This is the 2014-2015 page of the Shigeru Miyamoto Archive.
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2014
Nintendo Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Third Quarter Financial Results Briefing for the 74th Fiscal Term Ending March 2014
Publication Date: February 1, 2014
Subject(s): Wii U’s poor sales
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/events/140130qa/index.html
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171101105727/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/events/140130qa/index.html
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/events/140130qa/index.html
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20211023051338/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/events/140130qa/index.html
Summary: Nintendo didn’t have any games from their main franchises ready for the launch of the DS or 3DS, but they had two for the Wii U: New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U are coming soon. Metacritic gave Super Mario 3D World a top score.
They have failed to communicate the Wii U’s value, to make children persuade their parents to buy them games, and to appeal to parents. Nintendo Land is compelling for groups of four or five, but some of the single player aspects are weak.
They are working on how long it takes to load games. The Wii U has evolved from the Wii, it can use shaders, for example. The time it takes to create a development environment is a bottleneck they are working on.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (end of Year of Luigi announcement)
Publication Date: February 18, 2014
Subject(s): Year of Luigi
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170725000758/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKllG-_pxg
Notes: This was the official declaration of when the Year of Luigi would end. The year ended up being about 13 months.
Summary: It’s been almost a year since he announced the Year of Luigi. They were able to release several Luigi games this year. The Year of Luigi will end March 18.
The Year of Luigi community on Miiverse will stop allowing new posts and comments in one month.
Please leave a comment about Luigi for closure. Do not put any personal information in your comment.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (end of Year of Luigi announcement, asking for more comments)
Publication Date: February 19, 2014
Subject(s): More comments for the Year of Luigi
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170721212749/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADRUqFvx3hxew
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto reposted his previous Miiverse post with a short request for more replies since Miiverse posts only allowed for up to 999 replies. I am only including a summary of the new part here.
Summary: Comment on this post if you weren’t able to on the previous post.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (end of Year of Luigi announcement, asking for more comments)
Publication Date: February 24, 2014
Subject(s): More comments for the Year of Luigi
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170721212747/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKll7p8s6w
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto reposted his previous Miiverse post with a short request for more replies since Miiverse posts only allowed for up to 999 replies. It is identical to his previous post.
Summary: Comment on this post if you weren’t able to on the previous post.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (end of Year of Luigi announcement, asking for more comments)
Publication Date: March 3,, 2014
Subject(s): More comments for the Year of Luigi
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170721212734/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAABnUYnmpkB9IA
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto reposted his previous Miiverse post with a short request for more replies since Miiverse posts only allowed for up to 999 replies. It is identical to his previous post.
Summary: Comment on this post if you weren’t able to on the previous post.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (Year of Luigi ends)
Publication Date: March 19, 2014
Subject(s): Year of Luigi
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170721212800/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAAAYUKlN88GTcg
Summary: Thanks for your comments on Luigi. We have placed a few on our website.
The Year of Luigi is now closed.
Thank you for your support.
Please continue to cheer on Luigi.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (Pikmin 3 update)
Publication Date: June 5, 2014
Subject(s): Pikmin 3
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170731195238/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAABnUYn1CDiRSA
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171018140659/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKlxkhhMtA
Summary: There is a new update for Pikmin 3 that allows you to control them more directly with the GamePad. It may help experts get a better score.
Club Nintendo has a special campaign where if you register Mario Kart 8 you can download a game for free. He hopes you take this opportunity to play Pikmin 3.
Nintendo of America: Play Nintendo Nintendo E3 Digital Event
Publication Date: June 10, 2014
Subject(s): Wii U GamePad
Format: Promotional Video (subtitled)
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Summary: He’s working on more games that use the TV and GamePad. When you play with the GamePad and use the TV it’s fun for people watching, too.
Time: Interview: Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Nintendo’s Star Fox Rethink and His Unusual New Wii U Games
Publication Date: June 10, 2014
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero, Star Fox Guard, Project Giant Robot
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Matt Peckham, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://time.com/2850146/shigeru-miyamoto-nintendo-interview/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20140831224252/http://time.com/2850146/shigeru-miyamoto-nintendo-interview/
Notes: This is part one of a two part interview and it took place during E3 2014.
Summary: Project Giant Robot, Star Fox Zero, and Star Fox Guard started development around the same time. They utilized some Star Fox assets they had made on the Wii.
They didn’t look at Star Fox Guard from a genre perspective, but they have been experimenting with since the Nintendo 64. The Wii U GamePad made the interface more intuitive. They decided it is a new genre. After the end of a match the GamePad will show you when and where robots came from.
They experimented with Star Fox and the Wii for around six years.
It’s safe to say there is a learning curve with the controls, but it will be fun when you understand them. It will take around 30 to 60 minutes to get used to it. When you first start playing Star Fox Zero it may be easier to hold the GamePad up so it’s in your line of sight with the TV.
They’re considering having two pilots for the helicopter, one controlling the helicopter and one controlling the robot.
If the Star Fox series has been like a movie series up to now, this new approach is more like a TV series.
Nintendo of America: Nintendo Treehouse: Live @ E3 2014 Day 1: Shigeru Miyamoto
Publication Date: June 11, 2014
Subject(s): Wii U, Project Giant Robot, Project Guard (Star Fox Guard)
Format: Interview/demonstration (live translator)
People: Samantha Robertson, Ed, Ryo Tanaka, Yugo Hayashi, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Summary: Nintendo recently released an update to the Wii U that allows players to turn the GamePad on instantly with a quick start menu. It’s E3 so he has to mention Pikmin. They released an update for Pikmin 3 that allows for playing with just the GamePad.
In Project Giant Robot the player rides in the cockpit of a robot. Each joystick controls an arm of the robot. Enemies appear randomly, you can use leaning and punches to knock them down. You lose if you fall over. Making the robot’s feet larger will make it harder to topple, but slower. You can make cute but creepy robots. Women like playing it too. It’s more about leverage than force.
The Wii U games they brought to E3 have a focus not just on the player, but also on other people watching them play. In Project Guard you have a view from 12 cameras, which can control and shoot lasers from. A bird robot will take the cameras away. The GamePad shows where the robots appear. They designed it so that your mom might walk by and give you a hint. They started working on Project Guard for the N64, but it wasn’t powerful enough for what they wanted to do. There isn’t a genre for Project Guard. People found a lot of ways to play Nintendo Entertainment System games and he likes the idea of replaying a game and finding its depth even if it has a simple structure.
The unique factor of the Wii U is to be connected to the TV in the living room so people not playing the game can participate lightly. It is also great for controlling the TV or watching Netflix. Star Fox Zero is going well, it should release within a year.
Nintendo of America: Play Nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto @ E3 2014
Publication Date: June 11, 2014
Subject(s): Project Giant Robot, Project Guard (Star Fox Guard), Star Fox Zero
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Summary: He brought some games that use the TV and GamePad to E3. In Project Giant Robot you use your body to fight opponents, like in sumo wrestling. In Project Guard you use security cameras to defeat the enemy. Star Fox Zero will not be available to play.
Entertainment Weekly: Shigeru Miyamoto on ’Star Fox’ and the Wii U’s future
Publication Date: June 11, 2014
Subject(s): Wii U, Star Fox Zero
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Darren Franich, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://ew.com/article/2014/06/11/shigeru-miyamoto-star-fox-wii-u/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20151108210748/http://www.ew.com/article/2014/06/11/shigeru-miyamoto-star-fox-wii-u
Summary: People may not understand how useful the Wii U is and what it can do, and some thought they were stuggling to make GamePad experiences. They want to show that they have lots of ideas for the GamePad, and what the Wii U can do.
When he said he wanted to work on small projects, he meant the experimental phases of games. He’s not retiring or going to work on smartphone games.
They worked on a Star Fox game for the Wii, but had no new ideas so it was set aside. While working on experiments for Wii U games they came up with having the cockpit view on one screen and a third person perspective on the other.
He doesn’t make games with the idea that people will play it a certain way, he wants to people to come up with their own ideas. His love of course editors goes back to Excitebike. Super Mario Maker started as an internal Nintendo tool. They designed Super Mario Bros. 3 levels on paper. It was hardest on the programmers.
