Miyamoto discusses violence in games, bringing games to wider audiences and innovation in another E3 chat.
During E3, Shigeru Miyamoto sat down to an interview with Patrick Garratt of Computer and Videogames. Many things were discussed during the interview, though here’s a few of the highlights:
CVG: It's been necessary with GameCube to bring older gamers into the fold, with titles such as Resident Evil and the like. You've always claimed that games are for children, and grown up children if you like, and that violence should be maybe steered away from in videogames. Are you saddened about bringing this type of game onto Nintendo hardware, or do you see it as a plus to sell more units?
Miyamoto: I don't deny that there's a role for violence in games; violence is a form of expression, and expression is what games are all about. What I'm really opposed to is the idea of everyone running towards violence as the only means of expression, to the point where the only way to surprise the user is to escalate the level of violence, and have that be the only element of the game with any appeal. I think that's when violence becomes an issue.
As far as the [violent] games we have on the Nintendo GameCube, I really just think it's appealing to a wider audience. With the N64, and the difficulties we had with that system, it was difficult to provide a line-up that attracted a wider user base. With GameCube being a much easier system to develop for, and us having a broader range of third-party support, I think it's just natural that you're going to see games ranged at a wider audience than we saw for the N64. But still I think that while violence is something that can be used in games, it's the extreme and over the top violence I find troublesome.
CVG: Microsoft seems to be convinced that the only way to take games forward is to take games online. Sony seems to think that the only way to take games forward is to make them more like movies. How will Nintendo take games forward?
Miyamoto: [Laughs] Maybe they are unable to say, "We can make games more fun and interesting without going online". We are definitely confident that we can make games more fun, interesting and innovative without having to go in that direction. We're really looking to getting to a wider audience, and giving games a much broader, mass-market appeal. We're comfortable and confident that we can do this without having to rely on methods like that.
The best example we have of what I really mean about taking games to a wider audience is Animal Crossing. That's the type of game, where if a hardcore gamer was to pick it up and evaluate it, it probably wouldn't get a very high rating. Things that a hardcore gamer looks at are game balance, game difficulty, the number of bosses, the number of levels and the AI. This game has none of those things. But when you sit down and play that game, it's fun. It's easy and it's fun and it's going to appeal to a very wide audience, and I think that this is almost a new kind of pillar in gaming for us. We're taking this game, which is completely different from anything we've seen before, and we think will appeal to a much wider audience.
CVG: Will Nintendo continue to create this sort of game, which is essentially stepping away from the norm, and continue to innovate? Do you hope that Nintendo keeps doing that in a first-party sense?
Miyamoto: Yes. Actually, one of the reasons we're licensing out many of our franchises to second- and third-party developers is so we can continue to support those franchises while we internally focus on coming up with new ideas and innovating.
CVG: Do you want to share any of the new ideas and new products you have in development?
[Everyone laughs]
Miyamoto: Look forward to E3 next year.
Be sure to check out the full interview!
