Even though the name ‘Mario’ should mean that the game associated with it will sell in plenty in Japan, if not internationally, Nintendo’s recently released Super Mario 3D World hasn’t done particularly well (not even in Japan). And while we are in no position to find out the reasons as to why this is so, we can guess that this might have something to with the fact the game lacks an online multiplayer mode (or we may be wrong). However, the lack of the online multiplayer is definitely an issue and now Nintendo has come forward to why this is so.
Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi was recently in an interview with Game Informer where he clarified as to why the game doesn’t feature an online multiplayer mode, which is a major detour from the current norms in the industry these days.
Apart from revealing an important detail about the game – which states that the staff over at EAD Tokyo have been experimenting with online play “since the days of Super Mario Galaxy,” although the team decided to place focus on gaming with others nearby for Super Mario 3D World – Koizumi stated:
“We’ve been testing online multiplayer since the days of Super Mario Galaxy, but with this title we really wanted to deliver an experience that you can share with family, friends, or your boyfriend or girlfriend in the same place like you did with the original NES. We really want players to have fun in front of the TV, talking while they help each other out or get in each other’s way.”
Previous to this, back in November, Nintendo top man Shigeru Miyamoto had already told Kotaku that while online play is certainly a technical possibility for the game, “it simply wasn’t the focus for us this time around.”
“What we really wanted to do was to create something that people could experience fully while playing comfortably with others who were nearby them, and this is something we decided would be best for Pikmin and the best case for Mario here as well,” he added.
While we are no experts, it doesn’t take much of a brain to guess that Nintendo’s aim was to provide a quality time with friends and near ones rather than indulging with a random stranger. And while that may sound morally high and gifted, Nintendo forgot that we are living in an entirely new age. An age of social media and multiplayer titles.