Miyamoto Unimpressed By Mario Kart 7's Customization Options

[Beautiful End]

Y u make dat face, Miyamoto? I thought you didn't like the new features. D:

But yeah, I agree with him completely. At first, when I heard a Mario Kart game was gonna introduce the whole Buy-new-part-for-your-ride thing, I thought "Oh, like Modnation Racers?". AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!

Mario Kart games are fun. What made them interesting originally was that it was much like Smash bros; you could choose a random Nintendo character and race around. But if you ask me, Nintendo went a little overboard with Mario Kart, while Smash Bros hasn't been raped abused as much as the former.

Honestly, whatever happened to the first 6 Mario Karts? I only remember like 3 or 4 tops. This is a series that cannot offer much beyond what it has already offered without messing with the core gameplay, like Miyamoto said. I think it's time to let this series rest, at least until you release the WiiU. Because we all know you're gonna do it anyway.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

So, uh, Nintendo? Would it be okay with you if, after December 2nd, you put your most talented and creative second-party studio to work on something...demanding of talent and creativity?

I hear there's this thing called "Metroid" that needs to be resuscitated...

I second this.

Metroid in the hands of Retro Studios was ten billion times better than that travesty in the hands of Team Ninja...

 

[Scars Unseen]

Of course customization doesn't add anything to the gaming experience - it never has!

I'll never understand the strange trend these days that demands all games have choices or customization. They don't make a game more fun at all. I'd rather have development teams spend more time on making fun gameplay (and story if the game has any focus on it) than choices and customization, really.

This is utterly false and tells me that you don't play the same sorts of games as me at all. Customization doesn't add anything? Customization more or less makes the mech combat genre. Armored Core? Mechwarrior? Heavy Gear? Ever hear of any of those? And what about the Space Sim genre? Hell, why do you think The Elder Scrolls series gets played for as long a time as it does? Clever gameplay can make a game fun, but customization keeps the game's fun from wearing out.

There is no strange trend. Customization has been a strong selling point for a very very long time. I remember one of my favorite games on the C64 was Mail-Order Monsters, and that game was all about customization. Most of the best games that get the "nostalgia" tag are well remembered and well loved because of the great variety and freedom that the cusomization brings.

 

[Fasckira]

Customisation is ace to show off with online. In racing games, I like customising my ride so that people not only think, "Hey, thats cool" but also recognise me on the race track without seeing my nickname above.

I dont see customisation being that much of a leap in Mario Kart though, we've already had unlockable karts in previous titles so this a pretty logical move. Mario Kart DS remains my favourite MK so far and that had a huge range of choices (especially once you unlocked the let-anyone-drive-any-kart feature).

I for one welcome our new MK title.

 

[Lead Herring]

Legendary developer Shirgeru Miyamoto doesn't think Mario Kart 7's kart customization options add much to the core experience.

I think you meant to say, "Mario Kart 7's kart kustomization koptions kadd kuch ko khe kore kxperience."

...

This is just what goes on in my head.

That seems more in line with Kortal Kombat.

*Mortal

 

[JediMB]

"on top of a solid control and gameplay foundation."

Did he not play Mario Kart Wii with the remote then? It was great with the gamecube controller, but not so much otherwise...

Nothing wrong with playing Mario Kart Wii with the Wii Remote + Nunchuck setup.

 

[LeonLethality]

Hey, at least the story was good, and the darkest yet. I almost think that Paper Mario 3d will have to have Mario kill a kitten or something to top Super Paper Mario's darkness. Seriously, that is the darkest Nintendo game ever.

No I think Mother 3 takes the cake on that one, it was a very dark game.

More on topic, I think I agree with Miyamoto here, I think it's a really solid series for what it does and customization doesn't seem all that important compared to better mechanics/tighter controls/better balance and so on.

 

[Yopaz]

So, uh, Nintendo? Would it be okay with you if, after December 2nd, you put your most talented and creative second-party studio to work on something...demanding of talent and creativity?

I hear there's this thing called "Metroid" that needs to be resuscitated...

Metroid Prime 4 indeed. It should start with Samus dreaming the end of Metroid Other M then waking up with a scream and saying "Thank god that was just a horrible dream" then proceed to kick some ass in the old fashioned style.

I am all for customization so I think I will like this Mario Kart game. Customizing my ride was part of what I liked about Saints Row 2 and F-Zero GX. Oh well, I did pre-order it and got an excellent discount for doing so, this just makes me more happy that I did.

 

[Shia-Neko-Chan]

Of course customization doesn't add anything to the gaming experience - it never has!

I'll never understand the strange trend these days that demands all games have choices or customization. They don't make a game more fun at all. I'd rather have development teams spend more time on making fun gameplay (and story if the game has any focus on it) than choices and customization, really.

