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Nintendo EPD Producer Kosuke Yabuki Interview on Mario Kart 8 DX

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
Famitsu just interviewed Nintendo's Kosuke Yabuki on the development of Mario Kart 8 DX. Here are a few tidbits from the interview.

- Kosuke Yabuki worked on both Arms and Mario Kart 8 DX simultaneously.
- Yabuki was very excited to make this version for Switch
- Wanted to deliver a Mario Kart game immediately and not start from scratch.
- Nintendo EPD used the extra power for 1080p/60fps on tv mode.
- Yabuki says the extra ram allowed his team to experiment with holding multiple items at once. (all 12 characters can hold 2 items at a time)
- Consulted with Nogami for the Splatoon stage and characters
- Lot of strategy can be used in battle mode
- Gyro controls improved

- Doesn't completely shutdown the idea of future DLC, but he says the game already has so much content.
 

ffdgh

Member
Yeah but what about the weight balance? That aside I'd definitely buy more dlc honestly and gyro was already perfect before lol.
 

Oregano

Member
I think the fact that Nintendo is moving to an online subscription model definitely helped motivate MK8D to be a thing. Having more online stuff up front will get people to buy in.
 
Still think this game is dumb. Should become a Mario kart service. Starts with 8 and is constantly updated from there with new tracks, characters, etc.
 

Raysoul

Member
So why would they need extra ram to hold 2 items instead of one?

I'm hoping for hd rumble.

Imagine 12 players holding two Triple Shells. The system needs to calculate the trajectory of all shells if fired simultaneously.
 
So why would they need extra ram to hold 2 items instead of one?

Maybe the possibility of all the racers on the map now being able to spam items with multiple effects quickly in succession could effect performance?

basically, my guess is two item slots means a lot more shit is going to be thrown about
 
If the sales are there to support future DLC, it will happen.

That's not really how Nintendo works... They just sorta make DLC for some games and then stop doing so even if the demand is still there.

That said, I'd buy every piece of DLC if they added any to this version. The DLC in the vanilla version was fantastic!
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Still think this game is dumb. Should become a Mario kart service. Starts with 8 and is constantly updated from there with new tracks, characters, etc.

Rather they bring out 9 and start that as a service rather than use the one millions have already played the content to death with.
 

Brofield

Member
Additional DLC I won't hold my breath for, but I would hope they'd put efforts into even more battlemode stages if at all to make up for the fact we didn't get good battle mode at first
 
Still think this game is dumb. Should become a Mario kart service. Starts with 8 and is constantly updated from there with new tracks, characters, etc.

Unless the next Mario Kart title turns out to be Super Smash Kart or something, I agree. Might as well keep updating what is easily the best kart racing game on the market.
 

sinxtanx

Member
Imagine 12 players holding two Triple Shells. The system needs to calculate the trajectory of all shells if fired simultaneously.

that's the CPU's problem

and not much of a problem

actually it's a forgettably small calculation (even for the 72 shells you propose)

mesh+texture is only loaded into RAM once so multiple items add only a few extra bytes to memory

he's just giving a bullshit reason
 
Reading the poor Google translation... It sounds like you'll be able to use both gyro controls and traditional stick controls at the same time. Sounds nice, might have to give gyro a try now.
 

Futureman

Member
Never owned a Wii U (well I did briefly before Mario Kart 8 was released). Puts me in a sorta weird position. Do I get MK 8 DX when MK 9 is potentially a 2018 title? I'm not a huge MK fan so I can wait.
 

Richie

Member
Do you guys think we also get MK 9, later on in the Switch's life? or is this our Switch Mario Kart?

They could have easily called it Mario Kart Switch, but went out of their way to make it clear this was an enhanced port of a previous entry; with that in mind, my money is on MK9.
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
It's the same game that millions have already played and they're charging $60 for it.

Add this as another bullet point of why I'm. It getting the Switch. It's ridiculous.
Resell it now. Buying the new version will then be equivalent to getting a DLC. Outrage gone.
 

Dremorak

Banned
So why would they need extra ram to hold 2 items instead of one?

I'm hoping for hd rumble.

Maybe because all 8 players could in theory use 2 items one after another and then there would be 16 item effects in play at once? Just spitballin.
 
I'd love it if they were to make 'Super Nintendo Kart', it seems like they're already testing the water with Link, Squids and Animal Crossing.

