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Miyamoto: Zelda needs to be "accessible" for casual gamers

Shigeru Miyamoto only recently made a remark that E3 is no longer a place to introduce new games for the core gamer. Additionally, it has been discovered that the legendary video game mastermind provided a response about making franchises such as Zelda and Mario more accessible. Unfortunately, it looks like those who have been hoping that the next Zelda would ramp up the difficulty won't find the next Zelda game to be any tougher. If anything, the next Zelda title could be even less hardcore than we're accustomed to. "Frankly, some of the so-called 'franchise games' are quite difficult for nongamers to play, so making accessible games for these players is key. With Zelda, we have to consider how to make it accessible for new gamers to pick up and play and enjoy just as hardcore gamers have. For example, we've got the Touch Generations series. Now, we're not necessarily going to make our "franchise" games in that style, but we'll take what we know and have learned - the philosophy behind those games - and incorporate it into franchise games. That's a philosophy that's very strong at Nintendo."
Valay - contributor
Published: 529 days 6 hours ago | News | E3 2008 | Wii | Gaming | Industry News
 
 

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Showing: 1 - 50 of 55 Comments
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Blacktigra - 529 days 7 hours ago
1 -
Oh lord zelda too. Come on nintendo leave at least one franchise for the hardcore.
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Jack Bauer - 529 days 7 hours ago
1.1 -
seriously.

if nintendo makes zelda casual... im done with nintendo, period... RIP nintendo.
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Foolsjoker - 529 days 6 hours ago
1.2 -
Well I already retired my Wii as there is not any games coming out even worth hooking it up anymore. Nintendo's only chance with keeping their loyal (mostly hardcore) fan base is to keep giving them the games they have been playing for years.

It seems that Nintendo is selling out the people that brought them so much success. Feel like I'm seeing my childhood hero slap me across the face.
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iamtehpwn - 529 days 5 hours ago
1.3 - Wind Waker was accessible to casuals
Even the Wii build of Twilight Princess was.
Hell, Even my mom learned how to play Twilight Princess in about 10-20 minutes, thanks to the wiimote.
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Smacktard - 529 days 5 hours ago
1.4 -
That's cause TP, WW, and PH were all as casual as hell. TP sucked, but WW was good... except for the godawful sailing.
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SolidSnake93 - 529 days 5 hours ago
1.5 -
They should never make Zelda casual. The reason it sells so well is because it is hardcore, if you make it casual it will bomb in sales and reviews.
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LastDance - 529 days 2 hours ago
1.6 -
you know a company is a bunch of F heads when they try to make games for NON gamers haha....what in the world.

Screw you too nintendo
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StephanieBBB - 528 days 20 hours ago
1.7 - I rly hate Shigeru Miyamoto...
everything he touches turns in to utter crap. If they keep dumbing down the games on nintendo soon the only ones who will play it are "less intellectual forunate" at adult day care centers... congratz nintendards!
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thebudgetgamer - 528 days 9 hours ago
1.8 - o hell no
this is a bad trend for nintendo fans but to say you hate mr myamoto is crap you are talking about the man that all but single handedly saved video games
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sidar - 529 days 6 hours ago
2 -
Think about the 1:1 sword fighting, thats simpler then buttons =P
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BrotherNick - 529 days 6 hours ago
2.1 -
that is true. 1:1 controls will make games simpler when they get better.
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deeznuts - 529 days 6 hours ago
2.2 -
Did you just ask everyone to visualize sword fighting?

