Miyamoto talks Zelda Wii U and casual games
One of the biggest disappointments at this year's E3 was the absence of a new Legend of Zelda title. Sure, there wasn't any indication that Nintendo would out Link's next adventure at their press conference, but it could have just been one of their classic even-Wikileaks-won't-find-out secrets. E3 came and went, but Link & Co. were nowhere to be found. So, what gives?
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Miyamoto explained that the inevitable Wii U installment in the classic franchise is still stuck in the Research & Development stage.
Sounds like they're trying to make the motion controls less excessive this time around, which can only be a good thing. I didn't mind the motion controls in Skyward Sword, but it was a bit much to control your bird and open boss doors using the Wiimote. And considering the potential of the Wii U for gimmicky controls, it's good to see that Nintendo is willing to show some restraint.
In other news, we might also be seeing a couple more casual games from them in the future, though classic gamers won't have to worry about Nintendo losing their focus. When talking about the schism between hardcore and casual games, Miyamoto stated that Nintendo will keep focusing on creating longer, deeper experiences but that they're also asking themselves the question:
Well...as long as it's not as stupid as Mario Kart for Facebook, I wouldn't mind if they did some casual games on the side, whether it be Zelda or another franchise.. But since the experiments for such a game are still going on, it's probably gonna be a while until we learn anything more.
» Source: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/06/08/e3-2012-miyamoto-talks-zelda-wii-u
» Tagged In: #Andrej Preradovic, #Casual games, #E3 2012, #Miyamoto, #Nintendo, #Wii U, #zelda
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g1 DISCUSSIONS
Cyrax
I am so okay with this. I'd rather have something stuck in "developmental hell," even though it's only been 1-3 years, opposed to a rushed title that is poor in quality.
evilmonkeyman289
I want a Zelda 3DS first.
Tokentaker
I believe we will get a couple of 3DS Zeldas before we get a console one again.
OrangeGuy
I actually enjoyed skyward sword also found the gameplay to be super enjoyable, the art style for me is a combination of the Official artwork from, A Link to the Past and Twilight princess. Level design on location and temples are some of the best I've seen in a while
Characters were very charming with that hilarious cutesy windwaker charm and dark majora's mask style characters to.
The biggest gripe with skyward sword is that its too short and the overworld was empty most of the time with no random occuring boss fights like in the wind waker.
But on the good side it does make me want to come back and enjoy the game again because each area had alot of rewards to find by climbing, swiming, adventureing to every single piece of the game.
After seeing nintendo's show at E3 online I was very dissapointed they haven't mentioned not only zelda, but wasn't there supposed to be a 25th metroid anniversary game by now? and come on nintendo please make a new home console starfox game.
A casual zelda? o_O we have the Targeting system, danger battle music, health beeping sound effects, simple combat controls press B to attack and don't press B to not attack, hints are easy to get from your fairy, spirit ally, or town locals, boss battles have obvious weak points.
Whats to make this game any more casual?
SaveFaustus
Dude! I just said that! *Online mental-alignment fist bump*
Sidescroller Def
Come on, people. Zelda has evolved beyond just pressing buttons, and there's positioning and movement involved with the combat, just like any other good game. I'll admit that Skyward Sword has a lot of hints for puzzles everywhere, but there's still a ton of puzzles that require your own intuition to figure out. As for the weak points, if the boss has a weak point, what boss doesn't have an obvious one? You know, if this thing used a button that did the best attack for you like in Final Fantasy XIII-2 or Mario Tennis Open, it'd be the definition of casual. The music and beeping aren't even valid arguments.
Sorry, I know you really like Zelda games, but compared with what gamers know exist, Zelda can't be considered casual in my book.
SaveFaustus
Then what makes a game casual?
Sidescroller Def
Like you guys said, a casual game would be one that uses 1-2 button operations/combat, not having to press buttons and move a lot of the time during combat, having straightforward and simple levels, and having the action, if it's there, move very slowly. Also, any game that doesn't really have enemies to fight is pretty much considered casual. My definition of casual doesn't apply to games that are just simple to play. You have to actually barely have to do anything fancy in the game for it to be considered casual. Actually, now that I think about it, could there a gap between a casual game and a hardcore game? It just feels like the two terms are two extremes of the issue.
SaveFaustus
Pretty much what I was trying to get to. I don't see any gap. And if you start saying simple easy controls are casual, then Mario is casual, Megaman is casual, hell pretty much every old school arcade game is casual.
Probably a better division is accessibility, though that won't catch on. The word is hardly loaded.
Either which way, I know several people who don't play any games but iPhone apps and enjoy Zelda. Not like that's definitive evidence, but it is a trend in my own experience.
SaveFaustus
When it comes to Zelda, which in case you haven't noticed, it is pretty "casual". 1 button combat, no combos, plenty of health, can save any time without losing too much progress, on the same token die without losing much progress, and hints all over the place. Anyone can pick up Zelda and master its play within minutes. But people consider it "hardcore" or at least an actual game.