Miyamoto Message Board older than one year ago

Ahead of Wii U's release, the Nintendo legend talks changing times, bringing families together, and innovative multiplayer.

"Of course we are thinking of the possibility of connecting Wii U and Nintendo 3DS once again. [But] we have challenged connectivity on many occasions, and one of the great lessons we have learned is the simple fact that those who own both are much fewer than those who don’t own both. So what we decided early on when considering the Wii U design was that we had to make it so that every single purchaser of the Wii U is going to have the same play conditions, the same equipment.

Even between Wii and 3DS, there are some things that can be done by connecting with each other – Mii channel is interchangeable on both systems. There are things that can easily done by transferring data between Wii and DS or 3DS systems.

If we are going to do that with Wii U and 3DS, there would be three screens to consider. The reason why we were not so eager to do a similar thing between Wii and DS if that it would have become very complicated using two screens on the DS and one screen on the Wii. But of course we are trying to think about a way to expand the experience of 3DS and Wii U when they are connected with each other, one way or the other." - Shigeru Miyamoto

The experience I had with Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles was such an amazing one. One of my favorite gaming memories. I'd really like to see more of that kind of interactivity. Let's hope Nintendo can come up with at least one idea that utilizes the 3DS/Wii U in this way.

Miyamoto on meeting with 3rd party devs...

"I am trying to meet with the game developers individually for this matter. The real subject is whether I’ll be able to - we’ll be able to - convince developers inside of the licensing publishers to be excited about the new features of the Wii U, so much so that they’ll be enthused towards making brand new entertainment that I couldn't come up with myself.

When it comes to technologies and techniques and skills necessary for working on Wii U, [and] what we can provide, I can count on them that they already have that. They know how to do that. They are always skilful, and actually they must have some different know-how from what we have. There might be some misunderstanding - as if Nintendo alone had some special know-how, and because Nintendo has not shared those unique, secret protocols with other, third-party publishers have not been able to create the exciting, unique gameplay on Nintendo hardware. But that was not the case.

The fact of the matter is that most third-party licensees from a business point of view, had to create multi-platform titles – and because Nintendo has been trying to create very unique hardware, oftentimes it was not considered the first choice for them to work on multi-platform software. So it’s the entire company decision-making process that is hindering developer’s ability from making unique titles on Wii U hardware. Once again, my job as one of the developers is meet with the individual people and convince that they’ll be able to create brand new entertainment that they really wish to realise. My job is to try to assist them in that fashion.

I do not think that providing any special technologies, know how or skills would be able to change the situation, because I understand that most third-party developers already have those things."

This isn't something we often hear from Miyamoto. I don't know how much he's done this kind of consulting in the past. We know Nintendo in general has, but Miyamoto himself is a different story.

Coming from Miyamoto...

"You know, the kind of ideas I have on Metroid are already reflected in the mini-game that is devoted to the series in Nintendo Land, Metroid Blast."

I'm sure those ideas could be expanded upon for a fully-fledged Metroid game on Wii U. Let's hope that's exactly what happens!

The following comes from Miyamoto...

- Miyamoto is supposed to work on software, but also works on hardware
- this happened moreso with the development of Wii and DS
- For Wii U, there was a very thin boundary between the controller and the software responsible for the hardware
- software/hardware teams worked very closely together on Wii U
- Miyamoto hopes to be still working (and alive!) at Nintendo in 10 years
- the younger teams at Nintendo are helping take some of the pressure off Miyamoto
- this helps him to focus more on the titles he's truly interested in
- right now, Miyamoto is working hard to finish Pikmin 3

The following info comes from Shigeru Miyamoto...

F-Zero

- thought people had gotten tired of the series
- feels it hasn't evolved all that much
- wants people to enjoy the F-Zero attraction in Nintendo Land
- Wants to know why people want a new F-Zero
- also wants to know what do people want that Nintendo hasn't done before

Metroid

- with a huge smile, said that it could become a more beautiful action game

Via TinyCartridge. Head over there for a few more gifs from Miyamoto’s trip to Spain. —Jason Schreier

Viva Nintendo! Viva la Revolution! Viva Shigeru!

