Video games have changed a lot over the years. Obvious as that may sound, many people fail to realize the vast difference between the way games are now and the way they were when they first became mainstream entertainment. Where they were once huge machines that usually lasted an hour or two while eating quarters like a turkey on Thanksgiving, they now come in the form of small, portable consoles that host epic, sprawling adventures that can last up to a full workweek, if not even longer. One of the many advancements in modern games has been in storytelling. It all started with the arcade classic Donkey Kong, which offered up a plot revolving around a tubby carpenter saving a damsel-in-distress from a King Kong knockoff. Now, we have games rich in dynamic characters, moral complexity, and cinematic immersion. But has this change truly benefited modern video games? Is it really necessary for a game to have a compelling story, or is it only the gameplay that truly matters? In a controversial move, Shigeru Miyamoto, founder of Nintendo and creator of Donkey Kong, is going out of his way to make the upcoming and highly-anticipated Super Mario Galaxy 2 have as little plot as possible. "I'd like to go with as little story as possible," he told Wired magazine in an interview. "I've always felt that the Mario games themselves aren't particularly suited to having a very heavy story." Complicating matters is the fact that Galaxy 2 director Yoshiaki Koizumi disagrees with Miyamoto's sentiment and has expressed interest in bringing more story elements into the Mario games.

This issue has divided video game players into two separate camps: some agree that games need better storytelling to give them a more immersive experience, but others are like Miyamoto and hold the mindset that less is more, believing that a complex story can interfere with the gameplay, making games less interactive. Then there are people like me, who are on the fence. Although I don't see an interesting story as an absolute necessity towards making a great game, it can be a great asset. I have played many excellent games, Mario games included, that have little to no story, and on the other side of the equation, I have played some mediocre games that couldn't be saved by great storytelling. In the end, though, I have to agree that compelling stories are indeed a part of video game evolution too significant to ignore. Not every game needs a great story, but those that do have at least one advantage over those that don't.

References
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/06/super-mario-galaxy-2/