Mario 64 remains, for many, the pinnacle of singleplayer gaming. As close to a perfect game as you're going to get. Wonder how that would have changed had the game's original multiplayer component made it into the final product.

In a Q&A session posted on Nintendo's site, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed that Mario 64 had, at one stage during development, a significant multiplayer component.

Iwata: Ever since Mario Bros., you've had your heart set on making a multiplayer Mario game. You've tried each time, but it's never quite come together… Even with Mario 64, it started with Mario and Luigi running around together, didn't it?

Miyamoto: That's right. The screen was split and they went into the castle separately. When they meet in the corridor, I was incredibly happy! (laughs) Then there was also the mode where the camera is fixed and we see Mario running away, steadily getting smaller and smaller.

Iwata: Yes, that's right.

Miyamoto: That was a remnant of an experiment we did where Mario and Luigi would run away from each other but you could still see them both. But we were unable to pull it off…

Course, he now says with Super Mario Bros. Wii he has pulled it off, but...it's not the same. Wonder if it's something they could include with Super Mario Galaxy 2.

http://kotaku.com/5412516/mario-64-u...ve-multiplayer ...

If you managed to catch the last Engadget Show, you inevitably saw our own Paul Miller carve it up a bit on Tony Hawk: Ride. Of course, Mr. Miller is known 'round these circles as a "professional skater," so there's a solid chance he could've handled just about anything the guys and gals at Activision threw his way. The reality of the matter is that not everyone feels safe and secure on something resembling a skateboard, and now we're being let in on the world of prototypes that were used to land on the final design. Within the read link you'll find randomly placed arcade buttons, trucks with no wheels, a terrifying amount of sensors and a comical amount of duct tape. Yeah -- even the whiz kids that make your dreams a reality start with duct tape. Go on, have a peek if you're in disbelief.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/25/t...e-buttons-duc/ ...

"To hell with IPs!" Xbox 360 cried to TiVo HD. And for one night, there were no movies watched nor games played while the wire-crossed lovers embraced in the warm glow of the plasma TV.

http://gizmodo.com/5412584/the-xbox-elegant-edition ...

Nintendo isn't the only platform-holder working on an in-game guide system. A Microsoft patent turned up by Siliconera (via GameSpot) outlines a "User-Powered Always Available Contextual Game Help" system for a games console.

However, the system - patented back in February 2008 - seems somewhat different from Nintendo's Super Guide, which made its first appearance in New Super Mario Bros. Wii last week. The Super Guide features a recorded playthrough of a given level, created by developers, which the player can jump into at any point.

Microsoft's answer is a database of help entries. When players get stuck, they can ask the game for help and it will automatically analyse the current context of the challenge, using a tagging system, and return a list of appropriate entries.

GameSpot suggests the guide would be installed on the console, whereas Siliconera reckons it would be available through Xbox Live, and the tips and guides would be submitted by other players.

According to Siliconera, the community-driven, FAQ-style approach would allow for the capture and annotation of screenshots and video clips by guide authors - even adding audio commentary if they wish. Entries would be rated by other players, and developers would naturally be able to contribute their own guides to be ranked above user-written pieces.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ms...r-guide-system ...

Game reviews are the "least important factor" to gamers when they consider what to buy next, a survey conducted by Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz has concluded.

According to its data, word of mouth received a much higher score than critical aggregator rating to its survey participants when deciding to buy a game.

Thus, says the Cowen survey, video game companies' increasing focus on securing high review scores may be misplaced.

"We believe that while Metacritic scores may be correlated to game quality and word of mouth, and thus somewhat predictive of title performance, they are unlikely in and of themselves to drive or undermine the success of a game," the survey concludes.

"We note this, in part, because of persistent rumors that some game developers have been jawboning game reviewers into giving their games higher critical review scores. We believe the publishers are better served by spending their time on the development process than by grade-grubbing after the fact."

It's good to know that all our hard work delivering a number out of 100 makes a difference.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS

Do Review Scores Encourage or Deter you From Buying a Game, answer via comments ...

Xmas marketing planned for publisher's fitness genre contender
publisher Ubisoft has unveiled a Christmas marketing blitz for Your Shape, designed to fight off stiff competition from Wii Fit Plus and EA Sports Active.
The Wii fitness title – which uses a motion sensing camera to monitor body movements – is due for release on December 4th. And Ubisoft feels that pre-Christmas is the ideal time to launch a new fitness product.
“A release prior to Christmas enables us to make the most of the public’s health-conscious mindset by sustaining continuous marketing and PR campaigns,” said brand manager Ombeline Wallon.
“These will build up from launch, reaching a high for New Year, and will last until the end of January, covering both the Christmas period and New Year’s resolutions – peak buying times for video games and for fitness products.”
Ubisoft has arranged two bursts of television advertising – firstly at launch and then in early January to ensure Your Shape is highly visible during the key periods.

This will be supported by print ads running from early December to the end of January, covering women’s publications such as Fabulous, Heat, Grazia and Zest.
The publisher has also signed up TV actress Zoe Lucker (pictured), who recently appeared in the current series of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, to be the face of Your Shape’s launch. A dedicated PR campaign will ensure her appearances and promotions will generate coverage across a range of different media.
“Thanks to the exclusive camera, Your Shape is a very innovative title on the fitness market,” Wallon added.
“It really brings something different in terms of consumer experience as they are finally able to exercise controller-free and still get feedback in real time. We think this will really make Your Shape stand out in this now busy market.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/36652/Ubis...kes-on-Wii-Fit ...

