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Not Donkey Kong, But.. Donkey Konga?

Posted by simoniker on from the cha-cha-cha dept.

Thanks to IGN Cube for their rumor report claiming that Nintendo's new Donkey Kong title for GameCube, recently announced as being developed by Namco, is a conga drum-based rhythm title called Donkey Konga. Although unconfirmed, IGN claim: "On March 10, 2003, Nintendo registered the trademark for Donkey Konga. This, say sources, is the tentative name for the new title, which dumps its platformer roots in favor of exploring the music genre." Another point in this rumor's favor is that Namco has created the very popular Taiko no Tatsujin drumming title for PlayStation 2, complete with custom drum controller, and it's sold over 900,000 copies so far in Japan, but there's no official word from Nintendo or Namco yet.

4 of 26 comments (clear)

  1. Conga drums? by Incoherent07 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why don't they do something worthwhile, like a standard Mario-style platformer (something Nintendo pretty much has yet to accomplish on GC)?

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    1. Re:Conga drums? by Raster+Burn · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Why don't they do something worthwhile, like a standard Mario-style platformer (something Nintendo pretty much has yet to accomplish on GC)?

      Maybe because it's been done a million times before?

      I don't get why Nintendo is the butt of every criticism in the game industry. They're either:

      • condemned for making the same "franchise" games over and over.
      • condemned for deviating from the norm.


      Does anybody remember the Sega game Samba de Amigo, you know, the game with maraca controllers? That game was critically acclaimed, yet it never had commercial success in America. Game companies want to create the summer blockbuster, not the art film. Thankfully, Nintendo, Sega, and Namco are still willing to take risks.
  2. Nintendo is confused by jstultz · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I applaud Nintendo's effort to explore new genres and ideas...but I question their method of doing so. They come out with these new games that have nothing in common with their previous efforts....but they're all still under the same franchises. Pikmin was a noble exception. However, think about all of their great games, and then think about how many different characters/mascots were involved with those. The ratio of games to characters is astonishingly high.

    Imagine how many new popular franchises Nintendo could have if they had come up with new characters to go along with their new game ideas. They did that with Pokemon, and look where it got them with that. Beyond the cute name, what's the point of this drum game being based on Donkey Kong?

    Part of the appeal of franchises like this, is that people play the first game, and then they like the atmosphere, the gameplay, the general feel of the game, and they want more similar stuff. So you have a progression of games in the same vein, that are still different...for instance, the progression of mario from the first game up to Super Mario 64. Those games all maintained that atmosphere. Yet, other games that are completely unrelated based on the same franchise? Nintendo is losing track of the purpose, here. All those games could just as easily be about someone else. A new character, that people could identify with. We're dealing with a new generation of kids. They should start all new character ideas.

    Stir things up in more ways than just one. Impress me Nintendo.

    1. Re:Nintendo is confused by Ondo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The point of reusing old characters in new games is to help sales. For Nintendo it's a "Shigeru Miyamoto was involved" sign that works even for people who have no clue who Miyamoto is.

      With books if you like one you just get another book by the same author. With movies it's harder, because there are more people involved in making them, but a sequal or a star actor generally work well. For games the only options are a sequel or using the same characters. Most people don't pay attention to anything else. Nintendo always makes sure that games using any of its big mascots are top-notch, so people get used to that and can assume a Donkey Konga game will be good even without seeing any reviews. If it's not, the next game won't get that benefit.

      Also note that most games that reuse the mascots are genres where the characters aren't generally interesting. I don't think anyone has launched a franchise with characters from a cart racing game, golf game, tennis game, party game, or a rhythm game.