Masahiro Sakurai criticizes the 'unnatural' amount of remakes and old franchises in gaming - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Last month's Tokyo Game Show, which broke yet another record for attendance (over 270,000 visitors across four days), was a busy time for Japanese game developers. Masahiro Sakurai, creator of Kirby and currently producing the Wii U/3DS Super Smash Bros., was no exception. As he explained in his weekly column in the new Famitsu magazine, Sakurai was busy leading the judges committee for the Game Designers' Award, part of the Japan Game Awards given by the Japanese government each year. The committee wound up giving the design award to The Unfinished Swan, the SCE Santa Monica-developed title available on the PlayStation Network. "When we started judging, the votes were so split that I thought more than once that we wouldn't have a winner at all," he said. "However, in the end I think we made a good selection, since there are some things to this game you won't see anywhere else." Sakurai went on to discuss the futility of even judging such an award, especially given that he (like many devs) had to spend TGS watching videos and giving interviews instead of actually playing anything. "Me and the other judges are all busy people and we have trouble getting time for games," he wrote. "If we spent time checking out even all the big-name titles alone, to say nothing of smartphone apps and so on, we wouldn't be able to make any of the games we're involved with. We're free to judge as we like, but if you ask us whether we're taking a fair, in-depth look at every title out there, that's not the case. Besides, it's presumptuous to judge someone else's title, in a way, since any developer has to give his all to produce any kind of good product." Nonetheless, Sakurai continued, the design award is important work because, in his eyes, it helps provide an antidote to the sequel-laden, AAA-dominated modern game scene. [B]"Is there any industry that relies so much on reusing and reusing their old titles as much as video games?" he asked. "Compared to other media like movies, dramas, animation, novels and comics, the glut of franchises and remakes is at an unnatural level."[/B] Why is this? In part, Sakurai wrote, it's inherent in the nature of the media. "You have to learn the rules of a game before you can play, and that presents hurdles from the very start," he said. "That's why you have a generally unified approach to control methods between titles, and you can usually play one by taking what you already know and adding a feature or two to it — X means jump, Square means attack, and so on." Sakurai took pains in the column to show that he's not criticizing big-name titles for being successful, but he sees the need for an alternative as well "Good games attract fans, and if you have fans, you have an advantage," he wrote. "You try to use that to make the title something bigger, but that doesn't mean it's okay to give up on innovation. Popular, well-made games deserve praise, but titles that have some kind of unique creative spark to them also need to be praised in this way. That's what the judges are trying to do here, and it won't work if it was just popular majority vote. That would lead to people just voting on names and past performances."[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/9/4821316/masahiro-sakurai-criticizes-the-unnatural-amount-of-remakes-and-old[/url] Sorta reminds me of people who beg for remakes of ancient, often dated games, or enhanced ports that change very little. Probably nostalgia since I am looking forward to FFX HD

[QUOTE]"Compared to other media [B]like movies[/B], dramas, animation, novels and comics, the glut of franchises and remakes is at an unnatural level."[/QUOTE] is this a joke? movies specially tend to rehash things to no end. i mean we had like how many batman movies again? how many superman movies? how many spider-man? how many titanic movies? how many D-day movies? :v: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_about_the_RMS_Titanic[/url] look at this and despair.

[QUOTE=Wizards Court;42494705]is this a joke? movies specially tend to rehash things to no end. i mean we had like how many batman movies again? how many superman movies? how many spider-man? how many titanic movies? how many D-day movies? :v: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_about_the_RMS_Titanic[/url] look at this and despair.[/QUOTE] the superhero movie saturation is kinda recent tbh look at the long time between Batman and Robin to Batman Begins, and Superman IV to Superman Returns

[QUOTE=Wizards Court;42494705]is this a joke? movies specially tend to rehash things to no end. i mean we had like how many batman movies again? how many superman movies? how many spider-man? how many titanic movies? how many D-day movies? :v: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_about_the_RMS_Titanic[/url] look at this and despair.[/QUOTE] a much more accurate comparison would be to mention the slew of remakes and reboots that we've been having in recent years

I'm tempted to be a cunt and bring up Wind Waker HD but in all honesty that remake was really, really good. So instead I'll bring up the Ocarina of Time remake which was really crappy because they were scared of making any changes after everyone complained about them making too many changes to the Super Mario 64 remake. Also: Link Between Worlds is almost a remake.

[QUOTE=The Baconator;42494727]the superhero movie saturation is kinda recent tbh look at the long time between Batman and Robin to Batman Begins, and Superman IV to Superman Returns[/QUOTE] thats only because they milked it till it ran dry, which is also what video-game industry is doing, except it doesn't REALLY run dry in gaming case, because the average gamer is unfortunately a bigger idiot than movie fans, and game publishers have realized this. i'm including myself in it partially, since i can't wait for a homeworld HD version. edit: look at CoD alone and see it for yourself.

