Masahiro Sakurai refused to add Dolby Surround to a Kirby game because players had to sit through the logo

simple@lemm.ee to Games@lemmy.world – 957 points –
Masahiro Sakurai refused to add Dolby Surround to a Kirby game because players had to sit through the logo | VGC
videogameschronicle.com
160

You are viewing a single comment

So many assumptions here.

Let me refute them through educated guesses.

  • most people don't have anything other than stereo
  • most people don't want anything other than stereo
  • not everyone has the money to even get a decent TV, let alone 5.1 or God forbid 7.1
  • Kirby does not focus an people with high end playback devices. It's traditionally a kids game.
  • 2secs Everytime you open the game can add up and be really annoying. Especially for kids, which are the core audience.

So because some people have a crappy home theater setup everyone should have a crappy experience?

Hey my setup's great, I just don't need 5.1 surround sound that bad

Without at least 5.1, why even bother playing games or watching movies?

Now you're just playing

Sound is at least as important to the experience as the picture. Go watch a scary movie with the sound muted and you’ll notice it’s not scary at all.

Playing a game or watching a movie with just 2.0 audio, or worse: using the TV’s built-in speakers, is such a diminished experience that you might as well not bother.

IMO

Watching a movie with 5.1: great

Watching a movie with 2.0: great

Don't get me wrong, I think it's cool, and I find good sound design at least as important as good visuals. It's all part of the aesthetics package. One of my fondest media memories is watching Jurassic Park at a relative's house with the sounds of the raptors coming from speakers all around. I even spent great expense setting up my own 5.1 setup.

But I've been chasing this dragon for too long. Audiovisual fidelity doesn't move the needle for me anymore (pardon the metaphor overload). I no longer feel the need to have my media reach out and immerse me - if it's good, I can do the work and use my imagination to get lost in the fantasy

Imagine consuming media with speakers rather than high-end OEMs to shut out all outside sound. Might as well just read books in a crowded café.

Imagine not being able to feel explosions in your gut because you have a pair of tiny speakers strapped to your head instead of a big long-throw woofer moving air.

Sorry I'll be explicit: I'm making fun of how pretentious you sound and can't take anything you say here seriously. I actually agree that a monster sound system can greatly enhance a movie or game experience, but the difference depends on the specific media. I saw Fury Road three times in the theater because I knew my home system would never match the experience. Something like Star Trek TNG or My Cousin Vinny or, as the topic of this post, Kirby's Air Ride hinges far less on the audio quality to deliver the intended content. Gatekeeping enjoyment behind speakers makes you a colossal ass.

From the pareto principle it can be said that if the cost for adding a feature for the little percentage of users is quite high, it is not worth it.