Nintendo, Miyamoto Preview 2004 Releases

Thanks to Cube Europe for its article discussing forthcoming Nintendo products for 2004, including insight from Shigeru Miyamoto on his in-progress games. The information, sourced from Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK, "states that Metroid Prime 2, Geist, Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green will all be released in Europe before the end of the year", meaning a U.S. release for these games are also likely during 2004. Miyamoto is fairly guarded about his current projects, which also include Pikmin 2, and comments on the continued mystery behind the next Mario title: "With Mario 128 I have been challenging many unprecedented things, not found in existing video games... [and] prone to lose their freshness or to be imitated once they go public." Which Nintendo products are you most looking forward to this year?

Comments

Sounds cranky

[Snowspinner]

I wonder if the translation was bad, or if Miyamoto was on a particularly cranky day - he usually comes off as much more genial than in that interview.

One has to assume Nintendo's got a bang-up E3 planned this year, though. Obviously the DS, but I'd guess new Mario and Zelda games announced at E3, as well as footage of Metroid Prime 2... probably good, considering the criticism they took for being underwhelming last E3.

Re:Sounds cranky

[aweraw]

Think about it:
...
Geist (Halo clone)

You should reserve judgement on a game until you've seen more than just a couple of screenshots... From my understanding, this game will be a bit more like Messiah, in that you are infact a ghost of sorts, and the object of the game is to complete certain objectives by possesing the in game inhabitants.. the difference lies in the fact the in Geist, you have to scare the bejezus out of your potential flesh vessel before you can take them over...

Halo clone? I think not... except maybe that they're both from a first person perspective... but if that were case, wouldn't HL2 just be a Catacombs3D clone?

I know it's one of the games I'm looking for, and it's certainly not because it's a Halo clone (if it was, I prolly wouldn't even know it's name)

Re:Sounds cranky

[Neo-Rio-101]

I think the interview transcript probably had a run in with babelfish.... or either that, Miyamoto knows a strain of Engrish. Anyone who has been to Japan will know that English enjoys a position as a status symbol... and people will throw grammar to the wayside just to be able to use it... in whatever form they can.

Check out www.engrish.com for a good laugh.

"It adds abundant fright to pleasure table"

Space World

[dancingmad]

I wish Nintendo would recapture some of that old magic and do Space World again this year. For you kids, Nintendo used to have it's own trade show where Nintendo and third parties showed of their new games.

As mentioned in the comments, Nintendo's E3's have been rather underwhelming, but they have enough stuff to do a proper SW this year. However, I think the era of Nintendo having it's own little circle jerk (even a fun one) is over.

Don't get me wrong, I'm drooling over a myriad of things scheduled and rumored for this year, most defintely including Prime 2, Mario, Pikmin 2, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and some others.

oh boy..

[ziggles]

[we won't talk about the games at all because the ideas are] "prone to lose their freshness or to be imitated once they go public"

the old standby for Miyamoto/Nintendo. Let's just hope it's not another Mario Sunshine. They said the same thing about that, relating to the water pack idea. I really enjoy that game, but the mystery was more exciting than the reality, which should never be allowed to happen with video games.

Re:oh boy..

[antin]

I wish people would stop complaining about Mario Sunshine, it is actually a great game - better than Mario 64 in my opinion, and very unfairly treated by critics who were expecting some revolutionary step forward from Mario 64. Where was there to go? Nobody really complained that there are a half dozen 2D Marios that all have you doing roughly the same thing, and yet when we get the first sequel to a 3D Mario, they were suddenly expecting something never seen before?

Anyway the water pack idea was brilliant, it solved one of the 2 problems with 3D platformers, that being difficulty controlling the character in 3D (the other problem being camera control, which Sunshine also improved). The addition of the water pack allows characters the ability to hover for a slight moment to better position their character after a jump - something that is often both hard and frusting in all other 3D platformers. Playing any other 3D platformer after Sunshine just leaves you feeling woefully unable to control your character.

