Mazty said:
Gameplay mechanic - use the wii u pad as a console for a vehicle/mode of transport that involves numerous functions e.g. power, radar, ejection etc etc. Where can that be fitted into? Mario? Link, Brawl, Metroid? Nope. It's Nintendo. I loved the SNES and thought the N64 was brilliant. What I don't do however is mindlessly worship a company and unrealistically view any of their products and I'm not going to start to do so now. Nintendo admitted it sucks at core games, and those games tend to be mature in focus, ergo by sticking to it's own IP's Nintendo are limiting their options, not expanding them. |
I'm guessing they would put it on Star Fox. You've got the ships, tank, submarine, and could add a mech too if they really wanted. It even featured "precision" damage by way of attacking certain parts on enemies/bosses. They don't start out saying "Okay, what can we fit into an existing idea" they start with gameplay demos, and then in order to maximize profits they see if an existing IP fits within the gameplay. Kirby's Epic Yarn originally had Prince Puff as the lead without Kirby at all, Smash Bros didn't originally feature any Nintendo characters . They added the existing franchises to them because new IP's generally do not sell very well, especially when pushed up against their usual games.
Take Pikmin for instance. They had a tech demo for the Gamecube referred to as Mario 128 that featured 128 Marios running around picking up blocks, rolling each other off the platform and so on. That sort of gameplay mechanic truely didn't fit into any of their current franchises (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Star Fox etc etc) so Miyamoto came up with a new idea. He is creating a new IP for the Wii U as we speak even. Granted, it probably won't be "mature" or "gritty" or anything like that, but it doesn't need to be. If people want that, they have every other platform you could think of to get their fix.
If you start out thinking "New IP" you end up with a more difficult development than if you start out with pure gameplay ideas. When Retro first became a part of Nintendo, they made several new IP's, but they all ended up being cancelled because they were half-inspired, low quality messes. Once Retro was able to put their full effort into Metroid Prime, they worked magic.
OT: Yes, I think Nintendo can still surprise us. We know very little about LttP2 (not even the final title) and I expect the wall shifting and vertical 3D aspects will make it one of Nintendo's best games, like Galaxy was. Imo, Skyward Sword was impressive. Maybe not for the linear story (loved the plot though), but for the gameplay that made motion gaming fun and showcased some of the true potential of the Wii. It came way too late to the console to inspire ideas from anyone else. I fully expect Nintendo to bring some quality games that redefine genres in the way Galaxy did...there's a reason why there haven't been any (successful) 3D platformers since Galaxy 2. Those two are the gold standard, and everything else is nowhere near up to par. It's still far too early to say they aren't able to surprise people anymore, after E3 would be a better time for this discussion, and preferably after the games are released so it isn't based on pure speculation.
