Do you think it's possible for Project M to become its own game that's licensed by Nintendo? This is my idea for how this could/should happen:
----What if the Project M dev team called up NIntendo and said to them: "Let's make a deal. You give us the rights to make and distribute this game (with some supervision from Nintendo staff) and we'll give you 80% of the profits." Nintendo wouldn't have to do much, except collect the profits. It would be for the Wii and distributed to mainstream stores. The official game would be an updated version of Project M's 3.5 (or whatever the latest version is when they make it). This update would make it so people have to buy the game to get the latest version instead of just using the Brawl SD card mod. The official game, like Melee, would not receive any gameplay updates, ever. But this wouldn't be too dangerous because we've already been testing the game for a long time and they would make especially sure that it's balanced. One of the reasons why some Melee players can't get into Project M is because it's always changing. Having the official game never change would add to its charm, make it feel more like a real game, and help Melee players get into it.
Now what would the title of the official game be? I don't think we should stick with "Project M" as that seems like a work in progress instead of a real game. I have a few ideas in mind, such as Super Smash Bros. Melee 2, Super Smash Bros. Elite, and Smash M.
----The problem with just writing the idea up to this point and calling it a day is that the game would mostly only appeal to competitive players. We might want to also appeal to another niche: Casual gamers that have a Wii and aren't interested in getting a Wii U (because most casuals that want a new Smash game would just get the Wii U version if they had a Wii U). Before you say that casuals wouldn't be interested in a game like this, realize that lots of them like Melee for its fast pace even though they aren't interested in advanced techniques. And besides, it's a Smash Bros game; people are going to be interested. Now if we do decide to appeal to casuals, we need to add enough content to the official game that will make it worthwhile to buy if they already own Brawl. Let's put in more items, increased stage creation ability (more parts and less # of parts restriction), more stages, more event matches, give Project M's all-star mode a real interface, et cetera. Since Project M was created to be more like an older game, Melee, we can combine this desire for the old Melee physics with something casuals can relate to: a desire for old game nostalgia. Yes, let's make one of the themes of the official game that it's a throwback game. Add throwbacky content like a Pokemon Blue themed stage, a Melee-esque adventure mode, and a Special Battle option that makes the physics & sounds similar to Smash 64. They could even expand on the "Masterpieces" mode in Brawl. Of course, adding all this content would require the help of Nintendo and HAL Labratory, but Nintendo might actually prefer that they help out so they can tell themselves it's their game and take some pride in it, not just something they let some nerds make. No matter what we add to the game though, the Project M dev team would need to make SURE that they do not let Nintendo lay a finger on the Project M physics. This would have to be one of the Dev team's conditions for working with Nintendo in the initial deal.
----The certainty that competitive gamers would buy the official game because it's an updated version, and the likelyhood that casuals would get it because of extra features Brawl doesn't have, and the fact that it's normal for consoles to have new games long after the next console exists (just look at the PS2), combine to show that the official game if released would be quite successful, especially if it wasn't priced as high as other new games.
There you have it, my idea for how Project M could become its own game! If you don't think my idea will work, then instead of immediately trying to figure out how to nitpick at my post to prove it won't work, please instead suggest your own way for this to happen. Any comments generally relating to the idea of Project M being an official game are welcome.
----What if the Project M dev team called up NIntendo and said to them: "Let's make a deal. You give us the rights to make and distribute this game (with some supervision from Nintendo staff) and we'll give you 80% of the profits." Nintendo wouldn't have to do much, except collect the profits. It would be for the Wii and distributed to mainstream stores. The official game would be an updated version of Project M's 3.5 (or whatever the latest version is when they make it). This update would make it so people have to buy the game to get the latest version instead of just using the Brawl SD card mod. The official game, like Melee, would not receive any gameplay updates, ever. But this wouldn't be too dangerous because we've already been testing the game for a long time and they would make especially sure that it's balanced. One of the reasons why some Melee players can't get into Project M is because it's always changing. Having the official game never change would add to its charm, make it feel more like a real game, and help Melee players get into it.
Now what would the title of the official game be? I don't think we should stick with "Project M" as that seems like a work in progress instead of a real game. I have a few ideas in mind, such as Super Smash Bros. Melee 2, Super Smash Bros. Elite, and Smash M.
----The problem with just writing the idea up to this point and calling it a day is that the game would mostly only appeal to competitive players. We might want to also appeal to another niche: Casual gamers that have a Wii and aren't interested in getting a Wii U (because most casuals that want a new Smash game would just get the Wii U version if they had a Wii U). Before you say that casuals wouldn't be interested in a game like this, realize that lots of them like Melee for its fast pace even though they aren't interested in advanced techniques. And besides, it's a Smash Bros game; people are going to be interested. Now if we do decide to appeal to casuals, we need to add enough content to the official game that will make it worthwhile to buy if they already own Brawl. Let's put in more items, increased stage creation ability (more parts and less # of parts restriction), more stages, more event matches, give Project M's all-star mode a real interface, et cetera. Since Project M was created to be more like an older game, Melee, we can combine this desire for the old Melee physics with something casuals can relate to: a desire for old game nostalgia. Yes, let's make one of the themes of the official game that it's a throwback game. Add throwbacky content like a Pokemon Blue themed stage, a Melee-esque adventure mode, and a Special Battle option that makes the physics & sounds similar to Smash 64. They could even expand on the "Masterpieces" mode in Brawl. Of course, adding all this content would require the help of Nintendo and HAL Labratory, but Nintendo might actually prefer that they help out so they can tell themselves it's their game and take some pride in it, not just something they let some nerds make. No matter what we add to the game though, the Project M dev team would need to make SURE that they do not let Nintendo lay a finger on the Project M physics. This would have to be one of the Dev team's conditions for working with Nintendo in the initial deal.
----The certainty that competitive gamers would buy the official game because it's an updated version, and the likelyhood that casuals would get it because of extra features Brawl doesn't have, and the fact that it's normal for consoles to have new games long after the next console exists (just look at the PS2), combine to show that the official game if released would be quite successful, especially if it wasn't priced as high as other new games.
There you have it, my idea for how Project M could become its own game! If you don't think my idea will work, then instead of immediately trying to figure out how to nitpick at my post to prove it won't work, please instead suggest your own way for this to happen. Any comments generally relating to the idea of Project M being an official game are welcome.
