Super Mario Galaxy touched down on the Nvidia Shield in China recently as part of a deal which will see other Wii classics come to the set-top box in that region.
As we all know, Galaxy made good use of the Wii's motion-sensing controller to deliver fun gesture-based gameplay - something that is impossible on Nvidia's hardware as it lacks a motion-controlled interface.
While it might seem like the game suffers, many of Galaxy's motion controls can be mapped to a button without impacting the gameplay all that much. In the Shield version, the X button makes Mario spin and the crosshair is now controlled by the right control stick. The other change is that the Right Trigger is now used to choose a galaxy, rather than the A button on the Wii version.
While motion controls felt great at the time, realistically there aren't many games which cannot be altered quite simply to use "traditional" button commands. Let us know if you've been able to play this Shield edition of the game by posting a comment below.
[source twitter.com, via nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 54
Switch next please
I hope they bring out a Galaxy 1 & 2 HD bundle for Switch.
I feel like using the right stick for the cursor be... troublesome.
I think the joy-con have some sort of motion control, right?
If they'd like the patch all the motion controls in Odyssey to a button I'd be very thankful.
The 'nunchuck & wiimote pointing at the screen' set-up put off playing these games to the end. They ruined the game for me, I found it so annoying. I would love if both these games were ported to the Switch with these Nvidia style controls.
Super Mario Galaxy HD Collection please NIntendo.
Unless you hate money that is, in which case, as you were.
Motion controls suck balls for regular games, wish Nintendo would stop trying to shoehorn it in. Even Odyssey has it which is annoying.
It's interesting to see that they updated the text boxes to have buttons match the look of the Nvidia shield, and updated instructions.
Instead of keeping the wii-looking A button.
This is commonly what people do when emulating Super Mario Galaxy anyway, map motion control to a button and IR pointer to right analogue.
This is what Nintendo should have been doing when releasing Wii games on the Wii U
"Press X to win"
The only games that really needed motion controls were Trauma center and Endless Ocean. In those games motion controls were great and amazing. I loved Wii and many Wii games, Mario Galaxy is one of my favourite games ever and it is great, but usually I've never been a big fan of motion controls in most of the games and Mario Galaxy could have been even better with standard controls in my opinion.
A question: Why would Nintendo port Super Mario Galaxy to the Nvidia Shield? Is it really worth the investment? I fail to understand.
As many added here Nintendo should have ported Wii games to Wii U in HD just like Sony and Microsoft.
I would also be very interested in a Mario Galaxy 1&2 HD collection for Switch
@TheCurator Nintendo's contract with Nvidia: Make a cheap console for us and we will make some games for your Shield. You can have China, we take the rest of the world.
3 games which wouldn’t play as well with button controls:
Skyward Sword
WarioWare Smooth Moves
Wii Sports Resort
Just anything which actually uses precise motion instead of just waggling. Which is the minority, but did occasionally happen.
I’d argue that Pikmin works better with a proper pointer than an analogue stick too.
That was so simple to implement in the Wii verson, along with Classic Controller support, but it seems they really like to force down “it’s the way we think you should play the game, get used to it”.
@Lebon14 yes The joy con are fully featured motion controllers
@Nincompoop Yep, this is almost certainly the case. Nvidia must see china as an enormous opportunity, as it won't have been cheap. Nintendo won't have given very much away for the fee, either - I suspect China exclusivity is timed, and the port launches there first (possibly not even for a fixed amount of time).
Will we see these Nvidia ports launchbing on Switch outside of China in the coming months? I certainly hope so. One thing I'm sure of though, Nintendo will have that choice should they want to.
Most Wii games with forced waggle control could and should be mapped similarly and then ported to the Switch.
Collecting star bits using the right analog stick, while simultaneously platforming with the buttons above and left analog stick sounds overly cumbersome to me.
What about the individual levels which are based around motion controls, like the rolling ball one? Do they just use the control sticks?
The right trigger?
@Dogorilla I guess so.
@TheCurator Sony and Microsoft ported Wii games to the Wii U? I missed that.
At least they get some quality games to play!
Is there a way to play this on a UK shield TV?
Since I've removed all things Wii from my life, these Chinese Shield releases are most relevant to me.
I would hope Nintendo has the insight to make these capable for Switch considering it's basically the same core environment on both devices when re-coding it to work.
If not I have a Shield, so there are ways...
But... why would anyone want to play that on an nVidia Shield instead of a Wii or Wii U?
@shani China
@Crono1973 I meant Nintendo should've followed the example that Sony and Microsoft set by releasing remakes of old AAA games to their respective consoles. Nintendo could've released a remake of Wii AAA titles in the Wii U, even at the launch of the system back in 2012 if not a little bit later.
@shani Thank you. That's what I'm wondering too. What's the point of this move?
@Dethmunk Me too!
I didn't mind the motion controls in Galaxy but for the most part they're not completely necessary. In the right games they were essential (Skyward Sword, Red Steel 2, Wii Sports) or better than standard controls (Godfather, Force Unleashed).
