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mortono on 06 September 2009
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sc94597 said:
mortono said:
sc94597 said:
The co-op in this game isn't meant to help each other. It is more in the area of Left 4 Dead where you compete for more points. So the argument that having co-op makes it more casual has very little basis to it until the crowd that thinks as such points out, another, and more valid reason.

Cooperative play, by nature, is meant to get players to work together to defeat the game. While there can be a competitive element to that (i.e. whoever collects the most coins, kills the most enemies, etc.), the basic purpose of cooperative play won't change. The effect it has on bringing core and casual gamers together will remain. If we're talking about purely competitive multiplayer, like in Super Smash Brothers, then I would agree with you.

Again, this doesn't mean core gamers won't enjoy this as well! The brilliant thing about co-op is that is appealing to everyone, casual or core. Nintendo is being very smart with this game in giving it broad, far-reaching appeal. It will be a quality game and it will sell tens of millions by next year, no doubt.

 

The second part of your post contradicts the point of Co-Op being casual. If it appeals to all demographics, then it can't be classified to appealing only to one. We aren't even talking about the casual demographic. We are talking about the gameplay being toned down. That is far from the case with this game. To be honest the difficulty has been geared up a notch in multiplayer. Not only do you have to worry about the platforming elements, but you also have to worry about the other players being competative and your enemy(not your friend.) Just go back and re-read deathbleachnarutodbz's post. You will see that he isn't talking about demographic, but difficulty. In that case, the game would NOT be casualized by adding co-op. It may be more mainstream, but definately not toned down in depth, nor in difficulty.

 

Also co-op in video games, is two or more players playing one campaign. While the word it is rooted from might mean working together, that is definately not the only basis that it can have in a Video Game. If you were following NSMBWii you would realize that it isn't meant to be used to work together, though it could be. The basis of the co-op in this game is to get the most points, and to do this you must play against your opponent.

 

Edit: To sum up the first part of my post, Mainstream =/= Casual.

I'm saying that co-operative gameplay appeals to a casual audience. I'm not saying that this is the only audience it appeals to. My reasons were posted before: Casual gamers (people who don't spend so much time playing games) tend to enjoy playing games with other people than having to play alone because it presents more value in this way. Again, this is not to say a more core gamer would not want to play a game with other people, but a core gamer would be able to tolerate playing through a long, challanging single-player game while a casual gamer might not.

The second point was that the cooperation of players, even if there is a competitive element, eases the entry barrier for a casual gamer. This is because in playing with other people, especially with more seasoned gamers, a casual gamer can feel much more comfortable in that they don't have to take care of everything. Yes, a competitive element is prevelent in New Super Mario Bros Wii, but that doesn't mean the main cooperative gameplay is suddenly not appealing to a casual audience.

For a casual gamer, the basis may not be to get the most points, but may be to simply beat a level with their friends.