As hardware has improved so have programming languages. Tools like Unity make things easier.
His focus is on game design, thinking of new play structures and coming up with ideas. A lot of people try to make highly realistic graphics, but he likes to use technology to do new things. With Project Guard they can display the view from 12 cameras at once.
He had an idea for Star Fox that was like the Thunderbirds, who had lots of different mechs and vehicles. The older Star Fox games were for the movie theater, but Star Fox Zero is more like a TV series.
He is a producer on Splatoon, which is being made by the Animal Crossing team. He’s also working on Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.
Even though he said Toad is his least favorite racer in Mario Kart he does like Toad. He hasn’t played much Super Smash Bros. but he thinks his favorite to play as would be Fox McCloud. This will be the year of Star Fox.
Children’s Technology Review: Shigeru Miyamoto gives children design advice during Mario Maker E3 preview
Publication Date: June 12, 2014
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker, game design, Super Mario Bros.
Format: Demonstration/presentation (live translator)
People: Unnamed children and their parents, person in Mario suit, Bill Trinen (translator), Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOSLBncYzYI
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Tezuka sign a child’s arm cast after making a level with him.
Summary: [Making a Super Mario Maker level with a child.]
It’s good to have mushrooms at the beginning of a level. You only need to put wings on the Goomba on the bottom of the stack.
[Speaking to a group of children.]He’s been making Mario games for 30 years. Mr. Tezuka joined right as they started Super Mario Bros. He made Donkey Kong, too. His first child was born during the making of Super Mario Bros. and he got married recently.
IGN: E3 2014: Miyamoto on What’s Next for Nintendo
Publication Date: June 12, 2014
Subject(s): Transitioning between systems
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Jose Otero, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/13/e3-2014-miyamotos-thoughts-on-whats-next-for-nintendo
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2014.
Summary: They have been working on improving the transition of the development environment between systems. It went smoothly with the GameCube to Wii, but there were hurdles going from the Wii to Wii U.
He can’t go into the question of whether they will stick with a handheld that can be used as a console.
IGN: E3 2014: Nintendo on Amiibo, Smash Bros., and Custom Figurines
Publication Date: June 12, 2014
Subject(s): Amiibo
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Jose Otero, Shinya Takahashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/12/e3-2014-nintendo-on-amiibo-smash-bros-and-custom-figurines
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2014.
Summary: There are employees who would like to them to make amiibo based on Miis and they are doing experiments.
The Super Smash Bros. Mario amiibo is different than the regular Mario amiibo. There will probably be a Mario line of amiibo that includes Princess Peach that you would use with something like Mario Party 10. He wants there to be an Arwing amiibo.
Kotaku: Nintendo Is Planning A Future For Both 2D And 3D Metroid
Publication Date: June 12, 2014
Subject(s): Metroid
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Stephen Totilo, Bill Trinen (translator), Shinya Takahashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://kotaku.com/nintendo-is-planning-a-future-for-both-2d-and-3d-metroi-1590142491
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2014.
Summary: The creators of Metroid and the director of the Metroid Prime games work with Mr. Takahashi.
There’s still a lot they can do with the Metroid Prime series.
Time: This Is What Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto Thinks of Virtual Reality
Publication Date: June 16, 2014
Subject(s): Virtual reality, Wii U
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Matt Peckham, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://time.com/2881482/interview-nintendo-miyamoto-virtual-reality/
Notes: This is part two of a two part interview and it took place during E3 2014.
Summary: They have been experimenting with virtual reality since the Virtual Boy, even the 3DS to an extent. While they are interested in it the Wii U is meant to be fun for everyone in the living room. Virtual reality involves putting on some goggles and playing alone.
The development environment of the Wii U has improved somewhat due to the introduction of Unity. They’ve also finished training their designers and developers.
Star Fox Guard is better because the hardware is better now, they were able to use an old idea and make it work. Nintendo 3DS Guide: Louvre is an example of making something better with better technology.
You can surprise people with uniqueness rather than graphics. He struggles with figuring out all the details needed to make an idea work. Timing is also very important.
Two ideas went into making the Wii U: you should be able to play it without the TV screen, and it should be convenient to connect to your TV because it can control the TV. You could watch YouTube on a TV with others, and someone could be choosing the next video while one is playing. Other set-top streaming devices cost $100, but the Wii U also gives you instant access on the GamePad. It isn’t just a gaming machine.
He spends a lot of time giving feedback to his teams. He also acts as the first-time player.
KittiesMama: KIDS AT E3! Nintendo Kids Corner E3 2014 | KittiesMama
Publication Date: June 16, 2014
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Demonstration (15:01)
People: Noah, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FePEtCbZu84&t=901s
Notes: This took place at E3 2014 and is the same event as the Children’s Technology Review videos. Mr. Miyamoto gives Noah some help making a level in Super Mario Maker.
Summary: Noah’s doing some editing. There may be too many. There should be a mushroom at the beginning.
Kotaku: Shigeru Miyamoto Hears This Left Handed Gamer’s Pain
Publication Date: June 17, 2014
Subject(s): Left-handed modes
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Stephen Totilo, Bill Trinen (translator), Shinya Takahashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-hears-this-left-handed-gamers-pain-1592285438
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20140619190334/http://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-hears-this-left-handed-gamers-pain-1592285438
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2014.
Summary: He’ll talk to his teams about more left-handed modes.
He writes with his left hand and throws and does calligraphy with his right.
He thought he’d use the Wii’s Nunchuk with his right hand and the Wii Remote with his left, but that didn’t end up happening. It was easier to move the control stick with his left thumb.
3DS games with writing include a left-handed mode.
IGN: Miyamoto on the Potential for Dual GamePad Wii U Games
Publication Date: June 18, 2014
Subject(s): Playing with two GamePads
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Jose Otero, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/18/miyamoto-on-the-potential-for-dual-gamepad-wii-u-games
Notes: The Wii U’s ability to use two GamePads for multiplayer games was announced at E3 2012. This interview took place at E3 2014.
Summary: They’re not yet at a point where it’s realistic to have people buy two GamePads. It should be technically possible and it creates some new possibilities, but it’s not a good use of resources.
Kotaku: Shigeru Miyamoto: ’We’ve Had Tough Times Before’
Publication Date: June 19, 2014
Subject(s): Wii U sales, Amiibo
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Stephen Totilo, Shinya Takahashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-weve-had-tough-time-before-1593390078
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20140626200800/http://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-weve-had-tough-time-before-1593390078
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2014.
Summary: The numbers have never been as bad as they are now, but the difficult times are when they find the next new thing. Younger people are making their own games, like Splatoon.
Amiibo are similar to eReader cards. He has wanted a built-in way of reading and writing data with an object for a while now.
Kotaku: Shigeru Miyamoto Has A Question For All Of You
Publication Date: June 20, 2014
Subject(s): New Wii U games
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Stephen Totilo, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-has-a-question-for-all-of-you-1593754129
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20140621214637/http://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-has-a-question-for-all-of-you-1593754129
Notes: Stephen Totilo asked Miyamoto if he had any questions for Kotaku readers while at E3 2014. The results, with a lot of statistics, can be found here.
Summary: The Wii U is suited to the living room. What game do Kotaku readers want Nintendo to make for the Wii U?
Children’s Technology Review: Shigeru Miyamoto’s favorite game; plus, his demo of Mario Maker
Publication Date: June 22, 2014
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Unnamed children and their parents, unnamed moderator, person in Mario suit, unnamed translator, Takashi Tezuka, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fee-6ETQ5s
Notes: This took place at E3 2014.
Summary: Super Mario 64 was the most fun game to make. Everything was brand new. They used to design Mario levels by drawing them out on paper. They started using computer tools after Super Mario Bros. 3. His favorite character is Donkey Kong. It took about 3 months to change the tools they were making into Super Mario Maker.
[Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Tezuka make a level.]They used to only be able to have five enemies on screen at once, but now you can have as many as you want.
