For the last 25 years Mario has been the most recognisable face in video gaming, thanks largely to the persistent genius of his original creator, Shigeru Miyamoto.
Now, with Wii U's lined up in the shops awaiting eager gamers, it falls on creators, such as Miyamoto and his team, to enrapture generations of people once more. GamesMaster repressed the urge to hug and sat down for a vaguely serious talk with Miyamoto, encompassing the Wii U's future, HD and his changing role at Nintendo...
Words: GamesMaster magazine. Order the latest issue online here.
As a creator, what excites you most about the Wii U?
Of course the most important thing about the Wii U is how we can create the most attractive game machine. For that matter I'm satisfied with the outcome. However at the same time, I've personally been trying to make it so that the Wii U is going to become the machine that'll be cherished by the entire family, especially when it's hooked up with the TV set in the living room.
Actually that's one of the themes that I've been challenging myself with for many years. And at this point in time I'm very satisfied with the outcome as well as how it's going to create unique gaming experiences.
How does Wii U represent the future of gaming?
Whenever we're working on a certain platform, as time goes by, everybody, including the game players, is looking forward to more improved versions of the existing software. However, that's not only the direction that evolution should take. Whenever we can create a different format, unique gameplay should be another direction where game entertainment should head.
For example Nintendo Land, which is going to debut with the launch of the Wii U system. We've included a variety of games inside of it, some of them will be able to show the way the future of gameplay might head.
Can you give examples?
You might have already played Mario Chase, it's a game that's not only unique in the game itself, but a really unique thing that we found out is that everyone can get together and see the replay of the game. That itself was very exciting. Actually that's not something that we could originally expect.
How did Pikmin come about?
A Well actually there are a variety of different ways for us to create videogames. Sometimes from the very outset we have some clear-cut goals towards which we start working. On the other hand we have cases when we don't have any kind of clear-cut image as to what kind of game it will eventually be but rather we have a very vague image of whatever we would like to establish or realise.
Later on we added the feature so that the player character will be there. But at the beginning I thought that it wouldn't be interesting enough because in that original development mode the Pikmin were used as if [they were] weapons. To be utilised, to be shot by the player themselves.
Will you return to ideas that perhaps didn't see the light of day when Nintendo first toyed with the Game Boy Advance/GameCube link-up system?
I think it is very likely. I cannot tell specifically what ideas I used to have at the time which might be realised this time around. But as you might recall, at one of the E3 shows several years ago we showcased a game of Pac-Man Versus, which was a really interesting game. Unfortunately however it was rather hard for everyone to own four GBAs at the same time.
But at that time still it was not very easy or accepted. [Now, with Wii U], it's not just Nintendo's internal creators but also creators outside the company are finding fascinating possibilities to be able to realise a game dream come true.
A Nintendo have been trying to raise the net connection ratio for the recent hardware we launched and Wii U is going to be the very first machine we launch with the premise that it will always be connected to the internet. I'm always trying to remind myself and my staff members how important it isfor us not to solely depend upon the kind of fun that stems out of competition. First and foremost, the games we are creating must be final, just final. We always have to make it a point that, even when you aren't competing with other players, the game itself must be fun to play.
It's actually a kind of simple transition. We are simply taking that fun nature of the local competition to the one which is competed by taking advantage of the internet. So my plan is a kind of extension from the local competition.
And of course Miiverse will be included with the console. How did Nintendo approach creating a social network?
A Many people might think, well Nintendo are making one of these social networks, but of course whenever we are trying to do something social, and whenever we are trying to do something online, we have to reassure the game players and owners of these systems that Nintendo's online communities are always more secure and safer than any other.
What do you see yourself working on in five years time?
Well, actually it's impossible for anybody to foresee what's going to happen in the long run, as long as we are talking about digital entertainment.
If somebody comes up with a great idea inthe future or if somebody comes up with a great invention then the whole entertainment picture shall be changed drastically so it's not going to be possible for anybody to make a long-term focus.
So rather than try to do that, and try to see what's going to happen in five years time from today, what's important is to look around and aggressively understand and consume emerging technologies. But at the same time I'm not trying to forget about what happened in the past, what kind of know-how and experiences I personally have so far.
You've said before how you foresee your role at Nintendo changing...
A I think above all the biggest thing for me personally is how I can change myself. After all I'm 60! It's not going to be humanly possible for me to work on everything with the same hardship I used to pour into [it] when I was much younger than today! But the fact of the matter is I am able to assign a lot of my responsibilities to younger [staff] members, especially people in their 40s today at the company.
Is that already happening to some extent? What will you use your free time for?
When we looked at the titles for the Wii U at launch I was able to assign most of the responsibility to these young creators and they were able to finalise these titles. Now I have to take care of fewer and fewer details and responsibilities of the games, I'll be able to focus my attention and energies into creating something brand new.
Let me say this. Gaming is very unique. It is one of the few interactive media and it can be used in a variety of different and fun ways. I believe that I'm probably one of the few people who is aware of the fact and who can take advantage of that unique interactive nature. I really wish I could describe how fun and convenient it is to my parents and even to my wife.
Whenever you can find out something fun you think you are one of the first people who's discovered that. You really want to tell people surrounding you. I want as many people as possible to understand the unique and interesting nature of this interactive media. So I think that's the kind of perspective I try to have whenever I make some form of play or new application for our hardware systems.
What continues to inspire you?
I can take a look around at anything which is happening around me or around the world and sometimes I can notice that for this particular thing, even though it is one of the very ordinary things surrounding us, if we can apply an interactive nature or game technology to that, it's going to be something very unique. That's going to be something that people will enjoy.
In the case of the Nintendo DS, you can bring the Nintendo DS anywhere, that's why I was able to think in terms of how it could be used at the museum, for example. And in the case of Wii, Wii is supposed to be inside the house, most often in the living room where families get together, I always thought in terms of how it could expand the joy inside of the living room.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/384037/interviews/interview-shigeru-miyamoto-on-wii-us-future/
