Email: Nintendo doing what they want again

If rumors are true with the the latest leaks about Star Fox Racing by Retro, I’d say Nintendo has misread the market in a collosal way.
It might be another Federation Force sized blunder.

Not giving the market great games in either franchise for a long time, and then grafting the best mechanics of one game onto the other is not a very good idea. It just kind of pisses people off, because they really love that other game more. They are just buying this game begrudgingly
Haha silly gamers. Nintendo could give you a great game in each of these franchises, but they only exist now to be evangelize Nintendo’s IP by creating another big stupid racing game with all of Nintendos characters.

I have a different interpretation.

First, I think Retro’s reputation is spectacularly overrated by Nintendo fans. The first Metroid Prime was great, the two sequels somewhat redundant. But I remember when the original trilogy of the Donkey Kong Country games had an effect on the market. It made the SNES outsell Genesis in the Great 16-Bit War. The point is that while some people may like the two Donkey Kong Country games, I think they are greatly underperforming in their role of pushing hardware.  Retro, a Western studio, should be doing the ‘high concept’ video game type like Metroid as Nintendo and Sakamoto have no idea how to do it. Anyone can make a fucking Donkey Kong sidescroller. Hell, even Rare could do that.

“So what is your different interpretation already?”

Oh, an observant reader! I have not had one of those in a while. Stay a while and listen…

Here are three questions before us:

Why is this racing game being made?

Why is this racing game being Starfox?

And why is Retro doing it?

The third question is easy to figure out. It is because Retro doesn’t have the talent to do something really good. This is why Retro is following the path of Rare Part Deux. I see Retro as a studio in decline. This is before everyone else is realizing it, so expect everyone to be thinking it and saying it a couple years from now. Nintendo’s main studios have better stuff to do than a Starfox racing game.

So why is the racing game of Starfox? More light will be shed on this origin. However, it reminds me of Dinosaur Planet that Rare was working on. Nintendo wants the game into their IP so, for one reason, they will always own it. If Starfox Adventure wasn’t drenched in Starfox IP, you would be playing Rare’s dinosaur game on the Xbox One now. If you’ve noticed, Nintendo’s Western satellite studios always have to make games drenched in an already established Nintendo IP. There is a reason for that.

So why is the racing game being made? The answer to that is very ominous.

I am of the belief that Nintendo may be gearing to make all their upcoming games focus on online multiplayer. Why would they do that? It is because Nintendo is rolling out a paid online service. Any game that isn’t using that platform is not going to be pushing Nintendo’s corporate goal.

“They can’t do this,” you say. “There will be single player games.”

I don’t think you understand, reader. When 3d was the rage by Nintendo, they forced every IP into 3d whether you liked it or not. If you liked Super Mario Brothers, guess what, too bad. Mario 64 was a complete disaster in terms of pushing hardware sales except, perhaps, in the USA, but Nintendo doesn’t want that history written because it doesn’t fit Nintendo’s pro-3d agenda. Instead, we hear tales of how gloriously innovative Mario 64 was despite failing in its job of selling hardware unlike Super Mario Brothers and Super Mario World.

Nintendo games will be designed to push and utilize Nintendo Online service. Even single player games will be trying to use this service in some way. Wait and see! I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Zelda uses this online service. I’d be surprised if Metroid Prime 4 doesn’t use it in some fashion.

I think one thing on the chopping block is quality local multiplayer. Nintendo will assume it is one switch per person, and that there is an online service to push anyway. Split Screen multiplayer will die because not everyone uses Switch with a TV (Japan doesn’t).

I’m not sure I like where Nintendo is going with this. Remember that the seeds of the Wii U were made during the peak of the Wii. I’d expect the same to occur today. The genius of the Switch and games like BoW came from the dark, sad, hell of the Wii U where we had a desperate Nintendo. Nintendo does not know how to handle success.