Miyamoto: 'America has always been better at creating unique products'

43 Comments by Alexander Sliwinski May 12th 2008 11:20AM
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii

WiiWare's up and running now in North America and not a single one of those games comes from the big N itself. Speaking to Wired, Shigeru Miyamoto, head of Nintendo's game development division, says the company wanted to foster indie games, which are more prolific in the US than Japan, with Wiiware. In fact, Miyamoto says, "I think America has always been better at creating unique products."

Excuse us one moment while we crack open a Bud and beat our chests ... OK, back. Miyamoto explains that US indie developers have managed to acquire the skills and hardware needed to "let their own personality and their own kind of unique interests really flourish." Asked if he would ever consider getting involved in making a small-scale game again, the Nintendo guru responded that it might be "fun" to do.

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Ah, good ol' humble Shigsy... how may I be your slave today?

 

Gotta love the shirt with a billion types of controllers

Wow... I didn't know that he felt that way. I would like to make a small WiiWare game myself... but who wouldn't? Miyamoto - wisdom for the ages.

He's smart. Tetris was developed by two guys in Russia. This would never happen in todays gaming world until NOW. Nintendo will be the company to get their hands on something like that now.

Damn him, and his lazy insistence on "creativity" instead of spending tons of money, like the REAL game makers.

 I do believe he was joking

 I do too but it would help if people used atleast a smiley at the end, I do when I'm joking.

Well, not exactly. Wii Ware is going to face some pretty tough competition from XBL and PSN, especially XBL and its Community offerings. I'm sure all three will get great games by generation's end but XBL's free developer program and the open nature of XBL Community will make it pretty tough on Wii Ware.

One big advantage Nintendo has is the WiiMote. That type of interface really opens doors for independant-thinking basement developers. 

That really isn't true. Everyday Shooter was made by 1 guy, and so was Rag Doll Kung Fu. In fact, there have always been thousands of PC games made by lone independents. It's the backbone of the whole shareware concept.

This is the first generation of consoles to offer the same opportunities though, and it's not just Nintendo; all three companies have realised the potential for smaller creative games in an era of increasingly ridiculous development costs.

Forgot the smiley, my bad.