Hideki Konno discusses Revolution, Mario Kart DS

by Ross Miller { Nov 7th 2005 at 5:00PM }

Hideki Konno is not a household name by any means, but as the producer of the smash hit Nintendogs and the upcoming Mario Kart DS, he is a man who knows a thing or two about Nintendo hardware. Game|Life sat down and talked with Konno about these titles and his involvement with Nintendo's upcoming Revolution console.

Konno and his team are currently focused on making software for the Revolution, and while he has no projects announced, he does describe a game involving cooking on a big wok: you can "use the controller to flip the food around without it spilling out of the pan." Whether this will actually be incorporated into a real game or is merely an amusing tech demo is yet to be seen.

The Mario Kart DS producer also highlights the cultural hurdle of convincing Japanese gamers that online Karting is the way to go. He admits to some surprises in the game, including "… something" [his words] that will help gamers recognize elite racers from those who need a lot of work. The interview also includes some minor technical questions with the game (such as why you can't drag items behind you in online mode) and concludes with a rather audacious claim: that Mario Kart DS may finally surpass the SNES Mario Kart as the best in the series. Only time will tell.

[via N-Sider]

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jordan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

i am very intrigued by games like a cooking game, or surgical game, etc. because they could really open up the gaming market to new people.Look at how well nintendogs worked, I mean a pet simulation game? who'da thunk it would sell that many units? I think playing games like this could give hardcore gamers, like myself a new experience of fun, and i bet they won't cost as much as say a legend of zelda or mario game either. The future is great for us gamers with all the competition thick in the air! competition always is best for everybody!

Jau Peacecraft @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

uh.. as much as the SNES version was good, the 64 version was the best. GC's version is okay, but not much of a leap from the 64 one (2 players on one cart, new courss).

cooking things sounds cool, good thing it won't be on the DS or people will get obese at the mcodalds hi fi spots XD.

nc @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

snes ftw

word. @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

There was a cooking game made reference to in the revolution video we all saw for the first time. I wonder if that means the other games that were alluded to are actually in development as well...?

I never thought I'd say this, but a cooking game sounds really interesting.

Figgaz @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

as great as super mario kart was. i think mario karty 64 was the best.

i dont think you can get any better that having 3 red shells surrounding the kart

jimmi @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

Heh, I hope this partially validates what I've been saying about the video containing more than what people originally thought. There is a lot in there.

Rhine @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

Iron Chef Revolution FTW

LIT25 @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

I gotta say, I agree with the SNES version being the best... by far. It was so simple, yet so perfect. The computer didn't "cheat" when it fell behind. Things like dodging red shells were possible with a quick head fake or by running into a wall at the right time in battle mode. You lost all of that with the N64 version and above.

LIT25 @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

Stretchpants @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

SNES was the best. I loved that you could get extremely technical with your racing, and nothing beat running Star Road on time trials with Donkey Kong. Anyone who's done it (repeatedly) knows. Playing for hours just to shave off .03 seconds... friggin' priceless.

Ross Miller @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

There are various sites on the web that still actively play SNES Mario Kart time trials. A friend of mine, toward the end of our Senior year of High School, decided to try and compete with the online posted times. We could do Vanilla Lake courses in less than a minute - not by much, mind you, but we were proud. Here is the site with the "official" world record rankings:

http://www.geocities.com/smkplayerssite/

Be sure to check out the proof videos. The skill shown will astound you, and will teach you a thing or two about the awesome...well...power of the power slide.

GlitchCog @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

Yeah, I really like that he tipped his hat to the SNES SMK. That was the greatest. It's all about the time trials. Every time you played that game you got better at the controls.

If they made the controls for this DS version just as tight, with the online play, this will be the greatest competative video game ever.

And that's not even mentioning the hours and hours you could spend in battle mode without getting the least bit sick of the game.

Google Nazi @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

Yes Rhine, your right! That would really kick arse! Although how in the world do you know how to cook these dishes and the fact of having a billion variables would be more than enough to drive a programmer insane.

But count me in any innovative project :) I love to learn especialy if it involves a game ^_^ *learns how to handbuild and repairs cars without destroying one to bits for real*

BlackYoshi @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

Meh, Super Circuit is better than SNES IMO. And MK64 is better than both. The tracks are pretty plain jane, and the computers would come out of nowhere all the time. Plus the coin collecting was just silly. It was like they mixed Mario with Sonic. I'm glad they took that out.

Kuroshi @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

I hope they bring this cooking game out. I want to see how many people who praise the innovation actually shell out the $50 for it. We don't get innovative games because while we praise it's greatness, we don't actually buy it. We then run out and buy GTA 24.

Sup Sailors? @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

We then run out and buy GTA 24.

--

You can shear a sheep many times, but only skin it once.

GTA did an amazing game with Vice City. That guaranteed the sales of the next one. But people who didn't like the Black version won't buy the next GTA.

Get it?

Who are these drones who buy games they apparently don't like?

(PS. It doesn't count if you're not spending your own money)

aaron @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM

nintendo needs to land GTA.. because rockstar has tried 5 times already and it is still terrible. think about riding a motorcycle with the revolution controller, turn the controller on its side and use it as a throttle (sideways screwdriver motion) and tilt the 'handle bars' to turn. wow, revolution has lots of possibilities