DrLazy said:
They wouldn't? Even casuals are starting to get sick of the formula. I think if any franchise in the Nintendo catalogue needs to be shook up, its Mario Party.
I don't know if I'd say casuals are sick of the formula yet. According to Magic-Box, Mario Party 5 had sold 500,000 copies by the end of 2003, which sure aint bad considering that it came out (if I remember correctly) in December. I seem to remember some pretty hot sales numbers for the US as well during the same period.
In fact, to a guy like myself who prefers the original game over the sequels, Nintendo/Hudson seem to be trying
too hard to shake things up. All of the new rules and additions in each sequel just dilute the whole thing, good as they are in ways - the original game is still by far the best. Change is not good!
Also, I still think the DS connectivity idea is a possibility. Who's to say 4 DSes would be necessary? Maybe pictionary-style mini games would be possible with only a single DS, with all other players using normal controllers and one person drawing. Also, the quote says that the game "can be played" without a controller, not that it will be completely based around a new controller. I could easily see that being the case with a DS hookup. If you have one DS (or more), you can use the stylus to draw. If not, you can draw by moving a cursor around as if you were in a paint program - every Mario Party game has had at least one mini-game where you do this already. I seriously doubt they would change the entire game into some kind of eye-toy gyroscope dancing mess. More likely the DS or a similar peripheral will be optional to enhance certain aspects of the game.
The modest-hit appeal of Mario Party could definitely get people to start connecting, just as modest-hit Animal Crossing helped to push GBA connectivity. Then, later, perhaps bigger name games like Final Fantasy and Zelda will come along to get the remaining people in on the connectivity action. Doesn't seem so far-fetched to me, all things considered.
