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Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

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Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#21

Post by op00to »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #8
jsheard wrote: post #5

I'm sure it'll be fun, but I'm not thrilled about Nintendo bumping the price up to $80 even before paid DLCs inevitably get added on top. Plus if the last Mario Kart is any indication then the price will barely get reduced over the entire lifecycle of the Switch 2.

$80 today is still cheaper than paying $60 a couple decades ago. https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Also games have only become more expensive to make since then and gamer expectations have only increased.

Games are more expensive, but the market of gamers is larger. We can do this back and forth all day! The clear fact is that when consumers are getting squeezed, there will be backlash against price raises like this. I have never missed a Nintendo console since the Wii. I won’t be buying a switch 2.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#23

Post by talles »

ThatMedicIsASpy wrote: post #7

No video game will ever get 80+ bucks from me without a physical book/guide or statue/figure. Need for Speed Underground changed to an open world with the second release and I hated everything about it.

Underground 2 already did open world back in 2004 and it's pretty much the norm today for AAA titles. Maybe it's the Nintendo effect here, since they have history of innovation, but MK being open world it doesn't seem that impressive at all.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#24

Post by gjsman-1000 »

op00to wrote: post #21
hombre_fatal wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$80 today is still cheaper than paying $60 a couple decades ago. https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Also games have only become more expensive to make since then and gamer expectations have only increased.

Games are more expensive, but the market of gamers is larger. We can do this back and forth all day! The clear fact is that when consumers are getting squeezed, there will be backlash against price raises like this. I have never missed a Nintendo console since the Wii. I won’t be buying a switch 2.

> Games are more expensive, but the market of gamers is larger.

Actually there's been studio bankruptcy after studio bankruptcy, due to a massive contraction post-COVID, and the rise of mobile gaming eating away at casual gamers. Even Ubisoft earlier this year was having some people giving 30% odds of bankruptcy.

As stated elsewhere, games have literally never been cheaper. Even at the launch of the Nintendo Switch, a $60 game in 2017 is the equivalent of $77 today. The launch price of Mario Kart World, in real purchasing power, is completely identical to what Mario Kart 8 launched at. The complaints, therefore, scream entitlement over logic - games must always be bigger, larger, better, and unaffected by 3 decades of inflation. Or it's anti-consumer, as though Nintendo put a gun to their head forcing a purchase alongside toilet paper. (In my opinion, a luxury good not in any way necessary for a good life by definition cannot be anti-consumer, or otherwise Gucci would be the king of anti-consumer practices.)

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#25

Post by hombre_fatal »

op00to wrote: post #21
hombre_fatal wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$80 today is still cheaper than paying $60 a couple decades ago. https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Also games have only become more expensive to make since then and gamer expectations have only increased.

Games are more expensive, but the market of gamers is larger. We can do this back and forth all day! The clear fact is that when consumers are getting squeezed, there will be backlash against price raises like this. I have never missed a Nintendo console since the Wii. I won’t be buying a switch 2.

Super Mario Kart for the SNES cost $55 in 1992 ($128 in today's money). If it was worth it then, then surely a much bigger game for 60% of the price is an even better deal.

The complaints don't really seem based in reality.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#26

Post by AllegedAlec »

bee_rider wrote: post #17
AllegedAlec wrote: post #3

Your Scientists Were So Preoccupied With Whether Or Not They Could, They Didn’t Stop To Think If They Should.

This is pithy but actually I think it benefits too much from not defining with it is. I mean, it is a game, they are a game studio, if they “can” make a fun game with a reasonable amount of developer effort, they should. If they can’t they shouldn’t. The quote relies on there being some horrible side effect of creating the thing without thinking whether or not they should do it. I think there’s no chance that this go…

I grew up during the age of fads, and "Open World" is very much one of them that keeps on recurring. There's no reason whatsoever for mario kart to be open world.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#27

Post by MajimasEyepatch »

ThatMedicIsASpy wrote: post #7

No video game will ever get 80+ bucks from me without a physical book/guide or statue/figure. Need for Speed Underground changed to an open world with the second release and I hated everything about it.

Did you feel that way in 2005 when the Xbox 360 was released and $60 was the new standard? Because $60 in 2005 has the same buying power as $97.41 today. This game, in real terms, is cheaper than Xbox 360 games were.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#28

Post by jsheard »

matthewfcarlson wrote: post #4
thr0waway001 wrote: post #2

Looks cool! Will wait for a new Zelda game before diving into getting a Switch 2.

I feel like this is the sentiment I hear from most friends. But then the preorders sell out every time. I’m confused who is buying all these switches, but perhaps my local network isn’t a representative sample.

Scalpers will clear out the initial retail stock no matter what, the true test is whether the scalpers clear out their stock or get left holding the bag.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#29

Post by badgersnake »

bee_rider wrote: post #6

I wonder if it will be fun. The open world Zelda game kinda made sense to me because those games have always been pretty open. You could always wander around. When I was a kid, I played Ocarina of Time as an open world game, I just wandered around and made up the NPC interactions in my head. And the 2D entries in the series had pretty big worlds. Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see if the trick can repeat outside tha…

Burnout Paradise did this to Burnout and imho, it made that game worse. If you haven’t played Burnout, go find a PS2 emulator and a Burnout 3 iso and you’ll have an amazing afternoon.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#30

Post by TriangleEdge »

ThatMedicIsASpy wrote: post #7

No video game will ever get 80+ bucks from me without a physical book/guide or statue/figure. Need for Speed Underground changed to an open world with the second release and I hated everything about it.

Nintendo is going to be getting 80$ from me, that's for sure. Mario games are most of the funnest games I've played. I've been playing Mario Kart since the n64, and I've liked every version since. I have high hopes.

As Peter Thiel said: if you double your price and don't lose half your customers, you're making profit.

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