@TheCurator AFAIK they did??? I have Metroid Prime Trilogy on Wii U and there's a few Wii games on the Wii U Eshop
@nessisonett HD remake I mean
@TheCurator Ahh right I get what you mean but I disagree tbh. Nintendo sit in a peculiar position a not only do they create the console but they create most of the games also. PS4 and Xbox had massive 3rd party support which means that lots of companies all polished and rereleased their own games individually. Nintendo, on the other hand, had little 3rd party support so had to get to work on new, exciting IPs and games in order to give a Wii owners a reason to upgrade. Nintendo don't have the sufficient resources by themselves to do this alongside remastering Wii titles which is why Twilight Princess HD came so late in the console's lifespan. Wind Waker HD was a different matter as I think Nintendo realised that since it was such a bold step graphically on Gamecube, it could work well to showcase the new Wii U's graphical capabilities too. Overall, a few remakes dotted about the place would have maybe been nice, but you have to remember that most Wii U owners already owned a Wii and that Nintendo were preoccupied as almost the sole game developer for the console.
Except for some games that use Motion Plus such as "Wii Sports Resort" and "Zelda: Skyward Sword," this is true. However, it does significantly decrease the fun factor for many of these games, particularily the shooters.
@TheCurator @nessisonett There's also the fact that the Wii U is backwards compatible with all Wii games anyway, so even the Wii U owners who didn't upgrade from the Wii would've had little interest in picking up remastered Wii games when they could just pick up and play the original version at a likely much cheaper price.
@Scottwood101 Oh god, I would buy that in a nanosecond! Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 HD bundle... YES PLEASE!
@TheCurator Is not about the platform. It's about the market. Since China lifted the console ban, game console companies have tried to make their business there and failed. MS and Sony spend lots of money and weren't succesful. Because of it, Nintendo is being weary about how entering. The iQue brand wasn't very succesful so they are now being cautious-
They are analyzing how to start there. Releasing Tencent "Arena of Valor" is a way to find a partner to distribute their smart devices games in there. Another way is through Nvidia Shield, a set top box that it's selling in China. By offering their games, they will recapture the market and who knows, in the future they will start to market their own consoles.
It's a very interesting idea and I hope it works.
@DK-Fan Adding to the topic.
It's to my understanding that China's 'Hardcore' gaming market is mostly PC MMOs, something Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo invests a lot into if at all.
My guess is Nintendo want to create brand recognition via these ports. If they started by asking for a console, that would be fairly alien to the market. But if they create fans through these ports they might be more likely to buy a console for their sequels.
So someone who played Twilight Princess or Mario Galaxy on the Nvidia might get interested in Breath of the Wild or Odyssey.
I do hope this works too.
@nessisonett I agree with you 101%.
@DK-Fan Correct but in China the salary is too low (being married to wife from Southeast Asia) as in most of Asia except Japan so prospective customers cannot afford to buy gaming consoles and will settle down to spend their savings on widespread recognised products instead such as expensive mobile phones and tablets; for prestige. Also many Chinese actually make money from mobile games (like a dollar or two per day).
@Lebon14 Yep, I tried the right-stick cursor setup on the Dolphin emulator and thought the same thing. It works, but it’s awkward, imprecise, and takes a bit longer to achieve tasks. If a Switch port/remaster ever came, gyro aiming would be a perfectly fine substitute.
The Star Pointer is a bit too small for me to want to aim with the right analog stick. I'll stick with the motion controls.
Ok cool. Now how about a Switch port, please. Effective immediately.
I would agree that motion controls sucked for a large majority of Wii games but the Mario Galaxy games were among the rare exceptions.
This tablet solution won't be nearly as intuitive or fun as the Wii controls unfortunately. The pointer system for collecting stars was so natural and perfectly integrated that you could do it without even thinking or inhibiting the other controls.
A switch port won't be able to replicate pointer controls either as it's motion control, as good as it it, is only a relative (gyroscope) pointer, so will lose accuracy over a time.
So for the future, the only way you will ever be able to play the Galaxy games in high res with perfect intuitive controls will be on Dolphin. Such a shame as I'd love an updated version on Switch if it weren't for this problem.
They stand to make a ridiculous amount of money porting SMG 1 and 2 to Switch with optional motion controls and a nice HD resolution bump.
@Prizm I’m with you, the Wii is the only Nintendo console I wasn’t all that fond of. My first console was an Atari 2600 in 81’. Nintendo didn’t need to reinvent the wheel and that’s exactly what I feel they tried with motion controls. I just want to sit on the couch or in my chair and use my thumbs.
It’s funny that a lot of people want Nintendo to port this to the Switch. But complain when Nintendo DOES port something.
@TheCurator Indeed that's why many don't buy consoles and why Nintendo is not releasing one and instead are trying to get in via other ways. Smartphones, smart TVS and PCs sell a lot in china.
@Hikingguy said "Nintendo really must have wanted something pretty bad."
Yeah, they wanted nVidia's hardware inside the Switch
@TheCurator and about "why not wii games on wii u" I remember Iwatta mentioning in a investors meeting how time consuming and complicated was to port code from Wii/3DS to Wii U and viceversa maing ports a bit difficult (with only wind waker and twilight princess finished) And why with "NX" (Switch) they decided to make the hardware more flexible to port and move code.
Besides with the Wii U failing I doubt they wanted to keep investing in it.
Looks like a way I could actually enjoy mario galaxy
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