It’s official: N64 classics are back via the Nintendo Switch online service. And not only that, since we know what the first 16 titles will be. Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and even a Banjo-Kazooie from Microsoft are already confirmed. Now, there is a game that we should start removing from our pools: the first Mario Party.
Because Nintendo has always had a special predisposition when it comes to preserving, reissuing and even updating its legacy, but the scare of almost 80 million dollars who gave him the first game in the saga of Party games intimidating too much. And that, technically, the origin of the problem does not lie in the game, but in the very design of the N64 controller and the way in which it lends itself to being used.
As a result, Mario Party, a game with approximately 2.7 million copies sold, It has not been reissued, remastered, or salvaged for later systems Virtual Consoles, although – to be fair – many of its mini-games have reappeared in other installments of the series. Others, however, will never appear again. At least, as they were conceived in the original game.
That is, if you want to play Mario Party, to the 1999 game, you will need the original cartridge, an N64 -of course- and at least one controller. Of course, as you will see below, the best thing is that also put on a glove before starting to play: according to what tests they touch you during the development of the game you can leave with blisters and even friction burns.
Playing Mario Party with too much motivation can leave you sequels
The command of N64 had a design as brave as it is revolutionary, and that the console had ports for four controllers opened its enormous possibilities even more. If we add to that the enormous creative spirit that Nintendo had unleashed in its previous desktops (and continues to manifest itself on Switch), it was a simple matter of time before the ideas collided and an experience as fun as Mario Party.
At this point in the game and with 24 games already published (and one in the oven) it is unlikely not to know the saga Mario Party, but in essence it is a reinvention of the classic Game of the Goose in which the player tiles become Mario and his friends. Now, when everyone makes their die roll and finishes moving around the board, the real claim appears: a selection of minigames that reinvent our way of using traditional controls.
Because in Mario Party Adapting to the unpredictable situations and challenges that occur on screen is only half the experience, and the other half is what colors the matter: compete with the rest of the players in a very passionate way. Giving everything in every game. Precisely that way of encouraging motivation is one of the elements that played against Nintendo.
Mario Party has 50 minigames (56 if we get fussy) but five of them work with a very unique mechanic. Tug o ‘War (Pulls the rope), Paddle battle or Pedal Power they required each player to rotate the analog stick on their N64 controller as quickly as possible, and the most efficient way to do this was using the palm of their hands.
In fact, Nintendo suggested that players use their thumb to rotate the controller stick, as is traditional in video games, but the method was less efficient and involved the occasional slide of the finger. The result, in general, is the instant withdrawal of the player in favor of using the palm of the hand. But, as they say, sometimes the solution is even worse than the problem.
With justice we have run into
The stick of that N64 controller was prepared to withstand the most intense movements – within a reasonable limit – that these minigames demanded but, unfortunately, there was a third element to take into account: the palms of the players’ hands began to fill with marks, blisters, lacerations, friction burns and all kinds of sequelae. Especially, those of the smallest of the house.
Laughter is an essential element of the experience Mario Party, but having two of those three mini-games played in a row in the same game was a nightmare that lasted for the next few days and until the pain subsided. Something like tennis elbow syndrome that will happen years later with Wii. Nevertheless, not everyone saw the humor in that.
In March 2000Shortly after the Christmas period following the game’s launch, the New York attorney general’s office received nearly a hundred complaints from consumers whose children had sustained hand injuries as a result of playing games. Mario Party at N64.
A legal measure that led to a major problem that put Nintendo of America on the ropes: the North American division of the Big N should provide special protective gloves to all those who play or have a copy of Mario Party. By then, approximately 1.2 million cartridges had been sold, but keep in mind that the number of players affected was incalculable.
This was an exceptional agreement with the New York State Attorney General’s office, but also a solution that forced Nintendo to invest almost 80 million dollars in gloves plus $ 75,000 in court costs. An overwhelming amount of money then and now.
How Nintendo got rid of paying $ 80 million in gloves
Eliot spitzer, the attorney general who handled the case regarding the injuries generated by playing at Mario Party, reached an agreement with Nintendo that sought to satisfy the concerns of dozens of outraged consumers and, in the same movement, it did not damage the familiar image that the Big N had taken years to carve out. In theory, it was a fair deal with no one losing out.
This agreement is good news for parents across the country. Nintendo agreed to take responsibility for the effect of its games on young people. I am very happy that my office has been able to collaborate with Nintendo to ensure that this very important protective accessory is available for our children.
The reality is that, in numbers, the nearly 100 people who made the claim in New York dealt a lethal blow to Nintendo. Beth Llewelyn, who was a spokesperson for the brand, made public the costs that the company was preparing to face, and the figure was outrageous: almost 80 million dollars.
We only received about 90 complaints during the year in which [Mario Party] It has been on the market, but we don’t know how many people are going to take advantage of the offer.
The gloves in question, those agreed upon by both the New York prosecution and Nintendo, were similar to gloves used for weightlifting and with padded palms. The cost of the operation was estimated at up to $ 18 for each user.
At this point, it is time to make a reflection: is the responsibility of the consequences generated by playing Mario Party Is it Nintendo, parents and legal guardians, neither party, or both? After all, we are talking about self harm. In any case, La Gran N took the initiative and assumed the derived costs. Luckily for Nintendo, the outlay that had to be made finally it was quite minor.
In order to request the special gloves, there was a requirement: a proof of purchase of the game. And that, added to the fact that not everyone was informed that the glove could be requested or willing to carry out the procedure, even having enabled a telephone number for management, made the amount of gloves purchased and distributed not only better controlled, but it was much less than expected.
The other consequence, much more reasonable, was the total elimination of the rotation mechanics of the minigames in the rest of the titles of the series Mario Party with one exception: intense stick turns will return to Mario Party: Island Tour, a game of the saga designed for a 3DS whose lever would hardly cause any type of injury.
Some of the problematic minigames came back rethought and others, like Paddle battle They even became main experiences in Super Mario Party on Switch. Although, of course, it is not by chance that, not long after, Nintendo gave away special protective rubber cases for Wii controls.