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Nintendo on lack of online in Super Mario 3D World, cat suit introduction, Peach as main character
A portion of a TIME interview with Nintendo's dev team.
T: Why the choice not to support online multiplayer in Super Mario 3D World?
Mr. Hayashida: I think that we’ve always wanted to focus on being able to see the other players around you. I always thought that was fun.
Mr. Koizumi: The first Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System had two controllers, so you could play multiplayer with someone right next to you. I think that we wanted to accomplish the same kind of feeling in a 3D Mario game for the first time.
Mr. Hayashida: I’ve always really enjoyed playing games with my children. In Super Mario Galaxy, we had the “assist play mode” that was available, but this is the first time that we’ve implemented a real multiplayer where the second player is moving a character around on screen in a 3D Mario game. And so I’m really happily looking forward to the experience of playing that with my kids.
Mr. Koizumi: And now that Peach has been included, I’m also hoping that people will be able to play the game with their girlfriends. Perhaps some of their girlfriends will find Peach as a more appealing character to play – or your wife, of course.
T: Which came first during the design process: the idea that you wanted to include a cat suit, or the gameplay mechanics of climbing walls, scratching and pouncing on enemies?
Mr. Hayashida: Well I think the first thing we thought of was: What kind of new experiences can we create? What’s really important to that is the feeling of the control when you’re playing through a new game-play mechanic. So we always spend a lot of time testing out new ideas. I think the first test that came in this particular design was Mario running on all fours like an animal. Once we started testing that out, we realized it felt really good. The next thing we did was trying out his ability to stick to a wall: What if Mario could jump and then just attach himself like that? And that test went well also. It was only after that that we then added climbing walls and started to put all of those different pieces together. Then we began to think about how best to express this as a new power-up. And that’s when we hit upon the idea that a cat would be best.
T: Will we ever see a primary Super Mario Bros. installment where Peach is more than just a playable character? Where she’s the heroine instead of one of the abductees in need of rescue?
Mr. Hayashida: Well I definitely should point out that there was a game called Super Princess Peach where you could play as Peach, so that’s definitely an option. It’s not something we have ruled out. In fact, we have made a game of that sort.
Mr. Koizumi: I always think of the Super Mario games as taking place in a really cute world that appeals to everyone. We certainly looked into who finds different sorts of things appealing in these games among boys and girls. I personally feel that Peach is very appealing to girls who play our games. But I sometimes wonder: If we made a lot of games starring Peach as the main character, is that something that boys would be as interested in? I don’t know.
Full interview here
T: Why the choice not to support online multiplayer in Super Mario 3D World?
Mr. Hayashida: I think that we’ve always wanted to focus on being able to see the other players around you. I always thought that was fun.
Mr. Koizumi: The first Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System had two controllers, so you could play multiplayer with someone right next to you. I think that we wanted to accomplish the same kind of feeling in a 3D Mario game for the first time.
Mr. Hayashida: I’ve always really enjoyed playing games with my children. In Super Mario Galaxy, we had the “assist play mode” that was available, but this is the first time that we’ve implemented a real multiplayer where the second player is moving a character around on screen in a 3D Mario game. And so I’m really happily looking forward to the experience of playing that with my kids.
Mr. Koizumi: And now that Peach has been included, I’m also hoping that people will be able to play the game with their girlfriends. Perhaps some of their girlfriends will find Peach as a more appealing character to play – or your wife, of course.
T: Which came first during the design process: the idea that you wanted to include a cat suit, or the gameplay mechanics of climbing walls, scratching and pouncing on enemies?
Mr. Hayashida: Well I think the first thing we thought of was: What kind of new experiences can we create? What’s really important to that is the feeling of the control when you’re playing through a new game-play mechanic. So we always spend a lot of time testing out new ideas. I think the first test that came in this particular design was Mario running on all fours like an animal. Once we started testing that out, we realized it felt really good. The next thing we did was trying out his ability to stick to a wall: What if Mario could jump and then just attach himself like that? And that test went well also. It was only after that that we then added climbing walls and started to put all of those different pieces together. Then we began to think about how best to express this as a new power-up. And that’s when we hit upon the idea that a cat would be best.
T: Will we ever see a primary Super Mario Bros. installment where Peach is more than just a playable character? Where she’s the heroine instead of one of the abductees in need of rescue?
Mr. Hayashida: Well I definitely should point out that there was a game called Super Princess Peach where you could play as Peach, so that’s definitely an option. It’s not something we have ruled out. In fact, we have made a game of that sort.
Mr. Koizumi: I always think of the Super Mario games as taking place in a really cute world that appeals to everyone. We certainly looked into who finds different sorts of things appealing in these games among boys and girls. I personally feel that Peach is very appealing to girls who play our games. But I sometimes wonder: If we made a lot of games starring Peach as the main character, is that something that boys would be as interested in? I don’t know.