As we all know, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features an auto-drive setting, much to the annoyance of series veterans (it's great for getting loads of coins, however).
However, while you personally might not see the point of this feature, it's worth keeping in mind that it's intended to help players of all ages and skill levels enjoy the experience - and nothing sums up this commendable approach than the following Reddit post by MyAudioDNA:
I have 3 kids ages 7, 4 and 3. The 7 year old is capable of playing the game normally and the 3 year can't really play, but likes to hold the controller and push the buttons. However, my 4 year old had a stroke just after she was born and her right side is not coordinated enough to hold the controller in a way that really allows her to play with us. Well, thanks to Mario Kart's new Auto Drive feature, she can now steer with her left hand and let the game drive for her or vice versa. I'm sure this feature will be an annoyance to many, but for my daughter, who would otherwise not really be able to participate, it is the best feature ever added to a Mario Kart game. She is currently sitting in my living with my other 2 kids and my wife and all of them are playing Mario Kart and laughing their heads off. This is truly a day I won't forget thanks to Nintendo.
TL;DR: My daughter had a stroke just after she was born, but thanks to the Auto Drive/Steer features she is able to play with me and the rest of my family. Thanks Nintendo!
Irrespective of how you feel about Nintendo's attempts to make its games as inclusive as possible, that's one incredibly heart-warming story.
Thanks to Kalmaro for the tip!
[source reddit.com]
Comments (66)
This is the kind of thing that makes Nintendo so wonderful.
A amazing heart-warming story!
Heart-warming stories like this are exactly why I DETEST people who protest against and spout holier-than-thou nonsense about stuff like Auto-Drive, the Invincibility Leaf and Shiekah Stones in Zelda. There's no reason games can't be as accessible as possible while still retaining their appeal for haRDc0re [email protected] Having options is never a bad thing.
Yet another game on the Switch allowing others who would not normally be able to play, to do so.
Nice story. But why are people annoyed by auto steering?
nice story I use this play my 2 little kids & its great add in the size of a joycon controller its great for them to play.
Just wait now for the WII U brigade start posting now.
I would class myself as someone that spends too much mney/time gaming but a simple optional system like this is great. My main gripe with my ps4 is un family friendly games & the bloody massive controller.
Salute to Nintendo !
@Sinton
Because I think that feature (Auto Steering) was disturbing the Hardcore players. They felt insulted with "ridiculous" Auto Steering because they think that feature will "Lowered" their Hardcore Status. They forgot if there were some handicapped people / Totally Casual gamers who want to play this game but unable to play normally with "Hardcore" settings.
This is why I love these features. They allow me to play with friends and family who don't have the skill to play certain games. For example, I've been playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe a ton with my niece and nephew. It's especially a joy for my niece since she tends to go off the track due to the item chaos and would usually come last place. We use to always play Mario Kart Wii but the problem was that there was too large of a skill gap and whenever I would lose (purposely) she would get upset that I wasn't trying my best. I've been having an amazing time due to this feature and I'm hoping for more of these features in future games to come.
@AlexOlney But not only Mario Kart 8 has this feature... there are tons of racing games which have something like smart steering.
Absolutely love it, warms my heart. My kids are 8 & 6 and they wouldn't need this, but I just KNEW it would be absolutely perfect for some homes. Beautiful 👍
Wonderful.
A wonderful, heart warming story. It truly is a great feature, as my little ones enjoy Mario Kart so much more now because of it. Thank you Nintendo!
Nintendo is my favourite gaming company because the games they create are accessible to all (and even more so with this feature).
I don't want blood, gore and swearing. I want fun and adventure that I can enjoy alone or experience with my children. And Nintendo is the only one that gives me that.
Thanks for the read, really nice story.
We had a small party this weekend and had my boy and 3 other girls in the house (all 4 yrs). After dinner all kids played and the parents could enjoy themselves without too much noise Best spent money this year!
I love these type of stories. Make me proud to be a fan of Nintendo.
Aah wonderful story with a happy ever after ending
It allows my 4 year old to play better. Without it there is no way she would finish rainbow road. With it it takes her a minute longer than the rest of us. She's able to finish all by herself. Now she can practice without getting frustrated.
It's not like people are forced to use smart steering, so it's pretty dumb to argue against it's inclusion really.
Besides, it's nice to see some positive outcomes of this really.
Also, when my nephews play Mario Kart 8, I put it on 50cc, join in and help out by holding back and keep the CPU players back with the items. That way they feel like they've done well getting the top spots.
I wonder if the people who hate this feature, because it is dumbing down the game and stopping people from needing to learn to play properly, also think that small children should have to learn to ride a bike without stabilisers...
I posted a lengthy positive comment on Kotaku's FB page when I first found out about the article; reposting here:
Nintendo basically made the greatest console concept and one of the best games for those who require accessibility options.
The amount of people who are disabled, impaired, or who have other ailments and conditions, are able to play on the Switch in a multitude of ways (no more T-Rex default holding of controllers; asymmetric gameplay FTW!), and enjoy with other people at ease is something no hardware or software manufacturer has done to the success that Nintendo has.