This is utterly false and tells me that you don't play the same sorts of games as me at all. Customization doesn't add anything? Customization more or less makes the mech combat genre. Armored Core? Mechwarrior? Heavy Gear? Ever hear of any of those? And what about the Space Sim genre? Hell, why do you think The Elder Scrolls series gets played for as long a time as it does? Clever gameplay can make a game fun, but customization keeps the game's fun from wearing out.

There is no strange trend. Customization has been a strong selling point for a very very long time. I remember one of my favorite games on the C64 was Mail-Order Monsters, and that game was all about customization. Most of the best games that get the "nostalgia" tag are well remembered and well loved because of the great variety and freedom that the cusomization brings.

Perhaps I should clarify. The mechwarrior series customization works because it actually has an impact.

Elder Scrolls customization is mods, of course that adds to it.

I'm talking about stuff like Female shephard, in depth facial customization for single player games, making cars simply look different in Mario Kart, etc.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

So, uh, Nintendo? Would it be okay with you if, after December 2nd, you put your most talented and creative second-party studio to work on something...demanding of talent and creativity?

I hear there's this thing called "Metroid" that needs to be resuscitated...

I'd be much more interested to see an original title by Retro Studios. Sure, they've done a great job with every game they've worked on, but I think their talent is being wasted, they've been reduced to working on hand me downs from Nintendo, regardless of how good they are, I can't help but feel like they could be accomplishing so much more...

 

[Zach of Fables]

Considering the core concept of Mario Kart hasn't changed since I was in middle school, that's not saying much.

 

[odanhammer]

Hey Mr.Nintendo , i have a wonderful idea for you guys.
RATHER then resurrect old games , as much as i'd love to see earthbound 2 or chrono trigger 2 ( i'm not going to include chrono cross as it was too much of a different game to include).
I want a truly new game brought to me by Nintendo.
No Mario , no Metroids , no go-karts , no kongs , something new.
Thats what i want something new.

 

[Something Amyss]

Core gameplay. That amuses me in a series that's more or less all about random crap.

 

[Electrogecko]

"on top of a solid control and gameplay foundation."

Did he not play Mario Kart Wii with the remote then? It was great with the gamecube controller, but not so much otherwise...

So, you mean you prefered the GC controller? Cuz plenty of world record holders and first time players alike are just fine without it.

So, uh, Nintendo? Would it be okay with you if, after December 2nd, you put your most talented and creative second-party studio to work on something...demanding of talent and creativity?

I hear there's this thing called "Metroid" that needs to be resuscitated...

Hey, Intelligent Systems is pretty cool too! They're the guys that make the Fire Emblem and Paper Mario games! Those guys are important too, right guys!... Right... Right?...

They still owe us an apology after Super Paper Mario.

P.S. Thanks

I never understood why Super Paper Mario gets any hate at all, let alone the the amount that I see. What's so wrong with the game? I was a huge Paper Mario fan going in and I enjoyed it start to finish. It wasn't fantastic, but it was incredibly unique, and for that it should get some credit. Especially when everyone always seems to think that Nintendo only does "rehashes."

OT: I kind of agree with the man. I'm looking forward to MK7, but I'm not sure how I feel about having to know the optimal vehicle for every single course in the game. When I learned the coins that are scattered across the maps are used for purchasing vehicle parts, (which I did actually learn in a dev interview) I was a little disappointed. These are game elements that belong in an RPG. I don't think I should have to sacrifice short term race performance for long term improvement. I was hoping rather that the coins would slightly increase your speed or maybe even protect you from items or something, but as it is now, it'll be a bit of a grind.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Hey, at least the story was good, and the darkest yet. I almost think that Paper Mario 3d will have to have Mario kill a kitten or something to top Super Paper Mario's darkness. Seriously, that is the darkest Nintendo game ever.

No I think Mother 3 takes the cake on that one, it was a very dark game.

I'll agree to disagree. Mostly because I've only read about Mother 3 and have never played it, like most people out side of Japan.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Hey, at least the story was good, and the darkest yet. I almost think that Paper Mario 3d will have to have Mario kill a kitten or something to top Super Paper Mario's darkness. Seriously, that is the darkest Nintendo game ever.

No I think Mother 3 takes the cake on that one, it was a very dark game.

I'll agree to disagree. Mostly because I've only read about Mother 3 and have never played it, like most people out side of Japan.

Your mother dies do to a robo-dinosaur the baddy made cause he was bored.

 

[Warachia]

I think the problem with Mario kart was adding customization in the first place, the fun with the games isn't the vehicles, it's the powerups and maps, a shame they never added a map creator/editor.

I do love the screenshot for Miyamoto though, it looks like he's going to go homicidal any second.

 

[TownTattle]

Pfft this guy is old news. If some other, lesser know developer said this, everyone would rage agaisnt him. Miyamoto is the Steve Jobs of video games, and that's not a compliment.

 

[MB202]

Oh Miyamoto, so old-fashioned. That's why I like him.

 

[Zom-B]

I have yet to play a MarioKart game that's as good as the SNES version. The best. Perfection. None other needed.