Nintendo President Agrees There Are Too Many Cut-Scenes In Video Games Nowadays

MNN:
"Most of the video games we play these days are littered with lengthy cut scenes as a way to progress with the story. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says that there are simply too many in video games nowadays and that Shigeru Miyamoto would agree with him on this statement. Iwata said that Miyamoto is one of the few developers that isn’t reliant on producing cut-scenes and he wonders what could have been done instead with the time, money and resources."

[Concertoine]

Cutscenes arent an inherently bad thing but i agree that they totally break the flow. Half Life 2 for example never wrestled your control away (except once or twice) during cutscenes.

[Neckbear]

In most Nintendo games I've played, cutscenes are there to complement the gameplay instead of the other way around. That's why they're such a joy to play, it's gameplay first and cutscenes second for them.

[BiggCMan]

This is exactly why I don't care about Nintendo games any more. I loved them as a kid, but as I've grown up, I want a story told to me.

Nintendo hasn't changed at all, they remain stagnant in my opinion and are stuck in the past. When there is a story being told, a real story, not the princess being captured again or Ganondorf being evil again, then I want it to be told in both wonderfully crafted scenes like Naughty Dog does with Uncharted and Last of Us.

As well as little gameplay snippets such as collectibles that tell a story about previous events. Nintendo hasn't matured, and they just aren't for me any more. I'm not saying anyone else has to feel that way at all, of course not, be happy enjoying Nintendo as long as you want and don't let others tell you how to enjoy games.

[Neckbear]

@BiggCMan:

I guess I'm too old, but I grew up with games that allowed you to make your own stories instead of tell them. Things like Wizardry II and Ultima IV didn't give you a story, the games (and what happened within them) WERE the story. It's pretty much the same with Nintendo's games, especially as of recently, and it's something I really appreciate. It's also why I love Demon's Souls, that was like a glimmer of hope for me in the last generation, riddled with "cinematic experiences" that were just a chore to play to me.

I do think Nintendo has changed, although it's in the gameplay department- they've got a vision their developers share and they stick to it. That vision, coincidentally, is exactly what makes me love video games: make an interactive playground where many things can happen in many different ways and give them to players to experiment with. It fills my inner kid, the one that used to write a backstory for each and every of his Wizardry or Might & Magic characters, cry in joy.

They're not stagnant, though, that's for certain- they're just fundamentally different from other companies. Whether you can appreciate that depends on the individual.

[Cindy-rella]

Cut scenes are there to keep a flow of narrative between gameplay. It keeps the story fresh in a players mind giving the player more of a purpose of playing. I hate playing games where it feels like im grinding or ive lost the main cause of why im playing.

Nintendo saying that there are too much cutscenes in games is like them saying online gaming is irrelevant because they are areas they dont focus on. To each their own. I like cutscenes because it keeps me engaged in the world and why i need to go on playing a lot of times in games.

Nintendo lacks genres and certain standards in gaming now because they are stuck in the past.

[nix]

In old days, the only cut scenes were "Thank you Mario but your princess is in another castle" 8 times or so.

Unless you figured out the shortcuts.

[Concertoine]

@BiggCMan

To each his own, but there's still a market for gameplay-first games. A big one. Sometimes people want to pick up a game and play. I played Lost Planet 2 recently which has an awful story that never even tries, yet very fun gameplay, but i am forced to sit through cutscene after cutscene just to get to the good. These days cutscenes are often fodder to increase playtime.

I like both types of games. Right now i'm playing persona 4 on ps2 and captain toad on wii u. With persona 4 i have to sort of recap what happened last time i played, where i am in the story, what happened to all the characters and with captain toad i literally turn it on and play. I enjoy both games, but both have different appeal to me.

@Cindy-rella
But there are also ways around cutscenes, and Nintendo has utilized them. Metroid Prime has all of its story tucked away in logs throughout the environment, and you can read about the entire plight of the chozo, about the enemy's movements and reasoning, about every enemy's biology... or you can not read it at all. You can go through the entire game without knowing/caring any of that is in the game. That is masterful design and i wish more games emulated Prime's style of storytelling. That's why Prime is a fun game to play multiple times, there's not story cutscenes to sit through or anything like that. Even Nintendo themselves don't seem to understand how brilliant it is. They certainly aren't stagnant because they refuse to follow other companies. They should make games that they enjoy making, and if they want story-driven games, they can buy them like they've been doing.

[N4g_null]

I think you guys are mistaking animation tech as story. The last of us story wasn't that great. As an adult they competed against all other media released. I find Michael Bay films having better stories. To me titan ae, certain movies even gone girl provide real stories. As an adult I'm turned off by what sony pushes on me like others and teen level story rather than something truly worthy of using a story as the main focus of the game.

