Set pilot to “auto” in NSMB Wii

Cheating will always be around. Be it the famous Konami code, various cheat peripherals, or even strategy guides, but Nintendo is upping the ante with its upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii release set for later this year. According to a confirmation in USA Today, Miyamoto is launching a feature called “demo play” that will automatically complete areas that you have difficulty with.

The idea allows new players to get assistance in what is possibly one of the most accessible series ever created. Seriously? I could have used this feature when reviewing Guilty Gear 2: Overture (I kid, sortof), but I can’t possible see a need for it in a Super Mario Bros. title. What are your thoughts on this? Should we just go all out and let the games play themselves? Why not just watch playthroughs on YouTube? What happened to discovery, a sense of accomplishment, or a little problem solving in a game? If I was able to figure out the completely nonsensical purpose of most of the Atari 2600 games, surely new gamers can figure out how to play a Super Mario Bros. game without a computer showing them how to move to the right and maybe solve a simple puzzle…

I may be making too big of a deal about this new mechanic, but this mentality seems to avoid the issue. If a new gamer can’t find success in a Super Maro Bros. game, then perhaps it’s time to revisit the game’s overall design or for the gamer to find a new outlet for their spare time. Obviously this is my opinion and not the opinion of the site, but I just think that new gamers shouldn’t be treated as though they need to guided through every game; infact, they shouldn’t even have the option because then they may come to expect that sort of treatment time and again.

I also don’t want to see this idea take precedence on other consoles. If you aren’t up to the challenge, then move on. If new gamers start to expect this is in every game, it could effect overall difficulty (which we already see in Japan to US conversions) and thusly, overall satisfaction. The answer should never be “well, we’ll just do it for them,” it should be “we should tweak the design so that this game is accessible to a broader base and make a harder difficulty level for veteran gamers.” Hopefully I’m just blowing this way out of proportion. I’d be interested to hear the thoughts of new gamers and veterans alike.