Miyamoto talks GameCube launch, Mario Sunshine and Zelda
And his dislike of the sequel!
To commemorate the launch of Japan’s official Nintendo magazine, Nintendo cornered legendary developer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto and asked him some pertinent questions about the company’s future.
When asked about his opinion of the GameCube launch, Miyamoto said, “Well, I guess my personal opinion was that it sold less than I expected (laughs). I thought the initial numbers would move a bit more than they were, but that's the way things turned out. Once Pikmin was released we began outselling the PS2 in console sales, but then again, the PS2 is the PS2 and the Xbox is the Xbox. Like I've been saying before, I don't think we're really competitors. I mean, we're competitors in that the buyer has to make a choice between us, but as far as the content of the games we're making, there's no competition at all.” Right. We like Miyamoto, but that is utter twaddle. Fact: Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are direct competitors in the game hardware market.
When asked about future GameCube releases, Miyamoto was unusually frank about the company’s 2002 plans. “Mario Sunshine and Zelda GC are going along just fine. The teams working on them realise that they can't afford to do something wrong, so they'll be all right. The 100 Mario demo we showed last year is still going. Our goal is to release about ten titles next year under the Nintendo brand, at a rate of one game per month. I personally would prefer to make nothing but new games, but there are lots of people who want to keep on playing things like Smash Brothers. If you make a sequel that only people who played the first game will want, you're limiting yourself to other people's expectations, so in a way it's the same as giving up making a successful game. It's a sign that you don't feel like fighting anymore, that you just want to keep what you have now. I know it's dangerous betting everything you have right now, but that's what our President says he's been saving money for, and we're taking that statement at face value as we work.” An amazing revelation! For Miyamoto to say that he produces sequels begrudgingly comes as a massive surprise to us. How this will be received in Japan, and, more importantly, in Mr Yamauchi’s office, remains to be seen.
Then, Miyamoto confirms a sequel to his latest creation, Pikmin. When asked about the possibility of a sequel, he said, “The game system is solid enough, so we would make a sequel very quickly if we wanted to make something very close to the original... right now we're discussing releasing one in about half a year. There was lots of stuff I couldn't get into the first one, and I've been writing down ideas for the second one almost immediately. I think it's something that works well as a series. I'd also like to use them in other games and make them into a Mario-level character. They're somewhere between Mario and Pokemon on the scale, so I'd like to make them a character that'd appeal to anyone.”
When asked about his opinion of the GameCube launch, Miyamoto said, “Well, I guess my personal opinion was that it sold less than I expected (laughs). I thought the initial numbers would move a bit more than they were, but that's the way things turned out. Once Pikmin was released we began outselling the PS2 in console sales, but then again, the PS2 is the PS2 and the Xbox is the Xbox. Like I've been saying before, I don't think we're really competitors. I mean, we're competitors in that the buyer has to make a choice between us, but as far as the content of the games we're making, there's no competition at all.” Right. We like Miyamoto, but that is utter twaddle. Fact: Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are direct competitors in the game hardware market.
When asked about future GameCube releases, Miyamoto was unusually frank about the company’s 2002 plans. “Mario Sunshine and Zelda GC are going along just fine. The teams working on them realise that they can't afford to do something wrong, so they'll be all right. The 100 Mario demo we showed last year is still going. Our goal is to release about ten titles next year under the Nintendo brand, at a rate of one game per month. I personally would prefer to make nothing but new games, but there are lots of people who want to keep on playing things like Smash Brothers. If you make a sequel that only people who played the first game will want, you're limiting yourself to other people's expectations, so in a way it's the same as giving up making a successful game. It's a sign that you don't feel like fighting anymore, that you just want to keep what you have now. I know it's dangerous betting everything you have right now, but that's what our President says he's been saving money for, and we're taking that statement at face value as we work.” An amazing revelation! For Miyamoto to say that he produces sequels begrudgingly comes as a massive surprise to us. How this will be received in Japan, and, more importantly, in Mr Yamauchi’s office, remains to be seen.
Then, Miyamoto confirms a sequel to his latest creation, Pikmin. When asked about the possibility of a sequel, he said, “The game system is solid enough, so we would make a sequel very quickly if we wanted to make something very close to the original... right now we're discussing releasing one in about half a year. There was lots of stuff I couldn't get into the first one, and I've been writing down ideas for the second one almost immediately. I think it's something that works well as a series. I'd also like to use them in other games and make them into a Mario-level character. They're somewhere between Mario and Pokemon on the scale, so I'd like to make them a character that'd appeal to anyone.”
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