The elephant in the room is the game play is not good for various reasons. Skill is replaced by fetch quest and rewarded by imaginary vapid development teams that pour everything in to visualize skills.

Gaming is missing the edge over other media. Our stories use to be dynamic and evolved just by playing differently. The producers of these games had stories that could not be defined by words along. Skill acquired from play is part of those stories. That is completely missing.

This is why I trumpet nintendo they have not forgotten this and they are real gamers also. Unfortunately they have not grown that idea into adult games. This is why Nintendo and Sony need to be a co op corp.

In a perfect world sony and Nintendo could make an os that could run on any hardware. Sony goes big while nintendo keeps attracting new old and young gamers.

The problem is sony needs more help on the gameplay front. I know I give sony hell but that is a good thing. I know they can do better. I done many types of creative work yet no dept should every dominate the other if you want a solid production and success.

Gaming does have the power to fix sonys financial problems yet they must embrace gaming and not try to change it.

As of right now movie gaming lacks game play. Movies are not supposed to be boring. The story is not strong enough to be released as a movie or even watched again are they?

I just look at the popular tv series like walking dead, breaking bad, dexter, etc etc.... they have totally left video games behind art wise when it comes to story telling. You are not suppose to trumpet your weakness until you are strong.

If you do this gaming become niche. Right now this is the real reason gaming is not looked at as an art but just an atm. The creators are not held accountable because of fanboys and money bags.

The idea of getting with the times when something is as flawed as game production right now just makes you look like an enabler of boring games crutches by things that are not really fun.

It is safe to say there are more fans than real gamers playing games right now. This is the casual core.

[AnotherProGamer]

The unskippable cutscenes in Mario Sunshine make it a pain to replay

[3-4-5]

Bigg C lost his/her imagination.

I love having to piece some of the LoZ story together in every game.

It doesn't tell you 100%, therefore leaving you with that feeling of wonderment and awe, trying to piece everything together.

It makes it more....."special/meaning ful"

[DARK WITNESS]

"I think you guys are mistaking animation tech as story. The last of us story wasn't that great. As an adult they competed against all other media released. I find Michael Bay films having better stories. To me titan ae, certain movies even gone girl provide real stories. As an adult I'm turned off by what sony pushes on me like others and teen level story rather than something truly worthy of using a story as the main focus of the game.

The elephant in the room is the game play is not good for various reasons. Skill is replaced by fetch quest and rewarded by imaginary vapid development teams that pour everything in to visualize skills. "

I think you have just summed up perfectly the issue i have had with a lot of games, especially sony exclusives that everyone else seems to think is just the OMG bestz tingz ever created in the gaming world... and I am like ok, I try to keep an open I try to see what everyone seems to love so much or why it gets hyped so much and I am just like... Meh...

I still have not actually finished the last of us and I could go on forever about why I have not been able to get into it, but no need now lol.

[garrettbobbyferguson]

@Biggcman

If you want a story told to you, go read a book or watch a movie. I truly hate people like you, that want video games to not be games anymore. It's gameplay FIRST always.

[badz149]

LOL @Nintendo

don't you guys have things to do other than trying to speak for the industry like you guys are still "relevant"?

come on, seriously, why do you guys even care how other people make their games and tell their stories? did other devs insult you mama and killed your dog or something that you guys feel the constant need to downplay/criticize their games?

I'm not gonna say you guys at Nintendo are stuck in the past or anything just because you stick to YOUR proven formula and you guys can stay doing what you're best at and let other people do what they want to do too but NO...you guys just feel it's your fvcking job to say other are doing it WRONG!

seriously, GTFO Nintendo!

[Big_Game_Hunters]

@biggCman a game having a story doesn't mean its mature, it doesn't mean anything as far the complexity or maturity of a game. let me ask you though,a video game series like Zelda that changes drastically in game play and artstyle every iteration has become stagnant to you, but a video game series that is literally the exact same gameplay/style every time but has a different story isn't stagnant?

Also just because you describe Zelda stories to be simple doesn't mean they are. That's like if i said uncharted is always just Drake looks for a treasure but the treasure is magic again... see i can do it too.

[Xof]

Games have really come into their own as a narrative medium in the past decade or so,and there's much more thought and consideration placed in narrative delivery than ever before. Because of this, there's a certain push back against traditional play/cutscene segregation.

And while it's great developers are now more aware that there are many other tools they can use to tell stories, none make cut scenes obsolete--and never will. A good storyteller will use any tool he or she has at his or her disposal--the bad ones will just do the same thing over and over.