[QUOTE=The Calzone;42494772]So instead I'll bring up the Ocarina of Time remake which was really crappy[/QUOTE] I thought they did a pretty good job on the 3DS remake unless you mean another version of the game. As for the M64DS remake, I actually prefer that over the original. The Ocarina of Time remake was done completely from scratch, save for the music and the majority of the games levels. All the animations, models and textures were completely remade to look smoother and high quality, not to mention that all the enemies were remodelled to look even closer to their concept art to fully create the games original vision. They upped the games FPS from 20 to 30 for the 3DS hardware, but I don't know if that's especially good for a handheld or not. In the case for content for Zelda, I don't really think you can add any more to Ocarina of Time besides a few bug fixes here and there along with that extra boss mode that you get. Mario 64DS on the other hand felt like it was able to expand because there were so many areas in the game that could be touched upon and expanded due to the limitations of the N64 back in it's day. I think the idea with the different playable characters made use of a lot of the games mechanics that weren't really that used in the original version and extra levels and redesigns could be added because parts of the castle did actually seem empty.

[QUOTE=The Calzone;42494772]I'm tempted to be a cunt and bring up Wind Waker HD but in all honesty that remake was really, really good. So instead I'll bring up the Ocarina of Time remake which was really crappy because they were scared of making any changes after everyone complained about them making too many changes to the Super Mario 64 remake. Also: Link Between Worlds is almost a remake.[/QUOTE] Why would anyone complain about SM64DS? In my opinion that's the best remake ever.

[QUOTE] currently producing the Wii U/3DS Super Smash Bros[/QUOTE] Not sure if he can talk

[QUOTE=The Calzone;42494772]I'm tempted to be a cunt and bring up Wind Waker HD but in all honesty that remake was really, really good. So instead I'll bring up the Ocarina of Time remake which was really crappy because they were scared of making any changes after everyone complained about them making too many changes to the Super Mario 64 remake. Also: Link Between Worlds is almost a remake.[/QUOTE] you shouldn't expect remakes to be anything more than just the same game in my opinion. if you've already played the game then obviously the remake was not made to cater to you

[QUOTE=Novangel;42494945]Not sure if he can talk[/QUOTE] There's only 4 games in the franchise, it's not an unnatural amount

[QUOTE=Mio Akiyama;42494983]There's only 4 games in the franchise, it's not an unnatural amount[/QUOTE] He doesn't mean an unnatural amount of games in franchises he means unnatural amount of franchises. I'm pretty sure a 14 year old franchise also fits within his description.

yeah games have too many iterations per franchise also tv shows have too many episodes its like wow this is just the same cast but with a different story did they think we wouldnt notice? stop making tv shows with more than one episode and make a new series

[QUOTE=Flyingman356;42494906]Why would anyone complain about SM64DS? In my opinion that's the best remake ever.[/QUOTE] Only thing I disliked about SM64DS is even on 3DS, controls are kinda stiff.

[QUOTE=Sonic Fan;42494903]I thought they did a pretty good job on the 3DS remake unless you mean another version of the game. As for the M64DS remake, I actually prefer that over the original.[/QUOTE] The 3DS remake wasn't as great as it could have been. Jack shit was added in terms of new content, after a while the re-made assets became unnoticeable, and the game had a re-made soundtrack scrapped at Aonuma's personal behest because he wanted it to have "an authentic N64 feel." The game also suffers from frame rate drops in a lot of the same places as the original game which is really weird all things considered. [QUOTE=Flyingman356;42494906]Why would anyone complain about SM64DS? In my opinion that's the best remake ever.[/QUOTE] The fact that the game forces you to play as Yoshi for like the first five stars is really shitty and they added a bunch of new dumb systems to the game that cluttered everything. The controls were also really bad. There's a reason the OOT remake played it so safe and that reason is SM64DS.

I'm disappointed to see this. I've always advocated and pressured and spammed friends about how awesome it would be for games to be remade. Imagine Pokmeon Red, Blue and Yellow with the Pokemon X and Y graphics and such. Nothing extra, just the original game remade in better graphics and sound. OR OR. Pokemon Stadium with the WiiU graphics! Or imagine the original Legend of Zelda, with all the same items and even the same bugs and glitches (maybe) but with Wind Waker graphics. Black Mesa was a huge success and it remade ol' Half-Life. I want to see new games take a break and focus on older games being remade. I would love to see these. Maybe it's just me. edit: Okay it's obviously just me, wow.

