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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

#81

Post by os2warpman »

MajimasEyepatch wrote: post #27
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.

The 1993 version of Doom was $40 plus shipping and handling. Let's ignore the shipping and handling.

That's $90 today.

I don't play very many video games anymore though I did play the hell out of Doom 30 years ago.

What I have noticed, as an outside observer looking in, about people who play video games today is that they seem to be among the most entitled people on the planet who love bitching about everything.

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

#82

Post by weberer »

jablongo wrote: post #67
weberer wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its entirely because the value of the dollar has gone down. Inflation has happened for decades, but we've seen a noticeable, sharp rise post 2020. $50 in 2005 is worth as much as $82 today according to the inflation calculator. https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

I know there has been quite a bit of inflation, but didn't Nintendo even delay the release because of the tariffs? Its hard to see how a 24% tariff on goods from Japan would not affect Nintendo's choice in setting prices.

>didn't Nintendo even delay the release because of the tariffs?

Nope, they did not. They're sticking with the original release date

>24% tariff on goods from Japan

There are currently 10% tariffs in place for baseline goods, such as the Switch 2. The 24% rate was announced, but "paused" for 90 days. The USA and Japan will likely come up with some sort of trade deal before that pause ends.

Also keep in mind that the prices have risen in the EU as well. Games are also rising to 80 euros despite VAT being constant at 25% for decades. This is because the Euro has seen heavy inflation since Covid as well.

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

#83

Post by ethbr1 »

eochaid wrote: post #62
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…

It's really hard to say exactly how this will land with fans. The article mentions using kishōtenketsu in the game design of the Grand Prix mode, "now players have to drive to their next race, instead of being automatically transported", and the wiki page for kishōtenketsu mentions use of that concept in game design of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World, both well received with 97 and 93 Metacritic scores re…

There's Burnout Paradise (2008) and The Crew (2014) as prior art [0,1]. And to a lesser extent GTA 1 (1997) and Crazy Taxi (1999).

I'd be more surprised if the team manages to fuck it up, given Nintendo development's solid litmus test of "what's fun and not."

A more detailed interview with the dev team seems to be available here: https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-1... and https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-1... and https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-1... and https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/ask-the-developer-vol-1...

Regardless, verdict will be reached in a couple days!

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnout_Paradise

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crew_(video_game)

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

#85

Post by pixelready »

os2warpman wrote: post #81
MajimasEyepatch wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The 1993 version of Doom was $40 plus shipping and handling. Let's ignore the shipping and handling. That's $90 today. I don't play very many video games anymore though I did play the hell out of Doom 30 years ago. What I have noticed, as an outside observer looking in, about people who play video games today is that they seem to be among the most entitled people on the planet who love bitching about everything.

My theory on this is that gamers are no longer a niche demographic, but rather to some extent a large cross section of the population, having been raised with games and many still playing well into adulthood. Since the Internet is an extremism machine that further amplifies the loudest voices, it’s allowed the actions of the most obnoxious members of the group to become the representative voices in social media.

I think like most groups there is a silent majority getting on with it, and a loud minority picking fights online. That said, every time I have tried to take up a competitive online game with voice chat, I have regretted it.

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

#86

Post by racl101 »

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.

Yeah pre-orders sell out cause diehards always buy anything. That doesn't tell us much.

What happens after it has been out for a year?

The real test will be if this sells even half as good as the first Switch in its first 5 years.

This could be another Wii U judging from the general pessimistic sentiment people have for the brand these days.

When the Wii U came out, people's biggest gripe with Nintendo was whether or not they could technologically compete with the like of Sony and Microsoft.

But these days most people accept that Nintendo is not even competing technology. So rather, their bigges gripe with Nintendo is Nintendo itself and the way they show utter contempt for their customers while hiking up prices. Much more is at stake this time.

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

#87

Post by ThatMedicIsASpy »

atrus wrote: post #53
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.

I see this statement a lot, but who is paying $80 for it? You need a switch 2 to play it, and there's a bundle that includes it for $50 more. If you can afford a switch 2, but can't afford the bundle, I kinda think you realistically can't afford the switch2. Of course there are going to be niche cases, but they're niche.

The early adopters. Even for consoles you can wait and get them second hand years later. There is no reason to chase the latest releases other than having a fetish for experiencing all the bugs/crashes/join queue/server overload on release days. PC gaming can be expensive (hardware/games) and cheap (hardware/games). Used Steam Decks and Rog Ally starts at around 300€ - a controller, screen and enough power to play with options for more (game pass/xbox & geforce now streaming). It always depends on what kind of gamer you are, what you want to play and how much you are willing to invest into the hobby.

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

#88

Post by xnx »

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…

SSX was a semi-open world snowboarding game that was truly excellent, so it's very possible that Nintendo could pull it off. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a nearly perfect game. It lends itself to getting into a heightened flow state where you're working right at the edge of your reflexive and strategic abilities and having a ton of fun.

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

#89

Post by op00to »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #25
op00to wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The pricing of games aren’t based in reality. The marginal cost of producing additional copies is almost nothing, especially for digital distribution. Looking at pricing changes due to inflation doesn’t make sense for digital goods.

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

#90

Post by op00to »

weberer wrote: post #46
op00to wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>backlash against price raises like this There's really not much backlash. At the most, just some impotent complaints online toward random companies, and nothing at all toward the federal reserve. If people really cared, we would have seen a lot more politicians like Ron Paul.

This is just a story, but when the switch two pricing was released weeks (months?) ago it was a topic of conversation at my local cafe. None of the people there are gamers, but some of them do own switches. Everyone agreed they would not be paying inflated prices, and were fine sitting this out. It seemed like $65 was the maximum they’d expect to pay for a game.
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