Random: The Last Of Us Director Admits He's A Nintendo Fan In Podcast With Reggie Fils-Aimé

If there was someone who made video games and didn’t like any Nintendo games whatsoever, I would refuse to buy their games.

I’m not surprised. Anyone in the video game industry today was influenced by Nintendo to some degree.

It’s almost impossible not to have been influencers by Nintendo. If you’re a certain age, you’re bound to have played a Mario game.

Breaking news: gamer likes Mario

Wow, such a low point for Nintendo Life to be making an article on Neil Druckmann.

He is a video game fan. Seems logical 🤷‍♂️

Insanity is thinking all these people do not play multiple games on tons of different hardware in their lives.

@RickD If that is being "punch in the nuts" tons of publishers will follow

If anything - he figured out it does not matter what they "foray into"

He should make a Mario movie, he's good at that.

@bubby444 yep, and they all go on to create amazing titles only fully realized on other hardware. That's on Nintendo.

Speaking of Super Mario: Gameinformer did a preview of "Paper Mario - The Origami King" and open world seems to be confirmed. 👍
https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2020/06/30/a-new-crease-on-life-nintendo-shares-insight-on-paper-marios-latest-adventure

@Jakiboy Why? Neil has made some of the industry's most amazing games. I love Nintendo but I also love PlayStation just as much.

I wonder how Last of Us would look like with Nintendo directing.

@PSoneboi It has nothing to do with Nintendo or Playstation. All I'll say is shame on him and Naughty Dog!

Video game maker is a fan of one of the industries most prolific video game companies and one of the best known video game series ever made.

Headline news.

That's nice. Neil should stick with Sony consoles tho

Hmm, I like it when NintendoLife takes the time to remind us that we're all on Team Video Games! And that Nintendo fans can be found across the gaming industry.

I'm not at all surprised that someone at Naughty Dog would like Nintendo (see Jak & Daxter, Crash Bandicoot, CTR) or that Reggie has an appreciation for Xbox and PS games as well.

@RickD It’s the fastest selling exclusive on PS4. It sold 4 million units in three days. They seem to have gone woke and yet not gone broke.

It's a shame that The Last of Us II is... that because there's very much stuff worth criticizing it for (especially with regards to the conditions during development), even when it comes to LGBT topics. Meanwhile there are lots of people that attack the game simply because it includes LGBT characters and because they think its too "woke", and people like Druckmann have used that to paint everyone that criticizes TLOU2 as a bigot.

Honestly though my biggest gripe with the whole debacle is that Druckmann had the audacity to defend a reviewer... comparing it to Schindler's List. And got mad when people said comparing it to Schindler's List was awful and stupid.

Heheh "admits" implies being a Nintendo fan is something that Neil should be ashamed of, but it really isn't!

Woke means asleep. They have no idea what woke is and are just preaching to the choir.

@wren Woke is the past tense of wake. It means literally the opposite of asleep. It has been used by African-Americans since the mid 20th century in response to social injustices, hence they have to ‘stay woke’.

Spoiler Alert*

HE finally admitted it. We were all waiting for him to say it. Finally. 😀

I have zero idea about politics and all that rubbish but pacing issues aside last of us 2 is a darn fine video game x x x

@RickD sales mean nothing. The transformers made a lot of money and they're *****

Amazing how Nintendo Life NOW makes a article on this effing scum after months of multiples false DMCAs claims this man and Bad Mutt makes( Even banning people left and right on various platforms who dare to mention The Last of Us Part II)
NOBODY in the gaming journalism mention this, only "youtube dudes".

Not surprised! Both companies/entities/developers have unprecedented attention to detail in their games, made with lots of love and care. It only makes sense to me that they would see each other’s beauty and acknowledge it.

@RickD Well, sort of the point - If you want to make real cash (at least here in the States). He is on the right side of the fence right now.

Just how things are.

@nessisonett wouldn’t really say anything about that. The game was very anticipated why wouldn’t it have good starting sale numbers? But it has heavily dropped off in sales as of last week and it’s also currently being sold used for way less than I would expect of a 2 week old game

Ah yes, the guy who shat on his entire fanbase.

This and the fact that Sakuray has Sony consoles at his home, are the concrete evidence that Console War is a stupid ***** made up by fans, and that the big names never meant for it to happen in the first place. Fanboys are the actual curse of the gaming, they're ruining everything, and Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft themself can't do anything about it. Also, this is all Sega's fault: they started the console War in the first place back during the 16 bit era, and then after Sega stopped doing consoles, their fanboys moved to Sony and brought on their "legacy", ***** on Nintendo and Microsoft.

But I actually think there's more about this. Let me give you an accurate description of console War guys in Discord style: PATHETIC FANBOYS WHO INSTRUMENTALIZE THE VIDEOGAMES THEY LOVE TO HURT PEOPLE BECAUSE DEEP DOWN THEY KNOW THEY ARE WORTHLESS AND THEY WILL NEVER GO ANYWHERE IN LIFE. And that is all.