[N4g_null]

Just because there is more thought doesn't mean they are better. Play for or 3 or ninja gaiden on the old nes. Those cuts scenes where so good you could watch them over and over. They made you go thur crazy skill challenges to get better at gaming just to find out more. I mean secret of mana has more story in its title screen than most games.

Ask your self where are the pure game play trailers that make you want to play and why does the development team have to take control away from the story to be played out? We have the power to play these story out now and possibly let you change the faith even sometimes.

What happened to chronotrigger like games. You watch the whole game change. Without the tech wiz bang.

Better yet what is your idea of a good story?

[Concertoine]

"A good storyteller will use any tool he or she has at his or her disposal--the bad ones will just do the same thing over and over."

But if there isn't a story to tell, but a game to play, that isn't much of a factor.

Just curious, would you call Kojima a bad story teller considering he's been doing the same thing for 20 years in terms of reliance on cutscenes rather than other tools? Personally i would... he's got great stories, just not the best way to tell them.

[mattdillahunty]

"Games have really come into their own as a narrative medium in the past decade or so"

actually, they haven't overall. they've been playing "hey Hollywood, look at me, i can tell stories too. watch me copy off you."

there are games here and there that break that mold (Half-Life, Journey, Metroid Prime, Dark Souls, Gone Home), but there are way too many games that just make you play for a while, then you get to watch a mini-movie, then play some more, then watch a mini-movie.

if the minority of games that did narration, exposition, and story delivery correctly were actually the majority, THEN games would have come into their own. but there are too many games right now that try to be movies in video game form. that's not where gaming's strength lies.

[3-4-5]

If 20 Dev's are making Cutscenes, then only 4-5 of them are doing it right.

The rest are not needed, done poorly, lack creativity, take away from pacing, are cheesy/corny/cringeworthy, or otherwise useless to the overall experience of the game.

I LOVE a good story, weather in book,video game, or movie, but the GAMES NEED TO BE GAMES first and foremost.

I like the way LoZ has always done story and cut scenes.

They seem to not be over the top, but most of it matters in some small way....not as much filler.

Also depends on the game.

If the story & characters are likeable, more cut scenes might not be a terrible thing.

[crashbash]

'Half Life 2 for example never wrestled your control away (except once or twice) during cutscenes.'

And that's the way I want games, not taking the control out of your hands. HL2 managed to tell an incredible story without having to resort to large cutscenes to tell it for you, you could see what was happening while you were still in the world.

Cutscenes are getting out of hand really. Gameplay, story, gameplay, story. If devs took a leaf out of Valves book it would be a lot better.

I think it's a shame that in 10 years since HL2 landed that developers still hang on to cutscenes to tell their tales. 10 years and HL2 still does it better than 99% of games.

That's why HL3 hasn't came out yet, Valve are still waiting for other devs to catch up. They tried to give other devs a chance to get with the times with Portal 2, show them what they COULD DO, but other devs are still scratching their heads and sticking in cutscenes that go on for ages.

[gedden7]

They are now a day because they take up too much development time.... Maybe if thethese games wouldn't have all these cut scenes the game can actually be better...??? But yeah, who wants that, right?? Smh...

[otherZinc]

LMAO!
It damn sure is!
For "Cut-Sceens" see friggin Sony!
Where you don't play the game you watch the game!

See:
Uncharted
The Last Of Us
The Order 1886
Just to name a few...

I've been saying this for years. I can't it when a developer takes the controller out of my hands.

[Locknuts]

Half Life and Metroid Prime are two of the most immersive experiences ever for this very reason.

[Orionsangel]

It depends on the story and length of the cut scene. For example I enjoyed the cut scenes in, The Last of Us. I even looked forward to them because I was so into the story. That's rare though. Most cut scenes in games bore me.

[MegaRay]

I am okay with that as long as the gameplay amazing.
Games like Kingdom Hearts and Tales of do fantastic job in gameplay and cutscenes department.

[jholden3249]

They can be used tastefully. But a lot of AAA games just abuse them to no end.

And, is the game providing entertainment via story you watch unfold like a movie, or through skill-based gameplay you navigate?

I still feel like a true game that you actually play- if it's good enough to stand on its own two legs without needing story as a crutch, can provide more entertainment than a thousand cutscenes and Hollywood style presentation.

I like both, but some act as if thoroughbred games are inferior to Hollywood hybrids, simply because the visual luster is not there.

[Rodney25]

I like my cutscenes as long as the game doesn't start with a long cutscene then I'm cool. Its the worst when you're ready to play and the dump an hour long scene that's important to the story in front of you like damn I just want to play for a bit. Games like GTA, TLOU, and Mass Effect i feel do it right. GTA has short ones and they talk during gameplay, TLOU Is just enjoyable enough to sit through and there's no other game that I can't wait for the next dialogue section like ME and Dragon Age just so I can choose what my character says . It's all preference though.

