Super Mario Bros. Wii does not have online. There is one man who ultimately decided not to include the feature. That man is Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario.
In a meeting with investors at E3 last week, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that Miyamoto decided not to include online. "So I'd like to talk about why he chose not to include online functionality in that game," Iwata added. "Anytime you're developing a game, there are limits to elements of development, like time, manpower and resources."
So Nintendo, Iwata says, is always considering what it can do with "limited resources" to maximize the appeal and entertainment value of its games.
"I think that his decision on whether or not to include online functionality with New Super Mario Bros. Wii was based on the idea that the true value of that product was going to be determined not by online functionality, but on how compelling and unique the experience would be for two, three or four people to be able to play that game together in the same room," says Iwata. "Of course, I have heard commentary that people feel that Nintendo's online functionality is behind the others or is lacking in some ways."
"And I can say that we are not currently satisfied with the online efforts that we have made so far, and we are working at ways to improve those. On the other hand, I do not think that online functionality is something that we should be devoting resources to for every single product."
So Nintendo is not satisfied with its online efforts, but does not think online functionality is something it should be devoting resources to for every single product? Can't we have both? Isn't Nintendo one of the most successful companies in not only Japan, but the world? Limited resources? Bwah?!
Instead, Iwata says, Nintendo will evaluate individual games on a title-by-title basis on whether online is necessary or whether a compelling offline experience can be created. According to Iwata, "I think that Nintendo's ability to create an offline experience that feels incredibly unique and compelling is a particular strength that we have."
Investor Relations: 2010 E3 Expo Analyst Q&A Session [Nintendo]