Nintendo "Demo Play" Coming to Handhelds

[Andy Chalk]

Nintendo "Demo Play" Coming to Handhelds

"Demo Play," the recently-revealed Nintendo DS [http://www.wii.com].

New Super Mario Bros. Wii [http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/06/67677679/1], which is scheduled for a Christmas launch. The new feature will let the game take over from the player and play itself through particularly tough areas, allowing them to avoid the frustration and, one would imagine, sense of accomplishment that goes along with having to struggle through the hard bits. Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto said other Wii games would support Demo Play in the future as well.

It now appears that the Wii won't be the only Nintendo system boasting this feature. According to an article in the Nikkei, it will also be offered in "upcoming portable titles," although no specific games were named. The report says the new system is suitable for "high speed action games."

Demo Play is designed to help attract new and casual players to Nintendo's various titles by offering them an "out" when they bump up against rough spots in games, without making things overly easy for gamers who enjoy the extra challenge. A closer look at the planned help system is available at Shamus Young's Experienced Points [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/6208-Nintendos-Ungaming].

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5309041/demo-play-coming-to-nintendo-handhelds]


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[messy]

WHY? a million times Why. The DS was always a bit casual but it was more of a "hardcore" console then the Wii. Those that buy the games that would use demo play (I assume it wont be on cooking mama or brain training) will NEVER use it. It just goes against the whole Video game concept

 

[Sevre]

I sort of want to buy a DS now.

 

[Neosage]

I think it is safe to say, this isn't cool.

 

[randommaster]

I just don't see how this is in any way good.

The worst case scenario would be if this is in Scribblenauts though. My god..

Actually, since Scribblenauts's lexicon is about five times larger than the average person's it would be cool to use this to see just what it can come up with. This would be especially cool with the mode that doesn't let you use the same word twice. Even limiting it to one of those puzzles would be cool to watch.

 

[Avatar Roku]

I don't get why everyone is reacting so strongly to this. It isn't like you have to use it.

 

[Aardvark Soup]

OH NO! NINTENDO IS ADDING A COMPLETELY OPTIONAL FEATURE TO SOME OF THEIR GAMES THAT WILL MAKE THEM PLAYABLE FOR THOSE EVIL CASUAL GAMERS! HOW UTTERLY DISASTEROUS!!

Seriously, if you think you are too 'hardcore' for this feature, simply don't use it. In my opninion this will be a good thing because it allows new gamers to also enjoy these games and this might mean that Nintendo will increase the overall difficulty of the games that have this.

 

[Avatar Roku]

OH NO! NINTENDO IS ADDING A COMPLETELY OPTIONAL FEATURE TO SOME OF THEIR GAMES THAT WILL MAKE THEM PLAYABLE FOR THOSE EVIL CASUAL GAMERS! HOW UTTERLY DISASTEROUS!!

Seriously, if you think you are too 'hardcore' for this feature, simply don't use it. In my opninion this will be a good thing because it allows new gamers to also enjoy these games and this might mean that Nintendo will increase the overall difficulty of the games that have this.

Well said. As I said above, I really don't get what all the hubbub is about.

 

[JediMB]

Well, I didn't expect this, but I'm not surprised either.

Yeah, moving on...

 

[Jinoru]

Wow. Its a tool for noobs to stay noobs. nice and disgusting.

 

[Credge]

Yeah, I don't think so.

The whole problem I have with it is more of what it will cause. Have you ever been braging about having beaten a game? I know I have, and I know alot of people here will agree on that they have as well.

Yeah, that's not really a problem at all.

 

[Pendragon9]

Let's hope people aren't too braindead to actually use this. Only a loser would. Glad they don't make it mandatory.

 

[slopeslider]

Here's my take on this:
I don't LIKE the feature. I hate to sound like a snob, but part of the core foundations is problem solving, and I dont think they should take that out for the 'expanded' audience.
That said, We're forgetting the fact that this is _OPTIONAL_. Will it be in the new mario games? Yes. Will it be in Phoenix Wright, Strategy games and JRPG's? Most likely not. Remember this feature is to help newbies get thru casual games, but we are all forgetting 1 thing:
It's got to be a game they actually _WANT_ to play! No one's going to look at, say Final Fantasy Tactics and think 'If I cant beat it I'll use demo mode!'. Most likely they wont give it 5 sec. of their time at wal-mart and instead turn to the shiny Ubisoft™ HorseZ or DogZ games. This will only be in games they want to play, so dont worry. 'Core' games developers who want to stay that way will not be putting this in. Certain games dont grab 'casual' people's attention, so why would developers risk losing the Core gamers just so casuals can be unintrested in the newest JRPG starring a big-chested 11-yr old?

(Just kidding, Jrpg's are cool by me)

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

Yeah, I don't think so.

The whole problem I have with it is more of what it will cause. Have you ever been braging about having beaten a game? I know I have, and I know alot of people here will agree on that they have as well. Well, now you can't do that anymore, now anyone can beat it with no problem and just say "pfft, I did that too.". I know it's not much, but, it's still something, and the feature is still stupid.

Btw, I strongly doubt that they would 1up the difficulty of their games. Considering how they're currently making it playable for people who need easy challenges, why would they increase the difficulty? Doesn't really make sense.

One last thing, who the hell enjoys having the game play itself?

The kind of people who will use this aren't people who are going to 1up you on accomplishment. And all that is necessary is some kind of badge to show you played the game without the feature, which I am pretty sure they are doing, along with disabling saves.

Also no one enjoys having the game play itself completely, but this is no different than when a person asks their sibling to get past a bit for them. My cousin used to ask me all the time, until eventually he stopped because he wanted to do it himself. I don't see this as any different.

 

[megapenguinx]

I don't get all the complaining, you don't have to use it if you don't want to.

 

[DM.]

This would be a good idea in some FPS games, with it going into third person mode.

I mean you could just waste all your ammo apart from your pistol, and then go into a crowed room and turn demo mode on.

 

[The Shade]

And here's me, who just bought a DS two days ago.

Well, at least now I won't have to actually play any games on it, freeing up more time for work.