GoldenEye 007’s co-designer reveals that Nintendo and Rare had different tones in mind for the game, with Shigeru Miyamoto unsure over the title's violence and gore.

GoldenEye 007 is a pioneer of the console first-person shooter market, and even proved to be one of the best video games adapted from the cinema. However, according to recent reports, the title could have had a very different atmosphere from the game that wowed N64 owners worldwide. Indeed, it seems as though Nintendo guru Shigeru Miyamoto wanted the game to be a much more feel-good experience, reaching a compromise with developer Rare.

Martin Hollis, the co-designer of the console classic, has revealed that Miyamoto felt that the game was “too tragic,” and proposed an ending where the player goes to “shake hands will all your enemies in the hospital.” Speaking at Nottingham’s GameCity festival, and further reported by The Guardian, Hollis continued to say that Miyamoto felt that GoldenEye 007 had too much close-up violence in its developmental stages, and that the Mario creator found it “a bit too horrible.”

It appears as though a middle ground was met eventually. The shooter’s credits played in a cinematic style, detaching the players from Bond’s many killings and confirming that they were “not real.” Apparently, Hollis’ original vision for the game would have been much more graphic, before it was eventually toned down, received a 'T for Teen' rating in the process.

The lack of ultraviolence certainly did not cause any issues for GoldenEye from either a commercial or critical stance, in spite of Rare's predictions. The title was a must-have for N64 owners, and went on to influence the growth of first-person shooters on home consoles at a time when the PC was the go-to platform for FPS fans. The game also confirmed Rare’s position as one of the most important developers of the 1990s, and was built upon for other classics such as Perfect Dark.

Indeed, Hollis also revealed that Rare’s FPS follow-up had an origin a little closer to GoldenEye than some gamers may have imagined. According to the designer, Rare was offered another Bond movie license after their work on GoldenEye was finished, due to its success and popularity. However, the developer declined the offer, instead putting their effort into the near-future stealth shooter.

The news gives some further insights into the inner workings of Nintendo, showing that even at the peak of its power the company was hesitant to detach itself from the family-friendly market on which it had made its name. The end result was one of the most important games of the 1990s, but many gamers may wonder if the company will struggle in future against the broad scope of titles available on competitor consoles. With the Wii U suffering in sales against the likes of the PS4 and Xbox One, perhaps the NX will offer a tweak to Nintendo’s strategy.

Source: The Guardian