[ape007]

Nintendo games are phenomenal, no f***** doubt, but when i see deep integrated epic storytelling and cut scenes that blend magically with the gameplay like in TLOU and UC and gta or even cod AW, i can't help but feel sad for some of the storytelling in nintendo games, it feels so outdated man

and don't tell me storytelling/settings has nothing to do with gameplay, a great story make the gameplay mean something, giving it a strong magnitude, make it memorable

quite frankly, in game storytelling is more epic and meaningful to me than watching a static movie in theatres, u PLAY IT, u FEEL IT

[Xof]

Or you miss it entirely because you were focused on playing the game, or the audio track cut out early because you accidentally triggered something else, or you can't hear a character's dialog any more because you accidentally touched an analog stick and every single developer these days HAS to code directional audio.

Every delivery method has weaknesses, some more than others.

[N4g_null]

By the way great discussion guys!

Without nintendo I would not be playing any games this year or next. I would be buying movies and play chess or coaching some kids or something thing that is not as passive. I am so am

Nintendo needs to start a new arm for storytelling only. Game play first but stories that are integrated into the game play and stand along movies that continues the story telling.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

Lol worst thing about all of my Wii U Nintendo games is that there is only 5 seconds of story and then 100 goals to beat before there is anymore at the end almost like a mobile game. I mean I love Super Mario World and Super Mario Sunshine and they felt original but now it just feels like repetitive goals on Super Mario 3D World with very little originality. I can deal with zero cutscenes but give me more of a purpose then just killing countless enemys to save these fairy pixie things that for some reason were captured by Bowser and we are supposed to care. That basically sums up the purpose of Super Mario 3D World sorry for spoiling it for you.

[LOL_WUT]

Also the way they deliver their dialogue is pretty outdated its like in a movie with subtitles I want to be able to see what going on in scene instead focusing on some text.

I would like Nintendo to embrace what some western devs have done and incorporate it into some of their games ;)

For the record cutscenes don't make or break a game they are perfect for when you need to get your story across

[Vegamyster]

The lack of a narrative didn't stop that game from being great, the only knock i have against it was how easy it is.

[gamerfan0909]

super long unskippable Cutscenes and devs trying to make video games into " cinematic" movies is really killing gaming for me. It used to be that the gameplay and the challenges within the gameplay was the highlight of games. Now dev's are implementing 100 annoying QTE's and 10 minute long cutscenes to substitute for actual gameplay and challenging gameplay mechanics. It's crazy people can make 2 hour movies out of cutscenes, but some games have 7 or 8 hour campaigns.

[ifrit_caress]

Kingdom Hearts 2 overdoes it with the cutscenes, but it's still a good game. Cutscenes can help with the experience depending on how well it is used.

[-Foxtrot]

No offence but I feel like he's saying this because Nintendo can't actually do cut scene story telling like the Last of Us, Metal Gear Solid or even Bioshock for example. Maybe it's too hard for them or they just can't do it as good who knows.

I mean take one of those games and one of Nintendos....they feel a little outdated.

No one is saying they want lots of cutscenes with a shit load of dialogue in a Mario game but at least have a game where the story is a little more then "Oh yeah the princess got kidnapped again better go save her".

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

No it was save the random fairys in the last Mario game, Peach was not worthless in this one.

[PygmelionHunter]

Actually, Xenoblade is cutscene heavy and its story is easily better and more original than either one of the games you listed, except for Metal Gear of course, nothing tops that IMHO.

Forgot to add. I've played TLOU And both Bioshock 1 and Infinite and loved them. Just saying this because knowing N4G, I might as well get bombarded by the counter-troll Sony PD for saying anything even remotely criticizing about TLOU.

[ZainreFang]

Story is never what Mario was known for. From the beginning, Mario is more of a scenario based game than a story based one.

I disagree that cinematic cutscene games make gameplay based games look outdated, but looking at trends these days, cinematic cutscene games are the direction gaming is going. Oh well.

[randomass171]

Kid Icarus Uprising has a lot of story with tons of dialogue but very few cutscenes. :U

[Vegamyster]

That's one reason i loved that game, there was consistent banter between characters but it never interrupted the gameplay and it was well written to boot with more dialogue options unlocked at higher difficulty settings.

[Concertoine]

Yeah, Iwata's so bitter! /s

Lol, you say "can't do cutscene story telling" like it's a bad thing. They strive at making gameplay experiences, and they fund more story-focused games if they want them. I could just as well say Kojima CAN'T tell a story without relying on cutscenes. Fire Emblem, Xenoblade and Metroid are also all very story-driven games that don't need to rely on cutscenes more than gameplay, and are developed by Nintendo themselves.

