Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, who’s known for creating iconic video game franchises like Donkey Kong, Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, has revealed that he feels he once made a bad game. In an interview with Kotaku, the video game designer was asked, “Do you feel like you’ve ever made a bad game?,” to which the he replied, “Yeah.” Tomorrow, June 18th, Kotaku will divulge Miyamoto’s answer. Until then, which game do you think Miyamoto isn’t proud of?
Legendary video game developer Shigeru Miyamoto believes that games, like a physical toy, should remain the property of their owner. Miyamoto says as a consumer you should be able to keep things for a long time and have those things from your youth that you can go back to and experience again. This is a far cry from Microsoft’s controversial policy with the Xbox One which has transitioned game ownership to a more licence-based approach.
“What’s really important is viewing Nintendo almost like a toy company where we’re making these things for people to play with,” he said. “As a consumer you want to be able to keep those things for a long time and have those things from your youth that you can go back to and experience again.”
“I really want to retain that product nature of the games that we create so that people can do that and have that experience. To me that’s something that’s very important about entertainment itself. So from the approach of continuing to create things that are entertaining for people, that’s an important direction for me that I want to maintain.”
Captured earlier today is Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata having some fun down-time from their scheduled press interviews at E3. The picture, posted on the official Nintendo Facebook page, shows Nintendo president Iwata and legendary games designer Miyamoto having some fun striking a pose and joining the search with their fellow Pikmin 3 characters. What’s not to love about this photo?
Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has sat down with GamesIndustry International to discuss whether he feels the same pressure as Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata when it comes to the business side of things. Miyamoto said that the amount of attention focused on Nintendo’s earnings is “silly.” Miyamoto also said he stands by Iwata and thinks that no one else would be able to manage Nintendo better than him. Read more on what Miyamoto thinks of Iwata and Nintendo’s earnings below:
GamesIndustry International: With Nintendo missing its sales forecasts lately, do you personally feel some of the business pressures? There’s been some talk about Mr. Iwata and whether he can remain the CEO – does that ultimately affect you and your teams in terms of feeling like you have to do better to save his job?
Miyamoto: Well, first of all, the entertainment industry is one that is inherently unstable and if people decide that they no longer need entertainment anymore then there’s no way for you to make money off of that. Because of the waves in the entertainment industry and the way the cycles move, personally I feel that aiming for a specific numerical goal is almost silly, and instead our focus should be on doing our best to create something that’s new and unique. So all of this talk of “Oh is Nintendo going to hit its numbers? Is Mr. Iwata responsible?” and all these discussions I think are just silly ones to have because Mr. Iwata is managing our company and I don’t think there’s anyone better to manage it than him.
So for me, I’m really focused on creating the most fun and unique experiences I can so that the entertainment can appeal to a very broad audience, and we’re having fun doing that. So certainly I think there are other industries where I think their chance to appeal to a broad audience has been lost, but I still think within our industry we have a lot of opportunity to do that.
The Legend of Zelda franchise had two titles on show today – The Wind Waker HD and A Link Between Worlds – but what we really wanted to see was a little bit more of the new Zelda title for the Wii U. Though our expectations were not met, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto has admitted that Zelda Wii U was considered for this year’s E3, but the tease was clearly too tempting. Here’s what he had to say to Game Informer:
“Work on [Zelda Wii U] is progressing fairly concretely. In fact, we were thinking about showing it here at E3 but decided to wait just a little bit longer before sharing it with everyone.”
Thanks, Brandon
Nintendo has released a Wii U Developer Direct that focuses on Pikmin 3. The presentation’s hosted by the game’s producer, Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto explained that Nintendo didn’t make the game simply to expand the Pikmin series. According to Miyamoto, Nintendo made Pikmin 3 because they felt the Wii U hardware was perfect for Pikmin. Pikmin 3 launches in Europe on July 26th and in North America on August 4th.
Will Wright – the designer behind The Sims, SimCity, and Spore – has named Shigeru Miyamoto as one of his personal developer heroes. Wright praises Miyamoto’s ability to focus a game around the player. This inspiration will be seen in Wright’s latest unannounced project. Wright stated that his development company Syntertainment is focusing on “how we build a game around the player’s life – the places they know, the people they hang out with”. Wright also cited developers Peter Molyneux and Sid Meier as current developer inspirations.
What I admire most about [Miyamoto] is he always puts the player first. [Molyneux] takes a lot of risks. [Meier's] games are just playable.
Although Nintendo will not be hosting a major press conference at this year’s E3, the company will still be at the expo. Before E3 2013′s show floor opens, on the morning of June 11th, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime and The Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto will speak at a Wii U Software Showcase. If you remember correctly, at E3 2012, Nintendo held a software showcase that focused solely on Nintendo 3DS games.
“This year, Nintendo is taking a different approach to E3. We’re giving you the chance to get closer to the games through a unique hands-on experience at our booth before the show opens.”
-Nintendo
Legendary video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was spotted by a Reddit user snapping photos at The Louvre museum in Paris, France. Nintendo has previously said that they are working with The Louvre and are providing them with Nintendo 3DS systems that will house an exclusive audio guide.
If you’ve played Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, you’ll receive a special note from the game’s producer, Shigeru Miyamoto. The note is sent via the Swapnote application on Nintendo 3DS. In the Note, Miyamoto tells fans that the “Year of Luigi” has only begun, and that he’s sure Luigi appreciates his fans’ support. After you read the special note, you’ll receive a new Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon-themed stationery, which you can then use to write your own notes.
… It’s just me, Shigeru Miyamoto!
How do you like Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon?
I hope you are not too scared like him (Luigi). Year of Luigi just started.
I’m sure he appreciates your support!!
-Shigeru Miyamoto, via Swapnote