More for the tracks really. Star Fox,Metroid etc. would be awesome.
 

Calm Mind

Member
That's not really how Nintendo works... They just sorta make DLC for some games and then stop doing so even if the demand is still there.

That said, I'd buy every piece of DLC if they added any to this version. The DLC in the vanilla version was fantastic!

If Iwata was alive, sure. But Kimishima is a shrewd businessman and like all shrewd businessmen, if there is opportunity to make money they will take it where they can get it.
New Nintendo is all about the Benjamins.
 

Crocodile

Member
Never owned a Wii U (well I did briefly before Mario Kart 8 was released). Puts me in a sorta weird position. Do I get MK 8 DX when MK 9 is potentially a 2018 title? I'm not a huge MK fan so I can wait.

Is there any credible reason to think a MK9 will be out next year? How much value would you get out of playing MK8 for that year?
 

Lebon14

Member
I hope that MK8DX will be able to interact with MK8 online. I think this should be feasible with an update on the Wii U side so...

- Only able to use 2 items when Switch users are involved. Item storage in RAM should be possible for 1 player and it's only required to be fully stored in RAM client side.

- Incorporate new characters so they can be seen and played against online. However, they are not selectable WIi U side.

- Arena Battle mode is STILL exclusive to switch. Only Race Battle Mode is available for both to compete against.

- Etc.

Or, it would be the opposite way around where the switch version would be lowered to Wii U possibilities (1 item only, can't choose new chars, race battle mode only, etc). However, I think this is much more likely to happen than the above.

...or I just might be jealous coz I can't get the upgarded version for a very long time.
 

Doctre81

Member
It's the same game that millions have already played and they're charging $60 for it.

Add this as another bullet point of why I'm. It getting the Switch. It's ridiculous.

It was $60 PLUS the dlc tracks. The dlc was not free on wiiu. It is on switch. So be defualt the switch version is technically cheaper.
 

Bonk

Member
that's the CPU's problem

and not much of a problem

actually it's a forgettably small calculation (even for the 72 shells you propose)

mesh+texture is only loaded into RAM once so multiple items add only a few extra bytes to memory

he's just giving a bullshit reason

Yeah, I am sure the producer of the game is thinking up bullshit reasons for a matter he brings up himself in an interview...
 

OmegaFax

Member
Early showings of Mario Kart 8 at E3 2013 allowed players to use two items. Ready one and hold the other. It seemed like a design decision over a technical one.
 

Mory Dunz

Member
Famitsu just interviewed Nintendo's Kosuke Yabuki on the development of Mario Kart 8 DX. Here are a few tidbits from the interview.


- Consulted with Nogami for the Splatoon stage and characters
.[/B]

Maybe there shoudl've been some two-way consultation to get Splatoon 2 to 1080 60 too >_>
mostly joking...but yea
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
Maybe there shoudl've been some two-way consultation to get Splatoon 2 to 1080 60 too >_>
mostly joking...but yea
There's still lots of time to optimize. Splatoon 2 was running flawlessly in 720p on handheld mode, so be confident.
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Reading the poor Google translation... It sounds like you'll be able to use both gyro controls and traditional stick controls at the same time. Sounds nice, might have to give gyro a try now.

Having played it, I can confirm you can switch between the two on the fly.
 
MK8D buys them time to shove 9 until later in the generation, which I think is indeed the best move. Any MK9 has to contend with the precedent of a 48-course Mario Kart out of the box, and would have to bring something truly new to the table to not feel comparatively light on content; at the same time, you can't let a Nintendo device sit too long without a Mario Kart, as it moves systems like nothing else. Even as someone who played the hell out of MK8 on Wii U and is unlikely to double-dip, I'm not too uncomfortable with the idea of a gargantuan MK9 no earlier than 2019 or 2020. They can afford to take their time now, and they should.

I'm sure there will be an MK9, and the DLC model worked well enough for MK8 that again some content will be off-loaded into DLC, but I also believe that if it's 16 new courses, 16 retro, and not much of a Battle Mode out of the box—that is, identical to MK8 at launch—it will not be received without a backlash. It needs to distinguish itself with something big: MKDS-style missions, a Double Dash mode, a course editor, VR support for a Switch hardware revision, something new entirely—not all at once, obviously, but think along those lines. MK8 made a historic advance in the core of the game, the course design, and I'm not sure there is room for MK9 to make an equivalent leap solely on the same terms.
 
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