- Almost every Wii U user already has a Wiimote, Nunchuk and even WM+
- this gives controller freedom to devs
- alternating IR pointing at both screens is possible
- Miyamoto doesn't think Nintendo fell behind with online, but now is the right moment to really push online
- Miyamoto says you 'have' to be online with Wii U, meaning you really can't miss out
- Retro qualified for Zelda game, but having them located in America would cause some issues
- Nintendo will encourage handwritten messages on Miiverse
- 2 current goals for Miyamoto are: working on his own creations and creating teams which don't need him.
- iPad Mini screen size is another indication they took the right path with GamePad design

The following comments come from Miyamoto himself...

- development on Pikmin was very difficult
- multiple prototypes had to be made
- Miyamoto wasn't sure people would like the game, even following great reviews
- Miyamoto was actually hoping for higher review scores
- he wants devs to be encouraged to try new things instead of being discouraged by reviews

We talked about this event earlier in the week, but now we have footage!

Prince Filipe of Asturias presents eight 2012 Prince of Asturias awards at a ceremony in Oviedo in October. Shigeru Miyamoto, considered the father of the modern video game, American author Philip Roth and the Red Cross are among the winners. There were 188 nominees from 48 countries for the 2012 prizes. Winners receive a EUR 50,000 prize and a reproduction of a statuette designed by Joan Miró.

Miyamoto is the author of the Mario Bros. series, which has become one of the most marketed video games in history. According to the Oviedo-based Prince of Asturias Foundation, he won the Award for Communication and Humanities for converting “"the video game into a social revolution and has managed to popularize it among a sector of the population that had not previously accessed this kind of entertainment, while also making it a medium capable of bringing people together regardless of sex, age or social or cultural status."

Thanks to Stewox for the heads up!

Did you know that Nintendo actually purchased a domain for Shigeru Miyamoto himself? It seems they don't have any actual plans to turn this into a site with content on the man himself. The site simply redirects to Nintendo.com. For those wondering, Nintendo purchased the domain back in 2009.

“One of the things I remember from working with [Shigeru] Miyamoto and everyone at Nintendo is how musically inclined they all were. Sometimes Miyamoto would sit behind us and strum a guitar for example. At that time I was into synths and had a Yamaha QY10 handheld sequencer/synth and would knock up little ditties and fun stuff like that. I feel that making games and music are entwined.” - Dylan Cuthbert

I think games like Rhythm Heaven really show just how tied into music Nintendo is. Having a good ear can be a hard thing to come by, but it's clear that many Nintendo employees possess that trait.

The following is supposedly a plan put forth by Iwata...

- By December 2012, Iwata hopes to put in place a restructure of R&D
- this revolves around the new Kyoto R&D building
- building should house over 1200 developers
- Nintendo has continued to expand R&D operations in its Tokyo sector
- several veteran developers from Square, SEGA, Koei, Epoch, and Konami can easily transition to join the EAD Tokyo development section
- Shigeru Miyamoto is expected to leave the EAD Division most likely by December 2012
- Miyamoto has vocalized his intent of stepping aside as General Manager of EAD
- he may create a third development sector where he would work with younger developers
- Miyamoto would focus on smaller resources, and work faster to develop games

2013 Expected Iwata Changes

+ Major shift in Kyoto development sources involving 3 R&D buildings
+ Shigeru Miyamoto stepping down as EAD General Manager
+ Takash Tezuka becoming new EAD General Manager
+ New Groups / New Producers announced for EAD Kyoto / SPD Kyoto
+ EAD Tokyo Expansion / Masahiro Sakurai Possibly Joining EAD Tokyo
+ New Division lead by Miyamoto with younger staff focused on smaller scale games
+ Miyamoto's Departure Inspiring New IPs for the EAD Kyoto Division

Thanks to all that sent this in!

The following info comes from Reggie's GT.TV interview...

