Kotaku 
Enter your username and password.
Denver, 3:27 AM
Mon Nov 9
26 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip us: tips@kotaku.com
Editor-In-Chief:
Brian Crecente
Email | AIM | Twitter
Deputy Editor:
Stephen Totilo
Email | AIM | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Michael McWhertor
Email | AIM | Twitter
Senior Contributing Editor, Japan:
Brian Ashcraft
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, East Coast:
Michael Fahey
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, Oceania:
Luke Plunkett
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editor, Weekends:
Owen Good
Email | AIM | Twitter
Correspondent, San Francisco:
AJ Glasser
Email | AIM | Twitter
Columnist:
Leigh Alexander
Columnist:
Tim Rogers
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
10/19/09
10/19/09
10/18/09
10/19/09
10/19/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
I don't care that she is not playable in the new game. I assume she is captured and the other 4 characters have to rescue her. Toads are always around trying to help anyways. #newsupermariobroswii
10/19/09
10/19/09
10/18/09
Seriously, it wouldnt be much work at all to add that in. Its the Wii. The animation for the skirt would all be baked anyway. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
I thought everyone understood by now that it's a matter of game play balancing so that no other player has any advantage over the other in any shape or form.
I'm sure it would be fun to play a multiplayer FPS where one player can jump higher, one has infinite ammo and another can shoot more accurate than the rest, amirite? #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/19/09
10/18/09
the idea is that all 4 players get to use characters that pretty much plays & controls the SAME. no other player has an advantage over the other, so comparing the game w/ SMB2 is pointless since that game was a single player experience.
so the only real difference setting apart each player are minor graphical cosmetics. I mean Luigi itself was originally a palette swap of Mario remember?
hell, had Nintendo created two completely new characters to fill the 3rd & 4th player slot, but they still play the same as Mario & Luigi (again for balancing issues), ppl would STILL complain abt them being palette swaps anyways.
*sigh*
are we gamers so petty nowadays, that little things like this can even be a huge issue to begin with? #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
A different programming for a *gasp* different character is too much to ask?
Not content with the assured fact that this game will sell millions upon millions throughout the Wii's lifetime they continue to cut corners? My heart breaks for Nintendo everytime I read stuff like this. Like when Miyamoto basically said that Zelda TP said it was not to have any voice acting because it makes the game and localization more complicated (YOU DONT SAY!?) and that making midi-fied music was also simpler....... the fucking game, which I still bought on day effin' one, sold like 5-6million across both platforms and yet they cut corners. Look at how new IPs actually having tio risk money to make an astounding product and yet when Nintendo has an assured success on his hands they refuse to change.
I hate this new Nintendo *hugs Uncharted 2*. #newsupermariobroswii
10/19/09
Gameplay wise, Metroid Prime is definitely the better game in my opinion... at least, so far. Like I said, I only played the first 2 hours of UC2.
Anyway, my point is: The typical Nintendo game usually compensates for lack of graphical prowess with superior level and gameplay design. #newsupermariobroswii
10/20/09
Meanwhile Naughty Dog was busting their asses giving us more than what we expect hiring a full blown orquestra, a renowned movie composer and renting freaking Skywalker Ranch to record the music in it (which I can only imagine how much it costs per hour to have that space provided) while delivering a full blown co-op and competitive online mode we weren't even really asking for in the first place. All in 18 months of development and released in less than two years after its prequel.
Whilst in the other corner we have Nintendo taking their sweet time making the next Zelda which will, if lucky, be released in the holiday season of 2010 after 3 years in development using the same engine, no voice acting, and little to no orquestrated music (allthough I have high hopes of nintendo at least correcting that mistake since Mario Galaxy set the precedent on that department) and it'll still sell 4+million copies effortlessly.
10/20/09
Naughty Dog obviously focused their efforts on mindblowing graphics and superb voice acting. To me, the level design feels very linear and guided. This is the part where I think Nintendo comes out on top, when looking at games like Metroid, Zelda and Mario. This is obviously where they focus most of their efforts. Sure, buildings crashing down around you and hyper-realistic snow effects are nice, but to say they require more effort than designing a challenging and coherent dungeon is a bit naive, I think.
By the way, I'm pretty sure the new Zelda game will have orchestrated music. Not just because SMG has orchestrated music, but because Nintendo had originally planned to do so for Twilight Princess as well. Time constraints (or something) prevented them from actually doing that, though. Let's hope they have no excuse this time. #newsupermariobroswii
10/20/09
And yes Uncharted is "just" a game that takes you from one set piece to the next one, but ohmygod is it really well made! Although Zelda TP isnt really the game to contrast Uncharted with. TP was, for me, the linearest console Zelda I have ever played. With little to scavenge and find (since for the first time ever Zelda's most precious treasures, the heart pieces, were able to be found on the dungeons making less stuff available for us to find in the wild.)