Quick, topless wii action, stat!
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AllroundGamer - 529 days 6 hours ago
3 -
they should make it like Wii Music, just push random buttons and the game will play by itself :D
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killinet247 - 529 days 5 hours ago
3.1 -
that sounds like a superb idea...if they do that then it will definitely be game of the year and receive nothing but 10's across the board...the zelda fans will love it for sure might even move a few million consoles because it would just be glorious
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ViRaL- - 529 days 6 hours ago
4 - so sad
its a sad day for the hardcore
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name - 529 days 6 hours ago
5 -
Zelda Tennis confirmed
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Muddyalcapones - 529 days 6 hours ago
6 -
Zelda is the only reason I buy Nintendo consoles, so if it goes casual im out for good. The sad thing is they'll be so up to their ears in money they wont care how many non-casual gamers hate them...
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mepsipax - 529 days 6 hours ago
7 - idiots, all of you
no, miyamoto is talking about incorporating things that make a game more accessible to people and imbedding them within the game, not making zelda a minigame fest with miis, christ, you guys honestly think Nintendo would screw over their loyal fans like that, sure they haven't been doing good with their hardcore audience lately but SMG, TP, SSBB, MP3 all of them very faithful sequels to the ones before them, I doubt there will be huge changes made. (mepsipax also hopes for a sequel to windwaker because that game is teh awesome)
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mepsipax - 529 days 5 hours ago
7.1 - wow,
lots of disagrees already? no counter-arguements? c'mon guys, bring it, I will defend to the death Miyamoto will never completely sell the hardcore franchises out to the casuals.
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H-V-H - 529 days 4 hours ago
7.2 -
Referring to people as idiots probably is not the best way to start a comment.
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Lumbo - 529 days 4 hours ago
7.3 -
"you guys honestly think Nintendo would screw over their loyal fans like that"

yes
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LastDance - 529 days 2 hours ago
7.4 -
I took some of your bubbles away aswell.
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madjedi - 528 days 19 hours ago
7.5 - insulting even to other nintendo fans lol, defensive much
Okay even as a nintendo hater e3 nintendo was sad, funny as hell :p, but sad, did you not see it, they couldn't show more third party core games.

At least mention some of the actual games that gamers might be interested in, wow a (no offense) gimped version of ps3/360 game, star wars clone wars fighting game(many wii owners would probably rather see force unleashed gameplay) and i forget the other it may have been either ac or the ds gta.

You think nintendo isn't telling their loyal hardcore fans for yrs to f off, or at least that they are in the lowest part of the wii's totem pole, lets see was it we are focusing e3 on casual gamers. 75%(a guess) of wii owners probably don't even know what e3 is, so a conference dedicated to them serves what purpose exactly?
When asked about how hardcore gamer feel left behind by nintendos mostly all casual focus. Their spokesperson asks how can the hardcore gamer not be satisfied with both ac and a gts on the ds, no zelda, no star fox, f-zero ect.

When asked about the storage solutions nintendo is working on, gamers hear well the sd cards are good enough just delete old games off of your card and redownload them at a later date if you want, and if you don't like it ts.

Finally getting voice chat almost 2 yrs after the console comes out and its a dumbass microphone thing, instead of a regular headset.

The highest third party selling game only sold 400kish copies, um thats not a good thing. compared to 9-10 mil for cod 4 for pc, ps3,360, the 360 alone sold 4-5 mil copies.

The only worthwhile thing to come out of nintendos e3 for core gamers ie people that have supported nintendo for yrs was the motion plus add on, and news that a new zelda game and pikmin 3 are being developed.

There are some games on psn i play that go under the casual genre/description and even though they are casual games some, of them are challenging.

If nintendo wants to reach a broader audience fine, but don't force core owners to play games in super candyass mode like non gamers/noobs.
Give them a higher unlockable difficulty after they beat it ect, at least prime 1 and 2 are actually semi challenging on normal modes, haven't played 3 so can't say.
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sidar - 528 days 11 hours ago
7.6 -
"The highest third party selling game only sold 400kish copies, um thats not a good thing. compared to 9-10 mil for cod 4 for pc, ps3,360, the 360 alone sold 4-5 mil copies.

