Topic: Mario Kart 8's Use of the GamePad Is Disappointing

[NWR_Neal]

Maybe it's not quite as sad as the blank screen in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, but it isn't much better.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/37037/mario-kart-8s-use-of-the-gamepad-is-disappointing

There’s no easy way to say this. The use of the GamePad for Mario Kart 8 is generic, boring, and dumb. When we first saw Mario Kart 8 back at E3 2013, there was a big horn in the center of the GamePad. When you were Wario, it would emit a fart noise when pressed. Surely, we all thought, that’s not what the final use of the GamePad will be in Mario Kart 8, right? Well, not entirely, but it’s not much better.

You have three options of what you can do with the GamePad in Mario Kart 8. To make it easy, let’s just list them below:

1. Horn: Just like E3 2013, you have a horn that you can honk.
2. Map: Akin to the 3DS/DS entries in the series, the second screen turns into a map.
3. TV Screen: It shows exactly what is on the TV screen. So if you’re playing split-screen, it’ll show exactly what the TV shows.

So any dream of the five-player racing that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed did at launch is gone. Any thought about how cool it would be to race your friend on the GamePad screen while he used the TV screen is gone. Something that could have made this safe, iterative entry in a racing series unique will not be happening. It’s a severe bummer.

We didn’t really hear an explanation for why this is the case, but as the game is silky smooth and gorgeous, it’s probably some chicanery about not wanting the graphical experience altered. Truthfully, the splendid visuals would likely have to be muddled to push out two comparable and smooth displays on the GamePad and the TV, but if that’s the kind of thing that can’t be worked out on a Nintendo game on the Wii U, then what is the point of even having the GamePad as a controller?

I’m not beating the drum for Nintendo to remove the GamePad from the Wii U. More so, I’m at a loss for how the two major releases from Nintendo in 2014 either don’t use it or use it in a mundane, superfluous manner. Several games have highlighted how cool the GamePad could be used in games, whether it’s in the single-player and multiplayer in ZombiU, the golfing in Wii Sports Club, or the multiplayer fun in Wii Party U and Nintendo Land. Its disappointing that when Mario Kart 8 comes out, I’ll probably toss aside the GamePad unless I want to play off-TV, because why bother?

[Evan_B]

Does the Gamepad have gyro steering?

[ejamer]

I agree that Nintendo deserves to be called out for this. Mario Kart is one their major releases, and there are good options for using the second screen in interesting and unique ways - some which have already been used by other games - yet Nintendo went super safe and super boring.


As you said, if Nintendo themselves can't find a way to make the gamepad controller cool and relevant, then why should anyone expect third parties to do a better job?  Very disappointing.

[Adrock]

This is pretty lame. 5-player racing and 2-player with TV/GamePad would have been great. I mean, I preferred not having to use the GamePad in Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, but it's still a cool feature. This is especially strange since Nintendo Land featured 5-player games so it isn't like Nintendo is against this type of multiplayer.

[Soren]

A few quick thoughts.


- I'm never questioning a third party developer's lack of GamePad features in their game ever again.
- I'm no longer expecting Nintendo to come up with any unique GamePad features for their own damn console.
- I had no problem waiting to get DK Tropical Freeze at a later date. I might do the same with this game. And if I'm not even excited for first party Nintendo games, why even bother supporting the console anymore?
And probably the most damning of them all:


-  A five person indie studio in Denmark can collaborate with a guy from Sweden to make a game that actually uses the GamePad in a meaningful vital way (I'm talking about KnapNok and Nifflas' "Affordable Space Adventures"). But the Nintendo EAD group that exists only to make Mario Kart games think the only new feature worth adding to the GamePad is a horn. A #$%^&*@ horn.

[Ceric]

This is very disappointing.  Especially since they could have went with the Monster Hunter route where you could have customized the screen with Item button, map, rearview look, player ranks, time, etc.  Nintendo just kill the console your just don't care anymore do you?  Your not even trying to justify the Gamepad existence anymore your tapped.