This is coming from a person that prior to this generation started I was, as late as mid 2006, proclaiming that Zelda was the greatest videogames in history. Needless to say I was very dissapointed by TP. It was like playing a game from 1998 on my new Wii only with better graphics, graphics that veeery quickly felt outdated even by the very Wii itself later on.
The music was for the most part pretty dull and nearly forgettable (with few exceptions), the story was predicatble and almost nonexistant, the characters were bland and unidimensional and it took too fucking long to be released. That which Im sure has the Wii to blame since its pretty well known it was further pushed back just to make it as a launch Wii game. Thats why Im not buying the "not enough time" excuse.
Oh they had time. How else do you explain Naught Dog managing in 18 months having Uncharted 2 released with not only orquestrated music, extraordinary voice/motion acting (not only in english but in at least 5 other languages) and, obviously, vastly superior graphics but having a worldwide release within days of each other?
Meanwhile Smash Brawl, which I was extermly hyped for, was released 2 months after the japanese release and poor europeans had to wait even 3 more months for a game with NO voice acting whatsoever (factor thats supposed to be the biggest hurdle in localization). Sorry I keep bringing up Unch2 but Im sincerely amazed by the quality of that game with such a relatively short dev time.
Im sorry, I do love Nintendo and I dont want to come off as a bickery hater, its just that I just cant love them as much as I did before but I can only be dissapointed so many times before truly feeling it for the last time. And when their biggest game to come out from them since Mario Kart in April 2008 has been Wii Music and Wii Fit Plus you know you're not needed anymore. Not even through the darkest days of the N64 and GC had I felt this forgotten.
PD: Please refrain from spoiling me anything Unch2. I havent finished it yet!
10/20/09
Don't worry, neither have I. :-)
Just wanted to quickly refute a common misconception in your comment:
"Meanwhile Smash Brawl, which I was extermly hyped for, was released 2 months after the japanese release and poor europeans had to wait even 3 more months for a game with NO voice acting whatsoever (factor thats supposed to be the biggest hurdle in localization)."
Make no mistake, that game has HUGE amounts of text. Just take a look at the massive amount of Trophy descriptions. What's more, pretty much every character, every object and even the tiniest obscure reference has to be checked against earlier translations, some of which go back 20 years. That's one hell of a project, and I'm glad I didn't have to work on it (my colleagues still have nightmares about it).
About Zelda TP: I'm actually not sure if the reason they gave was 'not enough time'. It might have been cost, I don't really remember the excuse they gave. Probably should've made that more clear in my comment. ;-) #newsupermariobroswii
10/20/09
I was pissed off and that, for me, was the beginning of an end. Expensive? Expensive for whom? This isn't a freakin' new unproven IP like, say, Valkyria Chronicles (which has better music and its fully voiced in two languages). This is Zelda which the name alone guaarantees at least a couple of million games sold. Stop cutting corners!
"fellow colleagues"?
Are you in the vieogame industry? Do you work for Nintendo Europe?
And yes, I definetly see your point about SSBB. It still sucks europeans had to wait so long, I still think it could and should've released much much closer to the american release. If they could translate it to english in 2 months I dont see why in that same time they could've spent working on the different languages. Its almost like Nintendo didnt started working on the PAL version until the american version was finishe (given how Nintendo refused to give a PAL release date until one month prior release or something!).
It was a pretty messy european localization cycle if you ask me. #newsupermariobroswii
10/20/09
"Its almost like Nintendo didnt started working on the PAL version until the american version was finished."
I'd love to comment on that, but I prefer to keep my job.
Let's just say you're not entirely wrong. ;-) #newsupermariobroswii
10/20/09
Consider yourself hearted! #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
It'd be like adding Yoshi but taking away his slurping ability. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
Peach, as much as possible in every single game. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
Wario and Waluigi wouldn't work either as they wouldn't be invited to Peachs birthday party #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
Thaat's why he explains that the Toad had a similar physique to a Mario character. With that he means that no gameplay has to be changed due to the fact that Toad apparently plays like another Mario Bro'. If they added the princess then she would break the design.
