News: Nintendo Land Developers Explain Lack of Online Play

And how Star Fox almost made the cut.

By Marc Deschamps. Posted 12/12/2012 17:00 Comment on this     ShareThis

News Desk Masthead - Wii U 3

For some, the lack of online multiplayer in Wii U launch title Nintendo Land has caused some confusion. After all, Nintendo seemed to be pushing the idea that online would play a much larger role on Wii U than it had on both GameCube and Wii.

So why omit it from, arguably, the biggest game to launch with the system? Developers say the reason was to encourage a more social aspect.

Nintendo Land‘s multiplayer attractions work because of the communication shared between the people playing them,” producer Katsuya Eguchi told Famitsu (via Polygon). “They were set up from the start to be something people in the same room could enjoy.”

Co-director Takayuki Shimamura added: “With the GamePad, I think you’re seeing a new dimension of multiplayer, something that hasn’t been seen before.”

Fans and reviewers have also questioned why some franchises were omitted from the game in favor of others. While Mario and Zelda seemed to be logical choices, why did Balloon Fight and Takamaru get the green light over franchises like Star Fox, or Excitebike? Apparently, those games were, in fact, slated to appear. The minigame that became Donkey Kong’s Crash Course was originally going to be based on Excitebike or 1080: Snowboarding, while Metroid Blast was originally conceived as a Star Fox game.

“There was a time when Metroid Blast was going to be a Star Fox title, but the prototype featured this vehicle that hovered around like a helicopter and we figured that’d never be a good match for an Arwing,” director Yoshikazu Yamashita explained.

What games would you liked to have seen included in Nintendo Land? Let us know in the comments below!

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