Parappa designer praises Nintendo, says everything went wrong with Major Minor
A portion of an NES interview with Parappa designer, Rodney Greenblat...
NES: Gamers deem Parappa the Rapper as the first modern rhythm music game ever made. It was something fresh and different from anything that had been released before. With so many games nowadays counting on violence to be fun, do you find there to be a lack of creativity and originality in the gaming industry today?
RG: Thanks! I don’t find any lack of creativity in the game makers, but there is a lack of creativity in the game buyers. I think developers would like to make a wide range of interesting games, but they are difficult to sell, so they don’t get made. So it is a problem of economics. The question really becomes how to open up video gaming to a wider audience. Nintendo works on this question 24/7. Playstation and XBox have little incentive to do that. The frontier right now is phones and tablets, but once again it comes down to the buyers. What are people willing to pay for a game on a phone or tablet? Will these fees generate enough income for the publishers and developers? I hope so.
NES: You designed all of the characters in Major Minor’s Majestic March for the Nintendo Wii. Were you happy with how Major Minor turned out? Also, are you a fan of Nintendo and their franchises?
RG: No, I was not happy about MMMM. Pretty much everything went wrong. I could write a book about the compounded mistakes made by hardworking and talented people. Yes, I am a Nintendo fan. Their history and tradition of fun games for kids, family and party games is awesome.
NES: Gamers deem Parappa the Rapper as the first modern rhythm music game ever made. It was something fresh and different from anything that had been released before. With so many games nowadays counting on violence to be fun, do you find there to be a lack of creativity and originality in the gaming industry today?
RG: Thanks! I don’t find any lack of creativity in the game makers, but there is a lack of creativity in the game buyers. I think developers would like to make a wide range of interesting games, but they are difficult to sell, so they don’t get made. So it is a problem of economics. The question really becomes how to open up video gaming to a wider audience. Nintendo works on this question 24/7. Playstation and XBox have little incentive to do that. The frontier right now is phones and tablets, but once again it comes down to the buyers. What are people willing to pay for a game on a phone or tablet? Will these fees generate enough income for the publishers and developers? I hope so.
NES: You designed all of the characters in Major Minor’s Majestic March for the Nintendo Wii. Were you happy with how Major Minor turned out? Also, are you a fan of Nintendo and their franchises?
RG: No, I was not happy about MMMM. Pretty much everything went wrong. I could write a book about the compounded mistakes made by hardworking and talented people. Yes, I am a Nintendo fan. Their history and tradition of fun games for kids, family and party games is awesome.
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