Kotaku: Miyamoto Ponders Nintendo Making Games That Run On Handheld And Console
Publication Date: June 23, 2014
Subject(s): Games that run on multiple systems
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Stephen Totilo, Bill Trinen (translator), Shinya Takahashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://kotaku.com/miyamoto-can-imagine-nintendo-making-hybrid-console-han-1594989023
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2014.
Summary: It’s now possible to have a similar experience as a console on a handheld. Five years ago many developers felt that they had to make games for the most powerful machine, but now they have expanded and might choose to developer for a range of devices.
The divide in Nintendo between console and handheld development is a cause of stress so they will look at unifying them.
Nintendo Investor Relations: The 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Publication Date: June 27, 2014
Subject(s): E3, Project Giant Robot, Star Fox Guard, Wii U, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, open world games, escalating costs, Iwata Asks, Hyrule Warriors, creativity
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/stock/meeting/140627qa/index.html
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20140703195535/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/stock/meeting/140627qa/index.html
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/stock/meeting/140627qa/index.html
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20231206212927/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/stock/meeting/140627qa/index.html
Summary: E3 was two weeks ago. It is a trade show not open to the general public and 50,000 people attended. They will release Super Smash Bros. for Wii U this year. They announced Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Mario Party 10, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and Splatoon. Splatoon is a shooter where you try to cover the ground in ink and was developed mainly by young employees.
He wants to show off the Wii U GamePad so he brought the Project Giant Robot prototype, Star Fox Guard, and Super Mario Maker.
Information at E3 used to be disseminated through the media, but now they have a video on their website and Treehouse Live. Their E3 videos have been viewed over 10 million times.
The Wii U’s utility when connected to the living room TV hasn’t been understood, and there is a shortage of games. The Wii U is great entertainment for families in their living rooms. Most other developers showed bloody shooters at E3, while Nintendo had a variety of games.
He can’t talk about the next The Legend of Zelda game, but Hyrule Warriors offers exhilarating action. They have announced that the next Zelda game will be open world, even though he doesn’t like using that term. They want to make a Zelda game that can be enjoyed freely in a vast world. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds allowed players to rent items, a change in the traditional structure.
He doesn’t like using commonly used terms when having discussions with developers. Sony and Microsoft must be having a harder time than we think, it takes a team a year to get used to high performance graphics and two to three times more time and money. It’s a harsh world when expensive top 10 sellers can hardly survive.
Nintendo’s essential question is not how to improve profits, but how to sustain the company over a period of time. Nintendo had a lot of debt loans when he joined the company and now people sometimes say they keep too much cash. He can’t predict what will happen in 10 years. He is fearful of hand-me-down smartphones being used as game systems, since they are cheaper than any system they have ever made. Nintendo has to be careful of Internet security for children. He doesn’t think video games are a transient thing, people love games.
Satoru Iwata’s health is not impacting the frequency of Iwata Asks, they have been discussing how to disseminate information to consumers. They want to try more methods.
It’s important to learn from other media. It may have seemed like there wasn’t much variety in games at E3, this is because of a creative immaturity in the video game industry. In the entertainment industry there is often one winner because everyone will buy your product if it is unprecedented. If Nintendo can expand their creativity they can dominate the industry.
Hyper: Meeting Miyamoto: What’s Next From The Man Behind Mario
Publication Date: September, 2014
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero, Star Fox Guard, Project Giant Robot, Wii U, Wii U GamePad, turning experiences into games, E3, Mario’s popularity
Format: Transcribed interview
People: James O’Connor, Bill Trinen (translator), Shinya Takahashi, Reggie Fils-Aimé, Shigeru Miyamoto
Pictures:
Notes: Pictures of this interview from Hyper have very generously been provided by the author himself, James O’Connor.
This interview took place at E3 2014, most likely June 12th specifically.
I generally avoid project names and instead use final names, but that wasn’t really possible with the way Project Guard, which became Star Fox Guard, is talked about.
Summary: They experimented with Star Fox on the Wii. It felt good, but wasn’t novel. There were new gameplay experiments with the Wii U that led to Project Giant Robot and Project Guard. The TV and the GamePad have different screens that can be used for two different cameras. One experiment seemed best for a game like Star Fox.
Star Fox Zero has only been in full production for about two months. They can have cutscenes on the TV while allowing the player to keep playing on the GamePad. You can move independently from aiming. Before, you had to move in the direction you wanted to aim. Two perspectives lets them do new things with cooperative play. They’ve got the basics down, but not the missions. It takes some time to understand how to use the GamePad in conjunction with the TV.
Letting you customize your robot in Project Giant Robot was essential. They could partner with someone who owns a robot IP and put it into the game.
Project Guard and Project Giant Robot are in full development. They’re still looking at the best way to make them fit this era.
Star Fox 64 had a full story mode alongside other modes. For Star Fox Zero they’re thinking about having different vehicles. There’s various Star Fox characters they can use. If the older Star Fox games were a film, then Star Fox Zero is like a TV show. They haven’t decided yet, but Project Guard could be like an episode of that TV show.
His specific experiences don’t automatically translate into games. The one exception was Nintendogs, where he was training his dog and thought it could become a game. That could have easily been a dragon training game.
Boys have robot toys and imagine them marching around, which is where Project Giant Robot came from.
You can look at Project Guard and understand that you’re looking at a security room, even though you probably haven’t been in one. They can take advantage of something that everyone is familiar with, it’s easier to get into the game.
The Wii U is the best system to connect your living room TV to. It’s not a competition between Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. The Wii U is meant to be useful to the living room. The games aren’t just cooperative or competitive, other people can have fun watching games being played by a single person. Nintendo has made playing cards and board games that everyone could play with. Video games are an extension of that idea.
They are working on more ideas for games and uses of the GamePad, they just chose a few to show at E3.
[Controlling what may be Direct-i during a demo of Star Fox Zero]
This is how two screens can be used. You get used to it after about 30 minutes.
He sees how graphics have improved when he goes to E3, but the unique games stand out more.
Mario is the number one video game character because running, jumping, and falling are things that everyone experiences, giving you a connection.
Edge: Return of the King
Publication Date: October, 2014
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero, challenge in video games, Wii U, Star Fox Guard, Splatoon, Garage, shooters, trends, dedicated hardware
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Nathan Brown, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Notes: Scans by mattandi.
Summary: Star Fox Zero’s missions aren’t difficult once you break them down. It’s important to him that players get better and better over time. Many in the world don’t understand this charm which is specific to video games.
They don’t want to focus on making games for passive gamers, the kind who might watch a movie instead of going to Disneyland. They don’t understand that it’s more interesting to challenge yourself.
They had some concerns at Nintendo about the Wii U’s two screen system since you can’t watch the TV and the GamePad at the same time. They’re still sure it’s revolutionary.
It’s important that Star Fox Guard is not just fun for the person playing it, but for everyone in the living room.
There were debates about whether Splatoon should feature Mario or a squid. Anyone would accept Mario, but then they wouldn’t have a new IP.
He’s always liked how shooters controlled, he was a producer on Metroid Prime. He thought they’d be able to come up with a new control scheme for shooters. Nintendo also doesn’t do photorealism, unlike most shooters.
There are more younger employees at Nintendo now, who want to express themselves. The people in Nintendo’s Garage come up with new projects unrelated to their daily work, and decide which ones they should pursue.
His comment about “bloody shooter software” was based on being unsatisfied with his and other developer’s inspirations. Trends tend to be prioritized instead of uniqueness. When the people in charge of the budget take over, games that are like what’s already popular are made. He hopes Nintendo always invests in new things.
Since so many people are needed to make a game now they have to spend more time communicating. They experiment with small teams and assemble a larger team to make the final game.
They need dedicated hardware to make games for people who want to get really involved. Unique software can be made with hardware that has a unique interface.
Nintendo tried to expand the reach of video games with the DS and Wii, but people take games for granted now because of smart devices. This is good since it means they don’t have to convince people that games are something relevant to their lives.
There are many free-to-play games, but they ask players for a decent amount of money. Thinking about what kind of games people will spend money on leads to the kinds of games they are making.
