MTV Multiplayer’s Russ Frushtick has studied the two game’s Xbox Live Arcade statistics for both side-scrolling, curse-inducing games and declared Super Meat Boy as the more rigorous experience.
He has four metrics of comparison. Such as:
N+: Percent of Total Registered Users Who Have Completed The Final Level (Episode 49) – 2.20%
vs
Super Meat By: Percent of Total Registered Users Who Have Completed The Final Level (7-20X) – 1.04%
Do the laws of mathematics allow me to hereby declare Super Meat Boy as twice as tough as N+?
Which Is Statistically Harder: ‘N+’ or ‘Super Meat Boy’? [MTV Multiplayer blog]
706-2
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 9:28 AMI haven’t heard of N+, any info?
Mr Explody
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 9:44 AMIt’s a game that is notoriously difficult to complete, but not as difficult as Super Meat Boy.
But seriously, it’s on XBLA. And I bet you can find a free flash version of it if you google it.
George
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 10:30 AMIt the console version of the free flash game “N”. Look it up. It’s good fun until it becomes frustrating.
Jason Oliver
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 12:16 PMN+ is a lot of fun – has a level editor and multiplayer levels as well and yeah it’s difficult – the two games are similar in a lot of ways though N is a very minimalist sort of game, the kind of design that wouldn’t be out of place on a Game & Watch – but it has a great soundtrack, funkiest VG soundtrack since Tekken 3 I reckon.
Manda Tunbridge
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 9:39 AMThis would be a better comparison if the stats were taken after the same amount of time after release.
John
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 10:02 AMHey, Super Meat Boy wasn’t that hard to complete… oh, you’re including the Dark World…
James Mac
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:55 AMTeach me… oh Guru.
Shane
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 10:23 AMMaybe enjoyment is a factor to consider, as it would affect the likelihood that people will persevere to the end of the game.
It might be just as valid to say that twice as many people enjoyed N+ throughout (i.e. not valid at all).
The Cracks
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 10:53 AMBut the difficulty comes from slightly different mechanics. And such a simple examination of statistics provides no explanation at all of the basis for this ‘judgement’ – why have only 2.20% and 1.04% of players respectively ‘completed’ those games? I’m still working through Super Meat Boy, and hence I haven’t ‘completed’ it yet – does that somehow make it too hard for me? There are plenty of other games out there – perhaps some people got bored, rather than bowed out due to difficulty?
This sort of comparison is a load of rubbish.
HindenLagen
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:23 AMThe completion rate of a game may not be related to difficulty at all. The “fun factor” may come into it here. (I found N to be extremely boring, though I havn’t played N+).
I also couldn’t find the other 3 metrics that were supposedly used. The link only compares completion rates
HindenLagen
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:30 AMEh,
There are four data points:
1. Release date
2. Total players
3. Total players completed final level
4. Completion rate
The fourth measure comes from 2 and 3, and the first measure basically says the other 3 data points are not steady, and are likely to change (particularly the SMB ones which havn’t had time to steady.)
So there’s only one measure that you can really compare (completion rate), and it is not steady.
Vapor
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:33 AMSuper Meat Boy has only been out for what, a month now? Two months?
N+ (The XBLA version) has been out for years now. Give SMB some time, and then run this comparison.
Dunnowhathuh
Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:51 AMI really do hate the learn by dying experience, frustrates me to no end. Though I have to admit, it is cool when you finally figure out how to do something and you SPEED right through the level. I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up on the “did not finish” list.