Dante Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Miyamoto "Very Sad" During GameCube Era Even the senior managing director of Nintendo feels down now and again -- and as any dyed-in-the-wool Nintendo fan can tell you, there were more than a few things to feel down about during the company's GameCube era. That's why it's perhaps little surprise that in an interview conducted with Famitsu editor-in-chief Katsuaki Kato this week, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed his "sadness" at Nintendo's game-development atmosphere at the time. "There was an era when Nintendo was going in the direction of doing the same things other companies did," Miyamoto told Kato. "The more we competed with new companies entering the market, the more we started acting similar to them. But is being number one in that competition the same as being number one with the general public? That's the question we had. Entertainment is something that you have to look at the world with a very wide eye as you create it. I always thought that, but there were a few years where I was unable to get off other people's trends. It was a dilemma in my mind." Which years were these? "The N64 and the era after it," Miyamoto responds. "I was endlessly fascinated with 3D worlds, but what with all the issues I had to tinker with in terms of rendering and processing speed, it got to the point where I didn't know who was making the games any longer. "This is a job where you have a plan and you polish it endlessly while getting help from others. If Nintendo's games fail to stand out as games that aren't made that way proliferate, then it shows that the creation process is for nothing, which made me very sad. That was especially obvious during the GameCube era; Nintendo titles were hardly even discussed by the [non-gaming] general public back then." As Miyamoto describes it, this creative dead end that he and his development teams felt with the GameCube was one of the primary motivations for Nintendo's new approach -- something first seen with the Game Boy Advance's Classic NES series. "We thought about starting over from scratch and aiming for games that can be played by people who don't play games," he notes. "We did some research, and the result was the Classic NES series, which got the response we were hoping for. In the end we didn't want a new game system, but a product that would make the entire world go crazy. And so [ex-Nintendo president Hiroshi] Yamauchi said 'two screens.' That turned the development lab upside down!" The core concept of the DS was a pretty far-out idea even by Nintendo standards. "Doing that would make the system larger and essentially double the price," Miyamoto said. "And yet we thought that it'd be a new surprise for the general public, that it wouldn't be a bad way to attract the interest of a wide band of people. So we went through some trial-and-error work which ultimately connected to the touch pen, something I had wanted to have for a while. I didn't think two screens was enough to make the DS a success, but the touch pen is what puts it all together, both in terms of cost and design. That's what helps make it seem fascinating to people." And to think: we wouldn't have the successful, powerful Nintendo of today if it weren't for the era of "connectivity" and little purple boxes. 1UP.
Guest Jordan Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Well, now he's happy. We're all pissed off. Madworld can't come out soon enough.
Guest Captain Falcon Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 The only games being discussed back by the non gaming community were which ones the daily red tops could pin the latest murder on (and other general scare mongering) - they should be glad.
mcj metroid Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 well he didn't exactly help during the gamecube era did he.. i mean pikmin and er that's it? sure he supervised a shite load of projects but he could have done so much more but then again after wii music maybe we were better off..
Teppo Holmqvist Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) Well, now he's happy. We're all pissed off. Oh mighty True Gamer , I'm so glad that you are speaking for all of us. It's not like us mere mortals couldn't even comprehend that it is wrong that we enjoy Wii games. Oh thank you so very much. * kisses Jordan's feets * Edited March 11, 2009 by Teppo Holmqvist
Ren of Heavens Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Nintendo (not counting Retro and HAL) didn't really make any revolutionary games in the GC era. Mario Sunshine and Mario Kart DD was arguably the worst in their respective series. Wind Waker is perhaps the closest with it's beautiful cel-shaded graphics and being a great game overall. Pikmin was good, but not legendary good. All other Nintendo-made games were pretty mediocre, at least in terms of innovation. Older series getting a bit better graphics and some new features, like Mario Golf, Mario Power Tennis etc. The creative edge from older generations were gone.
Emasher Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 You know, I seem to remember 2007 and the end of 2006, and even the beginning of 2008 being great years for Nintendo games. Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Mario Kart, Brawl, ect. And we had one bad year, which happens every generation, and people have suddenly lost faith in Nintendo. This year is looking to be another great year like 2007 was.
Teppo Holmqvist Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 You know, I seem to remember 2007 and the end of 2006, and even the beginning of 2008 being great years for Nintendo games. Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Mario Kart, Brawl, ect. And we had one bad year, which happens every generation, and people have suddenly lost faith in Nintendo. This year is looking to be another great year like 2007 was. Majority of people have short attention span, and even shorter memory. What did you except?
Emasher Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Majority of people have short attention span, and even shorter memory. What did you except? True, but I see no problem with a little reminder.
or else you will DIE Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 as of now, the Gamecube library slaughters the Wii's imo
Guest Jordan Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Oh mighty True Gamer , I'm so glad that you are speaking for all of us. It's not like us mere mortals couldn't even comprehend that it is wrong that we enjoy Wii games. Oh thank you so very much. * kisses Jordan's feets * You honestly feel happy with the Wii's line up at the moment? The GameCube, whilst it didn't have a huge library, it had a stream of extremely high quality games. The Wii, has a huge amount of party games. I have 24 Wii games, but it feels like first party intention was to get all early adopters in with first year games... and that's it. What have we got to look forward to? A Punch-Out remake, Another Code (i'm actually excited about this), Sin and Punishment 2 (not a huge fan of the first one), Excitebots? The other 2 consoles have HUGE libraries full of astoundingly high quality games. I want to love my Wii, but the only game i'm really interested in is Madworld at this point. I don't want more on-rail shooters either...
