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Writer to game developers: stop making minigame games!

Posted Apr 07, 2007 at 02:22AM by Dia A. Listed in: Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Games for Windows Tags: Nintendo Company Ltd.
Ó

Rayman Raving Rabbids - Image 1 A game reviewer from Ars Technica decides to do a bit of activism and wrote and open letter to developers to have them stop making minigames. The weary writer shares,


Frankly, I think it's time for developers to ease up on these types of games (minigame compilations). I've focused on Nintendo, but all the platforms are guilty of the criminal overuse of this genre. Unless the collection is going to give us a completely diverse set of revolutionary new minigames, please don't bother.


Frank Caron relates that on his Wii alone, he's already plowed through Rayman Raving Rabbids, Super Monkey Ball, Warioware  and Sonic, with Mario Party. He laments the presence of some mini-game compilation of just about every other game he owns on the DS. According to him, although there are some interesting approaches to the genre as well as some enjoyable lighthearted plays, minigames has become a fad meant to cash in on brand and character loyalty.

So we try to decipher why there are minigames in the first place. Could it be that there are some of us who actually like 'em? Maybe somebody should just stop forcing this guy to play tons of minigame compilations in the first place and start making him play some real games, those that he like. Otherwise, well it's a free country. Developers are free to develop their sort of games the way gamers are free to buy theirs.

[Via Ars Technica] Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

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9 Comments


Sort by:
   by Devise (Unregistered) - 2007-04-07
 » ...
Definitely this is a problem for the Wii. I don't think the amount of current minigame games is a problem but there isn't enough (good) platform games. I actually like playing Super Monkey Ball & Mario Party with my 3 young nephews (they all own a Wii). But I don't think I'll be buying a Wii until Mario Galaxy (or something just as good) comes out.

I think the Xbox 360 & PS3 need more party/minigame games. Fuzion Frenzy 2 just plain sucks balls.

   by Nark (Unregistered) - 2007-04-07
 » Definitely an issue
Unfortunately, the Wii is in a period right now where Zelda is the only real, serious game it has going for it, and everything else is either an awkwardly ported version of a multi-platform game, or a minigame collection. I guess Elebits is fun for a while, in a Katamari sort of way, but that's really just about it.

Looking forward to Mario Galaxy, though.

   by Someguy (Unregistered) - 2007-04-07
 » SonicATSR
I think thats a major misjudging of the truth , the minigames in sonic and a short diversion , as they were meant to be , compared to the huge single player platforming mode

   by Bearmon (Unregistered) - 2007-04-07
 » Developers, stop it!!!!!
Yeah, stop making minigame games! It is rather bored! No more minigame thank you!

   by Advertising -
   by ... (Unregistered) - 2007-04-07
 » ...
Mini games are for large groups of friends. I don't have any. Give me a good game to play.

   by WC - 2007-04-07
 » Back at you, writer!
Gamer to Game Reviewer: STOP PLAYING GAMES IN GENRES YOU DON'T LIKE!

Seriously. If you don't like they genre, why are you playing the games? Worse yet, why are you reviewing them?

And if it's gotten to the point that you don't like -any- of the games that are coming out, get out of the review business altogether. You've obviously lost touch with the common gamer and no longer provide reviews that are good for them.

   by . (Unregistered) - 2007-04-07
 » .
Minigames r awesome im really lo0king forward 2 Mario Party 8 just because u dont have no friends dont mean the games suck!!!

   by cooldued (Unregistered) - 2007-04-07
 » owned
writer got pwned

   by Frank Forrest (Unregistered) - 2007-04-30
 » It's for a new gereration of gamers...duh
One thing you've got to realize is that there's a new gamer in town--the casual gamer. The reason why mini-games are popular is because they are easy to learn, don't take up a lot of time, and are perfect for the typical *non-gamer* which rarely has the time to put in hours or weeks of commitment that the hardcore gamers put in.

Mini-games aren't wrong or bad and will continue to be popular because they represent the new demographic of gamer. Although you many not like mini-games, you are dismissing an entire community who thinks these titles are great.

The gaming world isn't for the hardcore anymore and you might as well accept the fact and get used to it. The game industry is changing and new gamers aren't going to buy the redundant shooters and WWII games that everyone and their uncles seems to be producing. If anything, there aren't enough mini-games if you compare the number of brain numbing shooters out on the scene.



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