The Engadget & Joystiq Interview: Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto
posted October 3rd 2005 1:20PM
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me this morning. The first thing I wanted to ask you about was Nintendogs, which has been a big hit for Nintendo-specifically about the inspiration for the game and what inspiration you might have found in earlier games. Well with development, you spend usually one to two years on a game. But in actuality, you kind of have ideas that are floating around in your head for three, four, even five years before that. In my case, oftentimes I'll just have an object sitting my desk that'll be sitting there for a long time, and I'll kind of interact with it and it will spur ideas. In this case, about four years ago, my family and I bought a dog and started taking care of it and that became the impetus for this project.
One of the more popular aspects of the game is when two Nintendogs players have their dogs wirelessly
interact with each other. Where do you think wireless gaming might go from here? What else do you think wireless gaming
can do that hasn't been done yet?
Nintendo is a company that isn't just about wireless, we're a company that's focused very heavily on linking players
and bringing them together. And it's something that's been a challenge for us. We've put a lot of effort into it and we
feel we've got a very rich experience in that area. We've had ideas about coincidental linking with other players, and
obviously, with the Game Boy Advance sometimes even up to eight.
But with the DS what we wanted was to have a system that had that linking capability inherent in the
system and built into it, so that you didn't have to have use cables. And as we began working on the DS, we also wanted
to add in these ideas of coincidental linking, so that while you have the DS or while you're playing, it will link up
with other DSes, perhaps without you knowing. And so we've been building on those ideas since then.
With the DS we'd really like the idea of this linking coincidentally to be something that's unintentional, that happens
when you don't even realize it. We thought that there would be a lot of fun inherent in that process. There's another
aspect to owning a dog, and so we wanted to include into the game the fact that when you have a dog and you take your
dog out for a walk, people that normally would just pass by on the street if you didn't have a dog will suddenly talk
to you because the dog becomes a kind of gateway between you and that other person. And so just by owning a dog and
taking a dog for a walk, it expands your communication possibilities. We wanted to implement that in Nintendogs, and
obviously we have the idea of people taking their dogs for a walk as part of the game play, anyway, and we wanted to
use that and again combine that with a way in the future to kind of create this communication aspect to the game, where
it essentially allows you to interact with other people. In Japan we've had ideas about using the DS to exchange
business cards and those types of things, and we felt that this was a similar type idea that was very easily
implemented.
Then, of course, we have the Nintendo WiFi connection that we'll be launching this fall with the DS. And so I think
combined between the local wireless and the Nintendo WiFi connection, we're going to see a lot of different types of
game play emerging and evolving from what we've seen in the past.
Nintendogs seems to be part of a relatively new genre of gaming. Obviously, there are some antecedents like
Tamagotchi and other virtual pet games, but where do you see the this new genre going? What kinds of new ideas might we
see building off of Nintendogs?
Are you asking about the Nintendogs franchise specifically?
No, in general.
Actually, the one thing that we took great care in when creating Nintendogs is that we wanted to make it a game that
gamers would find fun and enjoyable. But at the same time, we needed to make sure that it would be the type of game
that people who don't play games—who see the type of strategy, the level of detail and the difficulty in games and get
turned off by that—we needed to make sure that those people would not be turned off by Nintendogs. We didn't want it to
be the type of game where it has different levels and maps, and you have to and work your way through that.
Really, we wanted it to be the type of game where you could tell just by picking it up and touching it and just getting
your hands on it that it is going to be a fun experience in and of itself. And it doesn't need to be the type of game
where you are clearing levels or not clearing levels. And I think what that means is that this model that we've seen in
gaming so far, where you have a laid-out strategy, you have a map that you go through in a game and you have a clear
objective, that this not necessarily the only type of game that's out there. We're going to see new types of games
emerging with different types of interfaces. We're not going to have to rely so much on simply taking advantage of new
technology to bump up the AI and that sort of thing. We're really going to start to see more unique types of game play
that are going to appeal to a very broad audience. You know that Nintendo's model is to attract gamers from ages 5 to
95. So I think that it allows us to kind of break out of the framework that we've seen in gaming so far and explore it
with new types of ideas.
That actually leads me into my next question about the Revolution, specifically about the new controller which
was unveiled recently. How much of a risk do you think Nintendo is taking with this new controller design? Do you think
that the gaming public — as well as the wider public that you might be trying to attract, to branch out to — do you
think that they're ready for this new approach to gaming?
