One of the big surprises at this year’s E3 was Epic Mickey, one of those titles that come out once a year or so that make you remember you still own a Wii, wonder where it is, and debate if you can be bothered to find your remotes enough to play.
Warren Spector (he of System Shock and Deus Ex fame) was tapped to bring Mickey Mouse back for a new generation of kids who knew him simply as the annoyingly happy Disney World mascot, and show him more as the mischievous little scamp that we knew from his old cartoons. Depending on how you played the game Mickey’s appearance would change. Play nice and he’ll be the big, colorful doof we’ve all grown to hate- play selfishly and he would transform into “Scrapper” mickey, the (pictured) mean-looking guy reminiscent of the old black and white cartoons.
But it shall not be! According to the Mainichi Daily News (eh?) a focus group, of all the ungodly things that can happen to a film or game, has forced the elimination of the Scrapper Mickey.
“People don’t like it when you mess with Mickey,” said Spector. “We did a
focus test that was really eye-opening for me. There was a biker dude
saying, ‘Oh, I’d never play a Mickey Mouse game,’ and then we showed him
images of a changed Mickey. I was sitting there thinking, ‘You’re gonna
love what we do,’ but he said, ‘No! Don’t mess with my childhood.'”
So now instead of a different, snarling character Mickey will just appear with a smudged look.
It’s not like Mickey hasn’t appeared in dark material before. Take 1995’s Oscar-nominated Runaway Brain short, for example, which shows Mickey playing a Mortal Kombat-ish game and forgetting his anniversary with Minnie, subjecting himself to a mad scientist’s brain experiments for some cash for a gift. He’s a badass action hero by the end of the short, fighting off a giant monster and saving the girl, and people forget that the character used to have a bit of an edge to him. It’s sad to see that an anonymous biker’s thoughts (someone who would never play the game, no less!) has influenced the game’s design.
11 comments
Fucking weak, Spector. Caving to the bitching of every avowed non-gamer who catches wind of the product'll quickly turn Epic Mickey into a bigger piece of shit than, well, Mickey himself.
Corporate greed strikes again!
It's sad to see that someone who shares almost nothing in common with you should be able to have a direct impact on your lifestyle? Seems to me that that's pretty much most of regular life.
That's pretty fucking retarded. I was looking forward to playing the snarling Mickey. I really fucking hate focus groups. Some dumb ass biker who wont even play the game gets his opinion heard? Fuck that guy! And fuck Warren Spector! I can't believe he is going to listen to those pricks. Its bad enough that it is coming out for the Wii; now it has lost its edge too.
What bullcrap! Epic fail, Epic Mickey.
Wow. Fuck focus groups. I can't believe they caved to that shit.
Next time, talk to a biker dude that isn't homosexual, dorks.
By "biker dude," they clearly meant "rich businessman who pays a freight company to ship his bike to a location 50 miles away from Sturgis before getting on and riding the remainder like the man he isn't."
Indeed #8, there was no 'biker' he's lying and talking out his ass to hide the fact he wants to make a 'safe' Disney game. This is no longer Epic Mickey, this is just Corporately designed Mickey.
Why wouldn't you sanitize and dumb down this Epic Mickey game? I mean, it's a Wii exclusive, and Wii gamers are the most indiscriminate lot out there. This is the game they WANT. This is the game they DESERVE.
Can we get Devin in here for a righteous rant about nerds wanting Mickey fucking Mouse to be dark and gritty? MICKEY MOUSE DOESN'T GROW UP WITH YOU. YOU LEAVE MICKEY BEHIND.
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