Wouldn't it be counter productive to have this feature be in place so the developers can ramp up the difficulty level? The reason they need this in the first place is because the games are already too hard for a significant portion of the audience, so making it even harder will cause these people to become dependant on the feature.

The reason they now have license to make it harder is because they can have the game show less experienced players what to do (without doing it for them), so they can ramp up the challenge.

Possible.  We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

But it might also help train the newbies.  I know I've watched speedrun videos of the 2-D Mario games so I could practice and compare my speedrun moves.  Maybe if somebody can't make the right double jump or wall jump or slide or time a jump on a moving platform, just seeing it happen in front of them can help a great deal.  Maybe after using the Super Guide on the first few levels they'll start to get the hang of it?

Or maybe the map marks which levels you used the Super Guide on, to motivate you to try to beat every level naturally to get some sort of 100% bonus.

Show them what to do? You move to the right and jump. People aren't dying because they don't know what to do. They're dying because between the timed jumps and enemy AI, it's too difficult to advance. Showing them a more gifted computer AI doing it for them is not going to improve their own reflexes and game playing. Ramping up the difficulty to appease the rest of us is allowing those needing this feature to be left out in the cold.

@Rubang-Speedruns help you because you already have the fundamental mechanics of the game in hand. The problem is that some people are so bad at learning games that they can't grasp the reflexes to dodge turtles and goombas, and time lava pit jumps. Those people need this feature on a Mario game with regular difficulty, otherwise Nintendo wouldn't have felt the need to create this Super Guide. Making it harder is going to force them at actually excel at the game to get anywhere, and they have a hard enough time already as it is.

Yep. Hopefully if you beat it with the super-guide, a green "L" flag shows up instead of a red "M" flag.

No one will call it "super guide." They'll just call it "using Luigi."

If you beat it with the super guide, it returns you to the start of the level and makes you beat the level. What it does not do is allow you to skip the level, as Nintendo reps have stated dozens of times

Onyxmeth,

No one is going to try their hardest and still need to use Luigi in every single level.

If people get to see more levels, with different traps and enemies, and different environments and music, they'll keep playing more, and keep improving. If you have to keep playing the same thing over and over again until you beat it, you don't necesarily get better at the rest of the game.

I remember being stuck for MONTHS on King Zing Sting in Donkey Kong Country 2, when I was young. And after beating it, there was no other level similar to it afterwards. So it didn't help me improve, it was just frustrating.

Now as an adult, with (at least a little) less free time, I don't know if I would go back and beat such a level if I were able to skip it. But does that matter? The levels after King Zing Sting are amazing, and why shouldn't I be able to have fun with those?

*sigh*

How is that relevant Erik? This super guide feature still would not allow you to skip the boss fight, because it is a GUIDE

scottie,

You are wrong. Read the Kotaku article, which is linked to in the GoNintendo article in the first post.

http://kotaku.com/5374432/kind-code-demo-shows-new-super-mario-bros-on-auto+pilot

"What separates Super Guide from traditional video-based playthroughs of game levels is that the player can assume control during the Luigi run. At any moment, the player can press a button and cancel the computer control of Luigi. An indicator showing that that game is in Super Guide mode stays on screen, and the player assumes control of Luigi, rather than switching to Mario. But the breakthrough in the feature is that the player is not starting the level from the beginning. They are taking control in the midst of the Super Guide run. Thanks to this, players who repeatedly struggle with a tough part of a level in New Super Mario Bros. Wii will be able to let Super Guide Luigi get past that tough part for them. Even though a player takes over as Luigi using this help system, the completion of the level counts and they can play deeper into the game."

Nintendo reps have stated all sorts of random, vague things, but the Kotaku article is very specific in explaining how it actually works.

specific =/= correct - who do you trust more as to whether it actually completes the game for you. Kotaku have said it does, Nintendo have said it doesn't