Pookiablo Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 as of now, the Gamecube library slaughters the Wii's imo Truth is, the N64 library flattens anything that Nintendo's made since the release of the Cube, with the exception of Galaxy and Mario Kart Wii!
Shino Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 The other 2 consoles have HUGE libraries full of astoundingly high quality games. I want to love my Wii, but the only game i'm really interested in is Madworld at this point. I don't want more on-rail shooters either... Why are you blaming Nintendo? How many of the awesome games in the other consoles are inhouse development? Nintendo is not the problem here, its the same shit ass support the devs give it like they always did.
darksnowman Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) Majority of people have short attention span, and even shorter memory. What did you except? Thats why Nintendo make short games now! :wink: Lol. Anyway, Shigsy's and Nintendo are right. They've made two great consoles with the Wii and the DS which have helped reinvigorate a lot of gamers. No they can't seem to please everyone, but then its not like Microsoft or Sony please 100% of the population either. Edited March 11, 2009 by darksnowman
Ren of Heavens Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 As I've said before the main problem with the Wii line-up so far is third party support (which is about to change starting with MadWorld). Nintendo gave us Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii Fit, AC: City Folk and Mario Kart Wii last year. Not too bad, really.
Teppo Holmqvist Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 You honestly feel happy with the Wii's line up at the moment? Yes, and I hope it pisses you off.
Guest Jordan Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Yes, and I hope it pisses you off. Why would it piss me off? If you're happy with the current selection, good for you. Don't be an arse because i'm not... :-/
Teppo Holmqvist Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 As I've said before the main problem with the Wii line-up so far is third party support (which is about to change starting with MadWorld). Nintendo gave us Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii Fit, AC: City Folk and Mario Kart Wii last year. Not too bad, really. Indeed. The problem with these discussions is always that people are so goddamn nostalgic about the past, and lack any kind of perspective. They cry how Wii doesn't have same amount of games on its second year that Gamecube had on its fifth, and elevate old games into pedestals that they belong.
Jimbob Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) You honestly feel happy with the Wii's line up at the moment? The GameCube, whilst it didn't have a huge library, it had a stream of extremely high quality games. The Wii, has a huge amount of party games. I have 24 Wii games, but it feels like first party intention was to get all early adopters in with first year games... and that's it. What have we got to look forward to? A Punch-Out remake, Another Code (i'm actually excited about this), Sin and Punishment 2 (not a huge fan of the first one), Excitebots? The other 2 consoles have HUGE libraries full of astoundingly high quality games. I want to love my Wii, but the only game i'm really interested in is Madworld at this point. I don't want more on-rail shooters either... You know, i happen to agree with you on this. The GC had a stream of games which could be deemed as excellent. (these included Twin Snakes, Eternal Darkness to name a few gems), even though the console didn't do too good compared to the PS2, it had the games to keep us gamers hooked. The Wii mostly has party games, which annoys me. We have a console with the potential to make huge leaps in the gaming world and all we get (apart from some games like Mario Kart, Smash Bros etc) are party games. E3 last year annoyed me to high water. While the 360 got GoW 2 as a big game, one of the Wii's biggest games was..................... Wii-sports 2. Wtf!!!!!!. We gamers may have been shafted with the Wii, being cast aside and all that for these non-gamers who think games like Carnival fun and My Horse and Me (used for examples) are the best thing to hit the console. Even the DS is following suit with party-style games. Ever wonder why i got a 360 as well, there is the reason above. And the reason why Smash Bros and Mario Kart are 2 of the main games i play on the Wii. I feel embarrased again with the current Wii line-up. And for anyone who is happy with the current Wii-line up of games, good for you. I am pleased for you, its just that i;m not too pleased with it at the moment. Edited March 11, 2009 by Jimbob
Retro_Link Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) Why would it piss me off? If you're happy with the current selection, good for you. Don't be an arse because i'm not... :-/ Yeah come on Teppo, keep it friendly! Edited March 11, 2009 by Retro_Link
Guest Jordan Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Indeed. The problem with these discussions is always that people are so goddamn nostalgic about the past, and lack any kind of perspective. They cry how Wii doesn't have same amount of games on its second year that Gamecube had on its fifth, and elevate old games into pedestals that they belong. To be honest. I count one "new" game there. As awesome as Brawl was, it was Melee with polish and a few new features... And a massively broken online component. Animal Crossing was lazy as hell. Its the SAME game we've had for the last 4 iterations with a few new features each release. Why aren't they ambitious? I don't want to give Tom Nook my bells anymore... or collect fossils, again. Mario Kart Wii is fantastic. Sure the AI is a little cheap, but its probably the best MK since MK64. I'll put it this way. My favourite game of the last decade is Mario Galaxy. I fucking LOVE that game. Why isn't there more like this on the Wii? It looks beautiful, it sounded astounding, the level design was perfect and the mechanics were awesome! Why not more like this?
david.dakota Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Nintendo gave us Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii Fit, AC: City Folk and Mario Kart Wii last year All of these games were COMPLETED for release in Japan in 2007.
Jimbob Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 All of these games were COMPLETED for release in Japan in 2007. True, but none were released in the EU until 2008. I am going to pick up Galaxy soon, because it is one game i am after and have been after for a long time now.
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