The reason Nintendo games are so replayable is because they have a ratio between cutscenes and gaming leaning way more to gaming.

[Loadedklip]

No offense but I think you are overthinking this.

[Chard]

The fundamental point is that gameplay is always more important than story when it comes to video games. ALWAYS.

[Menkyo]

The problem isn't too many cut scenes in games. The problem is too many games that don't need them get them like Sonic adventure didn't need any cut scenes, fighting games don't need cut scenes, racing games don't need story or cuts scenes. Games like Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Tomb Raider, The last of Us, Uncharted etc all require and need cut scenes because they're story based games and its hard to tell a story with out them.

[Cyb3r]

Nindendo dont like change

[DarXyde]

XBOX>Xbox 360>Xbox One, controller is very similar, plenty of new IPs.

PS1>PS2>PS3>PS4, took 4 generations to really change the controller, plenty of new IPs.

NES>SNES>Virtual Boy>N64> GameCube> Wii> Wii U, changed controller quite dramatically every generation, a lot of pre-existing IPs, but are often reinvented with each entry.

Nintendo loves change, but it's totally subjective on what we're talking about.

[garrettbobbyferguson]

More like Nintendo want video games to be video games, and not worse versions of movies or books.

[TekKing]

Cutscenes are used to help tell stories. Nintendo games really have no stories aside from the generic "save princess/world from the bad guy".

[Blaze929]

Nintendo stuck in an era

[meganick]

Yup, they're stuck in an era where they focus on game design instead of narrative, which is better suited for books, films and TV anyway.

[kneon]

Games without a good narrative are very shallow experiences. With those types of games I typically don't really care about what I am doing as there is no point to it other than to collect some meaningless XP/currency/loot/etc. or try to achieve some equally meaningless goals. So I will often just get bored and not finish such games.

But give me a game with a decent story that is well told and some real characters and I'll play it to the end, repeatedly if it's really good.

[Spotie]

Some of my favorite stories of all time belong to video games, so...no.

[Revolt13]

As long as we have the option to skip them, its cool

[Baka-akaB]

And this is why i mostly care for the most "cinematic" games from the current nintendo franchises , such as Xenoblade , Metroid , Fire emblem AND a few mp centric titles like smash and kart , instead of their regular titles .

I disagree with the idea that cutscene and storytelling is detrimental to gaming ,. It's a matter of balance , genre , and personal preferences .

And even then there can be the odd title that is way too talkative and into cutscene hat you might love or the opposite , the overly dry and plain pure gameplay oriented title , that you may love as well .

[Spore_777]

Let's be honest guys, video games have evolved and cut-scenes are a good way to progress... Story! You know, that thing that is now a big deal to us older gamers. Sure, pure fun gameplay is nice but the older I get, the more "substance" I want from the media I consume and as such, games are more than just mechanics... They are the world's setting, plot, characters, etc. If cut-scenes are necessary for a point to be driven home then I do not see why they should not be included.

[InTheZoneAC]

I like cutscenes and I like the ability to be able to skip through the one's I don't want to see(destiny, I'm looking at you)

[InTheLab]

Nintendo takes the minimalist approach to just about everything they do so it's no surprise they would take this stance. No cutscenes, minimal voice acting, and bare bones narating.

Of course the game play is most important but it would be nice to he more than random noises in Zelda or Mario.

[randomass171]

I'm new to the Zelda franchise and the first one I really sat down and played was Skyward Sword. That one was really narrative heavy, even if all the story was conveyed through text. Shouldn't that count as a narrative game? It even has cutscenes.

[Amigaengine]

I suppose the majority of todays gamers are incapable of reading text :P

[Rodney25]

@Amigaenigne. I don't necessarily think you need to insult a group of people like that, I can read just fine. Its just the fact that I don't like text dumped at me. If you're gonna do a cutscene driven narrative like that, do it correctly. Having no voices is just lazy and it doesn't add to the atmosphere in any meaningful way.

[eyeofcore]

It makes me sad that people forgot about Half Life and Half Life 2...

You don't need cutscenes to progress storyline and did not having cutscene's, look at Fallout series that had barely any cutscene's.

[Roccetarius]

What i consider to be one of the best story-heavy games is Planescape: Torment. I consider it to be better than the majority of stories we see in games today. I understand that not many people have the patience for it, because it's a very text heavy game, and so will Tides of Numenera be. One part especially got a few manly tears from me in Torment, because it's a very, very sad part in the game.

I know it's a old game by now, but it still holds up to this day even with minimal cutscenes in the game. It's still a prime example that cutscenes should not be the bread and butter for your game.

