Minecraft is unquestionably one of the most popular video games in the world right now, especially with young children. A vast toybox full of cool tricks and a strong online element, the game has found its way on to practically every viable system, including the Wii U.
The success of Minecraft hasn't gone unnoticed by Nintendo, and the company even collaborated on special Super Mario content for the Wii U edition of the game. However, according to Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo very nearly produced something along the same lines 20 years ago.
Speaking in an interview with Glixel, Miyamoto said:
I do like Minecraft, but really more from the perspective of the fact that I really feel like that's something we should have made. We had actually done a lot of experiments that were similar to that back in the N64 days and we had some designs that were very similar. It's really impressive to me to see how they've been able to take that idea and turn it into a product.
It's no secret that Nintendo is experimenting behind the scenes all the time, and that not all of its research ends up being produced and sold to players. It would have been very interesting to see what the company could have done with such a concept back in the N64 era.
[source glixel.com]
Comments (42)
They can still do it
They should have done it, so that Wii U users could do without that excruciating wait.
A 3D Mario Maker instead would be great.
No surprise they discarded the idea, I bet that in the N64 days it wasn't that easy to fully implement, those blocky graphics were pulling hardwares limits back then (gosh, if things changed fast XD) and by the time the CPUs were strong enough the big names in the industry like Nintendo were pretty much forced to push those CPUs to the limit.
I dont think it would have been that successful if Nintendo made it first. Minecraft didn't become the juggernaut that it is today by just it's gameplay. It became successful due to the internet, community and modding support as well as the ability to run on a broad range of playforms. If Nintendo ever created it first it will lack nearly all the things that made it viral, it would be very restricted.
You snooze, you lose, Shigs.
How about you experiment with a new philosophy - if in doubt, release it, at least under an experimental beta type arrangement and see how it goes down.
To be honest, Nintendo would not, and indeed could not have made the same game. The incremental updates and development philosophy, unrestricted modding, the community and multiplayer aspects... there's a lot of things that Nintendo would have done completely different to how Notch and Mojang operated.
Maybe it could've been fun, but it wouldn't have been Minecraft!
@gcunit didn't work out so well for Starfox Zero;)
Yeah, well you didn't Shigsy.
Looks like somebody's jjeeaallooouuss...
Miyamoto: "I must create all the perennially successful franchises!"
Let me guess... it would've had no online support, no way to share your creations with others, no way to modify the game files, restrictions on "religious" themes, and been subject to Nintendo's draconian video licensing agreements.
...Yes, I'm sure it would've dwarfed Minecraft in every conceivable aspect.
Ugh...never like Minecraft. So Blocky, looks lame. Better 3D Mario Maker for Switch. It would be awesome.
As good an idea a 3D Mario Maker sounds now, during the time of the N64 I doubt it would have really worked, and I don't think the time is right for one just yet either.
Level creators only really work when the original game becomes stale... when the core mechanics are firmly fixed and the developers are struggling to come up with anything new... but the 3D Mario games are not in that situation yet... they haven't settled on a fixed formula... they're still changing.
I have never been a fan of Mine craft. The concept is awesome but the visuals are just too pc-dos Era graphics to me and I just don't like it. It is amazing how long that game has been around and how greatly it has influenced the gaming industry. Myamoto has done just fine without it but the fact that he expressed such fondness and respect to Mojang for creating it makes me love him even more.
Dont lie shigs... you guys are still so scared to go near online functionalities and you think you could've made Minecraft instead?
It's easy in hindsight to say that something was a good idea
@iamserious there are visual mods available
15 years from now he'll be saying that about some popular game similar to Project Giant Robot.
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/161026_2e.pdf
Classic Nintendo. Can never get out of their own way for their own good.
They could do something similar, but then they'd get the wonderful comments from people that state that they 'copied'. I actually don't enjoy Minecraft, and have no intention of ever playing it...I do like Terraria to an extent, but still, I'd rather play a Sims or Tropico game instead. I've always awaited for Nintendo to make a nintendo-themed-sims game though...it would be nice if they'd put all of their IP's together into one massive Sims game that you create! Mario Maker is a good step forward to something like that, but imagine if they used something like Little Big Planet's thoughts, added their IP's, a bunch of mini games and...what nintendo is known for...a whole lot of fun! I'd buy it in a heartbeat...plus, they'd be able to add Amiibo support and a ton of DLC to make it even better!!!! All of these Amiibo's out there, there's bound to be something big coming!
