"I think the future is games that are not difficult and yet very fun to play," Shigeru Miyamoto explained to Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. (Thanks to this Next-Gen story for the translation).

Miyamoto is wrestling with the changing tone of the games market. For years console sales have been dominated by what you'd call "hardcore" games, aimed at life-long gamers who enjoy the challenge of mastering progressively difficult titles. But following that trend year after year only ends up shrinking the audience -- and nowhere is that felt more than in Japan, where a low birthrate means that there are less and less kids coming into the marketplace who want to dedicate dozens of hours to mastering a single title.


Nintendo's answer to the problem has been to redefine game consoles and how you interact with them. The Wii and the DS are bringing casual players to the videogame market in droves, enjoying simple games or activities like Brain Age or Wii Sports. But what about the 'core' gamers, who love a good Mario game? That's what concerns Miyamoto. And his answer is to focus on the fun. "There is no point in making a difficulty level the fun factor of a game," he told Famitsu. Will this make games too easy to play? Will it turn away the hardcore? Maybe and maybe not. Miyamoto points out that most hardcore gamers are enjoying casual games anyway; he believes that the core gaming audience will embrace games that are easy to play so long as the mechanics are still fun. That's his goal with Mario Galaxy.

I gotta back up Miyamoto from my own personal experience. I rushed out to buy Mario Sunshine on day one. The early levels had the same simple joy of exploration as classics like Mario 64. But before long the worlds got increasingly difficult, twitchy, and unforgiving. One level in particular consisted of nothing but a giant firebird soaring in the sky, made entirely of blocks of sand. As I walked on each block, it dissolved and disappeared, making my job of getting eight coins before the bird dissolved and I fell to my death all the more difficult. While I was busy pulling my hair out over this puzzle, the bird turned, dumping me to my death unless I managed to walk along its side or something. This was insane. After my fortieth or fiftieth death I realized: I'm just not having fun. The game was just too ... difficult. And don't even get me started on Ninja Gaiden.

I consider myself a hardcore gamer, but hearing that Miyamoto is taking the Mario franchise in the direction of simple fun gave me the warm fuzzies. Does that make me weak?

Check out IGN's Hands-on with Super Mario Galaxy or GameSpy's Hands-On. We've also got a whole directory of high-res downloadable videos here at FilePlanet.

      -Fargo