''Super Mario 128'' was a
codename
A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a Code word (figure of speech), code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may ...
for two different development projects at
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
. The name was first used in 1997 for a sequel to ''
Super Mario 64
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Su ...
'' for the
64DD
The is a magnetic floppy disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console developed by Nintendo. It was announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, and after numerous delays was released in Japan on December 13, 1999. The "6 ...
, which was canceled. The name was reused for a
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
tech demo
A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of s ...
at the
Nintendo Space World
formerly named and was an annual video game trade show hosted by Nintendo from 1989 to 2001. Its three days of high-energy party atmosphere was the primary venue for Nintendo and its licensees to announce and demonstrate new consoles and game ...
trade show in 2000. Nintendo gradually incorporated the demonstrated graphics and physics concepts into the rapid object generation of ''
Pikmin
is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin in order to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding ...
'' (2001), the physics of ''
Metroid Prime
''Metroid Prime'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main installment in the '' Metroid'' franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D c ...
'' (2002), and the sphere walking technology of ''
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'' (2006) and ''
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 2007 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third 3D game in the '' Super Mario'' series. As Mario, the player embarks on a quest to rescue Princess Peach, save the universe from Bowser, and collect 120 ...
'' (2007). The ''Super Mario 128'' demo intrigued widespread analysis, rumors, and anticipation in the media throughout the 2000s.
History
''Super Mario 64-2''
The name ''Super Mario 128'' was first used as early as January 1997 by
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
, as a possible name for a ''Super Mario 64'' sequel.
The name ''Super Mario 64-2'' was also used interchangeably with ''Super Mario 128''. This rumored expansion and sequel to ''Super Mario 64'' was said to be developed for the
64DD
The is a magnetic floppy disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console developed by Nintendo. It was announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, and after numerous delays was released in Japan on December 13, 1999. The "6 ...
, but was canceled due to the 64DD's commercial failure. Miyamoto mentioned at
E3's August 1997 convention that he was "just getting started" on the project.
At Nintendo's
Space World 1997 trade show in November 1997, Miyamoto added "We haven't decided
hether it's two-playeryet. We are currently working with a system where Mario and Luigi can co-exist, and they are both controllable by the player. But we will decide more game elements when we finish everything about ''Zelda''."
In November 1999, Miyamoto said, "Well, for over a year now at my desk, a prototype program of
Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
and
Luigi
is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...
has been running on my monitor. We've been thinking about the game, and it may be something that could work on a completely new game system."
The game had only a demo of one level made for it. Miyamoto claimed that multiplayer functionality was the first aspect of the game that he wanted to include.
Miyamoto had considered the two next frontiers of the ''Super Mario'' series to be a gameplay mechanic of walking on a rotating sphere, and coincidentally a setting in spacebut it took a long time to find a way to resonate these ideas with the production team. He loved the novel idea of sphere walking, because it was totally unexplored in the game industry, and because focusing on a full sphere can eliminate camera movements and thus motion sickness. He learned greatly from the world's adaptation to the 3D gameplay of ''Super Mario 64'' and he briefly experimented with rolling fields during the development of ''
Paper Mario
''Paper Mario'' is a video game series and part of the Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise, developed by Intelligent Systems and produced by Nintendo. It combines elements from the role-playing video game, role-playing, action-adventure, a ...
'' (2000) for Nintendo 64. During the development of ''
Doshin the Giant
''Doshin the Giant'' is a god simulation game developed by Param and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube. It was originally released in Japan on December 1, 1999, as a launch game disk for the 64DD peripheral for Nintendo 64. ...
'' for Nintendo 64, he eagerly proposed that it could become the first sphere walking game but the staff rejected such an exceedingly massive development for the game which was released in December 1999.
GameCube demo
The name ''Super Mario 128'' gained permanent fame when reused for a new
technology demonstration
A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of ...
at the
Space World
was a theme park in Yahatahigashi-ku, Japan. It had 6 roller coasters: Black Hole Scramble, Venus GP, Zaturn, Boogie-woogie Space Coaster, Titan Max, and Clipper.
In 2016, the park officially announced that it would close at the end of the fo ...
event on August 24-26, 2000. This software was controlled by staff to show new gameplay mechanics and the processing power of the upcoming
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
game console.
