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EA Racer Trades Paint with Mario Kart
By Kris Graft
December 4, 2008
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"We definitely looked at Mario Kart. We wouldn't be very bright if we didn't."
EA Sports has typically applied the NASCAR license to more realistic racing games, with nary a bobble-headed caricature in sight.
That's going to change when the newly-announced NASCAR Kart Racing hits Wii in February 2009. Cartoon-styled graphics, weapons that range from "boomsticks" to "shockwaves" and diminutive karts are a substantial departure from NASCAR 09 on PS3, PS2 and Xbox 360.
We spoke with EA North Carolina founder and senior developer director on NASCAR Kart Racing Ryan Stradling and lead designer Stephane Imbert about the game itself, third-party Wii development and Reggie Fils-Aime's recent comments that third parties just don't "get it."
Why did you decide that big-headed drivers, tiny karts and weapons were the right direction for a NASCAR game? Is it simply because of the Wii's target demographic?
RS: When we looked at the Wii audience, it's family-based. It's getting a lot of popularity with the moms, dads and kids. So that's one factor. But NASCAR itself is a really family-oriented sport. One of their core business objectives is to appeal to the family. And thirdly, we already released the sim-style products on PS3, Xbox 360 and PS2.
EA also wants to expand the brand and capture the masses. We think it's a great title for the whole family.
SI: This is something to play with family and friends. People who play may not understand the nuances of the sport, but they just want to play with you. It's just a fun game to pick up and play.
Of course, Mario Kart was a big hit this year. How closely have you studied the strengths of that game? Is there a copy lying around the office?
RS: We definitely looked at the title. We wouldn't be very bright if we didn't, because it's such a successful kart racing title. Mario Kart, when you look at it, is really spread out. There's not a lot of traffic together most of the time, but in NASCAR there's a lot of traffic all of the time. You'll see in this game a lot more traffic and people next to each other, so there's more opportunity for bumping.
The other aspect we've focused on in the game is the control, which is very natural. We've got very positive feedback from our playtests. All different types of gamers say the control's really good, and they can move the car very easily with the Wii Remote.
We also have our own progression mode in the game. You go through three races then fight a "final" race against the owner of a track. When you own the track, you get your signage put on the track; your billboards and sponsorships.
We do have some of that Mario Kart flavor without a doubt, but we think we add some uniqueness to the title.
SI: We also incorporated the teammate aspect. Team racing is a very big part of NASCAR. Pretty much every event you're going to do in the game is you and your teammate against other drivers; drafting from them, using the slingshot maneuver. You'll be in the lead if you work together.
"When we focus back on NASCAR Kart Racing, we're really trying to appeal to the Wii consumer and the Wii demographic."
"Everyone's trying to figure out how best to be on the Wii ... but I think everyone is trying to figure out what that market really is."
This is the disparity that's digging EA its own grave on the Wii. They haven't come up with an answer yet, but they keep developing Wii games like Naskart under the belief that this is the one they'll truly get it right with. Even Boom Blox polarized itself into a kiddy niche because of the artstyle.
They need to start developing Wii games without a target audience in mind. World of Goo, albeit a downloadable game, is a perfect example of what needs to be done to reach the Wii audience.
Speaking of which, I have no idea why EA hasn't thought to bring the NBA Street franchise back on Wii. Those games were honest - they wouldn't rub off as off putting and polarizing as their failed All-Play experiment. So long as they don't turn it into EA Playground Basketball, it'd have a great shot at finding an audience. Much moreso than a Nascar Mario Kart rip off.
I know World of Goo was criticly well-received, but did it sell well? And wasn't that a Wii-ware release?
I'm not sure even the NASCAR brand can save this title from a quick trip to the $19.99 bin. Do they not realize 4 or 5 million Wii owners alreayd have a Kart racing game by now, and probably an even higher by the time this title launches?
EA is trying make a lot of money without a whole lot of originality. They believe they are "getting it " by assuming that Wii players aren't particular with good and original game design. The reason why 3rd party games aren't selling as well as Nintendo games is because of this assumption. I think Nintendo already gave them a no-brainer by saying that the Wii Remote provides possibilities for developers to explore new gameplay. Here we have EA recycling Mario Kart gameplay. Why play a NASCAR kart game when you've got Mario Kart?
that is a point I was making elsewhere. Someone claimed that the average Wii owner couldn't care about the games they bought because they were unable to tell the difference between a good game and the average slag on the Wii.
My response wa if that were the case, there would be a lot more Wii game sales than there currently are.
