Girl Gamer

"Demo Play" For The Wii

By Vespaa 8 months, 2 weeks ago • 2 Comments

With the launch of the Nintendo Wii in 2006, gamers watched as Nintendo finally dethroned Sony, which for the previous two generations held the title of front runner of the gaming industry. This can be attributed to many things, but many of us realize it’s at least partly due to Nintendo’s reach to non gamers, or as they are referred too now as “casual gamers.” The company has maintained their edge over the competition, by not only appealing it it’s original, core audience with titles like, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy, but by further extending their hand to people who have never so much as picked up a video game controller in their lives.

How have they managed this? With titles like Wii Sports, which conveniently comes packaged with the Wii console, and titles like Wii Fit and Wii Music. Suddenly, gamers everywhere were treated to videos beginning with YouTube recordings of senior citizens in retirement homes enjoying rounds of Wii Bowling and Wii Golf, culminating with newscasters giving a live demonstration of the Wii Fit on NBC Today. Taking a further step toward reaching out to non or casual gamers, and this time, bringing them closer to their more traditional audience, Nintendo revealed their latest patent, simply called “Demo Play.” Set to premiere in the first non handheld, side scrolling Mario title since Super Mario World, (not including Paper Mario titles) New Super Mario Brothers Wii.

According to Shigeru Miyamoto, “In the New Super Mario Brothers Wii, if a player is experiencing an area of difficulty, [Demo Play] will allow them to clear troubled areas, and take over when they’re ready.” And with that, gamers everywhere heaved a collective sigh. Isn’t the entire point of a video game, as opposed to non interactive forms of entertainment, exactly that? About interactivity? And isn’t Demo Play going against that notion entirely? An artificial intelligence taking control of the game because it’s too hard… isn’t that what difficulty settings are for?

My immediate thoughts were, “Well, we’ve all run into a rough patch before, while playing a game, perhaps it’s Nintendo’s intention to take the frustration out of gaming.” I recently found myself on the verge of breaking my DS during a particularly difficult boss fight in, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. While trying my hand yet again at Hard Time Attack Mode in Shadow of the Colossus (which I picked up again after my excitement from the trailer of The Last Guardian.) I was even further anguished after no less than twenty unsuccessful attempts at Colossus #9, Basaran. If Nintendo’s Demo Play had been available, would I have used it? Absolutely not. For me, if I enjoy a title’s game play mechanics, physics engine, and combat system, it’s extremely gratifying to overcome something myself that I may have had difficulty with previously. Isn’t that the point of playing a video game, as opposed to watching a movie, or a game playing itself?

It seems there’s still a lot of confusion about the nature of Demo Play, since it’s still in developmental stages. When many people heard it described as “an in game walk-through system.” They figured it was simply a method meant to eliminate the need for players to look up game play strategies online, or resorting to a strategy guide. But that does not appear to be the case as Miyamoto himself confirmed it as a method of bypassing areas of a game the player does not wish to play through. Some have argued in defense of Demo Play, noting that it’s a completely optional feature, so it shouldn’t be an issue for most, as well as giving less advanced gamers a more welcomed invitation to enjoying a great game without the prospect of getting stuck. More so, the patent also claims that if the player abuses, or relies too much on the Demo Play feature, they will not be able to save the progress they made while using it.

One must also consider that Demo Play will certainly prove to be a more profitable decision for Nintendo itself. Have you ever invited a friend or relative to try out a game, only to have them reply with, “I would, but I’m terrible at video games!” Nintendo seems to be taking aim at potential consumers who feel this way, by eliminating the need to be “good” at video games at all, which is certainly a way to increase their customer base. This will also help them maintain their lead over competitors Sony and Microsoft, who cater to traditional gamers, first and foremost.

In stark contrast to Nintendo, and their reasoning behind “Demo Play” Sig Asmussen, a developer of Sony exclusive, God of War III has stated, “Three times. Maybe three times I want the player to throw the controller down in frustration. This game will be no psychology experiment, testing to see how far you can push a player til he [or she, ahem] cracks.” God of War is known for it’s notoriously difficult “God Mode” and “Titan Mode.” Would players still gain a sense of accomplishment had they relied on a Demo Play like feature during difficult sub portions of game play? But it makes me ponder if Sony and Microsoft will implement a similar system to their games, or third party developers in general, should the Nintendo’s latest patent prove to be successful. Nintendo’s New Super Mario Brothers Wii will be out this Holiday season, and we won’t know until then how it’s reception will unfold, or perhaps unravel.