"
REDSteel? RE4?......
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OmegaKulu - 529 days 6 hours ago
8 -
well, zelda is lost....
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blindfromthesun - 529 days 5 hours ago
9 - wtf
Why does Zelda, one of the ONLY hardcore games available going casual? Miyamoto needs to get with it; casual gamers don't typically buy Zelda games. If your going to make the new Zelda another casual game, you might as well make it cell shaded and cartoony cause I'm not buying it. I would even call Twilight Princess too easy. I played it for 50 hours hoping for a challenge and found none.
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walken7 - 529 days 5 hours ago
10 - Yay console war is over! (Not really).
That seals the deal, ruin the best franchise ever. Man, thought miyamoto was a genius, now I know he's not. I understand it's smart to make games for casual gamers, that's fine, but if they exclude the non-casual gamers, they're doing the same thing they're whining about with sony and microsoft. Hypocritical, and a bad decision, say goodbye to nintendo.
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vloeistof - 529 days 5 hours ago
11 -
the zelda party games:D
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Fadixon - 529 days 5 hours ago
12 -
The Legend Of Zelda : Teddy Bear Attack
Grear Cant Wait :D
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Darkiewonder - 529 days 5 hours ago
13 - -
I'm all for it the challenge is still there. I don't want the game to be TOO EASY just for the sake he wants casual gamers to no not feel frustrated.
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Kwertie - 529 days 5 hours ago
14 -
I'm at a loss for words. If Nintendo ruins it's key franchises making them "more accessible", well that's a 17 year relationship down the drain. I hope they don't do it.
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vlazed - 529 days 5 hours ago
15 -
This could potentially be a very bad move for Nintendo. It has not been proven that causal gamers buy consecutive consoles. That being said, they run the risk of alienating the core Nintendo fans who will not be purchasing the next Nintendo console and are left with the casual market who, I think, the Wii will be the only console they purchase.
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jackie chann - 529 days 5 hours ago
16 -
They could just have difficulty levels like a master quest mode for the hardcore, there's no need to kill an outstanding game.

Just have and easy mode which gives you 3x more health, dumb enemies, all items from start and maybe an ability to skip scenes.
17 rosebowl23 | 529 days 5 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show
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sidar - 529 days 5 hours ago
18 -
Damn that E3 really put a bad taste in your mouths!( probably the vomit of your own hate).

Windwaker was suppose to kill Zelda too and it was Freaking awesome.

All im hoping for is 1:1 sword fighting and Shield defense.
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jtucker78 - 528 days 13 hours ago
18.1 -
Hopefully they'll make Zelda easy enough to beat by finishing the easy dungeons, but add a few difficult dungeons for the hardcore to beat in order to unlock an alternative ending.

I could stomach something like that.
As long as the whole game isn't easy I don't mind.

@sidar - I really enjoyed Windwaker too. I preferred it to TP to be honest.
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MK_Red - 529 days 5 hours ago
19 -
WTF!? Are they really gonna simplify Zelda now!? Seriously, Zelda was THE hardcore game on NES and have always been a great hardcore game during each gen it came out. Nintendo is fully burying hardcore in their system. 3rd party and Mad World FTW!
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Freayr - 529 days 5 hours ago
20 -
1:1 sword fighting will be fun, but seriously, will anyone sit there for hours, like 10+ hours and still want to swing the controller, in 1:1; gotta remember, it will require more effort on your part as you carnt just swing the controller and hope for the best.
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Ivix - 529 days 5 hours ago
20.1 -
Well, see... it's not exactly healthy to play video games for 10+ hours anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem for most people.
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Homicide - 529 days 5 hours ago
21 -
I will cry when that happens.
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Grassroots - 529 days 5 hours ago
22 -
I wish Nintendo would do anything but make Zelda easier, I was hoping for a ramped up difficult, Possibly make a master version for the hardcore fans please.
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Adropacrich2 - 529 days 4 hours ago
23 -
I really couldn't be more of a Nintendo fan but it does feel like they are indeed shafting us

Nintendo are the masters of Magic when it comes to their beautifully unique game design but these games have become increasingly easy.Zelda Twilight was quite excellent but it led you by the hand most of the time and i felt quite a bit let down by this change in structure

Same too for Galaxy as that was baby easy and slightly insulting as a result

My only hope is that they don't take the p!ss with Pikmin or a Starfox and Fzero at some point.

