In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary mind behind Nintendo, concludes the year 2023 at the age of 71. Despite not directly designing games anymore, Miyamoto has paved the way for the new generation of Nintendo employees to take the reins in developing new games. His role now involves overseeing the overall vision and critiquing the new ideas that are being developed.
Miyamoto shares his game design process, emphasizing the importance of focusing on broad concepts in the early stages and then meticulously refining the details towards the end. Sometimes, even after the game has been sent off for production, Miyamoto requests further changes, jokingly stating that the manufacturer staff of Nintendo are accustomed to telling him, “Almost there.”
Miyamoto’s commitment to quality has led to Nintendo games having a lengthy development cycle (for example, the Zelda franchise takes approximately 5 years per game). He acknowledges that the time-consuming nature of creating high-quality games is not an issue because exceptional games have the potential to sell indefinitely. Super Mario Bros, for instance, continues to have ongoing sales and has sold over 60 million units to date.
Shinya Takahashi, another Nintendo executive who has worked closely with Miyamoto for many years, reveals that Miyamoto’s role involves evaluating ideas and determining what works and what doesn’t. Miyamoto tends to downplay lesser ideas while giving minimal praise to the good ones. Miyamoto admits that he is not one to readily hand out compliments, but his way of praising others is by inviting them to work together on future projects.
In the past decade, Miyamoto has shifted his focus away from game design and ventured into projects unrelated to traditional gaming, such as the Super Nintendo World theme park and the upcoming Super Mario Bros movie. He no longer sees himself primarily as a game designer but rather as someone who seeks new opportunities for Nintendo. Miyamoto acknowledges that he doesn’t have a clear plan for what he wants to do next; instead, he adapts to the opportunities that present themselves. Currently, he considers himself a newcomer in the film industry and continues to learn by immersing himself in the process of filmmaking.
During the interview, Miyamoto also reflects on his past, revealing that he initially aspired to become a professional cartoonist while studying industrial design. However, many of his classmates ended up working for car companies or electronic appliance manufacturers. Miyamoto desired something more unconventional, leading him to join Nintendo at a time when the company was transitioning from a playing card manufacturer to a toy company. He found himself at the forefront of the emerging video game industry, beginning his career just as Space Invaders was gaining popularity. A few years later, he was given the opportunity to design games, resulting in the creation of the iconic game, Donkey Kong, which became a worldwide sensation.
TLDR: Shigeru Miyamoto, the renowned Nintendo designer, concludes the year 2023 at the age of 71. Although he no longer directly designs games, he oversees the overarching vision and critiques new ideas. Miyamoto’s game design process involves focusing on broad concepts in the beginning and meticulously refining details towards the end. His commitment to quality has led to lengthy game development cycles, but the success of games like Super Mario Bros proves that exceptional quality sells indefinitely. Miyamoto’s role includes evaluating ideas and inviting collaborators for future projects. In recent years, he has expanded into non-gaming projects like Super Nintendo World and the Super Mario Bros movie. Miyamoto’s journey began as an aspiring cartoonist studying industrial design, leading him to join Nintendo during the transition to the video game industry. His first successful game was Donkey Kong, which became a global phenomenon.
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