Shame he didn’t take any notice of how to make a good game if he’s such a Nintendo fan😆 lou2 is a train wreck.

Who doesn't love a Mario game? Im pretty sure every gamer as atleast tried a Mario game once in their life. You can't buy a Nintendo console and not try a Mario game, heck even on mobile you can try a Mario game.

And what's with the comments bashing TLOU2? It's an amazing game and there's a reason it got a overall score of 94, infact I'm certain it's going to be between that and cyberpunk 2077 for GOTY

@Ultrasmiles I lost a lot of good soldiers in fire emblem lol but seriously if Nintendo did 18+ games they maybe that would be an option they would explore

@BlackKnight93 Well said! Sometimes it boils down to jealousy as certain good games on other consoles get praised and fan boys get jealous they can't play it on their system and they have too much pride to buy a "rival" console

I will never play tLoUII. I beat tLoU twice on PS4. Beat all the Uncharted games. tLoUII is propaganda, so don't expect me to waste my time on it. The Last Jedi sucked, too, but Rian Johnson's heavy-handed bungling moral reads like sophisticated nuance in comparrison to the failed sequel Druckman's pedaling. The story and characters are repellent. I hope Nintendo doesn't give that clown an inch.

Uh oh! Nintendo Life should have steered clear of talking about The Last of Us and Neil Druckmann. Nothing good will come of it (and it's not being released for Nintendo anyway).

@nessisonett They're not going broke, probably, but if I still had my PS4, and hadn't sold it to make rent just after KH3 (not a coincidence), I'd have avoided the leaks and bought this thing, too, and I would be out $60 on a sequel I don't like to a game I really liked. Gamestop is going to have to destroy copies to keep the thing sellable.

The way I'm reading this article makes it seem like someone admitting they're a Nintendo fan is somewhat similar to a person almost coming out of the closet but not all the way yet. Like many have said I'd expect anyone that likes games to have played or at least respect Nintendo and Mario for all they've done for the industry.

@playstation_king TLOU2 will be be pushed hard for game of the year by certain influencers and mainstream gaming media so they keep in Sonys good books for access to future titles and inside info and interviews. Theres a reason the sales numbers have fallen through the floor in the second week of release and stores are refusing trade ins for this game. But of course none of this will be made apparent by the same mainstream gaming media and no criticism will be focused toward what Naughty Dog are or how they conduct themselves,because they are essentially Sonys golden goose.They want all the access in future,therefore the mainstream gaming media are not legit and will say what they need to say at the expense of consumers to line their own pockets. The first game was fantastic and rightly regarded as one of the best ever. It didn't need a forced sequel

I see what you did there, lol.

This comment section is once again proof that the gaming community continues to earn it's reputation. Yeah, it's not everyone. But it's enough bad apples. Some folks just need to grow up and gain some perspective

@UmbreonsPapa That's a bit of an over-reaction there. This comments section is actually pretty tame considering the controversy over this game and some of the things relevant parties did with copy-write claims. Although I do think people should just move along. It's not like Playstation has a shortage of good games.

@UmbreonsPapa yeah, can't we go back to disliking games because they're bad? Not because they don't meet our personal values.

I get that this guy is guilty of stirring up controversy. But who cares? None of it actually matters. History will not remember him as an arbiter of change, or any of us for that matter. If anything, getting worked up validates whatever point he's making.

@PlayedNSlayed Former IGN employees have already debunked claims that they had to rate games favorably to get copies.
https://youtu.be/Bgg7_0rBUOA

@PoorGeno I think the story was a disappointment, but it's not propaganda just because bigots are afraid of LGBTQ characters. People act like the first game didn't already mention Ellie's orientation or have a diverse cast of characters. It's just a subpar sequel, not a big deal.

@NIN10DOXD Sorry if this comes off as personal or contrarian, man, but here:
Propaganda - information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view
So, the game is biased information about sexual relationships used to promote a particular cause or point of view.
tLoUII fits the definition in and of itself, and Druckman debued the lesbian kissing scene on a screen in a church last E3. Seems like he was trying to make particular a statement with that location.
You're right that it was a disappointment and not a big deal--you are. I never met a person afraid of characters, though, maybe what they mean to spread and the narrative's effect on impressionable minds, though, and if creating a conflict in people's minds over the definitions of morality and sexual morality in relationships wasn't Drunckman's point, he shouldn't have showed his game in a church, where weddings occur and where morals are formed. Druckman also made insinuations about the "needs" of gamers who bemoan these particular creative decisions. I'm going to stand firm that this was propaganda. I figure sometimes the way thinkers like you and I hear or read words can be subjective. I respect that you disagreed with me, and your argument, and I hope you have a great day.

