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Frogger on 05 February 2015
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Kynan Pearson — Creative Director at Bluepoint Games (Previously: Metroid Prime series, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Halo 4)

Hardware

“I’ll be buying Nintendo’s next handheld regardless of new features or functionality because I have had great experiences with Nintendo’s portable systems and software and I can’t imagine that changing.

I would really like to see Nintendo work towards unifying their home console and handheld platforms. In the most basic terms, I hope that anything I purchase on their next handheld can be played on the console with a single purchase. (Cross play/cross buy/cross save).

I’d love to see their next handheld include a console mode option allowing you to play games on the go or push the output to your big screen TV when playing at home. Ever since I first saw the Wii U Gamepad and the Wii U hardware, I was hoping you’d be able to take the Gamepad on the go. I know there are technical limitations that may prevent this from being possible, but I would have loved to see a new Nintendo handheld take the form of a smaller, improved Wii U Gamepad with the Wii U hardware built in so you could just play Wii U games while you travel.

That being said, I think their new console needs a new iconic name and identity that doesn’t rely on the Wii or DS branding. It would be great if they chose to simply call it “the Nintendo” or something else that won’t get confused with earlier systems. Nintendo tends to incorporate radical new ideas or gimmicks in their hardware so I fully expect to be surprised by an aspect of the next handheld.”

Software

“I hope Nintendo continues to allow more third party studios to utilize their franchises/characters in spin offs or direct sequels. I’m hoping we get so see studios like Platinum Games or CyberConnect2 get to take on games featuring major Nintendo characters so we get more big releases than Nintendo is able to do internally. By allowing external studios to take on things like Zelda, Mario and Metroid, Nintendo’s flagship teams would be able to develop unique and risky original projects. I’d love to see Nintendo finally take on building a Pokémon MMO. This could be the software that drives people to the next Nintendo portable system.

It would be nice to see Nintendo actively pursue third party publishers/developers to make new sequels or reboots of classic franchises that were once associated with the NES and Super Nintendo. The “New Super Mario” series, “Donkey Kong Country” series and “Zelda: A Link Between Worlds” prove that classic style games can be very successful in the modern world. I’d love to see Nintendo funded/supported sequels to series like Megaman, Castlevania, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Double Dragon, Actraiser, Contra, Blaster Master. Etc.

Wishful Thinking: I’d love to see Nintendo do something revolutionary with independent developers and the community. Nintendo is now supporting the creativity of their fan base by allowing them to create levels and content for one of their most beloved franchises in Mario Maker. Imagine if there was a portion of the eShop dedicated to” fan games” where indie developers could release and charge money for unlicensed games based on Nintendo properties. There would be a clear separation between official releases and fan games and Nintendo could take a generous cut of the earnings.

 This would accomplish many things for Nintendo -

  • It would drive independent devs and potentially major studios to Nintendo’s new hardware en masse.
  • It would create a completely new and disruptive market, which is something Nintendo has seen major success with.
  • The higher quality fan releases would rise to the top and Nintendo could even help promote the better fan games with a “Nintendo’s Picks” section.
  • There would be unexpected and creative uses of Nintendo characters and worlds.
  • Nintendo would be able to pluck new talent from the community.
  • There would be tons content to keep players happy in the community between major official releases.
  • Nintendo could potentially promote a fan game to an official release if something stellar is made.
  • There is already a huge selection of fan games that could quickly be ported to the next Nintendo handheld.

There are many risks associated with such a bold and unexpected move by Nintendo, but they could completely change the playing field in the entertainment industry in the same way Apple was able to with the introduction of the app store. Nintendo could put policies in place to prevent inappropriate usage of their franchises. The community could be used to help them enforce and police games prior to their release. Think of how many creative and talented Nintendo fans there are in the world. Imagine how much they could create with a little support, encouragement and incentive.”


I've been waiting to see a thread for this since the article was posted. Can't believe I missed it. This is my favorite interview, both because of it's subject matter and it's credentials. An ex-Retro/343 employee. Love it.

Cross buy/cross save/cross play seems obvious at this point, but it's encouraging to see that these developers want to see this as well. What intrigies me the most is what is said in the software section. It is a topic I actually planned on making a thread on a few months back, but never got around to it.

"It would be nice to see Nintendo actively pursue third party publishers/developers to make new sequels or reboots of classic franchises that were once associated with the NES and Super Nintendo. The “New Super Mario” series, “Donkey Kong Country” series and “Zelda: A Link Between Worlds” prove that classic style games can be very successful in the modern world. I’d love to see Nintendo funded/supported sequels to series like Megaman, Castlevania, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Double Dragon, Actraiser, Contra, Blaster Master. Etc. "

I think this would be an absolutely fantastic idea for Nintendo. But I think it could be taken even further. Along side those classic reboots, Nintendo could publish 3D reboots of those games, but with a classic aesthetic. For example, Nintendo could publish a 2D Mega Man remake of the 10 classic Mega Man games all in one compilation game, but with remade music and everything in the Smash art style. Then, they could publish a completely new SM3D-style Mega Man game in that same aesthetic, as a reboot of the franchise.

Contra could be rebooted as a Splatoon style 3rd person action platformer. Bullets would still work the same way they do in the 2D games, and it would retain the same bullet-hell gameplay, but on a 3D plain. But that would be along side another 2D game of the same ilk as Contra Rebirth. Another 2D Castlevania game could be brought back with the same SotN-like Metroidvania level design, but then they could fund a 3D reboot of the series with a more Metroid Prime-like platform-heavy level design, colorful gothic-Halloween aesthetic, and gameplay more like Curse of Darkness. And God, would I love a 3D Demon's Crest. What this guy leaves out is Street Fighter, which was huge on the SNES. Nintendo vs. Capcom?

My point is that reboots of these classic franchises, especially modern 3D reboots that retain the feel of the originals, would do wonders to sell Nintendo again. Bring us back to an era when nearly everything as a platformer, except this time make them 3D instead. Nintendo would be wise to fund more games like these.