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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Iwata explains why Japanese love 2D and not so much 3D

alfredofroylan on 09 May 2010

Looks like they're afraid of getting lost.

“As we see it, one reason why a number of people who love 2D Mario do not want to play 3D Mario appears to be because they are afraid to be lost in the 3D world by not knowing the exact directions, while they feel that they can play with 2D Mario with no such issues. One of the development themes of the original Super Mario Galaxy was to create a 3D world where people may not be easily lost, and the spherical shape was adopted as the game play theme for this reason." - Satoru Iwata

It's all about motion sickness



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thelifatree on 09 May 2010

hmm but don't they love dragon quest almost as much or more? :P that's 3D



Beuli2 on 09 May 2010

If they were afraid of getting lost, RPGs wouldn't make so much sucess there. This is one of the few times that I have to disagree with Iwata, but Japanese (heck, we can consider the whole world, if we compare the sales of 3D and 2D Marios) simply consider that 3D Mario are inferior. The internet can disagreee as much as they want, but that is the truth.



Above: still the best game of the year.

Games4Fun on 09 May 2010

Because 2D platformers are better than 3D



griffinA on 09 May 2010

I agree with him. He's just saying that Japanese gamers and "casual gamers" find 2-d Mario much more simple and straightforward. It's true. 3-d Mario is much much more complex than 2-d Mario where the only objective is to run to the right side of the screen.



"Pier was a chef, a gifted and respected chef who made millions selling his dishes to the residents of New York City and Boston, he even had a famous jingle playing in those cities that everyone knew by heart. He also had a restaurant in Los Angeles, but not expecting LA to have such a massive population he only used his name on that restaurant and left it to his least capable and cheapest chefs. While his New York restaurant sold kobe beef for $100 and his Boston restaurant sold lobster for $50, his LA restaurant sold cheap hotdogs for $30. Initially these hot dogs sold fairly well because residents of los angeles were starving for good food and hoped that the famous name would denote a high quality, but most were disappointed with what they ate. Seeing the success of his cheap hot dogs in LA, Pier thought "why bother giving Los Angeles quality meats when I can oversell them on cheap hotdogs forever, and since I don't care about the product anyways, why bother advertising them? So Pier continued to only sell cheap hotdogs in LA and was surprised to see that they no longer sold. Pier's conclusion? Residents of Los Angeles don't like food."

"The so-called "hardcore" gamer is a marketing brainwashed, innovation shunting, self-righteous idiot who pays videogame makers far too much money than what is delivered."

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leo-j on 09 May 2010

that quote is funny



 

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TWRoO on 09 May 2010

I think he is right when talking about platformers in a way.

Games like RPGs incorporate exploration into them, a platformer is not about exploration, it's about jumping and timing. Having to do that in 3D can be a slower and more complicated process, thus it detracts from the point of the game.

I personally still prefer 3D Mario, but I have good 3D spatial awareness.



LordTheNightKnight on 09 May 2010

"Go fiddle around until you find a star" isn't getting lost. It's just not clear design. I like the 3D Mario games, but they are not like the 2D Mario games, and if they were, then they might sell better.



A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.

Plus, just for the hell of it: Kelly Brook at the 2008 BAFTAs

MrBubbles on 09 May 2010

i wonder if thats why ff13 is the way it is also.



"I like my steaks how i like my women.  Bloody and all over my face"

"Its like sex, but with a winner!"

MrBubbles Review Threads: Bill Gates, Jak II, Kingdom Hearts II, The Strangers, Sly 2, Crackdown, Zohan, Quarantine, Klungo Sssavesss Teh World, MS@E3'08, WATCHMEN(movie), Shadow of the Colossus, The Saboteur

CitizenOfVerona on 09 May 2010

Am I the only one who likes 3d Mario better then 2d Mario? Okay, well for new stuff anyway.
Super Mario World and Bros. 3 are some of my favorite games. But if I had to chose between Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, I'd pick Galaxy any day of the week. NSMBWii wasn't all that fun for me, I found it to be a disappointment, but I don't care, play what you want.