While the release of the PSPgo demonstrated Sony's intention to cater for the consumer that prefers digital downloads over packaged media, the latter is "not going away any time soon".

That's according to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Andrew House, who told GamesIndustry.biz that the company has no intention of seeing the latest edition in its handheld line-up cannibalise sales of its UMD-equipped PSP-3000.

"I think we were always fairly clear, as far back as the original announcements, that this wasn't a replacement for the current PSP-3000 offering, and that it sits alongside that and packaged media," he explained in an industry-exclusive interview. "It's additive to the business.

"The early sales numbers that we've seen bear that out - I don't think there's been a huge amount of cannibalisation, and I think those sales have come in and lifted overall PSP sales.

"It's clearly demonstrated that there is a consumer out there, and it's validated that proposition in moving more towards a digital download as a preferred means of getting content."

He added that it was becoming clear that the industry would need to shift in order to be able to respond to that new demand, and that lessons would need to be learned on how best to market digital content.

But he was clear in his view that, particularly for the PlayStation 3, traditional retail methods still had a key part to play for the foreseeable future.

"Make no mistake, when you're looking at PS3 games and you're seeing the shift in the sheer size of the data that's becoming available, the packaged media business is not going away any time soon," he said.

"I think there's been an overstatement there potentially, and then a backlash to that - but I don't think we were really responsible for that overstatement, so we're not really part and parcel of the backlash, if that makes sense.

"It has its place for those consumers - it comes back to offering people options, and it was the right option for us to offer."

He also denied that there had been no real impact on PSPgo sales as a result of a selection of retailers refusing to stock the handheld.

"There's been sufficient distribution for the product at retail for consumers to be able to find it where they need to - I don't think that's particularly been part of the challenge," he said.

"In some senses, if the question comes down to consumer pricing, it's the same argument we've often had around PS3: If we are able to deliver something at a cheaper price, would we see a much swifter uptake in the marketplace? Quite probably.

"But we're in a responsible business mould and we have to put products out there at the price that we think they're worth."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ime-soon-house ...

Activision UK has announced it will donate a "life changing" amount of money to the charity War Child in a Modern Warfare 2 online event to be held in December.

The publisher is asking that as many gamers as possible play MW2 on XBL on the weekend of December 5 and 6. The higher the number of unique, UK located users recorded, the more money the publisher says it will donate to the War Child charity.

People interested in taking part in the charity gaming session are invited to become a fan of the event's Facebook page and to add the Game For Good app to their wall and invite others. Event details and results will also be posted in the event's Twitter feed.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-charity-event ...

Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed that Mario's ability to jump was introduced only because of a chance hardware configuration, in the latest in the ongoing series of "Iwata Asks" interviews conducted by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.

Newly translated into English, the multi-part interview discusses the origins of Mario, beginning with the creation of the Donkey Kong coin-op. Miyamoto reveals that originally the main character, which would later become known as the iconic Mario, could not jump and the ability was only added because of a spare button on the arcade board being used for the game.

"I also recall that the cabinet we were making the game for had one joystick and one button, but initially I intended it to be controlled using only the joystick," says Miyamoto.

The wide-ranging interview also focuses on new title New Super Mario Bros. Wii, with Miyamoto describing how he attempted to recreate the "smell" of the previous games.

The use of the word does not appear to be a translation error, with even Iwata apparently confused by the usage. "I think that when something summons forth a lot of emotions, what you feel is perhaps something like a 'smell'", says Miyamoto.

"I wanted to make Mario so that it had its own distinctive 'smell' - a Mario-esque 'smell', continues Miyamoto. "I wanted to create something that stimulated as many of the five senses as it could. If you can do that, then when you get the game out to play from time to time, it really makes you happy."

In another revealing passage Miyamoto also discusses his theories on game difficulty, stating his belief that being forced to repeat part of a level after dying is a necessary part of the experience - despite the inclusion of the new Super Guide feature to aid less skilled players.

"So even if you slip up just before clearing the castle, you'll be sent right back to the starting point. Maybe this is all due to my nasty streak!" comments Miyamoto with a laugh. "But I think playing at that level of intensity is actually the most enjoyable way to play."

"With platform games, only playing the difficult parts can really take it out of you. It feels good to play parts that you can breeze through as well," he explains to Iwata.

"I think replaying the levels is the correct way to enjoy an action game. That's something that I'm quite particular about," states Miyamoto.

"It's become commonplace to assume that as games continue to develop, they will steadily become more clearly divided between games for very skilled players and games for beginners," added Iwata, who said that Nintendo is still strongly motivated to make "games for everyone".

It's important to make games players can enjoy together, regardless of their abilities, he explained. But it's something other people don't seem to discuss, perhaps because they consider it unfeasible.

"I am very serious when it comes to making games for everyone and this is something, Miyamoto-san, which you and I have been talking about constantly for over a decade," he said.

"The impression I get is that with Mario, which is in no sense an easy type of game for such a purpose, you have actually gone and done it - you've made a 'game for everyone'."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...e-for-everyone ...