New Super Smash Bros won't have cutscenes due to internet

• Compass wrote on 2013-07-25 18:15
  [SPOILER="IT'S NOT OUT YET!!1111!!!11111 SPOILER AT UR OWN RISK!!!!!"]

  You might recall that Super Smash Bros. Brawl had a story mode called The Subspace Emissary. In between levels, players were treated to cutscenes that were mashups of characters from different properties. It was pure fan service. And it's not happening again.
  
  Series creator Masahiro Sakurai recently shared his disappointment that the cutscenes were uploaded to the internet. In a regular column on Weekly Famitsu (translated by Kotaku), he explained why he won't be including them in the series' next entry.
  
  "I felt if players saw the cutscenes outside of the game, they would no longer serve as rewards for playing the game, so I've decided against having them," Sakurai wrote. Instead, characters will get intro sequences similar to what we saw at E3 with the introduction of Mega Man, Animal Crossing's Villager and the Wii Fit Trainer.
  
  The piece also mentions character customization, though no details are offered beyond the feature being more than cosmetic. There is also a hint about a new mode for the 3DS version that is different than the core versus experience.

  
  Source
  [/SPOILER]
  
  
  Good job, youtubers. You ruined something great.
• Chockeh wrote on 2013-07-25 18:20
  I don't really mind, but it sucks that he views youtubers in such a negative fashion.
• Chrissymarie wrote on 2013-07-25 18:29
  i dont really mind. I just hope they change the ugly faces they did for Fox and Falco in brawl :c
• Lyrveil wrote on 2013-07-25 18:52
  Japanese devs are weird. They don't understand that youtuber are actually helping sales after the whole launch hype/marketing/review.
• Hatsunechan wrote on 2013-07-25 19:16

  Quote from Lyrveil;1127767:

  Japanese devs are weird. They don't understand that youtuber are actually helping sales after the whole launch hype/marketing/review.

  No way to prove that though. You could also say it hurts sales because people can watch lets plays on youtube so they wont buy the game. It is stupid how much of a big deal they make of it though.
• Micho wrote on 2013-07-25 19:28
  I think this is a way for them to say, "We're too lazy to draw the cutscenes, and animate them, etc."
  
  Honestly, everything is on YouTube these days.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2013-07-25 19:42

  Quote from Micho;1127792:

  I think this is a way for them to say, "We're too lazy to draw the cutscenes, and animate them, etc."
  
  Honestly, everything is on YouTube these days.

  
  
  Not necessarily. Some devs really feel this way about certain things.
  
  Its a really wild and strange thought, but I think its a pretty legitimate one. You design a scene that was supposed to be viewed in the context of the gameplay, but then those scenes are thrown up on youtube for everyone to view without even touching the game. From the developer's point of view, this is actually really aggravating.
  
  Sakurai saying it, I actually really believe it. Almost all of his games so far have been a very on-rails guided experience. Thats just the kind of games he makes.
• Compass wrote on 2013-07-25 20:23

  Quote from Lyrveil;1127767:

  Japanese devs are weird. They don't understand that youtuber are actually helping sales after the whole launch hype/marketing/review.

  
  
  Reviews? Of course (if the game is good).
  Doing let's plays / walkthrough? No way to prove that, but I higly doubt it.
  
  I don't see how watching a guy play the entire game encourages people to buy the game if they know what's going to happen.
  
  

  Quote from Micho;1127792:

  I think this is a way for them to say, "We're too lazy to draw the cutscenes, and animate them, etc."
  
  Honestly, everything is on YouTube these days.

  
  Nah.
  
  As Cucurbita said some developers and publishers take offense to this. It's like telling a secret to everyone, it's something that's supposed to be meant for the players.
  
  Not sure if you know this, but Sega awhile back was taking down let's plays/walkthoughs of their games why? Same reason.
• Cynic wrote on 2013-07-25 22:20

  Quote from Compass;1127814:

  
  I don't see how watching a guy play the entire game encourages people to buy the game if they know what's going to happen.

