Table of Contents
This is the 1985-1989 page of the Shigeru Miyamoto Archive.
1985-1989 | 1990-1994 | 1995-1999 | 2000-2004 | 2005-2009 | 2010-2014 | 2015-2019 | 2020-2024 | 2025-2029
1986
Famimaga (interview with Masanobu Endo)
Publication Date: February, 1986 (translated February 27, 2023)
Subject(s): Mario’s origins, game design
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Masanobu Endo, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://shmuplations.com/miyamotoxendo/
Archive Links: https://web.archive.org/web/20230227180839/https://shmuplations.com/miyamotoxendo/
Scans:
Translator: shmuplations
Notes: Scans by Hubz.
Summary: He’s a big fan of Xevious and Tower of Druaga, but he got stuck on floor 60.
Lode Runner is a fresh, novel game.
Donkey Kong Jr. Math is a good time with two people, Nintendo employees play it.
He originally called Mario “Mister Video”. He struggled with the design, Mario got a mustache to show the nose better, and overalls for his running animation. His wish was for Mario to keep being used in Nintendo games.
A president of a game company keeps saying that games are movies.
He’s not a programmer but he offered suggestions when the programmer of Super Mario Bros. got stuck. It’s a bit of a problem if a game designer doesn’t understand programming at all. He’s disliked by the programmers since he makes small changes during development. People say that you’ll have a mountain of work if you work for him.
TV directors would say that you should try a variety of things, just join a studio if you want to be a director. It applies to being a game designer, too.
When he had more time he’d play pachinko or bluegrass music.
He’d never ridden a motorcycle when he made Excitebike.
He’s looking forward to seeing what kind of games the next generation makes.
The Famicom Disk System will have better audio and it will be cheaper. We may see whole new types of games.
Famimaga – World 9 Is Caused By Interference
Publication Date: April, 1986
Subject(s): Super Mario Bros.
Format: Summarized interview
People: Unknown Famimaga interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Translator: Cerealandchoccymilk for Hyrule Interviews
Notes: Famimaga interviewed Shigeru Miyamoto about a “World 9” in Super Mario Bros., but doesn’t provide direct quotes, instead summarizing his answers. Uploaded to Archive.org by Hubz for Gaming Alexandria.
Summary: World 9 in Super Mario Bros. can appear sometimes due to interference. This interference can be caused by lightning or electronic devices. When a Famicom experiences interference things like World 9 can happen. He doesn’t recommend looking for World 9, since interference can damage your Famicom.
Famimaga Q & A (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: May 2, 1986
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda
Format: Q & A
People: Unknown questioners, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Notes: Via Hyrule Interviews. The scans were done by Gaming Alexandria.
Famimaga Q & A (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: May 16, 1986
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda
Format: Q & A
People: Unknown questioners, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Notes: Via Hyrule Interviews. The scans were done by Gaming Alexandria.
Famimaga Q & A (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: June 6, 1986
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda
Format: Q & A
People: Unknown questioners, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Notes: Via Hyrule Interviews. The scans were done by Gaming Alexandria.
Famimaga Q & A (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: June 20, 1986
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda
Format: Q & A
People: Unknown questioners, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Notes: Via Hyrule Interviews. The scans were done by Gaming Alexandria.
The Leader-Post – Electronic game hero is the rage in Japan
Publication Date: September 2, 1986
Subject(s): Mario’s name, Luigi’s name
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Unnamed Reuters interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Link: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LYlWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VkENAAAAIBAJ&pg=3477,183775&hl=en
Notes: This article is by news agency Reuters, and the interview is described as being via telephone. This is currently the earliest known interview with Mr. Miyamoto that was originally presented in English. In all other interviews Mr. Miyamoto describes Mario as being named after Mario Segale.
Summary: Mario’s appearance came to him from the fantasy and romance stories he enjoys. Mario needed bold features.
Mario was named after an Italian caretaker at a small New York hotel that Nintendo employees stayed at.
They needed similar characters to compete, and “Ruiji” is Japanese for “similar”. Luigi is a Chaplinesque hero.
