting a sequel to SMB 3). NSMB 2 seems like it was made in the most lazy way possible. Despite that, NSMB 2 is still consistently selling strong. One million is considered very good for a game in Japan. NSMB 2 is over 2 million and is even with Mario Kart 7.
Not to go into politics, but I do agree with Nintendo having journalists channel their own thoughts. Everyone knows there has never been any example of a game console ‘coming back’ after a year on the market (unless you count ancient consoles like the Atari 2600 that took off with the home version of Space Invaders three years after the hardware was released, but today isn’t 1980). However, journalists are parroting the marketing to say so. I don’t blame NOA thinking “Yeah! Now Wii U will take off!” because these poor souls need some sort of motivation to come to work. It seems like the journalists who are on the Nintendo beat these days are Gamecube enthusiasts (hahahaha). Either they self selected themselves to be on the Nintendo beat since they are Nintendo fans of everything, or we are getting older and the Gamecube kiddies are coming into their own, or Nintendo marketing only wishes to interact with those who share the Gamecube ideology.
Many of the current Nintendo games out on schedule were planned before the Wii U launched. The 2DS is a move in the right direction. Let us see what Nintendo’s plans that were made post-Wii U launch. As a salesman, you are going to talk up the product you are currently selling. I can’t really tell if Nintendo truly believes how ‘great’ they say their Wii U games are or if they have to say that because that is all they have at the moment. At the end of the Gamecube Era, Nintendo became very candid and honest about the Gamecube’s failures. The 2DS hints that Nintendo recognizes the 3DS flaws. Nintendo’s later moves with the Wii U will hint where they plan to go with the 9th Generation.
But does Miyamoto carry a huge chip on his shoulder concerning 3d Mario? No doubt about it. His revelation that developers resisted the move to 3d Mario saying the series would lose its charm is very interesting. I wish they were in charge of the Mario franchise instead of Miyamoto.
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