Legendary game designer also thinks casual and hardcore gamers have a lot in common.
Fun seems to be buzz word for Nintendo at the moment. In addition to making titles which are easily accessible to gamers of all skill levels and ages, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto believes punishing difficulty levels should be dropped in favour of fun gameplay.
"It is very hard to tune the difficulty just for the core market. Even for us, we would still have difficulty finding the right balance. But I think the future is games that are not difficult and yet very fun to play," Miyamoto told Famitsu Weekly (translated by Next-Gen.biz).
"... there is no point in making a difficulty level the fun factor of a game. We are making Super Mario Galaxy as a new and fun experience which aims at providing a very appealing, convincing and—before all—fun experience," Miyamoto continued.
Gamers can expect to be having fun with Super Mario Galaxy from the moment they start the game, which is expected to be some time in November.
Ed wrote at 22:07 on 15 August 2007
Wow!
I am concerned that miyamoto has said that the future of games will be fun, and not that difficult.
The difficulty makes a game a game. Without it, the game could be done in 30 minutes, with not a single life gone.
Nxs wrote at 22:21 on 15 August 2007
I am concerned that you have had your head up your butt too long without breathing!
Difficulty never makes the game! The gameplay makes the game and every gamer on earth knows it. The difficulty or difficulties make the game longer and add something to it when you want to take the game to a different level!
Not once have I uttered 'Oh, I wish this game was harder so it lasts longer'. I wanted a game to be longer cause it was fun and got me involved. Just because a game is easy does in no way mean it can be done in 30 minutes and if you have been playing games like that, you need some new ones :D
Marink wrote at 10:19 on 16 August 2007
I've just realised, Halo is a LOT more fun on Legendary mode (kinda ironic)...
Anywhooo, I agree with Miyamoto. However, some games would be really short if it wasn't for the level of difficulty- such as Donkey Kong Country, which recently only took me just under 4 hours to complete (on Virtual Console). I never noticed just how short that game actually is before. :s