To be honest, I'm just truly confident in our plan. Obviously, we've been talking a
lot about the new interface, the new functionality of the Revolution controller and the new types of game play it's
going to offer, but although we've mentioned it, we haven't really talked too much about how it does have an expansion
slot on the bottom of the controller. And what that expansion slot allows for are controller expansions.
From our perspective the Revolution controller is the new controller, everything else is now the classic controller.
And with this expansion, you'll be able to have a classic controller that expands the functionality of the core unit.
And to be honest, we've already—
It'll have that more traditional form factor?
Exactly. We've got something that would be very similar in style and form to the Wave Bird already complete. What that
allows us to do is that we have all of these new features. We have the new functionality of the Wave Bird controller
and we have new ways that players will be able to interact with games. But at the same time, we've retained all the
functionality of the classic-style controller, so that people who are familiar with games and familiar with that style
of game play are going to be able to have the types of experiences that they're expecting, on top of all of these new
experiences that they've never imagined before. And so in that sense, to be honest, I think it's a spectacular plan and
we're very confident. Obviously we've doing a lot of experiments with interfaces over the years and we think that that
experience has really taken us in a direction that's going to be very successful for us.
All that's left for us is to take a look at the software to support the controller. Personally, I feel that
first-person shooters are really well-suited for this controller. I've worked on them in the past in the Metroid Prime
Series. And to be honest, I felt that first-person shooter controls on a classic controller were kind of clunky. They
didn't feel very—they didn't feel very right. Whereas with this controller, with the nunchuck-style of controller it's
extremely natural and extremely intuitive. First-person shooters are a genre that are very popular in the United
States, and I think that when gamers get their hands on this controller and start playing first-person shooters with it
they're going to find it's probably the best way to play that kind of game.
Do you think that most of the games that will be available on launch will actually take full advantage of the
new controller? Or do you think it's something that will have to evolve over time?
Well, as we've seen with the Nintendo DS it's taken us about six months for games like Nintendogs and the Brain
Training games we've introduced in Japan to came out, and these are software that can only be achieved on a Nintendo
DS. So in that sense, it took us a little while to get full functionality out of the DS. But for the Revolution launch
we're trying to have software that takes as much advantage of the Revolution controller as possible. The one advantage
we have in this area is that the Revolution development can actually be done on the Game Cube development environment.
So the development kits are going to have a very similar structure to the Game Cube development kits, which makes it
very easy for people who have started projects on the Game Cube development kits to just switch over the interface and
continue working and have those games ready for the Revolution. We're thinking that we're going to be able to have a
pretty strong launch.
I wanted to ask another question about wireless gaming. Nintendo made a strong push into wireless gaming
with the DS, but a lot of people seem to think that the cellphone is going to evolve into a larger platform for mobile
gaming. How does the cellphone fit into Nintendo's future? Would you ever collaborate with a cellphone company on a
gaming cellphone, sort of like how Motorola and Apple collaborated on an iTunes phone?
Well actually in the past Nintendo did release a cable in Japan that connected the Game Boy color to cell phones. But
in terms of actually using cell phones themselves as gaming systems for Nintendo games, I think that number one you
have to overcome battery life problems. I think that's a big issue. And number two: there are issues with just plain
old difficulty of use. Cellphones really are designed to be used to dial numbers and used as a telephone, and trying to
convert that into a gaming system can be very difficult. And so I think on those fronts, it may be some time before
Nintendo were ever to go in that direction.
But having said that, I would like to show you the Game Boy Micro, which is a cell phone-size game machine.
[Miyamoto pulls a Game Boy Micro out of his pocket.] This is the
Play-Yan device that they released in Japan which
plays music and movies.
A lot of people have been importing these over here.
This could actually be, I think, the smallest and best looking movie player that you can buy. I think that we're going
to gradually see more and more of this idea of convergence, where multi-functionality is incorporated into a simple
device. But at the same time, as an entertainment company, you still need to have a device that is very simple and easy
to use, so that you can reach as many people as possible. But kind of like how Windows has gradually become an easier
to use system with more and more features, I think we may see a similar trend.
Do you think that the Revolution will go on sale before the PlayStation 3?
