Why Star Fox 64 3D isn't online
Nintendo: costs would've been "vast".
Star Fox 64 3D lacks online multiplayer due to the "vast" costs required to allow gamers to play online, Nintendo has said.
The Star Fox team prioritised perfecting the title's graphics over adding online support, Nintendo's Yusuke Amano told ONM.
"If we wanted to satisfy everyone who bought the game, the costs required for including online support would be vast," Amano said.
Star Fox 64 3D includes all of the N64 original's multiplayer functions and adds gyro-scopic controls and crisper visuals.
But adding online would have taken too much time, Amano revealed, when Nintendo had a deadline for the game to be released as soon as possible.
"For this project what we needed to do was use Star Fox to provide users with a game that shows the appeal of Nintendo 3DS as quickly as possible," Amano stated. "We put a lot of effort into the graphics, and if we had included online support then we couldn't have reached this level in the time allowed."
Should another Star Fox title appear, however, Amano considers online to still be an option.
"If I get the chance to work on another Star Fox title, I would definitely consider an online multiplayer mode," he concluded.
Despite remaining offline, Eurogamer's Chris Donlan rated Star Fox 64 3D with a barrel-rolling 8/10.