[scottieleverne]

Nintendo thinks playing online with friends is a bad thing. They think having story driven games is a bad thing. It's a shame.

[gamer7804]

agreed 100%

[randomass171]

I would not interpret this as Nintendo being against anything as opposed to being cautious. Smash and Mario Kart have online and the latest Zelda and Kid Icarus games have lots of story with tons of dialogue too. :U

[gamer7804]

i love cutscenes, especially if it moves the story forward.

[That-Guy]

*only if it moves the story forward.

[gamer7804]

sometimes they can be used to create humor or character development, even if it doesn't move the story forward.

[Roccetarius]

I do disagree with some ways certain developers are telling the story, such as Kojima. Depending on cutscenes that much is certainly not what games should be about, because otherwise you might as well convert it to the Movie side of the industry.

Another one is David Cage, but people know that all too well now, that it's no surprise he should've stayed in the movie industry.

[Gameseeker_Frampt]

I take it that Iwata hasn't played Pikmin 3 since in that game Shigeru Miyamoto advanced the story mostly through cut-scenes. I guess cut-scenes are only bad when your competitors are using them. I wonder if it is possible for Nintendo to not insult everyone else as a way to make themselves look better?

[Metallox]

Iwata's saying that some games have too many cutscenes. Pikmin 3 isn't one of them, they only appear when bosses, characters and new areas appear.

[Gameseeker_Frampt]

The entire story is told through cut-scenes in Pikmin 3, which goes against Iwata's statement "Miyamoto has never used many cut-scenes, in his games." Your statement that the cut-scenes only appear when bosses, characters, and new areas appear just proves the point. Anything that is story related in Pikmin 3 - bosses, characters, new areas, missions - is conveyed only through cut-scenes instead of being part of the gameplay. For a RTS like Pikmin 3 that doesn't even allow you to pause the game in 3rd person view, the use of cut-scenes that break up the action make little sense.

Whether or not cut-scenes help or hurt games is up to personal opinion. Just don't act like everyone else but you is doing it.

[Neckbear]

Pikmin 3's cutscenes are kept to a bare minimum in comparison to all the gameplay the game has. Plus, they're easily skippable if you're replaying the game, and a big part of Pikmin 3 is its mission mode- actually, I'd say that's where most of my playtime went to while playing it.

Iwata isn't saying cutscenes are bad anyways, he's saying TOO MANY CUTSCENES (enough to interrupt the gameplay or become the main draw of the game) isn't exactly a good way to go on about making your game, and wonders what would happen if the resources spent on all that mocap, voice acting and cinematography were instead invested on improving the core playability.

And I think he's right, not to mention you can tell effective stories without many cutscenes. A huge part of Pikmin isn't even told through cutscenes, things like the planet and its state, all the monsters you see and how they came to be, and even the ending are left to personal interpretation. Not to mention every playthrough of Pikmin is unique for each player- which fruit they got, how many Pikmin died, whether they went on full photographer mode or not, which ending they obtained, etc. That's one of the beauties of Pikmin 3, and why it's so comfortable to play.

[TheVigilanteCode]

Shots fired at Kojima Productions, but they have realized their mistakes in the past (read: MGS4) and have improved to produce the BEST Metal Gear game design since subsistence and a great narrative to support it. If GZ was a clue I can well imagine how balanced the narrative will be in TPP to that of the gameplay.

But overall, yes, Iwata is right. Storytelling is a powerful tool that publishers abuse to sell their "AAA" SP-only games in millions. It isn't gonna change in the future.

[kryteris]

their games dont exactly tell stories all that well, they offer good basic gameplay mechanics and ignore the rest.

[superchiller]

This article really would make more sense if the title were: "Nintendo President Agrees There Are Too Many Gimmicks In Nintendo Products Nowadays", because that's the real problem with the Nintendo of today. Why Iwata is still in charge after the failed Wii U is beyond belief.

[cam2030]

The best cut scenes are in Ninja Gaiden (NES) :)

[GokuSolosAll]

No, there are not too many cutscenes. There's poor implementations, unskippable cutscenes, and many other problems with them, but cutscenes in vast quantities isn't inherently a bad thing. Nintendo just wants to dumb games down as always.

Paper Mario Sticker Star and Zelda Link Between Worlds are the easiest in their respective series, and stray from traditional formulas set by the series, as well as reduce story elements to simpler themes. Evidence Nintendo is regressing in certain fundamental ways.

TL;DR: Don't sccrew with cutscenes for action-minded/casual gamers.