1988
Terebi Game Denshi Yuugi Taizen
Publication Date: May 30, 1988
Subject(s): Becoming a game designer, making games, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Tsunekazu Ishihara (presumably), Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://shmuplations.com/miyamoto1989/
Archive Links: https://web.archive.org/web/20170330031840/http://shmuplations.com/miyamoto1989/
https://archive.org/details/tv-games/tv-games/page/n11/mode/2up
Translator: shmuplations
Notes: Terebi Game Denshi Yuugi Taizen (Video Games – Television Games Encyclopedia according to machine translation) is a book about video game history. The author on the Internet Archive’s page is given as “Video Game Museum Project”, and it is also described as “planned” by Tsunekazu Ishihara.
Summary: He’s somewhere in between an artist and an engineer. He aspires to be an entertainer.
He wanted to make toys, but the popularity of Space Invaders made Nintendo focus more on games.
Making a game can take from six months to over a year. It depends on how complete the design is to start with and how much content the game has. Adding pre-development it can take one to two years to make a game.
Their games take six to 12 people to make. Super Mario Bros. took eight people.
He won’t comment on other media he likes so as to not give away their future games. He likes being athletic and wants to quit smoking.
Mario has a mustache and overalls to make him seem more alive and individual. Mario and Luigi’s names were added by Nintendo of America.
They wanted Super Mario Bros. use the best aspects of Donkey Kong and to be a final celebration of cartridge games.
He wanted The Legend of Zelda to give you the sense of exploring a city for the first time. He wanted the player to identify with the character and get lost and immersed. He feels responsible for the rise in mean-spirited games.
He blushes at hearing he’s being called a genius. He’s a normal person.
He wants to make games that are like toys and can be explored freely.
Video games are just a job in one sense, but he’s also a player.
1989
Unknown (interview with Yuji Horii)
Publication Date: 1989
Subject(s): Dragon Quest IV, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, game development, silent protagonists
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Yuji Horii, Shigeru Miyamoto
Links: https://glitterberri.com/miyamoto-horii-discussion/
https://www.siliconera.com/origins-of-the-legend-of-zelda-a-link-to-the-past-and-dragon-quest-iv/
Archive Links: https://web.archive.org/web/20230210012154/https://glitterberri.com/miyamoto-horii-discussion/
Translator: GlitterBerri
Notes: I first found this discussion on Siliconera, but later found it was GlitterBerri’s work. I have included both sources. This discussion may be from Yuji Horii’s book Rainbow-Colored Dip Switches: Famicom Industry Quest. The first part is Mr. Miyamoto asking questions about Dragon Quest IV, there’s not much to summarize on his end, but check out the links if you’re interested in its development.
Summary: He’s working on four Super Nintendo Entertainment System games, from simple to huge.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is going to return to the style of the original. He’s been saying the third The Legend of Zelda game will include the protagonist, who is an elf and fighter, a magic user, and a girl. The fairy in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was designed for the third Zelda game. The girl would be a fairy that could do reconnaissance.
He’s not picky about the stories in his games, action games just have stories to make them a bit more interesting.
He’d like to wait until Dragon Quest comes out to release the next Zelda.
They started A Link to the Past as an action game. Role-playing games have a set structure and anyone can make the overworld. Some players prefer a good story, others prefer new features.
Game structures are being improved by combining genres.
Because of deadlines he has to release games even if he finds out they contain something similar to another game. Ghosts ‘n Goblins released in arcades while they were making Super Mario Bros., and you don’t die in one hit in that game either. But it would have broken the game to remove it at that point.
He tells people what to do and the programmers tell him if it’s possible or not. They start development with three or four people and add 20 more when get into trouble. People wouldn’t have anything to do if they added them too early.
They try to reduce the dungeon difficulty when they’re done. They make the second stage first and first stage last.
Some scenes make you feel like you’re doing everything, and others pull you against your will. He dislikes taking control away. He doesn’t like how Mario enters the castle on his own after you slide down the flagpole. Zelda II didn’t have good cutscenes.
There’s a difference between solving something by yourself and lucking upon the answer.
There’s been talk of a Famicom network. But there’s still the problem of players seeing a huge phone bill. They’ll do something interesting when everyone can access networks easily.
He wants to make a game where you raise a child. The child would have to be taught to speak and they’d get smarter over time. Then Puppy Love came out in America. He also wants to make a game for fathers.