[QUOTE=Wizards Court;42494705]is this a joke? movies specially tend to rehash things to no end. i mean we had like how many batman movies again? how many superman movies? how many spider-man? how many titanic movies? how many D-day movies? :v: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_about_the_RMS_Titanic[/url] look at this and despair.[/QUOTE] video games havent had a godard, woody allen, bergman, or kubrick tho you could argue miyamoto is the dw griffen of gaming, and id software is the john carpenter of gaming for sure

[QUOTE=Novangel;42494945]Not sure if he can talk[/QUOTE] But then you have to consider that he left HAL because he didn't want to make anymore sequels. Up until then all he had worked on was a ton of Kirby games and 2 Smash Bros. Games. The only reason he made Brawl is because he was contracted to make it and was given almost complete creative control. He's only made 2 games since he left HAL. Brawl, Kid Icarus, which he requested to do since it was under him that they were able to reignite interest in the series and they wanted to flesh out his character and the universe he's a part of. and now there's Smash Bros. 4, which he actually asked to do. [QUOTE=Wizards Court;42494705]is this a joke? movies specially tend to rehash things to no end. i mean we had like how many batman movies again? how many superman movies? how many spider-man? how many titanic movies? how many D-day movies? [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_about_the_RMS_Titanic[/URL] look at this and despair.[/QUOTE] keep in mind that he's japanese. what goes on over there is probably completely different than what we have here.

[QUOTE=Y'all.;42494971]you shouldn't expect remakes to be anything more than just the same game in my opinion. if you've already played the game then obviously the remake was not made to cater to you[/QUOTE] No because a remake is a chance to fix a dated game.

[QUOTE=The Baconator;42496115]No because a remake is a chance to fix a dated game.[/QUOTE] The Resident Evil HD Remake was awesome. Wish they would've done it with the others, but apparently the first didn't sell so well.

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;42495047]It's mostly just a version recompile with fancy shaders, there's nothing new to the player to really justify a purchase over the Gamecube version sadly[/QUOTE] I disagree. They added a hard mode, made the triforce quest less tedious by not requiring as many triforce charts now, added improved first person controls, a long with motion controls, added an unlockable "quick sail" for those who found the normal sailing to be too slow, and being able to play off screen on the game pad is a pretty enjoyable experience.

[QUOTE=The Baconator;42496115]No because a remake is a chance to fix a dated game.[/QUOTE] i was referring more to new content, polishing stuff is fine of course

The gaming industry is nothing compared to the movie industry in terms of remake saturation. I dont think you guys even realize just how many of your favorite films are actually remakes of a previous work. Even some of the "classics". The difference is, in recent years, remakes have been pretty shit and not brought anything new to the table.

[QUOTE=thisispain;42495432]video games havent had a godard, woody allen, bergman, or kubrick[/QUOTE] Why do we compare other mediums to games again? We should stop comparing video games to a different medium and start treating it as it's own medium. I mean god damn it's been around for almost 40 years now.

[QUOTE=Ayane-152;42495127]Only thing I disliked about SM64DS is even on 3DS, controls are kinda stiff.[/QUOTE] Also the touch controls were laughably bad, not that that matters much. Maps were fine, though.

Mario and Zelda take the cake among all forms of entertainment, but sequelitis and reboot/remakes are not unheard of in cinema aswell. Then again this guy made Kirby, and as a friendly reminder his series features 24titles among sequels, remakes and spin-offs. The pot calling the kettle black, much.

Well, he did kind of leave Nintendo because he was tired of making sequels, and he made Meteos, a stand alone puzzle game and another game before he went back to work on Smash Bros.

[QUOTE=PSI Guy;42497610]Well, he did kind of leave Nintendo because he was tired of making sequels, and he made Meteos, a stand alone puzzle game and another game before he went back to work on Smash Bros.[/QUOTE] Ah, didn't keep up with that. My bad.

[QUOTE=DrCactus;42496497]I disagree. They added a hard mode, made the triforce quest less tedious by not requiring as many triforce charts now, added improved first person controls, a long with motion controls, added an unlockable "quick sail" for those who found the normal sailing to be too slow, and being able to play off screen on the game pad is a pretty enjoyable experience.[/QUOTE] Wow that's, well, 6 new things for a 25 hour long game from 2002/2003. I can safely say unless you enjoy the desaturation and Twilight World-level bloom everywhere, there's nothing going to be lost if you instead just buy a Gamecube and play the original Wind Waker, in fact your losses would actually instead range into negativity as you would pay less for the same thing.

[QUOTE=balls-and-all;42497648]Wow that's, well, 6 new things for a 25 hour long game from 2002/2003. I can safely say unless you enjoy the desaturation and Twilight World-level bloom everywhere, there's nothing going to be lost if you instead just buy a Gamecube and play the original Wind Waker, in fact your losses would actually instead range into negativity as you would pay less for the same thing.[/QUOTE] They toned down the bloom in a lot of areas, and it only gets really bloomy during certain parts of the day. the game itself looks a lot better in indoor areas and places like the Forsaken fortress. No idea what you're going on about Desaturation though. And Wind Waker is going for upwards of $35 on ebay right now, so that's only a $15 price difference. and I would certainly call the things I mentioned pretty important considering one of the biggest complaints with Wind Waker was the Triforce quest around the end, and a hard mode is always good. especially for a game like Zelda. Also, next time try to sound like less of a smart ass with your replies please.