While he "would have loved for it to be online capable" himself, the Nintendo of America President explained that the developers of Marios latest adventure thought local multiplayer was favourable In an interview with Kotaku, Nintendo of America Presi...
In an interview with Kotaku, Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime, answered some questions on the just released New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks from his personal suite at New York’s Waldorf Astoria.
Starting off with NSMBWii, Reggie was very positive about the broad appeal of the game. "I really do believe that New Super Mario Bros. Wii will satisfy even your most jaded, even your most competitive player," he said. "I’ll tell you, there’s nothing like playing New Super Mario Bros. with three of your friends. You’re picking each other up and throwing each other into the lava pits and the crevasse. This game is the most fun."
The questions then focused on multiplayer with the title. An area the game has received some criticism from the media and gamers was the lack of online functionality. While Reggie holds that the game is still a "superb" experience alone, he admitted online play was something that he would have liked to see in the title.
"This was a decision made purely by the developers," he noted. "They believe this experience, in the same room, to be elbowing your friends and family members as you’re playing the game [is ideal]. It was really their decision. I personally would have loved for it to be online capable as well, but having played the game, I really can’t fault it for not being online multiplayer."
Now onto Nintendo’s other big end of year release, Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for DS, which Reggie is "personally looking forward to most this holiday season." The first question asked was regarding the heavy secrecy Nintendo have been keeping of the game up until very recently. Nintendo usually doesn’t give away all that much information about their games until they’re close at hand, but this one in particular has been kept very quiet.
"We believe that to tease fans over an extended period of time really doesn’t do the gamer just service," he said. "So, we have always been mindful of: When’s the launch date? When’s the right time to share information? How do we break information? In particular, with this game, given the Zelda dynamic — which you find out about right at the start of the game — we really wanted to keep that secret and have it be a big reveal. That is something very new and very different in a Zelda game, [having] Princess Zelda essentially playing along with you. That’s essentially what drove the strategy for how we reveal the information, when do we reveal the information and the fact that it had to be fairly late."
Last, the difference of the covers for the game in different regions came up. The American cover features quite a cranky looking Link alongside a Phantom, with a train in the background, compared to the comparatively peaceful European version with just Link and Zelda riding on a train in the countryside.
"We just thought the package art we developed with [Nintendo’s Japanese headquarters office] NCL that highlights the train and highlights the Phantom… was a great representation of the game," he said, and made clear that "not at all" does it point to our American friends wanting a more edgy Link. He was quick to point out, however, that he was proud to see the Zelda franchise in North America now outselling Europe and Japan.
Zelda: Spirit Tracks should be arriving here on December 10, while, as you surely must know by now, New Super Mario Bros. Wii has been out since the 12th of November.
Source: Kotaku
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