The Stars of Famicom Games
Publication Date: 1989
Subject(s): Making puppets, biggest worry
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Mitsuteru Shimaguchi, Eiichi Murata, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.chrismcovell.com/secret/weekly/Stars_of_the_Family_Computer.html
Archive Links: https://web.archive.org/web/20231209192538/https://www.chrismcovell.com/secret/weekly/Stars_of_the_Family_Computer.html
https://archive.org/details/The-Stars-of-Famicom-Games
Scans:
Translator: Chris M. Covell
Notes: Chris M. Covell scanned and translated this children’s picture book, which contains a tour of Nintendo’s offices and interviews with Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, Koji Kondo, Toshihiko Nakago, and Hideki Konno. The book was released in late 1989, but a calendar on the wall implies the authors toured Nintendo in July.
The Video Game Library gives the name of this book as “Protagonists of Famicom Games: Production and Distribution of Game Software”.
Summary: As a child he wanted to make puppets like the ones he saw on Chirolin Village and the Walnut Tree. Now he makes games for children around the world.
His biggest worry is keeping players from being bored.
Micom BASIC Magazine
Publication Date: February, 1989
Subject(s): Nintendo’s popularity, Super Mario Bros. 3
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akira Yamashita, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thearkhound/188457878823/shigeru-miyamoto-interview-from-micom-basic
Scans:
Translator: thearkhound
Notes: This interview is part of a review of Super Mario Bros. 3. Scans by Sega Retro.
Summary: He thinks players support their games because they are made with sincerity. Their policy is to not make the player feel lost. They stick with their original intent, even if another game comes out that is similar to what they’re working on.
Super Mario Bros. 3’s theme is making a fun two player game. You can help your unskilled sister, or friends can compete for the high score. Play it like a board game and use the whistles to access whichever world you want.
He wants to continue to lead game direction, but he also hopes to someday plan a gameplay system.
He wishes there was a field that allowed people to get involved in game development, his dream is to create a point of contact for people who don’t make games.
Please look forward to Mother.
Famimaga (1988 Game Awards, untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: February 12, 1989
Subject(s): Famimaga Game Awards, Super Mario Bros. 3
Format: Essay
People: Yuji Horii, Koichi Sugiyama, Koichi Nakamura, Yukinobu Chida, Koji Kondo, Kenji Terada, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu, Shigeru Miyamoto
Japanese Archive Link: https://archive.org/details/famimagafebruary1989/page/n107/mode/2up
Scans:
Notes: Famimaga seems to have had a yearly game award section, with people who worked on the winning games writing something. Thank you to makgameadv for information on this article. Uploaded to Internet Archive by Ethereal Dragonz, who does not take credit for the scan and does not know who scanned it.
Beep – Success Story Game Designer
Publication Date: March, 1989
Subject(s): Childhood dream jobs, joining Nintendo, advice to game designers
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Unknown Beep interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://shmuplations.com/success1989/
Archive Links: https://web.archive.org/web/20191202001047/http://shmuplations.com/success1989/
Scan:
Translator: shmuplations
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto was one of 12 developers interviewed as part of a “Success Story” feature. The title is a machine translation. Scan by ozidual.
Summary: He graduated from Kanazawa College with a degree in industrial design.
As a child he watched Chirorin Village and the Walnut Tree and Accidental Gourd Island. He wanted to make marionettes like they had in the shows. He wanted to be a manga artist in middle school.
He wanted to make toys so he applied to Nintendo. They were making the Color TV-Game 15 when he joined and he was assigned to work on video games. Donkey Kong, Devil World, and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link were all important periods of his career.
His most memorable game was Donkey Kong, where he worked under Gunpei Yokoi.
He’s found success by making games that he wants to make that also line up with what the market needs. No matter how good your team is, you won’t make a good game if you don’t have a clear direction. The lead creator has to keep sight of that vision.
He’ll probably still be making things in 10 years.
People in creative fields should find a job that realizes their potential. It’s important to refine your sensibilities, you can’t just mimic what exists. Follow your curiosity and have many different experiences.
Gamer Handbook
Publication Date: November 1, 1989
Subject(s): The future of games, the video game industry, realism versus responsiveness, HyperCard, hidden secrets
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Itou Seikou, Shigesato Itoi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://shmuplations.com/itoimiyamoto/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20260302233629/https://shmuplations.com/itoimiyamoto/
Japanese Archive Link: https://archive.org/details/Gamer-Handbook-Nesco/Gamer%20Handbook/mode/2up
Scans:
Translator: shmuplations
Notes: Gamer Handbook features profiles of several Japanese game developers, essays, this discussion, and a dictionary of gaming terms. Scans by Detchibe.