His point of comparison is only his past work, he looks at what other people make so he can make something new.
He thinks of Nintendo as a sponsor, as it grows it is able to be a better sponsor and he’s able to do more. He can’t say anything that will upset the shareholders, but it’s important he is able to make unique games. He likes making games.
Nintendo Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Semi Annual Financial Results Briefing for the 75th Fiscal Term Ending March 2015
Publication Date: October 30, 2014
Subject(s): Amiibo, judging future technology, rate of software development
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/events/141030qa/index.html
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220523012823/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/events/141030qa/index.html
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/events/141030qa/index.html
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220625135442/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/events/141030qa/index.html
Summary: They are still trying to demonstrate all of the charms of the Wii U. It can be started without turning on the TV, it boots up quickly, and more games that use the GamePad are being developed. Should have made more use of the NFC features earlier. Nintendo is also a toy company, and toys must give a sense of wonder. To differentiate hardware, it must feel like playing with a new toy. Amiibo have appeal as highly detailed figures. There will be Amiibo cards in the future and has the potential to create new ways to play card games. Amiibo will be used for new ways to play.
He has taken the position of guardian to younger developers, talks to them about what makes things Nintendo-like. Discussions often come down to what technology has the best performance or will be cheapest, but people like him stress that products should have a unique point. Trying to establish internal systems for people 20 years younger than him.
It is more important to create titles more people are interested in than more titles. Nintendo has always offered games that can be played for a long time, and DLC is part of that. Pikmin Short Movies and a Pikmin 3 demo are promotional campaigns that lay the groundwork for Pikmin in the future and motivate people to buy Wii Us. “Make more!” has been a rallying cry as they make more DLC. He wants to create more smaller spinoffs so players don’t have to wait 3 years between releases. Nintendo has started to work with new second and third parties.
The Hollywood Reporter: Super Mario Bros. Creator Debuts First Movie Project at Tokyo Film Fest
Publication Date: October 30, 2014
Subject(s): Pikmin Short Movies
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Patrick Brzeski, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/super-mario-bros-creator-debuts-745099/
Summary: Thirty years ago Nintendo of America licensed their properties for TV and movie adaptation, but they’ve stopped them from doing that now. He likes being involved in how Nintendo’s characters are portrayed.
People have asked to make a movie with him before, but he felt the release of Pikmin 3 was the right time to make a sort of animation pilot.
Interactivity is the most important thing to him, where the player is sort of the creator.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (Pikmin Short Movies)
Publication Date: November 6, 2014
Subject(s): Pikmin Short Movies, Pikmin 3
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170731195247/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAAAYUKluAMAsRA
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171018140531/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAABnUYoW26uGgQ
Summary: Pikmin Short Movies are now available on the eShop. These are short computer animated movies showing the Pikmin outside of their normal habitat in video games.
There is now also a demo of Pikmin 3.
The Telegraph: Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto: ’What can games learn from film? Nothing’
Publication Date: November 10, 2014
Subject(s): Pikmin, Pikmin Short Movies, Super Mario Bros (1993 film)
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Robbie Collin, Yasuhiro Minagawa, three unnamed assistants, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: This interview took place before the 2014 Tokyo International Film Festival’s screening of Pikmin Short Movies, between October 23rd and 31st.
Summary: Ants have a leader and tend to carry things, so he started thinking about a game about small people carrying things in a line. He asked why games have to be competitions, why not work together and carry things as a team?
Pikmin die, but are reborn, or new Pikmin are born to replace them. He thought it was worthwhile to teach this to children.
He doesn’t think of games as a method of storytelling. Even though people ask him about it all the time he has never been interested in making a movie.
Nintendo of America gave away a lot of licenses. They put a stop to that after the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie. But he decided he wanted to be involved in the future.
Younger game makers want to make stories that touch people’s hearts, which worries him. The game player should be the director, making something only they can create in the process of playing the game.
When you’re playing a game you’ll be playing it and suddenly feel like you’re in its world. You can’t do that with movies or novels.
Other game companies are making smart business decisions, but it’s boring to make the same game over and over.
People playing Virtual Boy didn’t look beautiful.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (Pikmin Short Movies drawing challenge)
Publication Date: November 11, 2014
Subject(s): Pikmin Short Movies
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170731195223/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKmJLY2HUQ
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171018140531/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKmJLjnT8Q
Summary: To commemorate Pikmin Short Movies he is asking artists with Art Academy: SketchPad to share Pikmin’s charm.
The Art Academy: SketchPad community will have a “Pikmin Spotted!!” drawing challenge. It will end November 30, 2014.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (Pikmin Short Movies storyboards, untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: November 14, 2014
Subject(s): Pikmin Short Movies
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171018140619/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADRUqGjf9X5EA
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto talks about storyboarding Pikmin Short Movies using Flipnote in this post.
Nintendo of America: Nintendo Direct 11.5.2014
Publication Date: November 14, 2014
Subject(s): Pikmin 3, Pikmin animated shorts (25:42)
Format: Promotional video (dubbed)
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Summary: Today he is wearing a Pikmin T-shirt.
He has been working on games that use the Wii U GamePad and on a Pikmin animation. He has never worked on an animation before but he wanted to show the Pikmin up close for once. The shorts are around 20 minutes long and debuted at the Tokyo International Film Festival. They will be selling the animations on the eShop. He used Flipnote Studio to storyboard them.
There will be a demo for Pikmin 3.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (end of Art Academy: SketchPad Pikmin drawing event)
Publication Date: December 1, 2014
Subject(s): Art Academy: SketchPad Pikmin drawing event
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170731195256/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAAADVHhng4GnpA
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171018140645/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAAADVHhngqg43Q
Summary: They have closed submissions for the Art Academy: SketchPad Pikmin drawing event today. It will take some time to go through them and select their favorites. Leave a Yeah on your favorites.
Nintendo of America: Wii U The Legend of Zelda Gameplay First Look from The Game Awards
Publication Date: December 5, 2014
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Promotional video/demonstration (dubbed)
People: Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: This was played during the 2014 Game Awards and was uploaded by Nintendo on their channel on the same day. This was the first footage of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild shown to the public.
Summary: You can tell Link is facing West because of the setting sun. Your hands are free while riding a horse. Star Fox Zero will arrive before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, next year.
The Game Awards 2014
Publication Date: December 5, 2014
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker (20:44)
Format: Promotional video (spoken English)
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlLvCLP2h84&t=1245s
Notes: The Super Mario Maker trailer was uploaded to Nintendo’s YouTube channel, but not the parts before and after with Mr. Miyamoto speaking.
Summary: In 2015 they will expand worlds and characters, and create new experiences. 2015 will see the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., and they will release Super Mario Maker, which may become a popular series of its own one day.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (Art Academy: SketchPad Pikmin drawing event winners)
Publication Date: December 12, 2014
Subject(s): Art Academy: SketchPad Pikmin drawing event
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170722173425/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAAADVHhvJZ60Kg
Notes: This post and its replies showcase the winners of the Art Academy: SketchPad Pikmin drawing event. There seem to be a few honorable mentions, too.
Summary: Thank you for sharing the Pikmin you saw on Miiverse. The gold goes to くらげ. Silver goes to Mikito. Bronze goes to David.
He also asked MariChan to pick her favorite.
Rosanna Pansino: MARIO KART 8 KOOPA SHELL CAKE POPS NERDY NUMMIES
Publication Date: December 16, 2014
Subject(s): Upcoming games, Pikmin Short Movies
Format: Interview, presentation/demonstration (live translator)
People: Rosanna Pansino, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNUcDkNI24o&t=434s
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto gives Rosanna a Nintendo 3DS XL Super Mario Bros 2 Limited Edition, draws Mario on it, and signs it.
While playing Mario Kart 8 Bill Trinen chooses Link (1st place), Rosanna chooses Princess Peach (2nd place), and Mr. Miyamoto chooses Toad (he is in 4th place but hasn’t finished at the end of the video).
Summary: These cake pops are amazing, is there a turtle inside? These belong in Sweet Sweet Canyon.
