This debate of gameplay and its validity as a narrative or story in itself is a valid discussion.
Many games, not just by Nintendo, are said to to have great game play but no story.
Well isn't Sim city a story that you create?
BTW Everyone critisized SMG for not having a story, its just not the familiar narrative that you expect. Who cares, some people hated the Sopranos ending (i didn't), some people don't like Lynch films, there are different stories to tell and some creator's choose a different way to tell them
“When we make some new announcement and if there is no positive initial reaction from the market, I try to think of it as a good sign because that can be interpreted as people reacting to something groundbreaking. ...if the employees were always minding themselves to do whatever the market is requiring at any moment, and if they were always focusing on something we can sell right now for the short term, it would be very limiting. We are trying to think outside the box.” - Satoru Iwata - This is why corporate multinationals will never truly understand, or risk doing, what Nintendo does.