I want Mario 128 to be great!

[krazykong]

Otherwise, I fear the worst for our beloved Miyamoto. I also fear for the industry as a whole. Shigeru has this god like image. It's as if whatever he touches becomes a gold factory for Nintendo. He could sneeze on the most irrelevant Nintendo product and make it an instant success. I'm not even saying he stumbled onto a good idea and ran with it. He really is that good. This week a couple of articles about Eugine Jarvis appeared on slashdot. "Who is he?" "Why just about the greatest video game designer that ever lived....... well besides Miyamoto." What's funny, is that I don't even think that Myamoto even knows how to code. But for the past 22 years, he's done nothing short of being ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.

He is a god. I worship him. I have sacrificed my dignity (as I am approaching 30 years old with a Game Cube instead of a PS2 or XBox) for him. I know, I place him on a high pedestal. But look at all he has done.

• Donkey Kong He made a little known playing card company, a bit player in the video game industry, a household name.
• Super Mario Bros He single handedly brought us out of the 80's video game crash.
• The Legend of Zelda He brought computer role playing games, a delicacy, enjoyed only by the nerdy elite, to "joe console".
• StarFox He laid the groundwork for the 3D Poly revolution a generation early.
• Super Mario 64 He confirmed that a 3D platform game, based off preexisting 2D elements can still be among the best games ever to be played.

I am a Miyamoto groupie. If I was good looking and female, I'd follow him around begging to have his baby.
But I'm scared...
This past generation of Miyamoto products leave something to be desired. They aren't bad. They aren't complete idol crushing abominations like Episodes I and II. They just aren't as good as they used to be, and I hope this isn't the beginning of a very depressing downward trend.
I really want more than Mario 128 to be good. I want it to be great. I'm running out of heroes.

Re:I want Mario 128 to be great!

[Rallion]

I wouldn't say he's losing it, my man. You listed his greats, so list his recent less-greats:

Wind Waker? I thought it was fantastic, myself! Maybe no OoT, but certainly better than Majora's Mask was.

Pikmin? Hey...you know what, that was a hell of a lot of fun! And it was...weird. Almost creepy in its weirdness. I like that.

Luigi's Mansion? My sister loved it more than me, but I still had a lot of fun with it.

Sunshine? Takes too much heat if you ask me. It was better than 64 was, based purely on gameplay, it was just less innovative.

Those are all the ones I've really played extensively. And you know, with the exception of Sunshine, I'd say this is his most innovative crop yet!

Also, it's not as if every game he's ever made has been up there with Super Mario Bros. Even within my favorite franchise ever, Zelda, there are certainly versions that are only good, and not great.

I really see no cause to fret, even if 128 isn't as great as you could hope for. Though I sure hope it is, too.

Re:I want Mario 128 to be great!

[krazykong]

Ok, sorry for comparing Miyamoto to George Lucas, that wasn't fair. He still has the ability to make a good game. I guess I'm just asking if he hast the ability to make a GREAT game. That game that parents have to drag their children away from the demonstration at wall mart kicking and screaming. I've played all the games mentioned. They are very good. But in reality, how much of the "goodness" is based on our respect to it's creator, buying the game because, after all "Hey It's Miyamoto, It will be great regardless". Since you asked...

• Wind Walker Beautifully, and very faithfully to the series. Zelda's dungeon puzzles are a staple of the franchise, and this one doesn't fail in that respect. But what did they add to the experience? the replaced the ocarina with a different instrument, the horse with a boat, the firefly with a mischievous fairy. But nothing was "added".
• Pikmin Brilliant. It was a great way of taking RTS elements and making them feel, well, very "Miyamoto--eske". Spielberg has a way of doing that with his movies. But , I have to ask myself, would the game have sold as well without the Miyamoto notoriety?
• Luigi's Mansion I tried to explain this game to my friends.... "It's like Resident Evil, right.... but instead of traumatizing scary zombies, it's cute mario ghosts and a silly vacum cleaner. But it works, I swear!" I honestly had more fun running around the mansion shouting "Marrrio!". At, best, it was "kinda fun".
• Sunshine Highly polished graphics, awesome physics engine, superb game balance, but then again so was 64. My favorite parts were the quick levels where they took away the FLUD device and put you in an abstract block maze. My knuckles still hurt thinking about it. But it was like 5 years after 64 came out. I wanted more. And don't you think that towards the end, the game felt a little (c'mon just a little bit) "rushed".

