Despite the critical and commercial success Donkey Kong Country Returns has experienced, there are no plans for a sequel at the moment. That’s according to Retro Studio’s president and CEO Michael Kelbaugh, who also said that creating a platformer was quite difficult – moreso than he expected.
In more Donkey Kong-related news, Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe provided some information behind the game’s development. Tanabe said that told Retro Studios were denied a request to work on the franchise over five years ago, but were later given the opportunity to make a Donkey Kong game when the Big N felt the time was right.
Tanabe also commented on the possibility of a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns:
“I wasn’t even thinking about doing a sequel for Metroid Prime until Retro showed me the last scene in the game, which was near the end of development. I wouldn’t say we won’t do a sequel [for Donkey Kong Country Returns], but we don’t have anything planned at this time.”
The latest edition of Iwata Asks is now available, which focuses on Steel Diver. So, you’re probably wondering why we’re posting Zelda news! Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto briefly touched on the series in their discussion…
Miyamoto: When I was making The Legend of Zelda, it was very plain. (laughs)
Iwata: (laughs)
Miyamoto: I didn’t think that genre would be seen as something so mainstream. I really didn’t expect the response I got when I first made The Legend of Zelda. A world of swords and magic really wasn’t considered mainstream at the time.
Iwata: Was it? Miyamoto: The Neverending Story almost got really popular around that time. It was a world started off with such a message as: “Here kid, Take this sword.” (laughs) In a word, it was plain.
Iwata: In that sense, The Legend of Zelda and Steel Diver are the same to you.
Miyamoto: I think so. But when I said they’re both plain, I only meant it in the sense that they’re not attention-grabbers. I believe they’re the same in the way that they’re both something fun. It’s just a matter of presentation to get more people interested in it. I think the original themes are relatively plain for most of the games.
Iwata: That’s very interesting. People around the world probably think you’re surrounded by famous characters, which you use however you wish. It’s as if, when you create a game, you’ll get some kind of famous character and just plaster it all over to get attention.
Miyamoto: (laughs)
An interesting piece of information was revealed at a Nintendo GDC panel earlier today. According to Kensuke Tanabe, Monster Games is the developer behind PilotWings Resort. This news comes as a surprise, as most people believed that NST was working on the project. Monster Games has previously created Excite Truck, Excitebots, and Excitebike: World Rally for Wii.