[Skankinruby]

I would expect the president of a console who still is fully reliant on a basic repetitive franchise like Mario to make a statement like this. But this idea is just flat out ignorant nonsense. Without cut scenes there's no story, and without a story there's absolutely no reason to care about playing or finishing the game. Any given games substance is only as good as its single player mode and if developers start shifting away from that mentality it will be extremely disappointing and the ps4 will definitely be the last console I purchase.

[DougLord]

Not a huge fan of traditional cut scenes. Put it in engine. Don't take away my control. Make it natural and part of the game.

Can't stand games like The Order. Cut Scene, QTE, Cut Scene, QTE... rinse and repeat. Basically a bad movie.

[dmonee]

The issue with cut scenes is the same problem with movies. If you think a narrative in a game sucks, then you will be skipping cutscenes left and right. However, if your into a story, then they could be perceived as great. When reviewing a game, I'm always careful to separate narrative and gameplay. Some of the most fun games have crappy story lines and are loaded with cutscenes. Metal Gear IV to me, is an example of "too much cut scene".

[Fusion_Ninja]

Obviously, Iwata hasn't played a BioWare game recently...

[Amuro]

I like cut-scenes. A lot. I mean, a few of my most fav series have lots of cut-scenes or things to read: Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Yakuza... And part of why I love them it's because of it.

In fact, I just discovered this gaming console that is full of wonder called "PC Engine" and for the past few days I've been enjoying a ton of old games that I never played from the late 80's and early 90's. And the reason I've been able to enjoy these old games so much despite my lack of nostalgia it's because even though the games are so old the cut-scenes (of the CD version) and graphics make the presentation be so strong I can stomach every other archaic design in gameplay or whatever very easily.

So whatever negative opinion Nintendo wants to push on modern game design I really cannot agree with. To me graphics matter and story matter on equal ground as the gameplay.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

I don't really mind as long as it keeps me interested. A lot of people hated the amount of cutscenes in MGS4 but I loved every minute of it.

[Darkwatchman]

I hate when people have this sort of attitude of "screw cutscene and story. I just want gameplay. There's too many cutscenes in games nowadays. Why not just be a movie?".

That sort of attitude doesn't seem to be very conducive to gaming at all. The beauty of video games is that there is literally something out there for EVERYONE. The variety of experiences you can get from a video game trumps the variety you get from movies, tv, and books.

And because of this, there shall never be an occasion when anyone can conclusively state that this is what a video game should be and anything that doesn't follow this rigid structure needs to go away. I love ALL kinds of games. I am open to anything. I adore the original sonic games on the Sega Genesis because they are platforming nirvana. They are some of the finest examples of 2D platforming ever conceived and I shall always love them. I also have been recently playing diablo 3 and have been enjoying it because it functions as a game first and a storytelling device second. I love Bioshock because it tells a story without really resorting to cutscenes. It's an engaging game that rarely pulls you out of the experience for exposition.

Then, there are games like the Metal Gear Solid franchise. They're abundant in cutscenes, but people love them. I love them. They are good stealth games that also happen to have a flair for cinematic storytelling and there's nothing wrong with that because it's fun to watch. There's something like The Last of Us which uses cutscenes as a last resort and isn't technically the most "fun" game all the time. It can be slow at first and somewhat emotionally draining, but all the mechanics work together in concert to tell a story with grounded characters and writing.

Then, there's games like Heavy Rain. "Interactive movies" or "quick time event fests" as they're called. The gameplay is virtually nonexistent, but that didn't stop me from sitting back and enjoying the story for what it was in spite of the inconsistent voice acting. It isn't the kind of game I boot up to have fun. That's what a multiplayer game or mindless action game or shooter or whatever is for. I play it to get in that state of mind where I just want to experience a story that I have some degree of control over. It doesn't necessarily have to be fun to play. It just has to have a story that can keep me gripped enough to continue inspite of the mundane things that I'm doing with the controller.

Bottom line: different games exist for different people and I'm glad we have diversity. Diversity is what makes the industry so fascinating. Stop with your narrow minded agendas and realize some of us love what you hate and hate what you love and still others love everything. There is no game genre or type of experience that I can not appreciate and there are plenty of other people out there like that. Just please don't ruin the industry what makes this industry so special. The variety. Keep it in tact. We all have different moods and won't always be in the mood to play this kind of game because they just want to unwind after a long day or the following day the same person might be in the mood for something mentally stimulating(an engaging story or complex game mechanics). I love all games and I feel other people need to be open to them as we'll. there's a while world of opportunities out there.

EDIT: I should clarify that the problem of "too many cutscenes" only applies to games that try to tell a story, but completely fail. If a story isn't good and you're taking control away from the player to experience a poor story with hanky writing and awful voice acting, then in that case of course cutscenes are a bad thing.