2015 will see the release of Yoshi’s Wooly World and Mario Party 10, which will use amiibo. There will also be Super Mario Maker, to celebrate Super Mario Bros.’ 30th anniversary.
Splatoon is for big gamers. The main character is a squid that can transform into a human.
He’s also working on a new Star Fox game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will come out in 2015.
They recently started offering the Pikmin Short Movies on the eShop. You can watch them in 3D on the 3DS.
He wants to give this 3DS to her as a present.
[They eat the cake pops and Rosanna asks if they can play Mario Kart.]Sure, they can play Sweet Sweet Canyon.
[They play Mario Kart 8.]
iJustine: Shigeru Miyamoto Interview (Creator of Mario!)
Publication Date: December 17, 2014
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Star Fox Zero, Splatoon, Yoshi’s Woolly World, Pikmin Short Movies
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: iJustine, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto gives iJustine a signed Nintendo 3DS XL Super Mario Bros 2 Limited Edition.
Summary: They want to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., and Super Mario Maker is coming out, so the timing worked out perfectly. They had to draw out every level of Super Mario Bros., but you can quickly make changes to levels with Super Mario Maker. There’s a lot to discover and experiment with. There will be popularity rankings online and you can exchange courses.
They’ve tried to make The Legend of Zelda games with big worlds to explore, but they’ve always had to break them into segments. In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild you might get sidetracked and forget what your goal was.
Breath of the Wild uses the GamePad for the map, but with Star Fox Zero it shows a cockpit view while the TV has a more cinematic view. His favorite Star Fox character is Fox because his eyebrows look like a fox.
They didn’t have a gender for Toad in mind when they were created, but after Toadette was introduced people assumed Toad was male.
Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is for core gamers, and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D is coming out too.
Splatoon is made by young team of developers, it’s a shooter you can play online. You play as a squid child that shoots ink and can swim through it. It’s a game where you try to claim territory.
Yoshi’s Woolly World is an action game for everyone. After they made Kirby’s Epic Yarn they thought the style would fit Yoshi well too.
You can press buttons to make sounds during Pikmin Short Movies.
iJustine: Playing Mario Kart 8 with Mr. Miyamoto
Publication Date: December 18, 2014
Subject(s): Mario Kart 8
Format: Interview, demonstration (live translator)
People: iJustine, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q2KxS32Q1g
Notes: iJustine chooses Mario (8th place), Bill Trinen chooses Link (2nd place), and Mr. Miyamoto chooses Toad (4th place).
Summary: His favorite Mario Kart racer is Toad.
[Mr. Miyamoto chooses Yoshi Circuit because it’s simple.]Their goal is always to make something that they find fun.
AP News: Miyamoto on ’Amiibo,’ ’Zelda’ and ’Mario’ Movie
Publication Date: December 18, 2014
Subject(s): Amiibo, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Star Fox Zero
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Derrik J. Lang, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://apnews.com/article/56c0fd74d6f5498581bedc1c29a5380f
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230125235550/https://apnews.com/article/56c0fd74d6f5498581bedc1c29a5380f
Summary: They will continue to make games with Amiibo support, and new ways to use it in the future. Some games have specific amiibo and others can use past amiibo. They may re-release an amiibo as a card.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was designed with the open world nature of the first games in mind. The world will change and be effected by what you do.
Star Fox Zero’s story may not be too different from past games, but it will play very differently due to the Wii U GamePad.
He does not have a vision that the next iteration of Mario will be a film. He wants Mario to usher in each new technological era.
Nintendo Dream
Publication Date: December 2014 (reported on January 1, 2015)
Subject(s): Yes or no questions
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Unknown Nintendo Dream interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Translator: Garou for NeoGAF
Notes: Nintendo Dream had Miyamoto answer a list of yes or no questions in 1997 and 2006, and asked him the same questions in 2015. My Nintendo News reported on the NeoGAF post with some context.
Summary: He has always had fun at work but has never dreamed about it.
He doesn’t want to be president of Nintendo.
He was glad he was born Japanese in 1997, but this turned into maybe and then no.
He always answered that he does not want to make a movie.
Nintendo Dream (reported on by Nintendo Everything)
Publication Date: December, 2014 (reported on January 11, 2015)
Subject(s): Food, music, obsessions
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Reported on by Brian, unknown Nintendo Dream interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://nintendoeverything.com/miyamoto-talks-about-some-non-gaming-topics/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20150115053050/http://nintendoeverything.com/miyamoto-talks-about-some-non-gaming-topics
Translator: Brian for Nintendo Everything
Notes: This is from the same article as the previous entry. Nintendo Everything refers to this as “our” translation, so Brian is not necessarily the translator.
Summary: His favorite food is pasta. Anything goes with noodles.
He likes being able to go everywhere by bicycle in Kyoto.
He’s thankful for the increase in Mario cosplay.
He likes cats and dogs about the same.
He met Jerry Douglas, a dobro player, backstage after a concert in Osaka. His bassist was a Star Fox fan.
He’s obsessed with swimming.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (Moving Memo Pad 3D Pikmin contest, untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: December 25, 2014
Subject(s): Moving Memo Pad 3D Pikmin contest
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171018140532/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAAADVHh7gXeAGw
Notes: This post was about the end of the Moving Memo Pad 3D Pikmin contest
2015
2015 Nintendo Company Guide
Publication Date: 2015
Subject(s): Nintendo
Format: Essay
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Scan:
Translator: Agnes Oshiro
Notes: Nintendo periodically makes company guides to advertise to prospective employees and to welcome new employees. This scan is by Cabel Sasser for his blog Cabel.com. He also commissioned the translation.
Summary: At first technology only brought ideas to life, but at some point the idea that more technology meant more appeal took over.
Nintendo strives to be a company with unique ideas that delight others.
Even if you’re not sure about your technical prowess Nintendo may open its door for you if you’re confident about your creativity.
Smosh Games: NINTENDO’S MIYAMOTO RACES US IN MARIO KART 8 DLC (Button Bash)
Publication Date: January 5, 2015
Subject(s): Pikmin animated shorts, F-Zero, drawing Mario, Splatoon, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Maker, Star Fox Zero
Format: Demonstration, interview (live translator)
People: Joshua Ovenshire, Matthew Sohinki, Anthony Padilla, Ian Hecox, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: The group played two Mario Kart 8 races on Yoshi Circuit:
Joshua Ovenshire, Matthew Sohinki – Tanooki Mario (1st, 3rd)
Anthony Padilla – Lemmy (3rd, 1st)
Ian Hecox – Link (4th, 6th)
Mr. Miyamoto – Toad (6th, 10th)
Summary: [After the first Mario Kart 8 race.]
You guys have obviously played a lot.
[During the second race.]His favorite kart is the Offroader.
[After the second race.]They all picked on him.
He wanted to make the Pikmin animated shorts since they don’t get to depict individual Pikmin during the games. He still has a lot of ideas for future Pikmin games.
He made F-Zero before Mario Kart. They try to focus on racing games that are a bit more gamey than what others make. If they come up a new controller that is suited to F-Zero they might make another game.
He’s working with Takaya Imamura on the next Star Fox game. His Mario Kart skills have gone down since he’s been playing so much Star Fox lately.
If he could be a non-human character he created, he’d be Yoshi.
He goes to Off Broadway shows when he is in America.
They have many talented artists at Nintendo, so he doesn’t draw as often as he used to. He does find a sketch to be the easiest way to show an idea to someone quickly.
[He begins sketching.]You usually start with a silhouette, but you start with Mario’s eyes, followed by the eyebrows, the nose and mustache. He always draws a star near Mario.
Splatoon was made by a lot of younger developers. They’re doing so much he wants to tell them to hold back. You’ll be able to play it online. Movement feels really good.
Walking around The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s world feels really nice, too. They can implement all of their ideas quickly, so it’s been fun to develop.
With Super Mario Maker you can instantly play a course you’ve made. You can share your courses online. Some people want to make very hard levels, and others want to make easy but fun levels.
