Miyamoto on Revolution
Nintendo's creative soul pronounces on the Rev, dogs, Mario, and why Sony and MS play second fiddle to Nintendo.
Engadget and Joystiq have joined forces to interview Shigeru Miyamoto, in a meek and grateful fanboy kind of way. In the interview, they ask him all the obvious (and admittedly quite interesting) questions about the Revolution, Nintendogs and the ever-increasing number of non-platform Mario games versus the fast-diminishing number of Mario platformers. But not a single question about his favourite colour or morning routine, disappointingly.
Speaking on Nintendogs, Miyamoto-san points out that the game’s key feature is the DS’s interaction with other DS's in the vicinity. And he likens it to the amazing talent that real-life dogs have for breaking the ice when their owners pass other people in the street, pointing out that:
Some gamers have been unwilling to open their minds of the possibilities of the new Revolution controller. Mentioned at the Tokyo Game Show were connectable devices other than the nunchuck that the device slots into, giving the handset more of a traditional appearance while retaining its new, far out functionality. Miyamoto confirms that one such gizmo, similar in design to the Wavebird, is already pretty much finished. But he also goes on to talk about what the nunchuck can offer when it comes to FPS games, saying that
While they are passable up to a point, the suitability of dual analogue controls for First Person Shooters has been something of an 'elephant in the room' in recent years. Surely nobody could argue that they could hold a candle to the subtleties offered by mouse and keyboard on PC? But with the Revolution controller, we seem to have a device that will offer control, perhaps even beyond what a mouse can offer. It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether any games developers will choose to bring more FPS games to the new Nintendo machine, when at present the genre is more closely identified with the Xbox.
Many fans - and anti-fans - of Nintendo are upset by, or derisive of, the number of games which feature Mario these days when they are not platform games. But Miyamoto offers an alternative explanation to the usual accusation that the big N are cynically flogging their racially stereotypical plumber a little too hard. He argues that since the advent of 3D they have built up a library of 3D character models and it just makes more sense to use them each time rather than start again from scratch, as well as giving all games a brand identity. Whether you interpret this as laziness or common sense is up to you. You might want to compare it, a little whimsically, to the ‘Mr. Chips’ character who used to appear in so many Catchphrase animations.
Most satisfying, for Nintendo fans at least, is the part of the interview where Mr Miyamoto humbly asserts that, while they are good at driving the development of technology forward, Microsoft and Sony take their lead from Nintendo when it comes to creative innovation.
Fair comment, or presumptious poppycock? Have your say in the forum below!
You can read the full interview here
Speaking on Nintendogs, Miyamoto-san points out that the game’s key feature is the DS’s interaction with other DS's in the vicinity. And he likens it to the amazing talent that real-life dogs have for breaking the ice when their owners pass other people in the street, pointing out that:
just by owning a dog and taking a dog for a walk, it expands your communication possibilities. We wanted to implement that in Nintendogs, and obviously we have the idea of people taking their dogs for a walk as part of the game play anyway, and we wanted to use that and again combine that with a way in the future to kind of create this communication aspect to the game, where it essentially allows you to interact with other people.
Some gamers have been unwilling to open their minds of the possibilities of the new Revolution controller. Mentioned at the Tokyo Game Show were connectable devices other than the nunchuck that the device slots into, giving the handset more of a traditional appearance while retaining its new, far out functionality. Miyamoto confirms that one such gizmo, similar in design to the Wavebird, is already pretty much finished. But he also goes on to talk about what the nunchuck can offer when it comes to FPS games, saying that
...with this controller, with the nunchuck-style of controller, it’s extremely natural and extremely intuitive
While they are passable up to a point, the suitability of dual analogue controls for First Person Shooters has been something of an 'elephant in the room' in recent years. Surely nobody could argue that they could hold a candle to the subtleties offered by mouse and keyboard on PC? But with the Revolution controller, we seem to have a device that will offer control, perhaps even beyond what a mouse can offer. It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether any games developers will choose to bring more FPS games to the new Nintendo machine, when at present the genre is more closely identified with the Xbox.
Many fans - and anti-fans - of Nintendo are upset by, or derisive of, the number of games which feature Mario these days when they are not platform games. But Miyamoto offers an alternative explanation to the usual accusation that the big N are cynically flogging their racially stereotypical plumber a little too hard. He argues that since the advent of 3D they have built up a library of 3D character models and it just makes more sense to use them each time rather than start again from scratch, as well as giving all games a brand identity. Whether you interpret this as laziness or common sense is up to you. You might want to compare it, a little whimsically, to the ‘Mr. Chips’ character who used to appear in so many Catchphrase animations.
Most satisfying, for Nintendo fans at least, is the part of the interview where Mr Miyamoto humbly asserts that, while they are good at driving the development of technology forward, Microsoft and Sony take their lead from Nintendo when it comes to creative innovation.
I think that Sony and Microsoft have studied Nintendo’s business model. They’ve looked at the current genres of games and the types of games that have been launched in the past, and they’ve found a way to take advantage of technology and push those games further, using technology. And I think that both of those companies are very strong in that role. I think the difference is that Nintendo, itself, is an entertainment company. And for many years, we’ve been looking for ways to take ideas that can entertain people and turning those ideas into entertainment products. I think we’re very strong in that area and I think we’ll continue to be strong in that area.
Fair comment, or presumptious poppycock? Have your say in the forum below!
You can read the full interview here
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Comments
Greg2k 4 Oct 2005 15:16
1/1
If Nintendo has all those 3D models already made, I can't wait for them to make an animated movie already; weren't they supposed to announce their entry into movie making?