[kendrick12]

I completely disagree, games like God of War had great cutscents giving it it's atmosphere and scale will having great gameplay. This is one of the reason I don't like Nintendo games, just not my style.

[nintendontt]

uh oh nintendo said something watch stupid fanbase defend his quotes to death. how about let the devs do what they want with their game it's their creation. worry about your own games not others. they always have to say something stupid about something cause they dont do it themselves.

[PrinceOfAllSaiyans]

I really can't stand this guy. Him, Miyamoto, and Reggie are arrogant assholes. Just because they're stuck in their ways and realese the same shit for damn near 30 years doesn't mean everyone else has to. I love story driven games like Naughty Dog's, Kojima's, and Rockstar games. All 3 of those devs make way better games than those rehashes Nintendo releases year after year. Screw these clowns. And of course Nintendo fans will suck this guys junk and agree with everything he says. They think Nintendo can do no wrong. Nintendo can shit in a bucket and hand it to them and they will say its the greatest thing ever. The idiots running Nintendo always have some shit to say because no one gives a damn about their consoles anymore except for 3DS. Their always trying to say some controversial bullshit. I'll take my heavy cut scenes games any day over the same shit they put out over and over again. Its funny how most Nintendo exclusives can be played on a N64. Shit MGS has like 20 minute custscense and its still better than anything they can put out. I'll take my Naughty Dog games with heavy cut scenes any day.

[lefty]

I take it you've never played Zelda or Metroid prime, u don't need lengthy cutscenes to have a great story.....lets dig deeper eternal darkness, Geist, great stories....

[jcnba28]

Oh no! You hate Nintendo! Stop the lights!

Go troll elsewhere kid.

[bmf7364]

Coming from the company that published Kojima's remake of MGS1 on the Gamecube

[obmas]

It's called a "story" or narrative. Something that most nintendo games don't even have.

[sonic989]

I agree with mr. Iwata and I am a sony fan.
Sometimes you just want pure fun something that makes you smile.
Plenty of sony games fits my liking and hopefully more in the future.
3rd parties just stopped interesting with games for a long time now but still interested in some games like persona for example.
Next year ratchet, tearaway, rime and the tomorrow children will sit on my near shelve ( if the tomorrow children gets a disc release also the same for Rime ).

[lefty]

Its the dam truth, gimme a game not an interactive movie....

[zero_gamer]

If the cut scenes are enjoyable to watch, I don't really see an issue in this. There are plenty of things that bother me about certain games, but cut scenes are usually never the issue.

Unless you can't skip them before playing a boss battle (especially a boss that can be difficult). I forgot, what game had that issue?

[Geekman]

Well that explains the entirety of Uprising. I'm fine with cutscenes for the most part, but not if they break the flow.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

I think he is saying-
Not to abolish the norm but to challenge the status-quo... Otherwise how will you ever know if there is a different or better way of doing something?

Understand, Nintendo can do great cut-scenes (Youtube GC and Wii to 3DS Fire Emblems for proof)
That said,
I have played many games where I wanted to smash the TV because of loooong unskippable cut-scenes. (the Bast game give options to skip but replay later).

Cut-scenes are necessary and sometimes very powerful- but if overused hurt the experience(IMO).

It is far better for dev. to allow some sort of interaction in the cut-scenes or use them sparingly.

I think this is what he is saying-
Not to abolish the norm but to challenge the status-quo... Otherwise how will you ever know if there is a different or better way of doing something?

---Some of the best art and media find different ways to tell stories than there peers BUT never FULLY forget the foundations that their peers have laid out.

[coreyweb]

or they could just have really good gameplay and really good cutscenes. That'd be nice. I like cut scenes because they can actually show more emotion and character depth most the time than game content.

Most devs rely too much on the cut scenes to tell the story though. That's definitely true in modern games.

It's a weird thing to balance though. There's not really any good way to do it it seems. I know that I like a good quality cut scene. And I know that I like a good quality story within the game. Like the Final Fantasy 7 days.

But ya....

[wannabe gamer]

this is the dumbest thing ever. the only people i ever hear of saying things like this are meatheads that dont even like to read the menu to order food. takes too much effort

[Ashby_JC]

I feel there are games that yes rely to much on cut scenes then there are some that need more cut scenes.

I am currently playing Halo CE MCC campaign and the cut scenes at the end of each chapter are great!!!

I havent played Halo in a very long time and I am REALLY enjoying the story. The flood is creepy as hell. Im at the part where Master Chief almost activates the Halo Ring and cortana tells him the truth about halo that 343 was hiding.

[jcnba28]

I agree, too many cut-scenes pull me away from the game. If I wanted long cut-scenes I'd watch a movie.

That's what I love about Nintendo, they always put gameplay first.