Super Mario 3D World lacks online multiplayer as it “wasn’t the focus this time around,” says Miyamoto

By Stephany Nunneley

Super Mario 3D World won’t have online multiplayer, just local co-op, because multiplayer wasn’t the team’s focus with this particular title.

Speaking during a group interview in NYC this week attended by Kotaku, Shigeru Miyamoto said multiplayer is possible, but the team went the Pikmin route and decided group play should only happen in the livingroom.

“While online play is certainly technically possible for us, it simply wasn’t the focus for us this time around,” said Miyamoto. “What we really wanted to do was to create something that people could experience fully while playing comfortably with others who were nearby them, and this is something we decided would be best for Pikmin and the best case for Mario here as well.

“Now, that is to say the answer to this question might change in ten years time, if there’s a future game where for example we don’t think it’s important to be able to see the face of the person you’re playing with, then we might be able to focus more on some online function there.

“But for right now our focus is really on a comfortable play experience with people in the same room.”

Super Mario 3D World arrives in North America on November 22 in Europe on November 29.