Dante Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 The father of modern video gaming, he created iconic characters like Mario and Donkey Kong. His latest big hit is the Nintendo Wii game system. Shigeru Miyamoto will now take your questions. Do you think the success of the Wii--an interactive system that emphasizes physical activity--will change the gaming culture? —Will Chung, TAIPEI I hope that in 10 years people will look back and see both the Wii and Nintendo DS [a handheld system] as devices that helped redefine what a video game is--if you can even call it a video game. Are you happy that the Wii is seen as a form of exercise? —Jonah Eaton, LAUREL, MD. While working on Wii Fit [a new exercise game with a balance board for yoga and other activities], we got letters from fans who wanted some type of exercise program. We were very happy to see that response from consumers, but it also put a bit of pressure on us to try to get it completed. What do you say to the gamers who accuse Nintendo of catering to the casual gamer and not the hard-core gamer? —Sean Rhodes, AURORA, COLO. At E3 [a gaming trade show], I was a little concerned about defining people as a hard-core gamer vs. a casual gamer. But there are hard-core gamers who play a lot of casual games. Nintendo's focus is to break down the barriers between those two groups and consider everyone just gamers. Are any of your games, like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, meant to send important messages, or are they just supposed to be fun? —Matt Perry, LONDON When I create a game, I try to focus more on the emotions that the player experiences during the game play. But in the case of the Zelda games, the producer puts some messages about good and evil into the game. Many criticize the reuse of franchises like Mario. Do you prefer to create new characters or work with old ones? —Shabaab Kamal, BETHESDA, MD. I try not so much to create new characters and worlds but to create new game-play experiences. If a new experience is better suited to a new type of character or world than one of our existing franchises, then we might create a new character or world around it. What one game has revolutionized the industry? —Lucas Ross, SHOREVIEW, MINN. Space Invaders. Before I saw it, I was never particularly interested in video games and certainly never thought I would make video games. Do you think violent or explicit games can negatively influence young children? —Reinhart Klein, SEATTLE The obvious objective of video games is to entertain people by surprising them with new experiences. Violence is one means of doing that, [though] I look to make people laugh or smile. But the more we have parents playing video games themselves, the more they will understand the interactive world and how to deal with games that have a tremendous amount of violence. How do you see video games evolving in the future? —Dave Barnhardt, FORT ERIE, ONT. In the past, video games had a more relevant place in pop culture. What we are trying to achieve with devices like Wii and Nintendo DS is bring gaming back to that relevant role not only in pop culture but also in society in general. What advice do you have for aspiring video-game designers? —William Abeel, FREEHOLD, N.J. The most important thing is to create--when I was young, I made comics and puppets. Then take those creations and show them to people so you get feedback. Whether it is positive feedback or even if they make fun of it, repeating that process is a good thing for being prepared to make games. Are video games something we should grow out of? Are you still a kid at heart? —Christopher Solis, SAN FRANCISCO I think that inside every adult is the heart of a child. We just gradually convince ourselves that we have to act more like adults. Nintendo wants to make it easier for people to never grow out of video games. You stated in an interview with Business Week that you wanted the Wii to cost $100--instead of $250. Any chance we will see the price drop? —Toss Condon, Calgary, Canada Unfortunately, I am not in the position to announce any changes in price, but the truth of the matter is that technology is something that gets more inexpensive over time. In most games, the female is the one being rescued. But in Metroid, the main character was female. Is Nintendo trying to make games more appealing to female players? —Rosendo Leon, Vista, California I wasn't the one who created Metroid, but I have long been interested in games with females playing the lead role and I think we will continue to see more. Nintendo doesn't try to focus on games that specifically appeal to females—we just try to create games with a universal appeal. Who is your favorite video game character? Are any based on yourself, even a little? —Deanna Trevethan, York, Pennsylvania That is a difficult question because I don't really have a favorite—though I have been making Mario for a very long time. I guess it is possible that I put some of my own personality into him. When you have free time, do you play video games yourself? Do you have a favorite? —Brett Arlotti, Tokyo I spend so much time working on video games that I don't have a lot of free time to devote to actually playing them. I have been having so much fun working on Wii Fit and Super Mario Galaxy that right now those are my favorite. Sony and Microsoft have always been stiff competitors. What's Nintendo's game plan for dealing with this? —Daniel Wang, Beijing I always get asked that question, but the fact of the matter is that we don't really view them as competition. The biggest challenges are keeping games relevant to society and trying