The Switch is truly next gen in terms of pure ergonomics and inclusiveness.
In regards to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, that auto-steering default is two buttons away from easily being deactivated, and will remain so.
It is a non-issue but its inclusion shows how forward thinking Nintendo have become, culminating years of experience and the vast number of users.
A brand new user group can now be included, ones who simply could not easily play without specialist equipment on top of getting a gaming system (console or PC), or very specific software.
Nintendo really nailed it with the Switch, and it's weekly ESD's and monthly big games release schedule is great too.
I may be a hardcore Halo, Dark Souls (both on Xbox 360 and One) and Bloodborne (PS4) gamer (with a side of Limbo like games and LEGO GAMES 😍), but my heart is Nintendo (😙).
What a great story.
Welcome all those who wanted to play games but were unable to before; enjoy your stay! :')
https://www.facebook.com/kotaku/posts/10155381097154040?comment_id=10155381642274040&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D
This is great for both children and people with disabilities. Games are for fun, not to show skill, and this allows groups that are classically left out of video games to join in the fun!
My disabled brother can't play video games (he's more likely to eat them) but reading this article has made me tempted to try him with MK8DX... if we can just get him to associate tilting the controller with the character turning, then that would be a great start (we had tried him with MK8, but couldn't get him to hold the accelerate button down).
Don't get why people hate it, if you don't want it, don't use it!
Yep. First time I could ever play with my 4 and 6 year old without having to help them and we had SO much fun. It was great to see the smiles on thier faces while they played "all by themselves". This is why Nintendo is the best. Fun and inclusion come first.
@Anti-Matter That's not the reason at all. "Hardcore" Mario Kart players (if there is even such a thing) are annoyed because auto-steering is on by default. I turned it off immediately but have already had 3-4 times where something weird happened and I discovered that auto-steering was on again.
I think this is an awesome feature...that should be available in the options.
That's great... I remember several years ago standing in a GameStop and a dad was having the manager help him pick out Wii games that could be played with just the Wii-mote held "TV remote/pointer" style since his daughter couldn't use one of her hands normally... this was a wonderful revelation to me and I made a few recommendations that hopefully worked out... I wanted to buy her ALL the games.
The manager also told the guy that he could return any games that didn't work out and wrote a note on the receipt... which also goes to show that not all GameStop employees are the horrible people that the internet seems to think.
This is a great story! Everyone being able to play is just the best!
Very nice story. I love this feature as my 3 year old daughter plays with me and it is awesome. Also it helps the wife lol.
Nintendo does things that other companies simple don't and that what's makes them special and unique.
I thought this was very heartwarming myself, I like to see video games as something that can bring a family together!
Its a really lovely story. But however the auto steering should be disabled for online play for everyone. I used to kick ass on mk8 on wii u all the time i almost mastered the drifting and corners most of the time and it feels like I'm getting cheated out online by less skilled players then myself.
This along with splatoons' color blind setting makes nintendo stand above all!!!
Yeah, there's nothing wrong with the setting being in the game at all--It's the fact that it's allowed in public, online play that's ridiculous. It'd be like if you could play Street Fighter ranked matches and let an AI fight for you.
Very nice! Truly a heartwarming story.
On that note, I turned on the smart steering feature when I let my 9 year old niece play this weekend. She tends to get frustrated with the controls on Wii U but with the Switch she was like "I got first" in every other race. Although I won't use it, it is a great feature to have for anyone who wants to join in the fun.
Not throwing shade on Nintendo hear because this is a great story and as a father of 3 I find this really touching. But it'd be even nicer if they allowed for others to control the Joycons with her with duplicating 2 controllers having the same inputs. Microsoft just allowed for this in a recent update. Having 2 controllers for 2 people but for one input to help disabled children play games with friend or family. Not just one game but any game.
@StarmanSSP Haha, I agree. I've been tempted to turn on auto-drive myself. It's not NFS with analog speed controls, it's MK where you literally "hold 'A' from 2 until Finish" for no real reason. The only reason I haven't turned it on is those handful if times it saves me from running off an edge if I let go. I honestly never even considered it had a use for disabilities. It seems like a general use feature for people who are sick of "holding A for 3 laps" since 1994
Auto steer is a more obvious casual/disability, feature. But it actively hampers high level play by the "hardcore [email protected]" too so it's not like it really interferes with them.
Fantastic. Im always surprised when people complain about features like these. If you don't like it, so what? Nobody is forcing you to use them. And can we please remember that we are playing Mario Kart?
I am so supportive of anything that assists players with difficulties of any kind. Such features really need to become standard in the industry tbh. No good reason not to have them.
@garydbz25 Smart steering messes you up on shortcuts and does not let you get the highest tear of power sliding. No pink sparks.
Trust me, you are not going to lose to someone because they have smart steering.
I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
You know, I might have knocked the feature at first - and I still think IF somebody wants to learn Mario Kart they should learn the tracks and controls on their own, without the help of this feature.
But this - this is just wonderful to hear and justifies this feature's existence in its entirety imo.
Yeah this is aweomse. I know my young niece had fun playing Super Luigi U with since she could use Nabbit and be virtually invincible. Now this. Nintendo knows what they are doing when it comes to family fun. No one can deny that.