Nintendo PR representative: We're really not disclosing all the Revolution details right now. I know
everybody's anxious to hear about it.
Fair enough, but speaking of your competition, what do you think is Nintendo's specific advantage over
Microsoft and Sony? What makes Nintendo different from those companies? You have a longer history in gaming, but
besides franchises like Mario and Zelda and things like that, what else makes the company really different from those
two?
Well, I think that Sony and Microsoft have studied Nintendo's business model. They've looked at the current genres of
games and the types of games that have been launched in the past, and they've found a way to take advantage of
technology and push those games further, using technology. And I think that both of those companies are very strong in
that role. I think the difference is that Nintendo, itself, is an entertainment company. And for many years, we've been
looking for ways to take ideas that can entertain people and turning those ideas into entertainment products. I think
we're very strong in that area and I think we'll continue to be strong in that area. And I also think that because
we're a company that is selling not only the hardware, but also the software, that we're putting those two pieces
together as a product. That's another strength of ours, the fact that we have software development teams that work in
conjunction with hardware development teams. And it's a tremendous strength that we have, one that I don't think some
of the other companies have.
Some long-time Nintendo fans complain that Mario is turning up in too many different games and too many
different genres. Do you think that there's a risk that he's being relied on too much or that maybe his impact is being
diluted by being in so many different types of games?
At this point in time my team is still the team that's solely responsible for all Mario
platform games. We created Mario platform games and we're going to be the team that continues to do that. For the true
Mario games, that is, the true Mario platform games, we're still at a point where you can expect a high-quality true
Mario platform game once every few years; we're not just going to continue to turn those out.
As far as the Mario character games go, I really feel that Mario is a brand for Nintendo. And what Mario is, is a
character that allows both gamers and non-gamers to relate to video games. He brings people in. He makes them feel
comfortable. And in that sense, I think he's very good. He can introduce a lot of people to video games because he's a
character that people know. And when they see him in a game, they may be more willing to pick up that game and maybe
experience a new genre. And in that sense, I think that it's not weakening the brand whatsoever.
Another challenge was, of course, with the shift to 3-D. And in the original shift to 3-D, there was obviously
challenges in trying to create quality a 3-D Mario and quality 3-D Mario games, and quality models, as well. And so
what we've done now is we've put together these baseline models that are used across all the games. And so that also
has become a strength is that, we have a standard character group with the Nintendo that is responsible for managing
the use of the Mario models, and so they're able to provide the models to different developers who are using Mario in
their game. And so there's actually, I think, a strength, because you've got a consistent model that's apparent in the
game consistent character appearance. And I think that's been a good strength for us, too.
I know we're running out of time, but I've been dying to ask you about this. Around the time of E3 there was
a fan-made video circulating of what was supposedly an unannounced new helmet-based Nintendo virtual reality video game
system called Nintendo ON. What did you think of it, if you've seen it?
I guess I'll have to take a look at that video!
You've never seen it?
No.
There are plenty of people who insist that the video is actually a real Nintendo product and we, along with a lot of
other people, have had to spend a lot of time debunking it. Why do you think that so many Nintendo fans might be so
willing to believe that it was real? It seems like it really struck a chord with a lot of people.
Obviously, Nintendo's has done research on that type of thing in the past, so who knows. Maybe it's possible that
something like that may come out of Nintendo one day.
I had lost faith in Nintento long ago and went the Sony way. PSX, PSX 2. I was of the first to start ctitizicing the new controller for the Revolution. Now after analizing what Sony is offering with their Play Station 3 I think this next generation I will omit Sony and go whith the Revolution.
In my humble opinion, the Play Station 3 is overpriced and more of the same just better graphics than the PS 2, and I its controller consider a step back form the dual shock).
I did rather play whith a Nunchaku than whith a boomerang!
With Nintendo, it has always been about the games more so than the hardware. That said I would like to suggest a obvious pairing. Miyamoto and Miyazaki. Shigeru Miyamoto and Hayao Miyazaki should pair up on a game inspired by "Spirited Away." This should feature Miyamoto's game-play and themes and artwork by Miyazaki. The innovation of this type of game is right up Nintendo's alley. I am surprised this has not been pursued.
