Nintendo Dropped Every LEGO Mario Prototype 6,000 Times To Ensure Its Quality

"That is Nintendo quality"
So did they have to use generic toads instead of unique designs?

Say what you want about Nintendo, but they are very VERY protectective of their IPs. You will NOT make them look bad.

That goes double for their consoles. The gamecube is practically indestructible.

No, I'm not counting joy-cons or any controller. I don't count them as a console, they just come with it.

@Kalmaro yeah joycons are great

EDIT: Kalmaro edited his comment to include and save face regarding Joycons due to the backlash towards his statement

I wish they tested their joycons this intensively!

Yeah... I would've rather prefered the more traditional mini-figure sets myself along with a game. These sets are just not what I wanted/expected.

So instead of making new games, this is what they were doing? Nintendo re-evaluate your priorities

Am a I the only person who imagines Miyamoto and Tezuka in a room taking turns to throw Lego as hard as they can against the floor?

I wished nintendo tested their joycons 6000 times....

@Coach_A Joycons are not consoles, nor any controller. They just ship with it.

What's the context for the drop? Are they dropping a lego piece, unprotected and on the floor 6000 times? Are they dropping a thing in a shipping box 6000 times? Did they assemble the kit, then drop it 6000 times? I'm sure that in at least two of those instances, scuffs will occur, lmao. Their marketing manager must be reaching for ways to get people to talk about their stupid lego.

@Kalmaro Ehhhh, arguing semantics isn't helpful when Nintendo willfully ignores the joycon issues, and then makes a big deal about how sturdy their lego supposedly is. They dropped the ball with the joycons, 100%.

I think the quote was meant to be taken as hyperbolic, and does not measure how commited nintendo is to quality, but to brand recognition. Nintendo is a very jealous company, and on par with its competitors regarding quality.

@TG16_IS_BAE that's hardly fair, I was clearly talking about the consoles themselves. I'll be the first to admit that they joy-cons are hot garbage though. Mine still drifts so now I just use my pro controller.

So that's what Nintendo has been doing this year.....

Maybe there will be fewer suprise announcements now we know how busy they have been

I dropped my phone once and had to pay $95 to get it fixed.

@Sandro89 Exactly. How can a company do two things at once when I'm barely able to put on pants AND shoes....

@JHDK Ouch, not good.. I see so many people with cracked phone screens, dropping your phone seems very common unfortunately...

@TG16_IS_BAE The joycons issues come mostly from Nintendo getting cheap with the material the analog sticks are made of. It breaks down too easily and messes with the controller. They didn't test them enough before releasing them, and I would imagine it's because they were rushing on getting the Switch out.

I'm almost certain that they haven't addressed it much because they plan on releasing a new model (similar to how DS I, DS Lite, etc were handled) that fixes that flaw and using that as a subtle way to push people to buy it.

Hmmm, busy dropping Mario, I just hope this weren't at the expense of making games.... This might explain the lull period..

If only 10 year old me I could drop my big LEGO sets 6000 times. So many sets dropped and destroyed, and never rebuilt the right way.

I wonder if the idea of proper metroid games has been dropped 6,000 times?!

@71nk0 I see your point, I'm focusing on the consoles themselves, not the controllers. You can break the Joycons but still play on a switch without them, same with any other console that comes with controllers (I think all consoles these days ship with a controller now).

The Switch is just unique in that the Joycons fit so perfectly with the Switch that many consider it actually part of the console.

I wonder why 6000 tho, is 5000 just not good enough! And is 7000 taking too much time? Xxx

I wonder if mario starts to randomly, slowly walk off to the left one day.

Shame they didn't do the same with the Joycons.

"Every time we shipped a Mario to them, they dropped it 6,000 times."
Quality? I call it clumsy.

@Kalmaro Alright, if we're not including controllers... DS Lite hinge issue, NES pin connector, DS upper screen surround, Switch vent crack, Switch backing expansion.

Everyone pointing out the Joy-Cons but I wish they put that quality assurance in the eShop too. I mean seriously the amount of nonsense shovelware/bloatware/cheese throughout is embarrassing. How 83% of those games get the greenlight escapes me. It's like they have Stevie Wonder making the final call or something, right?

i wonder if they tested for drift.

@HobbitGamer That's a few examples, yes, and two of them don't keep the console from running as far as I'm aware. I'm not sure what the Switch back expanding is but I'm aware of the vent cracking, mine has.

I wish the DS Lite would have been put through this test. Sounds like the 3DS was, but that DSL hinge was very much destructible.

@71nk0 @RadioHedgeFund @TG16_IS_BAE @Spanjard @vikgamer168 @Greenviolence @Coach_A
The Joy-Cons are actually really good quality when it comes to durability, you all don't know what you're talking about. Whine about them all you want, but dropping them doesn't cause any issues.

@Kimyonaakuma @Sandro89 You're gonna need some hard proof that Nintendo's development teams were behind the LEGO testing.

I wonder if they tested if it could be used as a weapon

@Kalmaro You're just moving the goal posts at this point.
And as far as IP, Nintendo has done they're own damage to it before. Hotel Mario, Wand of Gamelon, Virtual Boy.
They're good, but no some flawless conglomerate

@Kalmaro You are being really specific on what you consider a quality issues in a console. You are omitting a lot of issues in Nintendo products because "they don't keep the console from running", but their are quality issues nonetheless.

