It will seem sad to say, but we absolutely live in a time when many developers and publishers won’t give “proper praise” and credit to other systems and games unless they absolutely have to. Sure, you’re hearing Microsoft praise Nintendo and say that they’ll support the Switch 2, but it’s only because they NEED to go multiplatform to stay alive due to the company’s failing game sales versus what Nintendo has done with its robust lineup. Then, there’s Sony, who has a history of “ignoring” the other companies unless they have to, which brings us to Astro Bot, whose team refuses to ignore what inspired them.
You might recall that at The Game Awards, Astro Bot won “Game of the Year,” which many were happy about because the 3D platformer was a truly awesome thing to play, and also paid tribute to not only Sony’s various games and franchises over the years, but to 3D platformers since their creation. In that speech, one of the heads of Team Asobi made a “reference” to Nintendo and praised them for inspiring them all when making the game. Yes, they didn’t say Nintendo outright, but we did get what he was trying to say without saying it.
Well, at The DICE Awards, Team Asobi won another award, and director Nicolas Doucet decided to give credit where it was due once again:
Yes, it might seem like a “simple act,” but it’s meaningful. After all, Mario and Nintendo not only helped save the video game industry in many respects, but Mario continues to inspire via the “leaps” that his franchises take in the platforming genre, both in the 2D and 3D space. In fact, when Astro Bot started to get great reviews, just about everyone said it was the “best 3D platformer outside of Mario.” That’s the bar that Nintendo’s beloved plumber set and Astro did a good job getting really close to that bar.
If we’re being a bit blunt, based on the reception, you could argue that Astro’s title was “on par” with Mario’s in every avenue except for one: sales. As we covered yesterday, Mario’s latest venture in the 2D space was the fastest-selling game in Mario’s platforming history, selling over two million quickly and is well over 15 million now. In contrast, Astro’s title didn’t even eclipse 2 million in a couple of months.
Even still, it’s great to see Team Asobi doing these shoutouts, and we hope that other companies and publishers will take notice and do the same thing.