Summary: The director tells the programmer what they want, and they turn that into numbers.
Everyone knows how something like a weasel should move. It’s more important that the game is fun. In animation you draw what you want people to see, but with games you can’t just make a character speed up for a moment. If a character has a smooth walking animation it might conflict with the player’s desire to run or chase something. Some games have prioritized smooth animations over responsiveness, they have been failures as games. Many karate games have smooth, fluid motion, but then something like drawing your sword has to be slow. The player’s intent should be reflected by their button inputs.
Mario’s ability to change direction in mid-air is ridiculous. In Donkey Kong Mario couldn’t jump as high so not being able to change direction wasn’t as big of a deal. When Mario can jump several times his own height being realistic isn’t a concern anymore. It’s fun for video game worlds to seem like they could exist. Game programmers are the god of the worlds they make. If that world isn’t convincing no one will want to visit it. Charlie Chaplin and Tom and Jerry have been inspirations to video game developers.
He agrees with Shigesato Itoi, stereo sound is more important than realism, people aren’t looking for perfection.
As games are able to use more colors it will be boring if everyone goes for a realistic style. Art with a distinct worldview is more fun.
Being a bit crude can be beneficial, Japanese people can’t fully understand movies in English, so they have to imagine to a degree. The hero becomes more heroic in their minds. Many bluegrass songs are about tragic things, but he just laughs and sings along.
It’s condescending to say that gamers forget they’re playing a game just because they get immersed in it.
The video games that sell well have been driven by fashion. People look at what’s hyped, that’s fashion to him. He doesn’t know where the industry is going. Large scale role-playing games that take a lot of time are popular. He likes games that can be beaten quickly. People think long games sell, but then something like Tetris comes along.
Combining shooters with RPGs comes from the idea that if you put two things together you’ll get something even better out of it. It works sometimes, but he wouldn’t want to always do that.
There’s lots of unexplored ideas in gaming. What if you did something in a game and then a month later it had changed into something new? People in apartments can’t have pets. If a game could capture that feeling of having a pet it could become a craze.
Games still have the arcade style, which is a rigid framework and feels like a dead end. Everyone makes action games based on Earth. What if gravity was different? You can stumble on something unexpected and fun thinking like this. People in America are doing things like this. When input methods change new possibilities open up. When you focus on best sellers it may seem like there’s a wall, but there’s more possibilities than ever.
Not having to do everything before you beat the game is what sets Mother apart.
If he wants to add a funny animation at the end of a level the programmers and hardcore gamers might protest, saying no one will ever see it. But there will always be some people who will. There is more to enjoy in games than just beating them. The Frog Suit is awkward on land, he had force that into the game.
The fun in RPGs is seeing your character get stronger than you could have imagined, or saving up money. Those things are taken for granted now and added more complex stories. If you have an open game you have to accommodate every possible player action, and then the game has to be shorter, which leads to people feeling short-changed.
The essence of play is wanting to see what happens if you choose “yes” and if you choose “no”. If you have to start over every time you die it would be too harsh.
They’ll have less memory limitations in the future. He’s looking forward to when you can have a built-in interpreter organize things.
There’s something called HyperCard for Macintosh computers. You can make things that are like picture books. One HyperCard game is The Manhole, where you can wander around and see things. There’s nothing people read as often as a picture book. HyperCard can use 600-800 pages, that’s how computers can be used in the future.
It’s difficult to make players feel a sense of purpose while making the journey fun. He thinks they’ve reached the peak of “reach the goal” design. Tetris shook things up. They’ve moved on from the arcade era.
Players have a certain mindset with video games, if they can frame games more as books people would find them interesting.
You could do something amazing with an online racing game. You could register for a race next week and then wait for it to start. You’d make new friends with the people you raced against and coordinate races with them. That wouldn’t be a “game”, it would be a new way to use a computer. Things become more interesting when you start see games as entertainment. A book or a movie can be a “game” too, but they are passive.
Pornography becomes grotesque when it escalates. Hidden secrets in games have almost reached that level of grotesqueness. People are just looking for stronger stimulation.
As long as people are playing and they’re making games new will things will emerge. If there’s nothing good being released you don’t have to play anything.
1985-1989 | 1990-1994 | 1995-1999 | 2000-2004 | 2005-2009 | 2010-2014 | 2015-2019 | 2020-2024 | 2025-2029