Having two screens is really important for Star Fox. In Star Fox Zero you can look around with the GamePad during cinema scenes.
He likes the look of the character from Assassin’s Creed.
The yarn world of Yoshi’s Woolly World is amazing.
[He signs and gives away two Nintendo 3DS XL Super Mario Bros 2 Limited Edition and two Nintendo 3DS XL Blue/Black systems.]
Time: 7 Fascinating Insights from Nintendo’s Gaming Genius Shigeru Miyamoto
Publication Date: March 18, 2015
Subject(s): Splatoon, movies and novels, uniqueness
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Matt Peckham, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://time.com/3747708/nintendo-shigeru-miyamoto/
Summary: They were testing Splatoon and found the ink-battle play fun, but they were losing the freshness of the game. The main character could have been from any game, it wasn’t unique. He told the producer and director that they could try using Mario if they couldn’t come up with anything. A few weeks later they decided to use the squid character on the spot.
They want to reach the widest range of people possible. He observes theater performances and theme parks, which appeal to a wide array of people. When they make something that children will enjoy they also try to make it good enough that adults will appreciate it too.
He doesn’t want to make an atmosphere where people are trying to do better than him or please him specifically. Rather, he wants directors to work towards their own goals.
Movies and novels can completely control how their narratives are presented, but it’s difficult for game makers to force players to their expectations. Inspiring the audience’s imagination is the fundamental essence of entertainment. Video games can uniquely etch images in the player’s mind because they were an active participant. He knows he could never be a novelist or film director.
Nintendo tries to innovate and constantly works on new ideas.
They will keep making new platforms that enable new ways to play.
Working on DS and Wii games was fun because it was challenging to create new ways to play.
Nintendo of America: Nintendo World Championships 2015
Publication Date: June 14, 2015
Subject(s): Nintendo World Championships, Super Mario Maker
Format: Competition and award ceremony (live translator)
People: Kevin Pereira, John Numbers, Narcissa Wright, unnamed translator, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9H8VcU21j4&t=3441s
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto’s appearance was not announced beforehand. The last competition involved Super Mario Maker. John Numbers was the winner and Narcissa Wright was the runner-up. Both received a 3DS XL that Mr. Miyamoto signed on stage.
Summary: It’s been 30 years since Super Mario Bros. was released, so he’s been making games for 30 some years. Making games is the funnest thing in the world, which is why he wanted to make Super Mario Maker.
Nintendo of America: Nintendo Digital Event @ E3 2015
Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero (4:39), Super Mario Maker (41:09), Super Mario Bros.
Format: Promotional video (dubbed)
People: Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: This video is a reupload, the original air date is listed. The Super Mario Maker segment contains some of the same footage as the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary Special Interview ft. Shigeru Miyamoto & Takashi Tezuka video.
Summary: He lives near the Fushimi Inari Shrine, and has felt protected by it. Watching Thunderbirds as a child inspired him to make a game with cinematic elements and distinct characters. He liked drawing comics with caricaturized humanoid animals and decided that’s how the characters should be. He wanted to make the kind of game where you can go under the arches you see. You can use the gyro on the Wii U GamePad to feel immersed in the game. The GamePad is like a cockpit. You can use two sticks instead of a lot of buttons. Star Fox Zero is not Star Fox 4 or 5, but it’s also not a remake. The Zero in the name comes from how 0 looks in Japanese calligraphy, and the series is rooted in Japanese culture.
He has been working with Takashi Tezuka for 30 years. The tool they were working on making for new 2D Mario games turned out so good that they realized they could turn it into something everyone could enjoy. He starts by making a course he wants to play, like a 2-1 or 2-2, then they have to go back and make it easier, like 1-1. In 1-1 there is a Goomba you have to jump over, and in doing so you might reveal the mushroom. Super Mario Maker is like game design training.
Nintendo of America: Nintendo Treehouse Live @ E3 2015 Day 1 Super Mario Maker Part 1
Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Interview/demonstration (live translator)
People: Morgan Ritchie, Ethan (translator), Takashi Tezuka, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Summary: [They make and play a couple courses, and show off the 30th anniversary Mario amiibo.]
It used to be it would take a day to test any changes they made to a Mario level, but now you can try it immediately. You can make courses much more fun than they could back then. It’s fun for players to think about how to tackle a course. This game puts creativity in the hands of the developer, with how simple it is anyone can design and play. Mr. Tezuka tends to make crazy courses, which was harder back then.
Nintendo of America: Nintendo Treehouse Live @ E3 2015 Day 1 Star Fox Zero Part 1
Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Interview/demonstration (live translator)
People: Samantha Robertson, Morgan Ritchie, Eric Smith, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Summary: They introduced many GamePad games at E3 last year that are still under development. Eiji Aonuma is not at E3, he is working hard on his next game, and he will join Mr. Aonuma when the show is over. The Nintendo Treehouse team is probably better at Star Fox Zero than he is, so they will show off the game. He’ll come back when they are done.
[Samantha, Morgan, and Eric play Star Fox Zero.]
Yugo Hayashi will be much better at playing the game. He regrets that Slippy wasn’t able to play a role in the digital event, but he will have a big role this year. They are working with Platinum Games and the director of Bayonetta 2. The audio is very important, it comes out of the GamePad.
Nintendo of America: Nintendo Treehouse Live @ E3 2015 Day 1 Star Fox Zero Part 2
Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Interview/demonstration (live translator)
People: Morgan Ritchie, Rob Tunstall (translator), Yugo Hayashi, Yusuke Hashimoto, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: This video was uploaded on June 17, 2015, but the event took place on the 16th.
Summary: The cockpits on the show floor mimic the sound that comes from the GamePad. Yugo Hayashi should play first since Yusuke Hashimoto must be really good, coming from Platinum Games.
You’ll see a lot of the same place names as previous Star Fox games. They haven’t finished localizing this level yet, the voices are still Japanese.
He started the project and it’s primarily been him, Mr. Hayashi, and Mr. Hashimoto. Mr. Hashimoto has done a lot of the bosses and models. There are a few homages/parodies of previous bosses, but most are new. The gameplay is different even when the level names are the same because of the GamePad.
You need to think about how to approach enemies, it’s like playing a movie. The controls are simple. The focus is single player, but there is a co-op mode where one player moves and the other shoots. Players that aren’t used to Star Fox, or parents, can make use of this.
Video games generally don’t give you any control during cinematic scenes, but the GamePad allows for this.
Nintendo of America: Mr Miyamoto & Mr. Tezuka Let’s Super Mario!
Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Subject(s): LetsSuperMario.com
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M68KDAXafXk
Notes: http://www.letssupermario.com started redirecting to https://supermario.nintendo.com/ between March and July 2016.
Summary: He encourages viewers to go letssupermario.com where they can upload videos showing how they will celebrate Mario’s 30th anniversary.
IGN: E3 2015: The Legend of Zelda Still Coming to Wii U
Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Jose Otero, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/16/e3-2015-the-legend-of-zelda-still-coming-to-wii-u
Notes: The Switch (under code name “NX”) had been announced a few months before this interview, causing some to wonder if The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would skip the Wii U. This interview took place at E3 2015.
Summary: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will release on the Wii U. At E3 they talk about what’s coming out in the immediate future, so they won’t be showing any Breath of the Wild footage today.
Nintendo of America: Nintendo Treehouse Live @ E3 2015 Day 1 Super Mario Maker Part 3
Publication Date: June 17, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Interview/demonstration (live translator)
People: Eric Smith, Morgan Ritchie, Erik Peterson, Bill Trinen (translator), Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: Eric and Morgan talk about designing the Super Mario Maker levels used in the Nintendo World Championships 2015 finals. Takashi Tezuka tells them the courses are going to be included in the final release of the game.
Summary: They are playing some cool stages, courses like these are why Super Mario Maker exists. A lot of fans wanted to play these courses.
Shigeru Miyamoto Gives Impromptu Speech at E3 2015 6.17.15
Publication Date: June 17, 2015
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Presentation (live translator)
People: Unknown interviewer, Yasuhiro Minagawa (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXBXdxdlTTA
Notes: This impromptu presentation took place at E3 2015, in front of the Star Fox puppets made by Jim Henson Studios. Uploaded by YouTube user Ziondood.
