Iwata Asks, Miyamoto Says He’s Working on Super Mario Bros. 3DS
Posted on February 01 2011 by Nathanial Rumphol-Janc
It looks like Mario’s 25th anniversary didn’t end at the close of last year – in a new installment of the infamous Iwata Asks series, the renowned series creator revealed that he’s hard at work trying to bring the Super Mario Bros. legacy to the 3DS. No, we don’t know anything about new features, projected release dates, or the like, but we do know that Super Mario Bros. has never failed us before and is unlikely to fail us now. Look below for the full quote.
Miyamoto: Yes. So, in the interests of adopting new technology for the Super Mario Bros. tradition, I am now making a new Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo 3DS system.
Iwata: The next stage for the Super Mario Bros. Preservation Society’s activities is the Nintendo 3DS.
Miyamoto: Yes. (laughs) I want to show everyone as soon as possible what the new Super Mario Bros. will be like on the Nintendo 3DS.
We already knew that when he made Mario for 3DS he would incorporate the 3D technologies, but it hasn’t been until now that we found out there was a game actually in the works. I’m assuming this one’s going to be a 2D side-scroller, since it bears the “Bros.” name, but Miyamoto didn’t confirm one way or the other at present. Other interesting key points:
Tezuka: First of all, I think [the series is still popular] because we make each Super Mario Bros. game to suit the times. Game operation is one example of something that’s different each time. I worked on development of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World as director, and I made those games with the feeling that we should add lots of new things.
Iwata: The players’ expectations for what Super Mario Bros. would do next was a hurdle that you made a conscious effort to overcome.
Tezuka: Yes. When we made New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS17, we added new elements, like the giant Mario, but we made it with a slightly different attitude than we had when working on Super Mario World. To reach that point, we had added lots of interesting ideas along the way, so I didn’t think there was a need to add in all kinds of new stuff to the point where it stopped being a Super Mario Bros. game at all. Rather, we thought it would be enough if we made the kind of game that made you want to try again when you missed a jump to get past something.
Iwata: Messing up, but then thinking, “I’ll try again,” is something that has never changed in Super Mario Bros.
Tezuka: Yeah. Of course, when we were making Super Mario Bros. 3, it was important to add in lots of new elements, but I also think Super Mario Bros. has stayed popular precisely because we have preserved the original foundation.
Iwata: A ban on mini-games?
Miyamoto: Yeah. I said we should stop relying on mini-games. I kept saying that rather than make games fun by putting in lots of mini-games, we should make the main thread of the game more interesting.
Tezuka: Oh, that’s right.
Miyamoto: But if we hadn’t put in any mini-games when we did, the series might have ended there. Perhaps the series still exists today because there was once a time when we floundered around a bit.
Tezuka: I think it’s good that we put in lots of new things back then.
Miyamoto: That’s right. New Super Mario Bros. Wii hardly has any mini-games, though. When I look back now, I even think it might have been all right to take out all the mini-games, like the cannon one.
Okay, so maybe my personal biases are showing, but it’s nice to see that Miyamoto and his teams approach their games with the idea of balancing novelty and the “main threads” in order to create a fresh experience each time while still staying true to the legacy of the series. If this interview is any indication, it looks like that tradition will continue with Super Mario Bros. on the 3DS, and of course with Skyward Sword.
Now – will we see this new Mario title at E3, or are we going to have to wait until next year? You know what – never mind, just keep working on Skyward Sword.
