Miyamoto says devs can do more with 3D and gameplay, not enjoying mobile games
A portion of a Mercury News interview with Shigeru Miyamoto...
Q One of the truisms of the video game industry is that after new game machines are released, it takes several years before developers are able to maximize their potential. Where do you think developers are in maximizing the potential of the 3DS, particularly its 3-D feature?
A When it comes to the 3-D effect itself -- or the surprise factor for people to be able to say, "Wow, this 3-D!" -- I think the mission has already been completed sufficiently. But when it comes to how the 3-D effect can be used for the sake of game play without distracting people's attention too much, I do not think that developers have done a sufficient job yet. Even with "Super Mario 3DLand," I think we were able to attain just about 50 percent of the entire goal we really have to achieve. So there's much more room for us to be able to improve.
Q A lot of gaming seems to be shifting lately from traditional consoles and particularly gaming handhelds to smartphones and tablet computers. What's your opinion on this trend? And have you seen any compelling smartphone or tablet games?
A To me, the utmost concern is how we can create games for dedicated game machines that are unique enough so that they can never be reproduced on any other devices. I believe as time goes by, the kinds of games people are expecting on smartphones are going to be largely different from what games people are expecting from the dedicated video game machines.
I recently purchased a smartphone and tried several games myself, but I just have not been able to find any games so far that I particularly like.
Q One of the truisms of the video game industry is that after new game machines are released, it takes several years before developers are able to maximize their potential. Where do you think developers are in maximizing the potential of the 3DS, particularly its 3-D feature?
A When it comes to the 3-D effect itself -- or the surprise factor for people to be able to say, "Wow, this 3-D!" -- I think the mission has already been completed sufficiently. But when it comes to how the 3-D effect can be used for the sake of game play without distracting people's attention too much, I do not think that developers have done a sufficient job yet. Even with "Super Mario 3DLand," I think we were able to attain just about 50 percent of the entire goal we really have to achieve. So there's much more room for us to be able to improve.
Q A lot of gaming seems to be shifting lately from traditional consoles and particularly gaming handhelds to smartphones and tablet computers. What's your opinion on this trend? And have you seen any compelling smartphone or tablet games?
A To me, the utmost concern is how we can create games for dedicated game machines that are unique enough so that they can never be reproduced on any other devices. I believe as time goes by, the kinds of games people are expecting on smartphones are going to be largely different from what games people are expecting from the dedicated video game machines.
I recently purchased a smartphone and tried several games myself, but I just have not been able to find any games so far that I particularly like.