In my experience, the average Wii owner is someone who picks and chooses the movies/tv shows they watch and the books they read to suit their varying tastes. That ability to pick out the entertainment they enjoy when it comes to movies/shows and books, translates to their taste in games. They pick and choose the games that best fit their gaming needs.
Unfortunately, because the Wii is old school when comparing it to the PS3 and 360 on a graphics basis, Most developers are treating the Wii owners like kids. Making kid themed games and crap. But the average Wii owner is not a kid. They are adults with adult tastes. They want adult entertainment. Now when I say adult, I don't mean M or AO rated. I mean themes that appeal to adult tastes.
In all honesty, I think this naskart game will flop. The reason being as you stated, there is already a quality kart game. They will buy that one if they want a kart game. People who like Nascar want to play Nascar, not Mario Kart with a nascar theme. They would sell more copies with an actual nascar game rather than this.
"The average Wii owner is not a kid"
Zach you are bang on with that comment. Where do people think that this extended audience that nintendo have tapped into comes from? Kids who weren't playing playstation but are suddenly tempted by the Wii? Give me a break!!!
And this is what pisses off "hardcore" gamers who love to bash the wii, drone on about how only their kids play on it etc. If it was the case that it was a kiddies machine catering to kids alone then they'd feel safe because it wouldn't threaten their erroneous belief that the games industry revolves around them.
This is a topic that intrigues me very much. You have Wii owners who are frustrated that the Wii has been branded a family/kid console. Yet, you have publishers who take known franchises and kiddies them up? I'm pretty sure these companies have research teams and statistic teams that decide what's best from a business standpoint for their products.
Someone in the industry has determined that making games for the Wii (I'm referring to the latest sports games from EA specifically) in a similar realistic fashion that they are made for the other two systems is not a good idea. However they came up with that idea, they are either right that they will sell better having a unique "kiddie" version of madden as opposed to an inferior (when it comes to visuals/audio/online multiplayer) product when compared to the 360 or PS3 or they're not. Maybe they assume the Wii owners who are traditional "hardcore" gamers most likely own a 360 or PS3 as well and will just buy those console's version of the realistic NASCAR or Madden thus making them in that fashion for the Wii would result in poor sales. Sales of some big multiplatform games that weren't "kiddied up" (Star Wars TFU for example) for the Wii sold poorly when compared to the 360 version (and PS3 in some cases). Maybe publishers have seen this and decided they don't want to suffer the same fate?
Now they must think the Wii owners who are not gamers in the traditional sense would be more intrigued by a cutesy more cartoony version of those franchises. I'm not saying the Wii is a kiddie system, I'm saying a lot of publishers tend to think it is, or at least think games that are more geared toward family/kids will ultimately sell better than ones that are more comparable to the other two system's versions.
I guess the way to change that is buy as many games as you can/want to that are of a more serious nature or graphically less kiddie so publishers will see that those buyers are attractive consumers to go after. Something has led companies to believe kiddie is the way to go with the Wii; it’s up to Wii owners to prove them wrong. Until that happens, I think unfortunately for you Wii owners that don't want NasKart, you're out of luck. I faced that when I used to be a huge Nintendo fan with the gamecube. I got pissed when people said it was a kiddie system, yet I tended to ignore the fact that Nintendo got themselves in that position with some of their marketing styles, and seem now to have fully embraced that image with the Wii at the cost of some of their most loyal fans.
I personally have no problem with the Wii's success and think its a great thing for Nintendo that they found a way to turn things around in the most unbelievable way. They have found a market for their Wii that has worked out very well, if some of the best selling games are more of a cartoony kind, that's great. But those type of games not being for me doesn't automatically make me some kind of hater, like a lot of other gamers, I just don't fit into Nintendo's marketing strategy. But I don't really think I belong to the market their going after, and that's fine by me. If they introduce a system with HD capabilities, a more robust online setup, better community features, and at least some games that are more geared toward my taste and offer incentive over the other systems I may own, I'd be all over it. If a system doesn't offer what you want, it doesn't mean you're a hater for not liking it, it just means it doesn't fit your taste. I tried, believe me I did, I bought a Wii twice and still didn't play it. And to be fair to the Wii, it wasn't because the games I had weren't fun, it was just my 360 was my priority because its games were closer to my taste than my Wii's were and I just didn't have time after my wife, 3 kids, job, house, etc, to play my Wii, let alone get some time in with my 360, movies, tv, music. Any way, I'm just going off on a tengent now. Sorry bout that...