" I realized that the simplistic levels were actually a casualty of its new focus; multplayer in 3D"

HUGE FACEPALM. the game offers multiplyer =/= focusing on it, pretty much like nsmb wii and U. And I wouldn't judge a game that usually have dozens of levels just by looking at 4 demo levels.

I really feel people are prematurely jumping overboard with this game. We've seen a small fraction of what the game has to offer and I would have thought Nintendo has earned a little bit of credit when it comes to 3D Mario games.

I mean, what is the worst 3D Mario? Mario Sunshine? That game cops a bit of flack but I for one will be one happy camper if this game is as 'bad' as Mario Sunshine.

Miyamoto: Mario Will Likely Return To Single-Player

Posted Sat 6th Jul 2013 11:00 by Dylan Newcome

Is Mario better off alone?

May look to explore the Galaxy further

When Mario fans heard that a 3D Mario platformer for Wii U would be shown at E3, expectations were undoubtedly high and varied. Many had their own ideas about what Mario's 3D foray into high-definition would look and play like, but it would have been difficult to predict a successor to Super Mario 3D Land. Fan reactions to the announcement were certainly mixed, with some questioning the decision to focus on multiplayer.

However, speaking to Game Informer, Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that the focus on multiplayer in Super Mario 3D World has been included to strike a balance between the openness of games like Super Mario Galaxy and the sidescrolling action of the New Super Mario Bros. games in order to reach a wider audience. Despite this, Miyamoto wouldn't rule out the possibility of Mario returning to more single-player focused adventures.

But we still have, obviously, the Galaxy series, and there's a possibility that in the future we may look to explore what else we can do with the Galaxy series. For us, it was really about trying to find the right 3D Mario space in which we're going to allow the widest audience to play.

Even noting the Mario franchise's history with multiplayer, Miyamoto acknowledged the wealth of ideas that the teams at Nintendo have for the plumber's more solitary outings.

Before there was the Super Mario Bros. series, there was just the Mario Bros. game, and that was a 2-player multiplayer game. So, even from those very early days, we always wanted to include some type of multiplayer. When the New Super Mario Bros. team on Wii was able to do that and include the four-player multiplayer in the side-scrolling fashion, we very quickly found that our team really liked that, and they immediately said, 'Well, we want to do the same thing in a 3D Mario space.' They've had a lot of fun exploring that. But definitely with the single-player Mario experience, there's still a lot of possibilities that we can explore, so I think we'll probably go back to that again at some point.

If a new 3D Super Mario game were to come to light, it sounds like it could either be a sequel to Super Mario Galaxy 2 or a new series altogether.

What do you think of the direction Nintendo is taking with Super Mario 3D World? Share your opinion in the comment section below.

[via gameinformer.com]

Link: http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/07/miyamoto_mario_will_likely_return_to_single_player

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See bold: It's pretty much "confirmed" for Nintendo's secretive behavior.

uh...This game looks fun. #BuyingIt

I think 4 player multiplayer in 3D (without splitscreen) is a much bigger evolution than most people are realizing. It's barely been done before and introduces a host of new problems that require reinventing a lot of fundamental game design concepts.

For that reason alone, people should be excited about this game, because we know the team behind it is capable of delivering a genre-defining product.

I don't know for sure why an art style most would call conservative was chosen, but it may be in order to remove any unnecessary distractions or layers of complexity between the players and the gameplay itself, focusing instead on the mental and mechanical complexity that four players operating together in the same 3D space can allow.

If that is indeed the case, I think there is potential for the game to be as mindblowing as Mario 64 was at its time.

I don't think so. We've only seen a few levels and they seem to be in the same creative, unrestricted vein of Super Mario 3D Land...just bigger and a bit more open so that 4 people can run around. Even playing single-player, I'd MUCH rather play through the 3D World levels than the horribly empty levels of NSMB Wii and NSMB U. Interestingly, I actually liked NSMB and NSMB2...but the home console ones just seemed so lazy and the multiplayer focus DID ruin the levels for me in those 2D games.

You've really got to be kidding me... There were I think 5 levels. One of them was a fairly creative boss fight. One of them was a general 1-1 level. Another was a vertical level that let you focus on Mario's cat abilities. Another was a level that focused on the new translucent pipe mechanics. Another was a rather creative plate based boss fight with a multiheaded dinosaur. Another level was a four player raft level that involved players cooperating .

"Gone were the inventive twists and clever puzzles the series is known for, replaced by levels that looked almost auto-generated." So they put Mario in a generator and got four completely different levels AND A RAFT LEVEL! Is the style of this game different from Mario 64 and Galaxy to accommodate 4 players? Yeah. Were the levels on display well crafted, creative, and fun? Also yeah.

This is a clear case on confirmation bias. You wanted a Mario Galaxy game, you didn't get it, so now every aspect of the game is automatically horrible.

It easily could be, but I have faith in Nintendo.

I agree. Some folks just seem determined to not give this game the time of day.

This game is basically NSMB3D, so it was already "crippled."

I doubt we''ll see a 3D Mario game on the level of Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie any time soon.