Shiggy talks to Japanese publication Mainichi about the GameCube launch in Japan, NGC’s online future, game design and more in this delightful translated chat!
Thanks to Fennec Fox, proprietor of the always wonderful Video Senki, a recent Mainichi online interview with Shigeru Miyamoto has been translated into English. Miyamoto talks about the less-than-stellar Japanese launch, the GameCube and its online future and what he feels is important in game design.
Q: The Gamecube was released back in September, but we didn't see the lines we were all expecting.
A: I'll admit that, deep down, I wanted it to sell a little better. It's not a simple matter anymore to sell something that costs 30 or 40,000 yen with software, especially when it's not even Christmas season. Still Pikmin's done well enough to get a repeat [another manufacturing run].
Q: Were you considering releasing a Mario or Zelda game along with the system?
A: It's no given that the same pattern will work over and over again. You've always got to try new things. It's obvious that the industry is slowing down. That's why we, the creators of video games, have to change ourselves. I'm not going to deny what we did in the past, but we've got to keep getting more people interested in games who wouldn't normally care.
Q: Many people think that Nintendo is pessimistic about online games.
A: That's not really true; we treat games as a form of communication. That's why we've been actively doing products we're capable of selling, like the Mobile Adapter GB. On the other hand, we dropped the idea of doing it the way other companies do [ie. networks of online game servers] at the research level. We can't make an online game that uses the Internet until the technology makes it into enough homes, but we did need to prepare the Gamecube for that eventuality in the future.
However, one big problem with online gaming is that we have to constantly provide and maintain hosting services for the games. That's why online games really haven't arrived yet from a business perspective. There's not enough fun in online to generate a hit console game that'll sell two or three million copies.
A: Once the net has spread further, what kind of online games do you have in mind?
A: I have a lot of ideas, but they're all secret. One thing that alarms me, though, is this trend I see of companies running out of ideas, getting into trouble, and then looking for an escape in online gaming. I'm not trying to criticize anyone, but I want people to ask themselves whether online is really the pinnacle of gaming.
Q: When will the Gamecube modem go on sale?
A: The infrastructure isn't there yet, so we're not at the point of announcing it. I know some people think Nintendo will be in trouble once online games become more popular because we were so conservative, but we already have games that use communication, and we're still looking into online servers. We can dive right in.
Q: What is the concept behind how you create games?
A: As I think Pikmin shows, I want the person playing the game to be creative. It's vital for the player to think about what he's doing and enjoy the game that way. Games where you passively digest whatever's shown to you won't work.
Q: Do you have any advice for people that'd like to make games?
A: Well, obviously everyone who plays games wants to create something better than what everyone else is doing. But I think it's more important to try something that nobody else can do. Imitating others can be helpful sometimes, but you have to make something your own eventually. You don't become a game designer by knowing lots about games or by writing a great game scenario. You need to be able to think about things from a unique perspective and solve tough problems quickly and elegantly. You also need to put effort into your work on a daily basis.
Q: Name some non-Nintendo games that you think are fun.
A: Samba de Amigo's play style left a great impression on me. It completely upended the dark image video games have. Another one is Pac-Man; that's the first game where I recognized an actual effort in design. You didn't have designers at the time, so most games didn't really have any design sense. When someone with a background in design like me saw that, I felt like this was my true calling in life.