@PoorGeno I can see what you mean regarding the marketing. they did milk a small relationship in the game like it was big deal and I did see it as sort insincere. I didn't mean to insinuate that you were a bigot. the game itself I wouldn't call propaganda, but I see how the rather misleading advertisement can be defined as such. I'm sorry if I cam off as combative.

@PoorGeno Lesbian kisses are as much of a political statement as heterosexual kisses. If this was propaganda then all the heteros would have died to the zombies and the world would have been living under a utopian gay society where everyone lived merry and was free.

"Admits" it? Is liking Nintendo so taboo now that we're supposed to be in the closet for it?

Sometimes I just really hate people.

Well of course he is. He loves games and grew up wanting to make games after playing good quality games.... which undeniably would have inluded super Mario. This is surely a given. but we should obviously listen to a naughty dog developer give credence to a developer way above their standing like it validates what Nintendo do?
Just when I thought the world wasn’t screwed up enough. This is like listening to David Haye saying he thought Mike Tyson gave a good effort in the 80’s

@nessisonett Well said, in part because a kiss shouldn't be political; that kind of thinking would say a good thing could be distructive (which it can, though, of course; a kiss betrayed Christ). I'd add that Druckman's most ludicrous and pessimistic philosophy promoted here is that man is divided, and will always split into warring factions, pointlessly, under even cataclysmic circumstances. Frankly, regarding propaganda, I'm less concerned with the political statement and more concerned with the moral statement made. Politics unmoored from morality are doomed. Look at the United States. I disagree with you about what qualifies as propaganda, because that the final edge where rhetoric meets the cusp of propaganda is not the depiction of a full-blown homosexual utopia. Successfully implemented propaganda is as soft as a kiss, as warm as a caress, as quiet as a whisper, and so carefully placed that the target won't realize that there was ever any propaganda at all. My gripe isn't with people like you who don't seem to want to hurt anyone. It's with creators like Druckman who abuse their access to a hungry crowd by swapping a platform with a soap box. The most hypocritical is when creators of this magnitude preach about privelage, an irritating display that tactfully Druckman has avoided hitting on the nose by virtue of leading by example in including a variety of characters working together in this game's former instalment. The second chorus here need not scream the lyrics of the first. This is not what I expected to write about today on nintendolife. Thanks for the discussion, Ness.

@Shinobi1Kenoby Spot on.

@Jakiboy It's also a reversal of the same article on PushSquare stating that Reggie likes The Last of Us Part II.

@PoorGeno sorry to interrupt a line of dialogue that didnt involve me, but after reading your well worded response i'm left wondering - do you sincerely think that anybody is forming beliefs around a video game? Do you think that this man's message will be received?

Personally I don't, which is why I want your opinion.

@Jakiboy Well I loved Last of Us 2 so we’ll end it there as I assume this is what you are referring to and I’ll say I totally disagree. One of the best games available.

@PSoneboi Glad I finally found another person in this comment section who likes it. Pretty sure 90% of people who are upset never even played it. It’s an extremely moving story that taught good lessons, and that has stuck with me. Unfortunately people weren’t able to look past the surface to see anything deeper.

Remind me again: Why are people bringing politics here?

@NathanTheAsian It seems like it can't be helped with anything anymore. I'm trying to understand better myself, but I may just be making it worse.

@Losermagnet You are correct. A single voice is typically not convincing (the side argument I'll ignore is how moving a video game can be, like Red Dead Redemption's depiction of disease, because games have more time with us than a movie, and even more than some books). Druckman's a cog in a bigger movement that would see people walking away from their traditional nature to something classicly esoteric... at a likely cost. The lie isn't sold by one man, but if it's told 1000 times, it becomes the truth. People will walk away from what's worked for man for thousands of years. I'm not saying some people don't belong, and I have a large variety of friends. I don't want to pander. I'm not here to tell someone they're living wrongly. Easy way to hurt someone. Not what I want. That said, I'm reffering to the celular family's importance in the raising of a child and the provision of it's benefits for the members said family units. If you believe that a man is not a woman, then consider what value one of each gives a child. I wonder what value is denied mine by my divorce. So, are children denied by families like Druckman promotes? It's a personal decision everyone has to make for themself. Counterparts, I believe men and women are counterparts. There are outliers, people who deserve to be respected and give and take in society (which is what society is, cooperation). Exclusion is inhuman. Most of society has benefited from the celular family, but it was never perfect, as Rome was never perfect, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Cellular family has worked. For imbalance, consider China where girls were killed in favor of name-carrying males. Lonely childless men, in a society where the young classicly cared for their parents. Who will care for China's impending elder glut? Promoting the disruption of society, as Druckman's narrative tends toward, may compliment the destabilizing of society. People who are those outliers, though, deserve respect. Personal-level inclusion is human. Division and strife, lack of communication, is beastly.
TL DR Druckman fits a trend that may effect the balance of society's structure in unforseen, yet possibly-predictable ways. You are not an interrupion, Magnet. Glad to hear from you.
I may be flagged for speaking my mind, which is too bad, and it's no forgone conclusion that I'm right if I am flagged, but if anyone besides Magnet is reading this, the last thing I want to do is bring you down in a place we all come to enjoy something that gives us all such pleasure. You all stay well out there. May your Joycons never drift.

