Metroid Designer Talks Metroid Prime II, EyeToy

Thanks to C+VG for their interview with Yoshio Sakamoto, a key designer on the Metroid titles, and now manager of Nintendo's notable R&D1 development studio. He talks about Sony's EyeToy USB camera game ("...if it's quite a unique product it's a shame Nintendo didn't come up with that kind of idea"), Retro's in-development Metroid Prime sequel ("my involvement with Metroid Prime II is like my involvement with the first one - I am advising them as to what kind of flavor they have to adhere to, and the kind of storylines possible"), and makes it clear that Nintendo are actively working on follow-up hardware ("Nintendo is always working on the next generation of systems, be it handheld or console game machines.")

Metroid Creator?

[Locky]

The creator of Metroid is none other than Gunpei Yokoi, who left Nintendo in 1996.

He was killed in a car accident in 1997.

Re:Metroid Creator?

[simoniker]

Hey - you're quite right, Yokoi is generally thought of as the 'father' of Metroid, so I've changed the article to reflect this. I believe that Sakamoto was the character designer on the original Metroid, though, and according to Dylan Cuthbert [tokyopia.com], who's worked at Nintendo in Japan:

"[Metroid] has always been developed by R&D1 (the dept. Gunpei Yokoi headed up) and designed by the teams who mostly make gameboy titles. Samus was thought up by a friend of mine called Yoshio Sakamoto who is also developing the latest gameboy version Fusion, and also helped direct Prime."

Guess it all depends on producer vs. character designer vs. etc, but I think the amended text better reflects this. Thanks for the heads-up!

Eye Toy?

[PaleZer0]

Didn't nintendo have something similar to the eye toy at E3? like a game where using a camera would map your face on the characters? I'm so confused...

Re:Eye Toy?

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

I believe there was a video game simulating a sport (I can't recall which one but it might be the new NBA Live from EA) where you could transfer a photograph from your PC to EA's servers and then download that photo to your PS2 to create a new character in the game to use on your team. That's my hazy recollection of it - although I'm hoping this jogs someone's memory and they can fill in the details. The long and short of it is that from what I recall this was a software based solution without the inclusion

Re:Eye Toy?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's T.H.U.G. (Tony Hawk Underground)

Re:Eye Toy?

[edwdig]

Perfect Dark originally had support for face mapping, but it was pulled after Columbine. You needed a GameBoy, the GameBoy camera, and the GBN64 transfer pak. The transfer pak and camera never really caught on, so not many people would've been able to use the feature if it was included.

Nintendo did have some game called Talent Studio or something like that. Not sure of the details, but it's probably what you're thinking of. I remember you could create custom characters in it; I think that included mapping your face in somehow. But it seemed like a product that would only stand a chance of being successful in Japan.

Re:Eye Toy?

[NanoGator]

"Perfect Dark originally had support for face mapping, but it was pulled after Columbine."

What was the story behind that? I don't mean to sound insensitive to the people who lost loved ones in the tragedy, but what is the beef that this game threatened to cause?

Re:Eye Toy?

[NanoGator]

"The idea of shooting look-a-likes of your friends in a videogame outraged a lot of soccer moms, so it was scrapped."

Wow. That shocked me when I first read it, but then I did a mental flashback to when they were looking for 'warning signs'. Kids getting suspended for the pettiest of reasons because they said they'd shoot or kill somebody.

Okay, yeah I guess I can understand that.

Metroid Has Always Been...

[Goyuix]

Metroid has always been one of my very favorite games on any of the Nintendo systems. The story and character(s).

Who can forget the glorious day of beating the original Metroid only to find out that Samus was in fact a girl. Ridley has also been an awesome boss - though I have never understood why he was #2 to Mother Brain.... much much cooler and more dangerous. Metroid Prime got it right by having him as basically the leader of the Space Pirates.

I think it is great that he is "hands-off" as far as devel

Re:Metroid Has Always Been...

[ArmyOfFun]

I've actually found the Metroid stories to be lacking in the past. Prime was a departure in that respect I think, it had a very detailed storyline. The story was also told really well in Prime, not through cut scenes, but through exploration.

The one thing I was very happy the Retro studios kept in tact was that you couldn't get hurt by falling. I always hated that one aspect of games where you have this awesome armor, but you fall two stories and lose some health (what the hell?).

Hmm, have to go back and

Eyetoy: Nothing new here

[Stubtify]

Quite a unique product? My Intel USB video camera has had games based on it for at least 4 years. There's one with a ball that you hit by, well hitting the ball. Another equally stupid game had something to do with a ribbon I think.

I really don't think the eyetoy can grab the attention of the (US) ps2 crowd very well unless sony comes up with a killer app for it. On the PC side this hasn't been gaming, but instead video conferencing. I'd pay $30-50 to be able to see family halfway across the country, but to hit a ball onscreen by waving my arm, I'd have to pass.

EyeToy... Uk's newest crappy fad?

[Dyrandia]

Up til last friday, I worked for the video game store that has 45% of the UK's market (bought a house an hour and a half away and wasn't ready to commute for a crappy #4.75/hr*). They have an eyetoy set up in the front of the store. The kids all love to come in and have a play while their parents are shopping. I don't really see the attraction of it, but they flew off the shelves. The amount of accident reports filled out shot up, too. Too many people, crowded around, waving their arms around and punching n

Re:Eyetoy: Nothing new here

[MMaestro]

I think the best way to sum up the Eyetoy is that uniqueness is nice, but it doesn't always equal success (far, far too many examples to list)

Metroid Prime II

[Zigmo]

Metroid Prime was the great, unexpected Bonus of my GameCube (purchase for Zelda, originally). The storyline, atmosphere and gameplay kept my glued to the TV for hours on end. That being said, I'm extremely psyched for the sequel. Hmmmm ... I may have to take a break from the other gaming to continue working through hard-mode, too.