Reggie Fils-Aime says he hated Donkey Konga, thought it would destroy the DK brand
One of the most, erm, intriguing projects to come out of that special experimental era for Nintendo in the mid-to-late 2000s (you know, when not all their endeavours were financial knockouts and so they actually had to try different things) was Donkey Konga. Starring everyone’s favourite sculpted simian, this was a musical rhythm GameCube game which came bundled with a pair of comical, oversized and oh-so-slappable bongos. Yes, bongos. What did you think I was building up to with those adjectives? You dirty reader, you.
The concept was simple: a series of tracks, some original and some licensed, would play, and it would fall to you to hit the correct drum to the beat, as well as clap on the off-beats, picked up by a built-in microphone which often didn’t work. It was an amusing diversion, and functioned fine enough for a laugh; but on higher difficulties and later levels you would be lucky to make it through with even a half-decent score, and the drums themselves were blister central. Seems Ninty learned nothing from the days of Mario Party 1 and kids boring holes in their palms.
Still, the original Donkey Konga somehow sold well enough to spawn two sequels and an action spinoff, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, which itself was ported to the Wii sans bongos. Makes you wonder why they were necessary to begin with. Could it have all been… a gimmick? Surely not! Either way, such a ludicrous direction for the cherished Donkey Kong IP was questioned by fans of the day – and, as it turns out, by Nintendo head honchos of the day too. As NintendoLife reports, legendary former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has opened up in an interview about his feelings on the Donkey Konga series. He… doesn’t have the kindest things to say.
Reggie, who is currently doing the rounds online to promote his new book Disrupting the Game, made the revelations chatting with G4TV XPlay. In the interview, he lays things right out: “as an executive, I hated Donkey Konga.” Not one to mince words, our Reg. He goes on:
“I hated it. I fought with our parent company. I thought it was going to hurt the Donkey Kong brand. Personally, I didn’t find it a lot of fun to play so I pushed back hard. You know what? We launched it. The first game actually sold reasonably well, but boy: I was not a fan.”
Hotly Kongtested
Personally, I find it hard to imagine anything hurting the Donkey Kong brand any more than that surreal CGI Donkey Kong Country TV series from the 90s, but you do you, Reggie. Any company that signs off on Funky Kong as a character is just asking for it.
While you’re here, why not consider having a gander at Reggie’s book? Per the description, it’s “filled with inspiring stories and lessons about his unlikely rise to the top.” I haven’t checked it out myself yet, but if there aren’t at least seven ‘my body is ready’ gags, I’ll be most displeased.
What’s your take on this? Are you a fan of Donkey Konga? Are you surprised at Reggie’s comments? Let us know!
Via, NintendoLife.