Summary: He’s wearing a Star Fox shirt. He used to want to be a puppet maker, so he loves the Star Fox puppets.
Star Fox Zero may seem difficult since you have to manipulate the control sticks, but mastering new skills is unique to video games.
Try as many games on the show floor as you can.
The Wall Street Journal: Shigeru Miyamoto Explains the Original ’Star Fox’ Sequel’s Fate
Publication Date: June 18, 2015
Subject(s): Star Fox 2, Star Fox Guard, Star Fox Zero, Nintendo’s characters, his successor
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Sarah E. Needleman, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/BL-DGB-42342
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230528225511/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/BL-DGB-42342
Summary: The Super FX chip was expensive, but high-spec. They made Star Fox 2 with it, but realized it would seem old since 3D consoles were about to be released, so they cancelled it even though it was done.
They’ve shown a number of games that use the GamePad. Star Fox Guard is progressing.
There will be a Falco amiibo.
His favorite Star Fox character is Fox McCloud because he turns into him. His official favorite character is Slippy.
They design their games first, then decide which character fits. Unlike others they try to make something unique. Their character’s identities make them memorable.
He has met Hayao Miyazaki and sends games to him, but he doesn’t like video games.
There are many successors ready to replace him. The idea for Splatoon came from younger people, and the seniors supported them.
NPR: Q&A: Shigeru Miyamoto On The Origins Of Nintendo’s Famous Characters
Publication Date: June 19, 2015
Subject(s): Mario’s origins, inspiration, getting hired at Nintendo
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Laura Sydell, unnamed translator, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2015.
Summary: The game play of Mario games came from Donkey Kong. In Donkey Kong you ran and jumped. For Super Mario Bros. they added more settings and side-scrolling. Mario became so popular because the actions are innate to humans. People are afraid of falling and will jump over a gap. Mario was a carpenter in Donkey Kong and it was set at a construction site, Mario Bros. was set in the sewers with pipes. Because of the pipes in Super Mario Bros. it made sense for him to be a plumber. His vision of Mario is as a blue-collar hero.
He read comics when he was young, some of which were Italian. Mario’s big nose and mustache probably drew upon his memories of those. When making Mario’s sprite for Donkey Kong they had a 16×16 space to work with. They gave him a big nose, mustache, and overalls to make it easy to see what Mario was doing. There was someone in Nintendo’s American warehouse named Mario, and the staff there thought he looked like the character from the Donkey Kong game. When he heard that he thought it would be a great name for the character. He has a hat because it would be difficult to draw hair moving.
He spent of a lot of time exploring outdoors as a child. He went on a hiking trip near Kobe, and on top of a mountain was a lake. He was amazed and drew on that experience for The Legend of Zelda.
He took up swimming at 40, and used that experience for the underwater areas of Super Mario 64.
The creativity of the player makes Mario games fun. The cycle of thinking and experimenting is unique to Mario games. The 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. is a good point to release Super Mario Maker.
The “Super” in “Super Mario Bros.” refers to big Mario, he’s super-sized. Mushrooms have mysterious powers in Alice in Wonderland and other fairy tales so they decided it would makes sense for them to make Mario big.
Studying industrial design and drawing taught him to consider the right angle to look at something from. Making 2D games is like drawing pictures. For 3D games they instead had to make story flows. People needed to understand that both the character and the camera were moving. They thought Lakitu would be the perfect character to hold the camera in Super Mario 64 since he floats on a cloud.
He wanted to be a manga artist as a child, but he felt there were too many others that he couldn’t compete with. He decided to design toys once he was an industrial designer. When he discovered video games he realized they combined the things he loved when he was younger, like drawing and music. He also liked doing puppet shows, and making 3D games was similar.
When they were making arcade games they had to make sure people would keep paying. Then they had to create immersive worlds games. As he got older he realized his other interests could be applied to video game mechanics.
They experiment with virtual reality, but Nintendo wants to make games played by everyone in the living room.
The Wii U cost more than they wanted. They don’t go after the best technology, but rather find the best balance of features and an easy interface. They want to be unique. The price wasn’t why the Wii U has sold poorly, though. People didn’t understand it. It had a tablet that booted up quickly with touch controls. But tablets got better very quickly.
They are figuring out how to introduce Nintendo characters in other mediums, like mobile. They are not porting games to mobile.
He’ll come up with an idea, and Takashi Tezuka will come up with something that can’t be turned into a game. They’ll then massage those ideas until they come up with a game.
His first job was to make a game for the overseas market. They might use Japanese folktales as inspiration, but they don’t look at what’s popular in Japan to decide what to make.
Splatoon was made by a younger team that wanted to make a game and was supported by the senior leadership.
He applied to Nintendo as a designer, but was told they weren’t hiring for that. A friend of his father’s knew the president of Nintendo and got him an interview. Hiroshi Yamauchi saw his portfolio and liked it enough to hire him as their first industrial designer. Three years later he found out that Nintendo patented something from his portfolio.
Fortune: Shigeru Miyamoto: Why the Wii U crashed and burned
Publication Date: June 23, 2015
Subject(s): Wii U’s poor sales, new hardware
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Chris Morris, Shinya Takahashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://fortune.com/2015/06/23/shigeru-miyamoto-wii-u/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20150624110540/http://fortune.com/2015/06/23/shigeru-miyamoto-wii-u/
Summary: People didn’t understand what they were trying to do with the Wii U. They assumed it was a game console and a tablet, but it was actually a system with tablet functionality that had two screens so that different people in a living room can play their own ways. It didn’t work because tablets kept adding more functionality and getting more popular.
He’s stepped back from working on hardware and focused on games, like Star Fox Zero. He’s still observing the process, though.
The Wii U was a novel idea.
AP News: Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom hopping into theme parks
Publication Date: June 25, 2015
Subject(s): Super Nintendo World
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Derrik J. Lang, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://apnews.com/article/584b61722f89456d9a03d4829864ce62
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230523015734/https://apnews.com/article/584b61722f89456d9a03d4829864ce62
Summary: Kids who grew up playing Nintendo now have their own kids.
They know the Mario world and they’ve been communicating their vision with Universal. The challenge for Universal is how to take something digital and bring it to the real world.
Nintendo Investor Relations: The 75th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders Q & A
Publication Date: June 26, 2015
Subject(s): Third-party support, E3
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/stock/meeting/150626qa/02.html
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20210307001358/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/stock/meeting/150626qa/02.html
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/stock/meeting/150626qa/02.html
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20211216112956/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/stock/meeting/150626qa/02.html
Summary: Nintendo sees E3 as a trade show that they should be involved with. This year they focused on games coming out this year. Some years they focus on games coming out later than that, like last year when they showed experimental software to convey what the Wii U’s appeal. They may not have excited people very much since they only showed off games coming out this year.
Sony and Microsoft had E3 booths where they showed games that may not come out for several years, some of which could not be played. There were virtual reality demos where the specifics of commercialization were unknown. People appreciated that Nintendo had demos for games that could be enjoyed in the living room.
Nintendo of America: A Visit To Jim Henson Studios with Mr. Miyamoto
Publication Date: June 29, 2015
Subject(s): Jim Henson Studios
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Brian Henson, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ANzA2fQ8Gc
Summary: He has admired Jim Henson studios for a long time, and wanted to make puppets. He received a Jim Henson award five or six years ago. He doodles all the time during meetings.
IGN: Shigeru Miyamoto Releases Statement on Satoru Iwata’s Passing
Publication Date: July 13, 2015
Subject(s): Satoru Iwata’s death
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/13/shigeru-miyamoto-releases-statement-on-satoru-iwatas-passing
Notes: All of the articles reporting on this describe it as a statement given directly to the outlet, there does not appear to be a more direct source from Nintendo.
Summary: He is surprised and saddened. Nintendo will remain committed to the development policy they’ve built with Satoru Iwata.