Don't mind waiting for these games either but please Nintendo, stop screwing us
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kesvalk - 529 days 4 hours ago
24 -
i brought the Wii only cuz i love their games...

i now, i see they say they want to milk them...
you know what? i always died in Zelda games, i am not a very good player, but in TP i dind't died not once, and i dind't even got all the hearts, same with Metroid prime 3, not even ridley was a chalenge...

i seriously will drop out of nintendo and will go to sony or microsoft if they do this! I don't want to play a game like "waggle the wiiremote and you win" (this was TP, really)

E3 was sad, now miyamoto say that, they have casual getting over their heads, and this will be their death, i hope they make a very dificult, very technical game soon, cuz i am starting to regret buying this console...

the only thing that is worth here is SSBB, Mario (cuz mario IS casual anyway, yet fun, like, you can't be serious about a game where a italian plumber go save a princess from a bad dragon/turtle evillord with the power of jumping right?)

if they milk starfox and even worse (for me) make a metroid worse than metroid prime 3, i will get very sad...

sigh, where is the SNES age, that was good times.... with good rpg and adventure games....
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Dick Jones - 529 days 2 hours ago
25 - Can we officiallly call it "kiddy" now?
Or do we really need to wait until they unveil their pacifier wiimote attachment at TGS?
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dribnif - 529 days 2 hours ago
26 - Zelda does not NEED to be accessible to casual gamers
The only reason it they claim it NEEDS to be accessible to the casual set is to make more money for Nintendo. F*** casual gamers and let them play Carnival Games and other Krapi nonsense. I didn't buy Wii so that I could have Wii parties. I don't even like people. I bought it so I could stay home alone and still be entertained without having to masturbate every few hours (wenis gets sore). If they water down Zelda any more than Twilight Princess which, IMO, was pretty darn watery, then Zelda will no longer matter to Ninty's former core. The new core is casual and the rest of us will have to jump this listing ship and swimg over to the other consoles. I have sadness.
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Rayko - 529 days 1 hour ago
27 - please
I loved Nintendo because Nintendo was my childhood gaming but this is starting to annoy me, Zelda for casual gamers hmm, it will probably be a Zelda party game or smt. Imagine Zelda cooking food for link and if you done with cooking you can go out on the yard and cut some grass. Please, leave Zelda alone, seems like Miyamoto is getting to old.
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AWBrawler - 528 days 23 hours ago
28 - People get a grip
They said the same thing about Mario Kart, but is it too casual? no! I feel he's talking about making it more like wind waker. Easy to learn how to play, but one of the harder Zelda titles. (took me 2 months due to long sailing and finding triforce pieces) My nephew never liked Zelda until Wind Waker, because it was more accesible to him, but still hardcore enough for me to enjoy. So please don't think Shiggy is dumb enough to screw over all his fans. Nintendo may love money, but they also love they're established franchises too. If they didn't Mario would be a GTA, Halo FPS, or Bloody Gore game by now, cause thats what sold last gen.
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madjedi - 528 days 19 hours ago
28.1 - Something fresh would be nice
Yes but would it really kill nintendo to make a new ip, that the core gamer would actually want to play.

Rather than rescuing the same stupid princess for the millionth time, that really needs to learn self defense, and stop being a annoying stereotypical helpless female.

Or the same zelda game again and again, maybe get with the times and realize there can be a strong female lead or villain in a story, other than the oddball samus aran, in nintendos lineup.
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jtucker78 - 528 days 13 hours ago
28.2 -
AWBrawler: "They said the same thing about Mario Kart, but is it too casual?"

I'm afraid with all the cheap AI and equalizers I'd have to say: Yes.

But that's just my opinion.

I'm a Mario Kart fan from the pre-blue shell days, where skill played a larger part than luck.
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scissor_runner - 528 days 20 hours ago
29 -
Why the hell would casuals want to be an elf? Really WTF? Is zelda going to get a job or become an MMO! I can't see how old people and soccer moms will want to be in the world of zelda unless.... I don't even want to say it... LOL So I won't. We will see.,......

I bet it has separate mini games that are addictive or some thing.......
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