Beautiful interview! God, I would have loved to be you in that picture. *bows down*
I will say to Chance: ("...trying to jugle two analog sticks in halo is just frustrating. I would rather have to deal with hot keys - At least you don't have to dislocate your fingers in order to press a black or white button.") I don't know if you play Halo using the huge, clunky f-style of the controller or not, but you might be better off trying the s-style model - things are placed in a way that's much easier to reach. Though it took me a while to get used to the double joystick thing when I got into these games, too XD I was used to the mouse-and-WASD thing (years of Doom, Quake and UT conditioning).
And, ("Over all, I'm not satisfied with this generation of consoles and increasingly find myself dusting off my N64 and SNES.") I agree. I've been plastering myself to my boyfriend's old nintendo systems lately, especially for F-Zero X... lol.
Conrad - it's funny you should mention that ("It's weird to think that a company that innovates as much as Nintendo can have trouble with moving its focus onto something which now seems extremely basic."), because I thought about that when I first saw the results of this. It wasn't how I was used to thinking of that whole schema, and it must have been something else for them to put it all through that process :)
<3 Nintendo <3 ^^
+ Arcade Kitten +
( and when I went back to f-style for a day I kept smacking Y on accident... lol )
+ Arcade Kitten +
esto es para todos los hispanos del mundo que saben leer ingles, soy fan de nintendo, todos sabemos que el playstation es una copia de nintendo empezando por los joystiqs que copiaron y pusieron dos solo para impresionar(parece que lo hicieron bien),que para mi gusto no servia para nada el segundo joystick, luego, el rumble pack, sony vuelve a copiar y los incluye dentro del control(volvio a impresionar), sony empieza a sacar nuevos juegos, muchos demasiados que de 100 dos son algo buenos, leugo vendian videos como lo es final fantasy juego de videos no de accion, y todos los juegos pobres en graficas pero traian su FMV que a primera vista si impresionaban, pero ese no era el chiste el chiste era ver juegos entretenidos como el mario 64, mario kart, golden eye, perfect dark( que el nuevo ya no es de mi agrado), the legend of zelda, el jeugo mas vendido en todo el mundo y porque?, pues porque tiene lo que un videojugador nesecita para entretenerse. Tengo mucho por contar pero creo que con esto es suficiente, VIVA LA REVOLUTION.
To everybody talkin' 'bout the graphics bein under powered. How come RE4 on the GC looks better than anything on the PS2?
No ofense I am not a fan boy but am curios as to why if the GC has less power than the PS2 for the PS2 port of RE4 Capcom is reducing the frame rate and resolution in order for it to work on the PS2???
The GC has a much more further potencial than PS2, if you play good & evil or Prince of Persia 2 on any of the both plattaforms the PS2 version works much slower (frames second) than the GC and of course the Xbox version... Still it is somehow tricky to chose between the GC version and the PS2 version because the ps2 has a full DVD capacity meantime the GC has only Mini-DVD (faster loading but who cares??), its great for the size but sucks for the lack of Media and Information... I hope they dont screw that again with REVOLUTION! Final Fantasy VII would have come out in N64 if they had CDS... (was firstly created for N64 and then transfered) imagine how many more other games would the N64 have with cd tecknology!. Kinda the same hapened with GC (again less games for GC and more for the silly PS2 with greater media info), will the same happen with REVOLUTION?? GOOD QUESTION!!! who knows what format is REVO having?
I am still a nintendo fan and got all nintendo consoles... AND I AM GETTING THE REVOLUTION!!
(and the PS3 too :P)
What a bunch of mindless fanboys...
I can see that engadget is a Nintendo fanboy nest... so here comes a bit of painful reality...
Nintendo is no better than $ony (or Micro$oft for that matter). They're a bunch of greedy bitches who want nothing but people's money. Their only difference is, they're hypocrites.
They like to make it sound like they have a "passion" for "providing people with entertainment"... BULLSHIT! They couldn't care less about you. Everything they do and say is about marketing. They sell cheaper because they can manufacture for less (from near slavery in China and Taiwan, even more than $ony). Who cares about child abuse if you get cute puppies, right? ;)
So you think that unlike the Nintendo gaming systems, PS has nothing but rehashed versions of conventional games like Wipeout, Tekken and MGS, right? Right. Now take a look at the majority of Nintendo consoles.. Mario, Mario this, Mario that. Wow, so much imagination! Talk about milking the cow!
