Miyamoto: Mario is Coming to Mobile Because That's Where People Play Games

[flying_whimsy]

Edit: Oh, and Sonic did the same thing a few years back with Sonic Runners. I guess that while their fortunes have differed, the hedgehog is still faster than the plumber. ;p

That made me snicker quite a bit.

OT: In other words, they are going to start putting out barebones versions of all of their IPs on mobile platforms as a way of advertising their console releases while making money on the freemium models. I can't really argue with it, but it seems like the sort of thing that will only further cheapen their value. At least they aren't just going to try and sell ports of their older games to us (at least not yet): the emulation scene has made that about as redundant as possible.

Did it really have to be iOS only, though?

 

[Darmani]

Huh. Impressive. It took only one post into the thread for the "mobile games are shovelware" argument to spring up.

While not *inherently* having to be so... I think it IS an issue with the market. What great software or trends are avoiding the shovelware or trick you out of your wallet deal?

I'd also be able to take that argument more seriously if it wasn't the same argument being applied by the "PC master race" to console games, and by film snobs who declare games as a medium to be a waste of time, who had to defend against literary snobs that films were a waste of time, who a century ago had to deal with theatre critics claiming that novels were waste of time, and, well, you get the idea.

Dude the super casual and rote and junk and whale focus based on microtransactions of the mobile market is a thing. Particularly geared to experiences to be short, quick, addictive, and entice to spend money for instant grats. This would be like PC gamers denying the issue of patching culture on their end while complaining about the need for dlc/patches on console games.

Edit: Oh, and Sonic did the same thing a few years back with Sonic Runners. I guess that while their fortunes have differed, the hedgehog is still faster than the plumber. ;p

People are celebrating the elevation of Sonic fangame, not the release of a mobile Sonic game.

 

[Hawki]

Dude the super casual and rote and junk and whale focus based on microtransactions of the mobile market is a thing. Particularly geared to experiences to be short, quick, addictive, and entice to spend money for instant grats.

Three problems:

a) You're assuming that all the mobile market is like that.

b) You're assuming that's an inherent problem - there's certainly a time and place for quick games that last only a few minutes as time allows, and I say that on the personal level, having played games like Angry Birds and Battle Tetris.

c) I have little sympathy for people who claim victim status after willingly spending their own money on microtransactions.

People are celebrating the elevation of Sonic fangame, not the release of a mobile Sonic game.

Both Sonic Runners games were relatively well received, people aren't celebrating them now because they came out quite awhile ago. Of course Sonic Mania is the hub-bub of Sonic fandom because it's the game with the most clout, and yet to be released. After Sonic Mania is released, people will start talking about Sonic 2017 more, and so on and so forth.