The auto-steering really shouldn't be on by default, but it's good to know that more people are able to play just because it exists.
However, the controls in Mario Kart are simple enough that everything could theoretically be crammed into one side for total one-handed gameplay, but anyone who wants (or needs) to control everything one-handed will still be unable to, needing to rely on either another hand or on automation. Auto-steer is inclusive, but what happens when someone who needs it wants to stop needing it but doesn't have a proper control scheme to fit their needs?
I'm ready for the fire hopping elitists to start complaining.
I truly hate Too Long; Didn't Read.
Here we have a beautiful story, with this lovely father sharing with the world how he can finally play Mario Kart with his fantastic daughter, who I'm sure he feels blessed with, and then he actually goes to the trouble of summarizing the entire block of text into a sentence or two, because there are actually really dumb people out there who are too lazy to be bothered to go to the horrible trouble of actually READING BARELY SUBSTANTIAL TEXT, SO THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS TO BEND OVER BACKWARDS FOR THEM, SO THEY CAN BARELY GIVE THEM THE TIME OF DAY.
YOU DON'T LIKE TO READ? GO BACK TO GRADE SCHOOL, THEY COMMUNICATE WITH PRETTY F****** PICTURES.
****!
Hoo...
Sorry there.
Loved what this guy had to say. I knew Auto-Steer was a great idea from the beginning.
BUT DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE DUMB***** WHO GET A LITTLE RUFFLED BECAUSE THEIR MARIO KART WAS GIVEN THE OPTION TO FINALLY INCLUDE A LITTLE MORE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO PLAY BUT CAN'T.
SELF CENTERED B*******.
A heartwarming story that really brings home the true purpose of games: To have fun.
Can you brake with auto-acceleration on?
@Paddle1
Probably. I would think so.
Nintendo is truly the family system.
@Sinton Because people are the worst.
My boy just turned 3 and now he knows who Mario is because of this feature.
I wish it wasn't auto enabled and so easy to turn on by accident, but I am so grateful to Nintendo for including it.
I've also just bought a wheel for him to use, which I never would have done for myself.
He loves to sit on the toy cars outside amusements etc. and pretend to drive, even without putting a quid in. This is perfect for him
It's good per se, but they should have excluded it from online. By not doing this they have devalued online.
@AlexOlney Nintendo or not, this is the kind of stuff life is all about right here.
@Mogster Well, in this case it provides an unfair advantage in online play compared to those who play without it (like bowling against someone who's using bumpers in the next lane), but it's overall a good inclusion for the game. More options is almost never a bad thing. They should've just restricted it to unranked play only when playing online.
@Kalmaro Well, the idea is that you still steer the kart normally yourself while auto-steering is active, and it keeps you from accidently falling off a cliff or leaving the track while still providing every benefit of manual steering. It only kicks in when you approach an edge, after all.
@SteamedSquid At that point, they simply switch to holding the left side of the controller while using auto-accerlerate instead. It's what the little girl in the actual story is doing. Although, there may not be a way to put both the use item and drift buttons on the same side of the controller, and you'd be terrible at 200cc without being able to use the brake button.
@BulbasaurusRex I know, hence my comment about it messing you up. Some shortcuts require you to go off road and it doesn't always like that.
Plus you lose your max boost from drifting.
@BulbasaurusRex It should still be possible to put the gas and brake on forward and back on either analog stick, allowing the shoulder buttons to handle drifting and item use. That is, if Nintendo could have thought of such an option or allowed user-definable controls (axes included). But yeah, until then, the auto-accelerate will have to do. They can enjoy the game as it is for now I'm sure, but I do wonder whether they'll end up wanting more in the future.
Great story. What makes me despair most is that people feel the need to put a TL;DR on a paragraph of text. Are our attention spans really that short nowadays?
Thanks to the new steering feature, I can also play Mario Kart with my kids. Very cool indeed. I appreciate these types of thoughtful enhancements.
This is so sweet I couldn't help shed a few tears while I was reading this... I hope Nintendo continue to tailor their games for people who don't have it so easy in life. As a child I often found it difficult to react fast enough and would be sad when I lost. I know how much this can mean to someone, especially with difficulties.
It's a really sweet story & not the first of it's kind for Nintendo, add this to Nintendo giving a Switch to the child who gave their Wii to the police after hearing about low morale... dangit, them feels!
As for the HARDCOOOOORE players, is there no option to restrict online matches to players without auto-drive? If there is, they can have their HARDCOOOOORE experience & let others enjoy the fun side of gaming.
One of my friends a child couldn't use one of her arms after an accident and I would struggle to find a game that she could play since it was the days of the SNES.
However, I don't think non-disabled fans should use this. We all fell off SNES Rainbow Road as a kid or struggled with some other Nintendo hard game on the NES and SNES. But we all persevered to get better and here we are today.
Neat story.
This is why Nintendo is Nintendo
These kinds of stories prove how considerate they are to people. This thing happened in Jan with BotW too if you remember.
By the way does anyone know how to turn off auto steer?
That's nice to hear.
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