Recently I have been contemplating the missed opportunities that I feel Nintendo could have utilized to a larger extent. Some of these are related to gameplay, while some concern things outside the games entirely.

KK Slider

KK Slider is a fairly popular character among fans of Animal Crossing and Nintendo in general. Just before New Leaf came out in the Western markets, a guy named Alex Romero created a cover version of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, using KK’s vocal talents to create a fun remix.

This got me thinking, what if Nintendo used KK as a much larger marketing tool? They could have created a mainstream craze, similar to what things like The Chipmunks were able to pull off for many years. Nintendo could have teamed up with various musicians to create some fun KK duets. This would have gained the character a stronger foothold over pop culture, and in turn raise the awareness of Animal Crossing in general.

Since fans have already been doing this sort of thing to an extent, I believe that there is interest there, it’s just that it’s all been localized to a small subset of the gaming population. With a large enough push from Nintendo in the form of music videos with the artists, and downloadable versions from online music stores, KK could be a real hit.

Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart Wii was not what I had imagined it to be prior to its unveiling. Granted, the game we got was good, but I couldn’t quite get over the fact that motion steering took the priority over using other aspects of the Wii Remote.

The main thing I was wanting and expecting was for the game to use the IR pointer heavily. I think it would have been great to be able to aim turtle shells and other items directly at other players, or having a tackle/ram move by flicking the Nunchuk. A really crazy idea would have been to let people use a DS as a rear-view mirror!

In terms of broader changes, I would have liked to see the game feature a Double Dash style option and customizable multiplayer options for the battle mode. That way it could be changed to be more like others in the series, instead of it only allowing a point-based system. Finally, a simple track editor could have been a lot of fun, especially if they had allowed online sharing.

Now, you could argue that Nintendo made the right call in terms of catering to people who feel it more natural to steer using the plastic wheel, as it does have a certain mainstream appeal. But, in terms of being more adventurous, and possibly appealing more to their fan-base, it could of been a better idea to try and do something more ‘out there’ to make it fresher. I don’t think they would have even had to drop the motion steering; they could have used that as an easy or casual mode of play.

So the biggest missed opportunity of Mario Kart Wii, I feel, is that Nintendo wasn’t as inclusive as it could have been. Everything was tailored around the main draw of the steering controls, and everything else was kept the same or changed only a little bit. More variety in modes and gameplay certainly would not have hurt.