Nintendo Land Was Originally Going To Feature Star Fox And Excitebike

Posted Wed, 12 Dec 2012 | 15:15 GMT by Damien McFerran

Developers reveal the ideas that didn't make it into the final game

In this week's issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu, the developers behind the Wii U title Nintendo Land have spoken about its creation in a roundtable interview. Interestingly, they revealed that ideas for potential mini-game settings had to be put aside as development progressed.

One concept that never made it into the game was a Star Fox-themed mini-game, as director Yoshikazu Yamashita explains:

Generally it was easy to match the gameplay from the prototypes with one series or another. For example, a game with air and ground battles works well with Metroid. There was a time when Metroid Blast was going to be a Star Fox title, but the prototype featured this vehicle that hovered around like a helicopter and we figured that'd never be a good match for an Arwing.

Co-director Takayuki Shimamura reveals that other ideas were also shelved:

I'll admit that some of the tie-ins, like Donkey Kong and Octopus, might be stretching it a little. With the way the courses are designed, we were originally thinking about making Donkey Kong's Crash Course into an Excitebike or 1080 Snowboarding title at first.

Would you have liked to have seen Fox and friends in Nintendo Land? Or do you think these characters - along with other famous Nintendo faces - will make their way into the inevitable sequel? Drop a comment to let us know.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/12/nintendo_land_was_originally_going_to_feature_star_fox_and_excitebike

Nintendo Explains Why Nintendo Land Doesn't Include Online Multiplayer

Posted Wed, 12 Dec 2012 | 11:45 GMT by Orla Madden

Incredible fun

It's all about encouraging gamers to play together in real life

We're massive fans of Nintendo Land here at Nintendo Life Towers - multiplayer action is rife in Animal Crossing Sweet Day and Luigi's Ghost Mansion, but there are many out there who haven't sampled the wonders of the Wii U's star attraction due to a lack of potential co-players, and these same people probably wish the game featured some kind of online mode.

However, the lack of online is intentional. Speaking with Famitsu, Nintendo Land producer Katsuya Eguchi explained how the developers wanted gamers to interact with each each other in the real world, designing attractions aimed at people who are playing in the same room as one another:

Nintendo Land's multiplayer attractions work because of the communication shared between the people playing them, They were set up from the start to be something people in the same room could enjoy.

It hasn't stopped Miis appearing in your plaza however - it's a charming online addition coming across your friend's Mii where you can check their status in the game.

Is online multiplayer a feature you would have liked to see included in Nintendo Land, or do you prefer the more intimate nature of the current setup? Let us know in the comments section.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/12/nintendo_explains_why_nintendo_land_doesnt_include_online_multiplayer

I am possibly one of a very few people that believe that NL will be as big as Wii Sports, simple because it is easily upgradeable with various mini-games that Nintendo can drop in as they feel like. I see NL being a sort of Mario Party for the Wii U.

Nintendo, y u no DLC?