@PoorGeno Your comment has given me a lot to think about. We may not share the same sentiment about this subject, but you clearly have strong convictions that you've put a lot of thought into and I can respect that. Thanks.

@nessisonett It's a AAA blockbuster, so it was always going to sell well at launch. However, sales are dropping off rapidly in the second week and stores are refusing to offer refunds; so it might not have lasting legs.

And I think it will be a "go woke, go broke" situation for them in the long run. Most people weren't aware that ND were woke before this game, but now that they know, I think it will affect future sales of their games. But it's not so much the wokeness that will lose sales for them, but fear that they will subvert expectations in controversial ways again.

@nessisonett I think an entire generation of developers not only love Nintendo. They've religiously studied the design choices of the company. It's why so many western 2nd and 3rd party Nintendo games now functionally could be considered first party titles.

@wren So you’re a raving lunatic then. Good to know.

I'm frankly getting sick and tired of hearing about this game and all it's "controversies." If you like the game, play it. If not, don't. Who honestly gives a crap? It's video games.

@BabyYoshi12
You can be a video game developer without liking Nintendo-games. It is not like Nintendo is the only developer on this planet that can make good games. Crash Bandicoot is a good series, Spyro is one, Banjo-Kazooie, Cuphead, Ratchet & Clank, Rayman, Child of Light, Dark Cloud, Mega Man, etc. We have a lot of non-Nintendo-video games that are actually very good.

Scrolling through the comment section was the worst mistake of my life.

@SimplyCinnamon53 Agreed and I got spoiled at first and was mad but then took some time to think it through and glad I did. After beating the game last week I am so happy it exists. I am now a huge fan of Abby and Levi. I hope we get a Part 3 where we can see their journey some more.

@PoorGeno I am curious, have you played either of the Last of Us games at all? I see all your comments going deep but they seem off from what the game is telling players. For example you mention the kiss in the church, that occurred there because that is where the entire community meet and was having a social dance of sorts. And there were other people kissing. The kiss was called out because it actually had a huge plot narrative later. I am all for discourse but if you haven't played these games in full, then I wouldn't make assumptions. Also, being gay has been a thing since Christ, we are only just now accepting it more which is the right thing to do.

@RareFan I didn’t say that Nintendo is the only good game company. But nearly everybody in the game industry has played and enjoyed at least 1 Nintendo game, just like @bubby444 mentioned.

@PSoneboi Those Greeks man, they were gayer than a Kylie concert. Jesus and his crew seemed to put all that to bed though.

@The_Legged_One Yep unfortunately, politics have creeped into Nintendolife because every single GD thing anymore has to be political.

@the_legged_one @kingbk Seconding everything you’ve already said.

Sometimes I just want to play some games and forget about politics and culture wars...

@PoorGeno I am more confused by this statement: "If you look into historical examples of the four phases of society, we're in the colapse phase, and it's marked by decadence and moral frivality like this game promotes." This type of argument assumed that humans were at some point at a high level of morality and just now have slid into some sort of depravity. Humans have always been terrible and committed terrible acts. That doesn't mean that they also haven't done wonderful things too, but in no way does this game or any game somehow show how our society has been driven down into this fantasy world of yours. I think you are missing the whole point of this game which revolves around how revenge can ruin you and that it never satisfies. It also shows how there are two sides to every story, and this game forces the players to see this by playing as characters other than Ellie. It's fine if you didn't like it, but to claim it somehow reflects our own downfall is just wrong. Humanity has so far to go before we can say we ever had it right anyhow. Thanks for the civil talk by the way.

@PSoneboi anytime. I contest the point which declares two sides to an argument. There are three. Your perspective, my perspective, and the truth. Also, revenge does satisfy, but (following the definition of sin) costs you your soul. Only one way around that one, and it's not by not getting revenge. You're right that humanity never reached a height of morality, but I mean that we slide from a time of promotion of morality (my inexact wording). I think our downfall is constant, because I think we're decaying, not progressing. Like if you get a hundred men in a rown and have them pass water down the line in their hands. This is how we recieve knowledge, customs, instruction, legalistic rituals (yuck), philosophies in some cases, history, and politics. If we were to put negative messages in front of fewer people, maybe we'd stem the tide. First amendment says Druckman should be in the clear, though. So, yeah, learning (for me, I mean) is a process. New day, PSone, hope you have a good one. Stay well.