[Adrock]

Mario Kart 8 looks very nice, but if Nintendo chose better graphics over a more meaningful gameplay experience and using the GamePad effectively, that's one of the most anti-Nintendo things Nintendo has ever done. I'm all for only using the GamePad when it makes sense. Well, here's one.

[Leo13]

THis sucks. Those were my favorite features in Sonic RAcing. My wife and I played a lot of that game 2-player. AT this point I think we'll continue playing Sonic and forego Mario Kart (I can't believe it for the first time EVER I picked Sonic over Mario)

[necro909]

Yes, that does seem like a good idea to have one player have the TV and the other to have the remote. That will probably ruin some fun that I could have had, and I wouldn't have minded a graphical drop in order to have that fun. Was their pride too much to allow this?

And also, Soren, I had not heard of Affordable Space Adventures. I found a trailer and look forward to it. I assume that it is a long ways off from release, though, since there isn't even an entry for it at Gamefaqs.

[Ian Sane]

Nintendo's rejection of the Gamepad is just so bizarre because they were all about forcing touchscreen usage in DS games and motion controls in Wii games, whether or not they belonged.  Now realizing that not every game needs to "sell" the unique features of the system if it isn't appropriate for the game is a good lesson to learn but that's not the full lesson.  The full lesson is that you don't compromise your whole system for some feature that isn't universal enough to be used in most games.  Nintendo has designed the whole console around the Gamepad and then is being very careful to not use it when it isn't appropriate.  That's contradictory.  You don't commit to the feature so aggressively if you have no intention to use it.

I wonder if there is some inner-office split about the design of the Wii U.  Nintendo has always been kind of inconsistent on whether this is a casual or core focused console.  The whole design mimics the Wii's "last gen hardware with gimmick controller" approach but Nintendo talked a lot about core gamers and hasn't pushed the gimmick and hasn't pushed the Miis as aggressively as they did before.  I wonder if part of Nintendo wants to focus on casuals and the other on the core and the Wii U is a compromise.  Frankly Nintendo's whole effort from day one has been very half-assed.  The games have come out at a slow pace, are mostly very generic safe titles, don't use the Gamepad, and there is virtually no marketing.  It's like they've been going through the motions, putting in a token effort on something they don't actually want to do.

I maintain my prediction that the Wii U will be in bargain bins before the end of the year.  Nintendo clearly doesn't care and if they don't care why should anyone else?  Why would you buy a Wii U if the only company making games for it doesn't care?

[Adrock]

I maintain my prediction that the Wii U will be in bargain bins before the end of the year.

Care to make a friendly wager?

[Fatty The Hutt]

I am stunned, stunned that one player can not race on the gamepad while the other races on the TV. So stunned, I wonder if it will be true? Or was it just true for the demo?
Not trying to be a Pollyanna Nintendo Apologist but this feature seems like gamepad usage 101 for this game. The lack of this ability severely hampers my excitement for this game. Maybe I'll just stick with the Sonic racing game. 

[Soren]

I maintain my prediction that the Wii U will be in bargain bins before the end of the year.

Care to make a friendly wager?

God yes. The Wii U is in bad shape but even I know that's a silly prediction.

[ShyGuy]

I'm still mad that Nintendo dropped the NES Zapper so early in the console life cycle. NOBODY WANTS YOUR HALF HEARTED GIMMICKS NINTENDO

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

Dropping the Zapper is exactly why I think they could get away with losing the Game Pad, it might bring the price of the console down and get more users to jump in, We can kiss dreams of good 3rd party support good bye but at a decent price, like $150 or thereabouts the Wii U is a fine console, but right now it is over priced for what you can get and it's not getting any better. If this Gamepad is keeping people away Nintendo needs to either try releasing a "core only" version to see how it sells or get on the ball with their follow up which is not a good idea either so what can they do except keep marching into irrelevance?

[Tomato]

No five player? What the hell, Nintendo?

I'm still mad that Nintendo dropped the NES Zapper so early in the console life cycle. NOBODY WANTS YOUR HALF HEARTED GIMMICKS NINTENDO

At least be happy you're playable again.