I guess 20 years ago they were also experimenting with internet and online play ... also very interesting how "they" managed to turn it into a product ... perhaps you could steal some ideas from that?
It would have been very interesting to see what the company could have done with such a "concept" back in the 3DS era....ah oh.. its on right now? hmmm
Well when Minecraft came out I kept wondering why Nintendo hadn't done anything like it before. However the open world no structure concept is not very Nintendo even if the artstyle is. I suspect that if Nintendo had done this it would have been closer to how DQ Builders is.
Not as much as LEGO should've thought of it. They must be kicking themselves.
Honestly, Ninntenndo- is doing 'too little, too late':
https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2015/12/07/how-late-is-minecraft-for-nintendo/
Ninntenndo- could have bought exclusive rights of Minecraft back then and, therefore, made the Café actually profitable, especially given the Minecraft fad. Even the Pokémon Go fad faded faster than the Minecraft fad.
Would not surprise me. Nintendo during the mid-late 90's was playing around a lot with terrain and building manipulation on the N64DD. Just look at titles like Doshin, Sim City 64 and F-Zero X Expansion Cart. Would not surprise me one bit if Nintendo at the time wanted to do a similar idea that became Minecraft. The idea was probably being developed for the DD but we all know how that ended up so the concept was probably scraped with it.
While I wish it did happen because it would had been interesting to see what we did end up with is actually really good and a cultural icon so not all bad.
While I'm on a soapbox Nintendo please give us a VC version of Sim City 64DD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpe_BnXcMc8
Minecraft needed to had started on a PC in the era it hit. Were people really into sandboxes back in the N64 days?
@diwdiws 100% agreed, Minecraft was always a work in progress and in gamers hands from the inception. It wouldn't have worked without the internet or community surrounding it.
@Haiassai maybe that's a reason why Nintendo never pursued it. That and some of the other reasons stated here
I personally don't care for Minecraft. I have absolutely no desire to play that game. However, I respect the fact that it's one of the most, if not the most popular game currently being played by gamers and this news that Nintendo once had similar ideas is interesting.
@gcunit
It does make you wonder all the stuff he experimented with, that could have been good and was thrown out.
They should have done a lot of things this gen. Like create a proper 3D Mario. Don't let me down with the 3D Mario on Switch, Nintendo.
@YoshiTails well, I guess once you've created a few "you just can't stop yourself"
The title is a bit misleading, but it's fine given the nature of this content.
It's just that the title makes him seem a little more snide (for lack of the better word) than what he actually says.
I would love to see all the stuff Nintendo makes that never gets released.
If we get a 3ds version any time soon and gamepad management Minecraft will really be unique
Maybe it would actually have touch-screen item management and crafting
This is some massive hindsight bias.
That said, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, contributing factor to Minecraft's success is all the youtube videos and streams of it, something done most easily on PC, and something Nintendo to this day is adamantly against allowing players to do for their games unless they get express permission. Additionally, many Minecraft players like playing the game with player made mods and texture packs, and its multiplayer has an open and nonrestrictive chat, something Nintendo is also against giving players the ability to do. Minecraft would never have reached its level of success under Nintendo because of their restrictive company policies.
Minecraft has always been a simple 3D level editor with a minining meta-game, to me.
@YoshiTails
Looks like somebody's jjeeaallooouuss...
Miyamoto: "I must create all the perennially successful franchises!"
No doubt. That's a good thing though. I like to see Nintendo's top creators a little envious now and then. It gets those wheels spinning faster and helps nudge them to strive harder to do better. Healthy competition, some would say
@OorWullie You are a genius
Miyamoto: "I could make Halo. It's just that I choose not to."
I love the man for his past genius but he needs to stop talking and actually contribute something to modern gaming if he's going to be in the spotlight like this.
hm. The things that make it work are just those things nintendo lags in. Online, free, iterative updates, multi platform - everything nintendo didn't do.
I hope they learned about the online and sharing power after super mario maker. Switch will be a modern and online capable thing no doubt.
Tap here to load 42 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...