All i know is that i loved New Super Mario Bros for the DS, more than a lot of the "big name" games from "big consoles" so i know i will love this game. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
They just sound like lazy bums. And those Toad twins prove my point. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
As for the twin toads, I'm not sure who else they should put in that wouldn't be out of place. Don't say Wario/Waluigi, they don't fit in as their teammates (usually, there are exceptions sometimes). Though at the least, they could have said Toad and Toadette or something. But really, when you're playing a game like this, you're not going to be thinking, "man, I wish there weren't 2 toads!" or something. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/19/09
10/18/09
He isn't talking about how Peach's skirt affects the graphics/physics, but how it affects the gameplay. Recall that in SMB2 and Smash Bros., she could float, likely thanks to having that big dress.
If you made Peach playable, you'd kinda have to take into consideration her special ability, which would create a character imbalance in the game. In a game like this, you'd want all four characters to play the same, regardless of how they look. See also: Left 4 Dead.
Yes, two Toads was kind of a cheap solution... but at least you can easily distinguish which player is which (red, green, yellow, blue).
There could be Wario and Waluigi... but their bodytypes are vastly different from Mario and Luigi (Wario being really big, and Waluigi being very tall and lanky), which could also have gameplay issues. Plus, why would they be at Peach's party? They're not exactly the friendly types. I think Wario having flatulence was just a joke (Miyamoto likes to joke a lot, if you've ever read his interviews). #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
You're missing the point. They wanted all four players to control the same, so that noone would have an advantage or disadvantage based off of their characters.
Having Luigi play the same as Mario is believable, since he does in most games. Peach, less so.
Not every game has to be innovative to be good. More of the same, or a new twist of an old favorite can be good, too. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
But anyways, all I'm saying is that Peach wouldn't have been that hard to do. Miyamoto is acting like it would have. If they just didn't WANT to have her playable, he should have said that. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
"And maybe if they added a good story."
A good story? In a Mario game? I believe I am being trolled. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/19/09
10/19/09
10/19/09
Whether or not I can code is irrelevant. The fact that I've been seeing every other goddamn game designer do exactly the thing he's talking about since the SNES, however... #newsupermariobroswii
10/19/09
I'd like to see a Mario game in which Mario is more of a person and less of a random Italian plumber. Just something I would like. #newsupermariobroswii
10/19/09
No, it's completely relevant. Because your attempting to speak from the stance that you -are- a programmer, instead of nameless hardcore #1292929 on the internet.
And Mario All Stars was a 2-d upgraded port of the NES Mario titles. Whole other beast here..which you would know if you had any background in coding. #newsupermariobroswii
10/19/09
The whole Mario RPG series says hello. Shame you seem to have missed that. But again, if your playing a Mario platformer for plot, you need a clue. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
Here nintendo, let me solve your upskirt problem for you.
Just check ahead of time if moving the camera will bring it into the "illegal zone", and don't move it if it will.
Attached is a diagram for you
(I did all this before realizing they probably meant the skirt physics and not the upskirt problem. Ah well I solved it anyway) #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
The rest of the market, that is..the market that matters, doesn't know or care that much. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
Maybe something like this would've gone un-noticed a couple of years ago but new standards and bars have been set.
That being said, this new Mario game should be fun if it follows its predecessors game formulas. However not going that extra mile is a disappointment for Nintendo fans, including me. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
The "hardcores" have already left Nintendo, so there's an extreme amount of ignoring them and their pleas that Nintendo must do to ensure that they don't let people who aren't even buying the game have an affect on it.
I know quite a few people, working at a game store, who will complain about EVERYTHING Nintendo does, regardless of the fact that they have no Wii in the first place. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
Great game that has what you want.
You know... I don't think Nintendo needs a new creative team. People could say a million things about Nintendo. Some good, some bad, but questioning their creativity is something no one should do.
From the R.O.B. to the Power Pad to the Power Glove to the Virtual Boy to the Gameboy to the DS to the Wii...
Some ideas were dumb, others great. But no one can ever say that Nintendo is not a creative force.
Besides, it's a Super Mario Bros side scrolling game. You break things with your head, you stomp on enemies and you get high on Mushrooms... And that's all there should be to it, because it's a Super Mario Bros side scrolling game. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
What I am saying is not an opinion, They have 4 playable characters, only 2 of them are unique. for a 4 player co-op game, that is sub standard in today's market. Would you accept the RE5 co-op if you were both chris redfield? or gears if you were both marcus? Would people be upset if the co op for uncharted 2 had Nate, Sully, and than another Nate? #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
Would it have been cool to be able to play as Peach? Possibly (I personally have no desire to - but my daughter would like to). Would adding this feature have recouped the money lost through either hiring more people and / or slipping the release date? Unlikely. #newsupermariobroswii
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
#newsupermariobroswii