to expand the way people can enjoy them. That is why this time we have chosen a very different path from those two companies. It is not about competition, it is about making fun and entertaining experiences that everyone can enjoy. What did you aspire to as a child, or as a young adult? —Casey Jamieson, Huntington, Vermont When I first entered Nintendo they weren't even making video games, I joined [the company] thinking that I was going to do product planning. Shortly after, Space Invaders came out and I thought that might be something I might want to do. Actually, when I was younger I wanted to be a puppeteer. As High-Definition adoption becomes mainstream over the next few years, how does Nintendo plan to compete in this new market? —Wes Schiel, Atlanta, Georgia Clearly people are adopting HD and I think over time that will be something we will start to look at. We felt that with this generation, what was far more important was making a hardware system that was approachable—something people could look at and say, 'I want this in my home. It is small, quiet and intuitive and I know how to use it.' As HD adoption rates increase, it is likely that we may start looking at that in the future. The Legend of Zelda has enough potential to be the greatest video game based movie of all time. Could we see Link on the big screen in the future? —Jason Zarrilli, Huntsville, Alabama [Laughs] That is a question that always comes up. We have been approached by people before and we have thought about potential ways that it could happen. But I struggle with the Hollywood process. So it is just a question of whether or not we can find something down the road that will meet our desires. For more from Miyamoto read the extra questions. Listen to this interview on Time.com's 10 Questions podcast. Find more interviews at time.com/10questions. 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DanielTimothy Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I think he is too scared after the Super Mario Bros movie to let Link suffer the same fate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy2211 Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 I think he is too scared after the Super Mario Bros movie to let Link suffer the same fate. After watching the TV series of Zelda on Youtube I hope Zelda is never anything but a Video game. Seriously, I felt physically sick. Anyone who hasn't, check them out. They'll tell you why Link should never speak in a game and why Nintendo are so great at not entirely killiing and ruining their franchises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emasher Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 i've always wanted to see pictures of the forest area behind shingsy's house (the one that hyrule is based off of) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-chosen-one Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 they already anounced a new Metroid / Mario / and Zelda movie ( Reggie Anounced it ) i think it was a Year ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fierce_LiNk Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 A pretty good read, I thought. I think I do have to agree with this whole "there is no classification, all gamers are just gamers" reason. It's stupid people claiming to be hardcore. It's not a good thing to claim that, it's downright arrogant. That's what I think anyway. So yeah, Praise be to Shigsy and all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triforcemario Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 To the Zelda movie thing: It could be good, if they had the right mind behind it -Looks at self in the mirror-. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teppo Holmqvist Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 To the Zelda movie thing: It could be good, if they had the right mind behind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triforcemario Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 That failed because it was Phillips and an amateur animation studio behind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowV7 Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 they already anounced a new Metroid / Mario / and Zelda movie ( Reggie Anounced it ) i think it was a Year ago I'm sure Metroid was gonna be a movie but dunno what happened.He didn't confirm movies though,just if they weere gonna do movies,that was the order they would be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathborn Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 In most games, the female is the one being rescued. But in Metroid, the main character was female. Is Nintendo trying to make games more appealing to female players? —Rosendo Leon, Vista, California This guy certainly discovered Metroid with the Prime series... the same kind who compare Metroid to Halo and call themselves hardcore gamer (I hate this name)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Princess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phube Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 What one game has revolutionized the industry? —Lucas Ross, SHOREVIEW, MINN.Space Invaders. Before I saw it, I was never particularly interested in video games and certainly never thought I would make video games. Interesting quote, especially if you read it a certain way... Space Ivaders is the most revolutionary - because it got 'me' into video games. Not the game itself, but because it made him want to make games; thus he revolutionazed the industry!!?? :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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