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Miyamoto Doesn't Want Childish Writing In Mario

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by Phil Kollar on May 21, 2010 at 04:39 PM
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Super Mario Galaxy 2, as with most Mario games before it, is a game that Nintendo clearly intends for children to play. In a recent interview, though, series mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto revealed his fear that sometimes things get a little too kid-centric in the Mario games.

Speaking with his boss, Nintendo president Saturo Iwata, as part of Nintendo's Iwata Asks series, Miyamoto discussed some of the struggles the team had figuring out how much or how little story to include in the Super Mario Galaxy games. From the interview:

"Unless you're careful, there's a tendency for games like Mario that can be played by children to gradually become childish. Those making the game tend to unconsciously make them that way. Taking how Mario's line can be scripted as an example, they even propose to write, 'Where'd my mommy go?' When someone in their fifties like me hears their player-character speak childishly like that, it doesn't quite sit right. After all, Mario wasn't a game only for children in the first place. As I make a game, I try to keep in mind that guys in their fifties will play it, too."

What do you think? Do you ever feel weirded out by the more childish aspects of Mario, or do you think Nintendo has done a good job of hitting a balance recently?

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  • by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 04:45 PM

    Mario's for every age!

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 04:47 PM

    ^^AGREE^^

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 04:47 PM
    New Mario games definitely tend to get a little childish and thats no good for older fans of the game. The less story and more gameplay is always the way to go with a Mario game. Super Mario Bros. was a great game for all ages. But a game like Super Paper Mario was way too childish for me. I returned it shortly after purchasing it.
  • by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 04:48 PM

    Mario-everyone should have a chance to play it

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 04:52 PM

    @Jkrgn29

    agreed.

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 04:58 PM

    I love mario and play glaxy all the time but I would never let my xbox buddies know that.

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:02 PM

    Just because it's childish doesn't mean older folks can't enjoy. Anyone heard of Pixar?

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:02 PM

    My forty yr old dad beat the first one long before i did lol he loved it! i think he is already pre ordered #2 :D i cant wait!

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:03 PM

    Mario games are too friggin' hard for little kids.  Sure, the graphics are cartoony, but the gameplay is as hardcore as it gets.  

    And what writing?  There's hardly any dialog in Mario games.

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:03 PM

    great to hear that. it's a bit of a shock but in a good way

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:04 PM

    I think it was directed toward kids 20 years ago when it was first thought up.  But now it's a blast from the past nostalgia type game, that kids can still enjoy and we fans always will.  (Sunshine excluded =P) I need to give that game another chance.

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:05 PM

    Good to hear that somebody else thinks "kiddie" and "all-ages" are seperate things.

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:08 PM

    haha, if i wanted a game with mature themes this is NOT where i would turn to

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:09 PM

    I've certainly encountered that before, but not from Mario as far as I can recall. In fact a great example of a child-friendly product providing a quality, mature story- Pixar style- is Super Paper Mario. Man, I need to play that game again...

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:09 PM

    What about Zelda Miyamoto? What about Zelda?

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:15 PM

    What? bowser kidnapped princess peach and raped her? and mario need go through towns finding and killing people who had parts in it? after he finds them, he cuts of bowser's hands and throws him off a cliff into millions of jagged rocks? I agree with Jkrgn29, mario is fine the way it is

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    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:23 PM

    I think it has tilted slightly to the childish side but, it's a good thing they caught that and are fixing it.

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:47 PM

    A more mature variant would be nice to see.

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:57 PM

    I want to know why Mario would even have the need to use the line "Where'd my mommy go?".

  •
    by Friday, May 21, 2010 at 05:58 PM

    I wish my cousin would sit down and play mario for once

    all she ever does is play barbie princess and other poorly made games

    Her parents have yet to buy her a single mario or nintendo game for her wii or ds

    no pokemon, no zelda, no smash bros, no mario

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