Out of nowhere, Nintendo dropped the announcement trailer for Game Builder Garage, the company’s latest user-generated content endeavor. It’s not a completely new project, as Game Builder Garage builds upon the foundation of Nintendo Labo‘s Garage mode. As such, the title is an economic use of resources in the pursuit of another Nintendo Switch success. However, that success is far from assured. While the potential is there, Game Builder Garage could end up being nothing more than wasted potential.
It may seem too early for cynicism, but the project has a number of hurdles ahead of it. Unless Nintendo is able to nail the marketing, content infrastructure, and post-launch support, it’ll be another example of innovative excess. After all, while Game Builder Garage is a niche product, it’s a resource-intensive one. Famicom Detective Club which releases weeks before it is equally niche, but ultimately that pair of visual novels will ship content complete and be done. Game Builder Garage necessitates meticulous, long-tail support.
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Without a community behind it, Game Builder Garage will fade into obscurity. Nintendo is positioning the software as “edutainment,” meant to teach players the basics of game programming. This is a smart concept from a practical perspective, and it cleverly shifts the goalposts. Nintendo is preemptively downplaying the community element of the title – but Game Builder Garage is not an insular experience. In the absence of engaged creators generating content for others to play, the title will become vapid.
After all, only a fraction of Game Builder Garage players will actually want to learn the nuances of its systems. Most of the audience wants to experience content, not make it themselves. This is true of every title that hinges on user-generated content. Both halves of that whole need to be balanced. The success of Super Mario Maker was not only its intuitive level builder. The success of Super Mario Maker was its ability to support itself as a playable 2D Mario game. No one had to create to have fun.
This may all seem elementary, but it’s important. Because, if Super Mario Maker is the gold standard for user-generated content experiences, Super Mario Maker 2 is the archetype for failed potential. While that is still an excellent game full of excellent ideas, Nintendo bungled its execution in key respects. Multiplayer was a mess. The Course World Hub lacked utility. Post-launch updates were few and they were poorly timed. These are all issues that, contextualized within Nintendo Switch Online’s emphasis and continued shortcomings, sting all the more.
Game Builder Garage needs to sidestep these issues to succeed. Nintendo needs to take the lessons learned from past endeavors to heart. Without growth, this upcoming title will be encumbered by avoidable problems that’ll tank its longevity. Even if Nintendo sticks the landing, it has to navigate the undertow that tanked Media Molecule’s promising but ineffectual title, Dreams. Game Builder Garage is a huge risk. And, it’s budget-priced, saddled with a release date two weeks prior to Mario Golf: Super Rush. That doesn’t instill confidence.
However, the general polish displayed in the trailer does. Game Builder Garage is largely questionable because of the circumstances around it. The content itself looks charming and seems to be a user-friendly crash-course in programming. The community is already rallying around the project and theorizing about potential creations. The opportunity for replayability and long-term engagement is here. If Nintendo can stick the landing, Game Builder Garage could be huge. However, several recent projects from Nintendo should’ve been huge, but weren’t.
Still, the community is dealing with a shrewd, profitable Nintendo. The recent financial briefing that followed Game Builder Garage‘s announcement was positively glowing. Even Wario would blush at Nintendo’s profit. If even a fractional amount of those resources were funneled into Game Builder Garage, it could be the next Super Mario Maker. Or, it could be the next WarioWare D.I.Y. Whether the title ends up being a flash in the pan or a focal point of the Switch’s library, Game Builder Garage is s worthy gambit.
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