Development of the demo was directed by
Yoshiaki Koizumi
is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer, and business executive. He is a senior executive officer at Nintendo, where he is known for his work within their ''Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series.
Since 2013, Koizumi is a ...
, who would later become the director of ''Super Mario Galaxy''.
In the demo, a large
2D Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
spawned increasing numbers of smaller Mario figures, independently walking across a circular board, until the number of onscreen characters reached 128. The terrain in the demo was manipulated, rotated, and spun like a floppy saucer to show the physics engine software. GamePro declared ''Super Mario 128'' to be one of the 15 most anticipated games of 2001. Regarding Nintendo's secrecy and lack of elaborate demonstration of the camera system, GamePro assumed that "The precautions are warranted as developer after developer aped the exact camera mechanism from ''Mario 64'' for their titles."
Koizumi said he spent much thought after the event about the "close to impossible" undertaking of productizing ''Super Mario 128'' as demonstrated. Combining that demo's rounded surface with Mario's need to freely roam, Koizumi's next imagined groundbreaking objective was to demonstrate Mario walking upon a gravitational sphere. To even be able to attempt that, would require tremendous technological expertise, motivation, and achievement from a dedicated team and would not be undertaken until 2003.
There had always been distinctly separate development of ''Super Mario 128'' and ''Super Mario Sunshine'', which Miyamoto considered to be similar to ''Super Mario 64'' anyway.
He said, "obviously we were doing work on the ''Mario 128'' demo that we were showing at Space World, and separately we were doing work on experiments that we made into ''Mario Sunshine''."
At Space World 2001, ''
Super Mario Sunshine
is a 2002 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second 3D game in the ''Super Mario'' series, following ''Super Mario 64'' (1996). The game was directed by Yoshiaki Koizumi and Kenta Usui, produced by ...
'' was unveiled as the next in the ''Mario'' series, released in 2002.
Nintendo commemorated the height of ''Super Mario 128'' hype in the 2001 GameCube game ''
Super Smash Bros. Melee
''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is a 2001 Fictional crossover, crossover fighting game, fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. I ...
'' with a battle stage titled "Super Mario 128", where the player is assailed by a total of 128 tiny Mario figurines.
Resurfacing
In 2002, Miyamoto predicted that ''Super Mario 128'' would let players "feel the newness that was missing" from ''Super Mario Sunshine'' because he thought of that game as more of a revisitation of ''Super Mario 64''.
Rumors said that the reason for Nintendo not having shown ''Super Mario 128'' at E3 2003 was because the game was extraordinarily innovative and Nintendo did not want other developers stealing the ideas from the gameas some had assumed about the Space World 2000 show.
However, Miyamoto later confirmed that ''Super Mario 128'' was still in development and that the development team had planned to take the ''Mario'' series in a new direction.
In 2003, Nintendo's
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
stated that ''Super Mario 128'' may not appear on GameCube at all.
Yoshiaki Koizumi
is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer, and business executive. He is a senior executive officer at Nintendo, where he is known for his work within their ''Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series.
Since 2013, Koizumi is a ...
, who had directed the original ''Super Mario 128'' demonstration, joined Nintendo's new
EAD Tokyo office. There,
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
pushed him to hold a much bigger vision for the next ''Mario'' series game and Koizumi said this: "By working on
'Donkey Kong Jungle Beat''">Donkey_Kong_Jungle_Beat.html" ;"title="'Donkey Kong Jungle Beat">'Donkey Kong Jungle Beat''together, I got to know the staff well enough by then, and I thought, if it was with this team, we may just be able to tackle the new and difficult challenge of making spherical platforms work." There at EAD in 2003, Koizumi's team began working on prototypical spherical platforms in an intensive three-month process of iterative demonstrations for Miyamoto. Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata requested Miyamoto's singular signature effort to turn this product, which would become ''Super Mario Galaxy'', into a showcase for the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
.
It was thought that Nintendo would unveil the game at E3 2004. Miyamoto again confirmed the existence of ''Super Mario 128'' in an interview during February 2004, but the game failed to surface. Some believed this was due to the announcements of ''
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'' and the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
, both revealed at the 2004 show.
GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
asked Miyamoto about the game after E3:
IGN later in the year got a similar response. Miyamoto again asserted ''Super Mario 128''s experimental nature.
At the
GDC 2005, Nintendo of America's VP of Marketing,
Reggie Fils-Aimé
Reginald Fils-Aimé ( ; born March 25, 1961) is an American businessman best known for being the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, the North American division of the Japanese video game company Nintendo, from 2006 ...
, stated that ''Super Mario 128'' would be shown at E3 2005, probably in the form of a non-interactive video.
However, for the third year in a row, the game once again failed to surface during E3. During a
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
video interview at E3, Reggie Fils-Aimé stated, "I can only show what Mr. Miyamoto gives me to show." When a reporter asked if it exists, he responded, "I've seen bits and pieces." In an interview with Miyamoto from 2005, a Wired News reporter confirmed that ''Super Mario 128'' would not be produced for the GameCube, but rather that it had been definitively moved to the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
(then code-named Revolution).
In September 2005,
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
gave his least ambiguous comments regarding ''Super Mario 128''. Questioned as to the status of the game by a Japanese radio station, he revealed that Mario would have a new character by his side and reiterated that the game would appear on the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
with a different name. He mentioned that ''Super Mario 128'' had played a large role in the conception of the Wii console (then known as Revolution), as ''
Super Mario 64
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Su ...
'' had done for the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
. He went as far to say that the Wii was based around "this new type of game".
In 2006, Miyamoto said that he had forgotten whether ''Super Mario 64-2'' had been prototyped for the 64DD, and said that "it's become other games". When asked whether he meant that the demo's gameplay functions are being used in other games, Miyamoto responded, "From the time that we were originally making ''Mario 64'', Mario and Luigi were moving together. But we couldn't get it working in the form of a game", echoing his statements from 1999. He also hinted that some elements inspired by ''Super Mario 128'', such as running upon a spherical surface, had been incorporated into ''Super Mario Galaxy''.
On March 8, 2007, Miyamoto delivered the GDC 2007 keynote speech. He mentioned that ''Super Mario 128'' was merely a demonstration of the
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
's power and restated that several techniques from ''Super Mario 128'' had become foundational gameplay concepts of the ''
Pikmin
is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin in order to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding ...
'' series and the upcoming ''
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 2007 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third 3D game in the '' Super Mario'' series. As Mario, the player embarks on a quest to rescue Princess Peach, save the universe from Bowser, and collect 120 ...
'' series. He said "The one question I'm always asked is, 'What happened to ''Mario 128''?' ... Most of you already played it ... in a game called ''Pikmin''".
Legacy
Initially presented as a public demonstration of the new
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
's computational power and of Nintendo's programming prowess,
the secrecy and hype of ''Super Mario 128'' provoked some of the greatest anticipation in video gaming of 2001
and into the 2000s.
The height of its intrigue is commemorated in the 2001 GameCube game ''
Super Smash Bros. Melee
''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is a 2001 Fictional crossover, crossover fighting game, fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. I ...
'' a battle stage titled "Super Mario 128" (Event 22), where the player is assailed by a total of 128 tiny Mario figurines.
The software technology and concepts within the ''Super Mario 128'' demonstration became or inspired core components of other Nintendo games: the explosive herding and wandering behaviors of multitudinous tiny automatons in the ''
Pikmin
is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin in order to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding ...
'' series since 2001;
the physics of ''
Metroid Prime
''Metroid Prime'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main installment in the '' Metroid'' franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D c ...
'' in 2002; the sphere-walking gravity of the ''
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 2007 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third 3D game in the '' Super Mario'' series. As Mario, the player embarks on a quest to rescue Princess Peach, save the universe from Bowser, and collect 120 ...
'' series since 2007
and the gravity-defying feature of the Iron Boots in ''
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'' in 2006. The director of the ''Super Mario 128'' demo,
Yoshiaki Koizumi
is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer, and business executive. He is a senior executive officer at Nintendo, where he is known for his work within their ''Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series.
Since 2013, Koizumi is a ...
, became the director of ''Super Mario Galaxy''.
References
{{Mario series
Cancelled 64DD games
Cancelled GameCube games
Cancelled Mario video games
Cancelled Wii games
Technology demonstrations