- Nintendo is publishing Bayonetta 2 worldwide
- Wii U platform exclusive reconfirmed
- big-name first party titles in development
- Miyamoto and the team at EAD are working on 'fantastic projects'
- Retro is working on a 'fantastic project'
- most likely hear about these projects during E3
- depends on the progress of the games
- we may hear about those projects a little bit earlier/later than E3
- Reggie says 'we're serious about online and driving online'

"One of the reasons I left Sega was, if I stayed there, I would have had to just make Sonic games. Right now I don't have to make Sonic anymore, so I'm enjoying that freedom a lot. ...Like with Nintendo: Miyamoto has been making Mario games. He's under that too. He has to keep on making Mario games. [Eiji] Aonuma has to keep making Zelda games. [Hideo] Kojima has to make Metal Gear games. I wish he could take that off of everyone's shoulders so they could create other stuff, like new stuff. Because that's healthier for the industry. Movie directors create all sorts of movies, and the movie industry is healthy. I wish the game industry was like that as well." - Yuji Naka

I'm pretty sure Miyamoto can do whatever he wants. We should be seeing something about his new projects in 2013. As far as Aonuma and Kojima, Naka might be right about that.

The following information comes from a Game Informer interview with Miyamoto...

- despite what the Hollywood film says, Mario and Luigi do not have last names
- Miyamoto feels different characters can take on different roles in each game
- this is why Mario and Bowser fight in the main games, but race together in Mario Kart
- Miyamoto compares this to the Popeye series and how those characters took on different roles
- Miyamoto views Mario and other characters as one big family, or maybe, a group of actors
- Miyamoto does consider Yoshi's Island as part of the Mario series
- Chargin' Chuck throws baseballs because Nintendo wanted variation in attacks, but had to work within resources. Decisions were made that seemed a bit weird due to these restrictions
- Mario's natural hair color is brown
- the hair color choices were made due to limitations on the NES
- Miyamoto sees Mario as a blue-collar worker, and this is generally the only rule he follows when putting Mario into various roles
- Miyamoto does admit that seeing Mario as a doctor may seem a bit unbelievable

WHAAAAAAAAAA?!?!?



Well, talk about rewriting a part of history. Then who the hell are they?! Thanks to Sack for the heads up.

This really is a discussion between Shigeru Miyamoto and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii. It's from a long time ago, but the conversation is still just as entertaining today.

Miyamoto: I wanted to do a game that revolved around raising a child. I might be ripping something off by saying this, but your kid would start off not knowing anything and not being able to speak and you'd teach them everything. If you taught them something contradictory, it would cause a disruption and you'd get to see their reaction. They'd keep getting smarter. Just as I was thinking this, though, a game called Puppy Love came out in the States.

Horii: A long time ago, before I made Okhotsk, I had the idea for a game where your partner was a robot that gradually gained new memories. You'd raise him RPG-style. I imagined it would be interesting to have a game that was two-sided. If you gave it an order it didn't understand, it would ask you what you meant, and you'd tell it what you wanted it to do. Then, next time you gave the command, it would do it, growing smarter and smarter.

Miyamoto: How about a game where you get to be a mother-in-law who bully's your son's young wife? It'd be like in Star of the Giants where the wife wouldn't submit to you and you'd have to compete with her by trying to throw her out of the house within a certain number of months.

Horii: That's one kind of RPG, alright. You play a certain role. I think it would be neat to have a really tragic RPG as well. Because it isn't real life, everything you do goes wrong, and you get to marvel at how bad the situation becomes.

Miyamoto: It would be fun to see just how far you could go with it.

Horii: "My wife walked out on me! Where did she go?! What should I do?" Talk about funny.

Miyamoto: I think people would accuse us game designers of being cruel if we were to do that.

#shigerumiyamoto In 1989, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii for an interview. The two spoke about practically everything, from game design to their latest titles (like Link to the Past) to the future, but what I found most interesting was the pair's ideas on making games about teaching. More »

“I think my starting point was I wanted to write and draw manga. Basically, this hope of mine materialised in game creation. So, to put it very simply, it’s my job. My driving force is that I really love surprising people, creating fun experiences and moments for them, [and] finding ways to help them enjoy themselves.” - Shigeru Miyamoto

I think Miyamoto does a pretty damn good job at surprising people and creating fun experiences. I hope he never disappears!

Coming from Miyamoto in a 1989 interview...

"When we’re doing an action game, we make the second level first. We begin making level 1 once everything else is completed."

I wonder if Nintendo still follows this design approach. Miyamoto obviously felt it important back in the day!