@Dog Don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. I've got a drifting joycon within 3 weeks after purchase. It doesn't matter how sturdy they are when they fall if they are unusable anyways.

@Dog You're absolutely right, dropping a joycon doesn't affect its durability... Actually using it as intended is what does it in.

@Dog Sorry, mine broke after two months of light play, is that my fault or Nintendo’s? 😑

@HobbitGamer I'm not moving anything, I've said from the beginning that I was talking about consoles, not controllers. I don't consider Joycons as part of the switch console, they just come with them. It's a simple as that.

If you needed joycons to use the switch then I'd say they were part of it.

@71nk0 Well yeah, my point was always that their consoles are tough, not perfect. The article was all about the subject being sturdy. In most cases, nintendo makes some pretty sturdy consoles.

@Sandro89 @HobbitGamer Agreed. And unfortunately, I'm fairly certain the Lego QA testers are also core software developers, so this is likely why 2020 has been such a quiet year for games... right?

@Kalmaro Eh... considering the amount of marketing that went into the Switch being a hybrid console, and the stats showing how many people use it handheld exclusively, I'd say the Switch Joy-Con are more integral to the system than any other system's controllers. I kind of get your point, but it's not really the same as other systems either.

@roadrunner343 I"m fine with people seeing the Joy-Cons as part of the system, I just don't agree with it personally since you don't need them.

I have no problem admitting that the JoyCons suck though. I'm more focused on the consoles themselves being so tough, like the gamecube.

@vikgamer168 Apparently the joycons drift at 6001 presses. 😝

@Kalmaro Yeah. I play pretty much 100% handheld, so I'm sure that influences my feelings on the matter.

@roadrunner343 That's understandable, I play almost exclusively docked and not just because my joycons suck. I have my switch kinda docked next to my PC so I play with my pro controller while I watch youtube videos.

I wouldn't say my console is defective though.

@Coach_A my first thought after reading the first paragraph. How could they start the article that way. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Joy con drift

@Kalmaro I'm gonna have to call BS on this. The console is marketed as a hybrid system. You can play it either way strictly if you choose. But ultimately, being handheld is one of the marketing points to the console. So yes, the Joy-Cons (that come with the console in order to play it in one of it's two configurations) is integral to the console. Otherwise, they wouldn't have included them with a Switch. Not to mention, they haven't earnestly acknowledged that this is a major issue and the things cost an arm and a leg to replace. Even then, it's not guaranteed the replacements won't have an issue. So yes, they deserved to be called out. Especially when a story like this comes out

Now, if we were talking about the Pro Controller, I might understand your sentiment. But even then, that controller had better be of great build charging as much as they do.

@UmbreonsPapa Are you suing that, if a console comes with a controller, that controller is part of the console? I only ask because that tends to be the trend these days for a new console to come free with one controller.

The Switch is marketed as a hybrid console, sure, I would still say that the controllers are separate from the system. It's still portable without the Joycons. You can use the kickstand and another controller with it. I like using the 8bitdo controller with mine.

Man, I'd hate to be the intern who had to do all of that....

@roadrunner343 Yup, Nintendo's developers are actually required to have taken Plastic Toy Quality Testing courses in their third year of college. It's a prerequisite for JavaScript and SQL Database Management. Only applicants that have passed this course are cleared for the second phase of the hiring process.

@Kalmaro At this point, all I'm hearing is that shoelaces aren't part of a shoe, bread isn't part of a sandwich, and tires aren't part of a car.

@Kalmaro Exactly how much of an idiot are you? The joy cons were created by Nintendo. You really need to educate yourself. The article is talking about Nintendo quality. NOT Nintendo Console quality, *****. Also, you do need the joycons as they were designed with the console. The Pro controller is what you don't need. Too big and bulky to take with on a trip.

I'm pretty sure the reason why they're doing it in the first place for quality is to ensure it complies with US toy safety standards

‘ Nintendo is a brand known for its quality assurance..’

Tell that to my two pairs of drifting joy-cons!

....and yet all I wanted was a traditional Lego set, not these weird things

@Dog nah i mean i wish they tested the sticks durability i have two drifting joycons and im just a kid so i can't get new joycons especially in these times and I don't have the money to get rubbing alcohol to fix them these are the times where i'd rather have a ps4 i just wanna play spyro and crash on the go but i also have to deal with joycon drift you probably don't understand but that's fine

@JHDK 6000 x 95 = 570 000, that's how much damage Nintendo could cause to your wallet

They knew exactly what they were doing when they wrote that subhead to the article...

@Kalmaro * laughs in hotel Mario

This makes me hopeful for the Mario movie if they will do as much to keep quality

@Dog Really? I have 4. In the last 2 years I have had 3 drifting analog sticks, 3 of them fail to even light up anymore, 2 of them lose all functionality in the internal shoulder buttons and 1 fails to sync unless it is is held vertically.

I have never come across such shoddy controllers. Nintendo should just own up and admit they used crap analog sticks to start with.