Take a few minutes to think about Nintendo's innovation. The Revolution controller is just a reborn duck hunt pistol, designed for general use and to appeal to grandmas. Now, I'm not saying that's not a good thing, but it is being MARKETED as more revolutionary than what it really is. The DS is a cheaper (cheap as in cheaper manufacturing) PDA. There is a bit to be gained in gameplay with the stylus use - I tried playing with a DS and it was fun - but only so much.
The bottom line is, if you want to credit someone for inventing videogames, go meet the guys who invented pong and pacman, instead of serving the Nintendo propaganda machine.
I do play videogames, but I'm aware of how things work in the real world.
Good job I am a HUGE fan of Nintendo and it made me feel good that they were excepted in gaming (Like Sony and Microsoft). Nintendogs and Dance Dance Mario Revolution mix look good.
SUPER SMASH BROTHERS MELEE the best fighting game, is perfect, you can do what you want, you feel free to combat, is amazing, of course ONLY FOR NINTENDO.
But of course my super smash brothers fan.
Only Nintendo(not even Capcom or EA)knows how
to make games.Really, or do you even feel
confortable with those ''quater of loop plus punch'' keys of Street fighters? NO!!
Want cool games? Get Nintendo.
Because every here knows that...
Sony & microsoft
Para Egdar
Muy bien dicho cuate! Tienes razon Sony haria lo que sea por $-lana-$ y usa la sombra y restos de NINTENDO, en ves de "playstation" deberia ser el "PLAY-IMITATION". miren ahi, en
el tianguis, es una video casetera? no, es un
asiento, tampoco, es Igualable,
copiable, ridiculo e inservible, el playstation.
Ni tu ni yo tenemos que preocuparnos por el PS3, con "Revolution" ya la hicimos.
"They sell cheaper because they can manufacture for less (from near slavery in China and Taiwan, even more than $ony)" If your going to bag somone atleast get your facts right! My GC clearly has MADE IN JAPAN written on it and my ps2 has MADE IN CHINA! Perhaps nintendo made it in china and just relabeld it...perhaps not. Fanboy or not every true gamer knows that no system is better in every way then the next but NINTENDO ALL THE WAY!!!
Hehe. Nintendo has cheaper products, but they're made in Japan - that's a major sticking point. Things made in China tend to break easily. I wonder why.
If I had the choice between made in Japan and made in China - no contest, Japan.
Besides, cheap is a good thing here. I'm not paying 500 for the next gen console. Hello, I got other things in life to worry about. Like tuition fees.
I always love to hear about new stuff from Nintendo, especially a legend like Miyamoto. Although I have gripes about the controller, I do have confidence that this console will be great.
I would, actually, have a different answer for the question asked about what Nintendo's advantages are over its competitors. I would say that Nintendo is better in the fact that it is creative and tries new things with consoles and such. Whereas, Sony and Microsoft, from console to console, make improvements to graphics, gameplay, etc., but never try anything new. That's my opinion.
I'll be waiting in line as long as I have to next year, for the Revolution and for tLoZ Twilight Princess.
Nintendo is the best.
Better than all the rest.
Oh, brilliant.
Everyone say "thank you" to Alejandro for breaking the layout.
`Jesus, who let Commonsense kid and his "i hate nintendo" rant? Someone hand him Halo and send him to play with the other 13 years olds!
BTW, Im nintendo all the way,
GTA? Wow, so they copied Zelda for nin64, slapped vehicles on it (*cough* unimpressed*)
Halo? Goldenye was the first great fps for consoles. Why do you think MS paid millions for the sequel to perfect dark?
Controller? Nintendo was first, be it rumble pack, analog stick or wireless.
CD-rom? *remembers seeing cd rom attachment for SNES back in 93-4*
Soundchip? Nintendo had the first console to prioratise soundtracks, just play any dragonquest/ final fantasy
Japanese Rpgs? Dragon quest was released on NES first.
Kart games? Is that Pacman kart Im seeing for the PSP and Shrek swamp racing for the Xbox? *humms mario kart theme*
3D? Mode 7, Nintendo broke the 2D barrier before any console.
Just because Nintendo prefers to try new things and make sure people have fun with their games, will always make us nintendo fanboys the object of hatred.
Shigeru is God (so's Steve Jobs ;-) )
Its good being the object of envy..