[Ian Sane]

What if Nintendo is actually considering dropping the Gamepad to cut down on the price so they're not including that functionality on purpose in their new titles so that it's one less title to patch in classic controller support?

[Adrock]

They aren't.

Now, about that wager...

[Ian Sane]

I don't want to wager because I find Nintendo too unpredictable.  The Wii U is flopping, as I guessed it would, and it ain't going to bounce back unless Nintendo busts out some amazing miraculous industry-changing game at E3.  But Nintendo can be bafflingly illogical at the best of times so they might stubbornly stick with a dead product longer than it makes sense to.  Whatever I think they could do or should do they will inevitably do something completely different.

Besides I don't want to root for the Wii U to fail.  As much as I don't like it I would rather it become a product I want to own then for it to fail, unless Nintendo replaced it with something I liked and that replacement turned Nintendo's console fortunes around.  I just want a better product from Nintendo and in theory the Wii U flopping could inspire that but it seems more likely Nintendo will just give up on console gaming and focus on lame health stuff.  The day the Wii U is discontinued won't be a happy day.  I'll be in a very bad mood, pissed off that Iwata's leadership has torpedoed Nintendo to the point that it would come to that.

If Nintendo busted out a proper PokĂ©mon RPG on the Wii U or something like that and it turned the Wii U around and the third party support improved and Nintendo made better and more ambitious games on it at a decent pace and then the eventual successor fixed all of the numerous problems the Wii U had and Nintendo was no longer out-of-touch and out-of-date in hardware, online services and third party relations that would be fantastic.  But I would never assume such a thing would happen.

[pokepal148]

There was a console pokemon game, two of them in fact on the gamecube, that did nothing for that system.

[Khushrenada]

Those never count. The refrain is always that it has to be a proper traditional Pokemon game like the main entries on the handhelds.

[Ian Sane]

There was a console pokemon game, two of them in fact on the gamecube, that did nothing for that system.

There is a qualifier that is to be assumed in every suggestion I make to anyone ever - "... and it should not be done poorly!"  Obviously no one wants a console PokĂ©mon game that sucks.

[MegaByte]

We didn’t really hear an explanation for why this is the case, but as the game is silky smooth and gorgeous, it’s probably some chicanery about not wanting the graphical experience altered. Truthfully, the splendid visuals would likely have to be muddled to push out two comparable and smooth displays on the GamePad and the TV, but if that’s the kind of thing that can’t be worked out on a Nintendo game on the Wii U, then what is the point of even having the GamePad as a controller?

Other outlets are reporting that the game drops to 30fps in 4-player and possibly 3-player split-screen. That was understandable on GameCube and Wii, but pretty sad here. It also means that the experience can already be degraded, which takes that away as a good reason for lack of GamePad support.

[Mop it up]

I wasn't really expecting anything and don't really care. The only thing I would have wanted to use with the GamePad is have the screen be a rear-view mirror, that would have been neat.

[Pixelated Pixies]

"Truthfully, the splendid visuals would likely have to be muddled to push out two comparable and smooth displays on the GamePad and the TV, but if that’s the kind of thing that can’t be worked out on a Nintendo game on the Wii U, then what is the point of even having the GamePad as a controller?"

This was my thinking also. Regardless of the reasons why more interesting uses of the gamepad weren't included, the fact of the matter is that they weren't. I'm sure many people enjoy off-TV play, but that is not enough to justify packing in such a costly and unwieldy controller?

It's a shame. When I think back on the excitement fans had about 'project cafe', and then consider the complete lack of effort amongst developers (Nintendo included) to do anything remotely interesting with the technology, it really bums me out.

...

Now that I think about, why the f*** isn't the gamepad being used to bring back a 'Double Dash' mode? Wherein the second player controls a turret-like trailer or sidecar and can move gamepad to aim and shoot projectiles! That would be awesome.

As Mop it up has said, even a rear-view mirror option would have been worthwhile.