Nintendo Land devs explain lack of online multiplayer

Nintendo has explained why it decided not to include online multiplayer in Wii U launch title Nintendo Land.

Developers wanted to encourage players to interact in the real world, with the virtual theme park's attractions specifically designed for players sitting next to each other.

"Nintendo Land's multiplayer attractions work because of the communication shared between the people playing them," Nintendo Land producer Katsuya Eguchi told Famitsu (via Polygon). "They were set up from the start to be something people in the same room could enjoy."

Nintendo Land's co-director Takayuki Shimamura added: "With the GamePad, I think you're seeing a new dimension of multiplayer, something that hasn't been seen before."

The closest Nintendo Land gets to true online interaction is the appearance of other players' Miis in the game's hub - although these just appear as NPCs.

One franchise notably missing from Nintendo Land hub is Star Fox - although an earlier version of the game did include the anthropomorphic vulpine.

"Generally it was easy to match the gameplay from the prototypes with one series or another," director Yoshikazu Yamashita explained. "For example, a game with air and ground battles works well with Metroid.

"There was a time when Metroid Blast was going to be a Star Fox title, but the prototype featured this vehicle that hovered around like a helicopter and we figured that'd never be a good match for an Arwing."

Donkey Kong's Crash Course, a nerve-shredding 2D gyro-controlled platformer, was similarly prototyped as an Excitebike and a 1080 Snowboarding tie-in.