  
  
  I actually love watching people play certain games since I always wait until said games are on sale before I buy them. And I highly doubt that I'm a minority.
• Chrissymarie wrote on 2013-07-26 01:17

  Quote from Cynic;1127838:

  I actually love watching people play certain games since I always wait until said games are on sale before I buy them. And I highly doubt that I'm a minority.

  
  
  i did that with mabinogi and ssbm. Actually i always do it before installing or buying a game
• Time wrote on 2013-07-26 03:28
  The subspace plot was quite fun to watch and its a shame there wont be a related mode in this game (at least thats how it appears) . However with the supplementary videos online accompanying character reveals, and the fact that most time spent on the game will be multiplayer anyway I dont think its a real tragedy to have a simple 1P mode.
• Lyrveil wrote on 2013-07-26 07:39

  Quote from Compass;1127814:

  Reviews? Of course (if the game is good).
  Doing let's plays / walkthrough? No way to prove that, but I higly doubt it.
  
  I don't see how watching a guy play the entire game encourages people to buy the game if they know what's going to happen.

  
  
  What about games like minecraft? I'm pretty sure people didn't decide to buy it because "Oh this review says it's good". Most of the people I know who bought minecraft found it through let's play of the people they like watching. And as Cynic said I'd rather watch a lets play to see if I like a game than a review.
  
  In fact most indie devs recognize that youtube let's player helped their game sell way more than it should have. I think Thomas was alone's developer Mike Bithell even made a video on the whole thing.
  
  http://www.develop-online.net/blog/477/Lets-Play-Nintendo Found a link where he explains in more detail why the let's play community is actually helpful to developer.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2013-07-26 08:03

  Quote from Lyrveil;1128002:

  What about games like minecraft? I'm pretty sure people didn't decide to buy it because "Oh this review says it's good". Most of the people I know who bought minecraft found it through let's play of the people they like watching. And as Cynic said I'd rather watch a lets play to see if I like a game than a review.
  
  In fact most indie devs recognize that youtube let's player helped their game sell way more than it should have. I think Thomas was alone's developer Mike Bithell even made a video on the whole thing.
  
  http://www.develop-online.net/blog/477/Lets-Play-Nintendo Found a link where he explains in more detail why the let's play community is actually helpful to developer.

  
  
  As far as Sakurai goes, I'm just making sure everyone understands that it doesn't matter if he is right or not. The point is that this isn't some PR excuse for being lazy.
  
  And for the youtube view thing, I believe it is far more effective on a game that has replay value. Minecraft being a good example. Its a session by session game where something different happens every time you play. Exploration games, fighting games, randomly generated games, etc etc are all good examples. Watching Far Cry and Elder Scrolls definitely made me want to play it more, since there was so much I could do that the person in the video didnt.
  
  I watched all of Halo 4 when it came out online and pretty much felt like I beat the game and didn't really have any desire to play it. I mean, sure I still want to play it, but its a pretty linear story driven game where watching someone do the campaign is enough for me to get the experience (did it with portal 2 and bioshock infinite). I still want to play the games, but I'm satisfied knowing what happens and how it goes enough to not fret over it if I don't end up playing it either.
  
  Sakurai isn't removing the game itself from existence. He's just removing that railed linear part. He's convinced that standalone parts of the whole thing aren't going to capture the full experience of Smash Brothers, and could actually even give a skewed representation of the game for those who aren't receiving it fresh and tied together with everything else as a whole. He's still making compilation scenes like the ones the other characters got, and its not like he's going to block the gameplay video (which always has something new every time you play).
  
  Is it making the right decision? Probably not actually. But there is plenty of merit in his point of view. Its a developer's pride to give you the best delivery possible, and youtube cut outs are sometimes the bane of that intended experience.
• Campylobacter jejuni wrote on 2013-07-27 14:12

  Quote from Compass;1127814:

  I don't see how watching a guy play the entire game encourages people to buy the game if they know what's going to happen.

  
  Because playing it is fun to do! You don't really play games just to see how this one 30 seconds cutscene looks like, do you?
  
  Cutscenes are hardly the main selling point of the SSB franchise, so I don't see how anything was ruined.
• RebeccaBlack wrote on 2013-07-27 22:06
  I'm glad they're gone. Saves me some button presses and loading times. All I care about is playing the game. I don't want a small movie along with it...