You have a good point. We can't always judge every new game by the greatness of the past. Maybe SMB was just one of those flukes in history that got everything right at the right time. But I want to think that that new "shock and awe" game is right around the corner, the one that makes all the heads turn, the one that turns the industry, an industry that I love, but don't like where it's headed, on it's head. I want the game that once again, levels the playing field, and makes the competition go "What have we been doing making, 30 FPS clones?" And if anyone can make that game, it's him.

Starfox was not done by NOJ

[DeadScreenSky]

I am not sure how this rumor got started, but I see it a lot. The original StarFox was created by Argonaut Games. Miyamoto might have consulted on it a little, but he deserves no real credit for making it the great game it was.

He did work on StarFox64, at least as an advisor. Technical attributes aside, I found it to be a much weaker game overall than the original, which was the reason I bought a SNES.

Could someone tell me?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why the hell Nintendo isn't doing more with the Pokemon franchise than a few spin off titles and RPG's for the Gameboy Advance?

I'm a game developer, and let me tell you, if I could develop a game for that franchise, I'd develop a full 3D action RPG. Imagine if you will, Hyrule Field in Zelda Ocarina of Time. Remember walking around that as Link? Well why not as Ash, with Pikachu following faithfully at your side? The Cube can handle much more detailed outdoor environments than Zelda could. With proper level design, one could explore fields, woods, towns, and caves, battling and capturing Pokemon. One possiblity would be to have a system whereby you target a Pokemon just as Link targetted his enemies, and press a button to toss a specific pokemon into battle against it. Battles could then progress in a style similar to Pokemon Stadium, or perhaps a realtime or timer-based battle system could be created. Pokemon attacks, timer ticks down, you have 10 seconds to make a selection or it recovers from it's previous attack and attacks again.

What is stopping them from doing this??? This would be exactly the sort of game which would put them back on the map. A game with the depth and fun of the RPG, but with the great graphics and awe inspiring environments of a third person game.

They already have all the characters modeled and animated. What are they waiting for? Mario Sunshine shows that they could model the sorts of towns that are featured throughout the Pokemon anime very well. They already have battle systems worked out, the strengths of the various attacks. It seems trivial for them to do, and would have been a perfect way to put the Gamecube on top way back when. I thought when they developed Pokemon Stadium that it was leading up to this but the N64 came and went. Could they really be that shortsighted that they can't see what a great game Pokemon would make in 3D? They need something major to give Pokemon new life, and more limited 2D RPG's ain't gonna do it.

Ninendo would have to be fools not to have this kind of title for the next system. They need something fresh and new. Something expansive and grand. Something that takes games to the next level of detail and interactivity. A world teeming with life and filled with combat and adventure would be perfect.

Re:Could someone tell me?

[Anonymous Coward]

What on earth are you talking about? Pokemon Colosseum is coming out in just a few weeks, and it's a full blown, 3rd person perspective, 30 hour RPG.

Pokemon adventure

[AzraelKans]

I think pokemon has the potential to become a large adventure game on the vein of zelda wind waker, I even remember that final fantasy VIIi did some pokemon homage by allowing you to "trap" guardians and spells and I remember thats what made the game fun, unfortunately nintendo has opted has opted for bringing a clone of the 8 bit pokemon each year and name it after every color and/or element/gem they can get in the office thesaurus, what a shame.

Other than that every other nintendo game is offering fails to bring any enthusiasm. sorry.