If the last six months or so of gaming have taught us anything, it’s that the “rivalry” between the three main gaming publishers is still going strong. That might be sad to say or hear, but it’s the truth. Sony sued Microsoft for anti-trust reasons basically, and during those proceedings, neither of them wanted to admit that Nintendo was a “true rival” for them due to the Switch’s price point, of all things. These three have been going at it for a long time, yet Phil Spencer found time to go and play Super Mario Bros Wonder at the recent Nintendo Live event.
The show was a way for Nintendo to present “live options” of fun for gamers to come and enjoy, including live concerts, game demos, stores to buy merch from, and more! It was a successful event, and Xbox’s own Phil Spencer was there and noted how he was “having a blast” doing 4-person co-op with Super Mario Bros Wonder. Check out his tweet below:
So what do we make of this? Well, outside of the court case, Xbox and Nintendo have had a relationship that could be considered friendly 95% of the time. For example, during that court case, Sony kept saying that a key franchise would become exclusive to Xbox and PC platforms under the eye of Microsoft. So, to counter that, they made a deal with Nintendo to ensure all future titles would be on their platforms for the next ten years. They’ve also done commercials together highlighting the cross-play between systems, something that Sony was very late to get into.
Either way, it’s clear that Spencer himself has no ill will against Nintendo and appreciates the games that they make. Mario’s upcoming title is one that Spencer clearly had fun with, and more are likely to follow in that department.
The game recently had a Nintendo Direct, and loads of new intel revealed just how different the title would be. There will be badges that can help deliver new powers to the characters you play as. There will be scores of characters you can control, including ones that can’t get damaged should you want to take things easy. Another thing will be “open areas,” where you can choose what levels you want to do at any time.
Plus, as Phil Spencer showed, you can do a 4-person co-op or go online to play with players in “unique ways.” The game arrives on October 20th.