Game Informer: Star Fox Zero
Publication Date: August, 2015
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Andrew Reiner, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scan:
Notes: Star Fox 2 was released about two years later on the Super NES Classic Edition.
Summary: He’s not tired of making video games, it’s still his favorite thing.
He tends to start making a game with a small core team, then looks for a bigger team to complete it. Bayonetta 2 was finishing up when Star Fox Zero needed to expand, and he thought Platinum would be a good fit. They meet every day.
A two screen setup was important so beginners could aim and shoot, and it opens up new strategies. It wasn’t really possible to shoot down everything in Star Fox 64, but you can in Star Fox Zero.
It’s OK for Star Fox 2 to remain a memory, he’s achieving the things he wanted to do there in Star Fox Zero.
Star Fox Zero will be simpler than Star Fox 64 in terms of the map and going to different planets. The game should take about as long to beat as a movie, it’s cinematic. There are branching paths.
Fortune: Shigeru Miyamoto talks Nintendo’s return to the movie world
Publication Date: August 21, 2015
Subject(s): Movies based on Nintendo properties
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Chris Morris, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://fortune.com/2015/08/21/nintendo-movie-partnerships/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220812132936/https://fortune.com/2015/08/21/nintendo-movie-partnerships/
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2015.
Summary: Many people have come to Nintendo and asked to make a movie with them, or to make a movie and a video game and release them simultaneously. People expect that they want to make their games into movies, but they’re very different since one is passive and one is interactive.
They might look into movies in the future.
GamesTM: The Real Mario Brothers
Publication Date: September, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker, Mario, planning documents, transition to 3D, game difficulty, Takashi Tezuka, Toshihiko Nakago
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Unnamed GamesTM interviewer, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Summary: Many people who create things don’t get to reach very many people. He is lucky that so many people look forward to the things he makes.
Making games is fun, but his focus has mostly been on puzzle games. He started Mario vs. Donkey Kong, which continued on to the DS. Takashi Tezuka expanded puzzle games with Mario Paint, and Super Mario Maker fits into that evolution.
Being able to change the style to different Super Mario games changed how they thought about controls. You can’t hip drop or wall jump in all of them, which alters the difficulty. Since Super Mario Maker is an editor tool they weren’t restrictive. Looking back at old Super Mario games was embarrassing sometimes, but it was still enjoyable. Looking at some of the old planning documents he realized he forgot a lot. They found a lot of important documents.
He was pretty thorough in some of the old documents.
They used to have to be very careful with the memory they had available, and come up with creative animations.
They’ve tried to be consistent with B-dashes, how far Mario can jump, and how many blocks Mario can break. They’ve made it simpler since they ask the player to do more complicated things. You didn’t used to be able to B-dash when Mario is still.
Mario is a popular character because his games are fun. They don’t worry about what’s trendy at Nintendo. Mario is an old man, which makes him unique. Pikmin and Splatoon also have unique characters, they aren’t competing with anything and they fit their game worlds.
With the first few levels of Super Mario Bros. they want players to understand the game so they can enjoy the rest of it.
He enjoyed going from 2D to 3D, but many people couldn’t make that transition. The New Super Mario Bros. series is named that because while it goes back to the series’ foundations they didn’t want it to look old.
He hears complaints about difficulty, both that games are too easy and too hard. What their testers find fun might be too hard for new players. The gap between advanced and first-time players has widened over time.
He sees himself as Takashi Tezuka’s translator. They have an equal relationship. Although they don’t always see eye to eye they eventually realize they have a similar way of thinking. He has probably eaten half of his meals in his life with Takashi Tezuka and Toshihiko Nakago. They’ve worked well together for the last 30 years.
NintendoWiiUUK: Super Mario Maker Michel Ancel PAC Mario Challenge (Wii U)
Publication Date: September 7, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Presentation/demonstration, promotional video (subtitled)
People: Bertrand Amar, Michel Ancel, Grégoire Hellot (translator), Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TVSu9zF0e4
Notes: This is from Japan Expo 2015, which was held in Paris, France.
Summary: [Michel Ancel explains that he has created a score-centric course in Super Mario Maker for Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Tezuka.]
The level is called “Pac-Mario”!
[Mr. Tezuka plays first and gets 18,900 points.][Mr Miyamoto plays and gets 29,800 points.]
This course is well done, Michel Ancel is a professional.
Eurogamer: Miyamoto on World 1 1: How Nintendo made Mario’s most iconic level
Publication Date: September 7, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Bros.
Format: Interview, demonstration (subtitled)
People: Chris Bratt, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRGRJRUWafY
Notes: The YouTube subtitles have an automatically generated Japanese transcript.
Summary: To make players satisfied with big Mario they had you start as small Mario. They thought a suspicious mushroom making him bigger would be understood by everyone.
In regards to level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros., when players see the first Goomba they need to jump over it. They may try hitting the question block and get a coin. If you activate the mushroom it will be come towards you and you’ll be happy when you become big.
Originally a Koopa Troopa was the first enemy, but they thought it might be too difficult.
He drew a black mushroom, but a programmer said it was a chestnut. Chestnut sounds like the Japanese name for Goomba (Kuriboh), which is how it got its name.
There’s a hole where the player will need to dash to get over. The first level is to teach the player about the game.
They create the more difficult and fun levels first, and make 1-1 later.
Testers don’t do things they way he intends.
In Donkey Kong, Mario would die if he fell too far. They wanted Super Mario Bros. to be less restrictive.
When Mario lands in 3D he has to halt for a second, and there’s an animation, but it doesn’t feel good if he stops for too long. Weight helps make the player feel connected.
He had to challenge himself for Super Mario 64, coming up with new camera movements and actions. 3D games were mostly about racing at the time. Mario 64 made him realize the joy of doing something new.
Eurogamer: Super Mario’s makers play Super Mario Maker
Publication Date: September 7, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Interview, demonstration (subtitled)
People: Unnamed Eurogamer interviewer, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbtuPAGqmkc
Notes: The YouTube subtitles have an automatically generated Japanese transcript.
Summary: An important part of Super Mario Maker is the relationship between the person making the level and the person playing it. You need to understand the big picture as creator, someone could always interpret your level differently.
Eurogamer: Super Mario Galaxy 3 possible, but not before Nintendo’s next console
Publication Date: September 7, 2015
Subject(s): 3D versus 2D games, camera systems, upcoming games
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Tom Phillips, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: They have discussed the idea of making another Super Mario Galaxy game, but Super Mario 64 gave some people motion sickness, and others thought it was too hard. The New Super Mario Bros. series goes back to their roots, anyone can play it. They look for opportunities to please both the 3D and 2D fans, like they did with Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World. There will be more such opportunities as technology advances.
Splatoon has gotten more people used to controlling a 3D camera.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force wasn’t what fans expected, and Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer has new gameplay but is still from the Animal Crossing franchise. They have Amiibo cards, Super Mario Maker, and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes coming this year. Nintendo always tries to surprise their audience.
Eurogamer: Pikmin 4 in development and very close to completion
Publication Date: September 7, 2015
Subject(s): Pikmin 4
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Tom Phillips, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.eurogamer.net/pikmin-4-in-development-and-very-close-to-completion
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220409083916/https://www.eurogamer.net/pikmin-4-in-development-and-very-close-to-completion
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto would reaffirm with Eurogamer that Pikmin 4 was being developed in 2017. This interview took place in July, 2015.
Summary: Pikmin 4 is close to being complete. The Pikmin teams never stop working on Pikmin.
YOGSCAST Kim: SHIGERU MIYAMOTO, TAKASHI TEZUKA & YOGSCAST KIM!
Publication Date: September 7, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker, favorite games, favorite characters, inspiration
Format: Interview (dubbed)
People: Kim Richards, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B1nyq-5i6g
Summary: He mostly checked on things that were made in Super Mario Maker, so he wants to learn from Takashi Tezuka.
They started a Super Mario crash course a few years ago at Nintendo, which Mr. Tezuka led.
When they were making Super Mario Bros. they were always focused on how to get to the goal, but they still added some alternate routes. After release people found more ways to get through levels. From Super Mario World and on, the gap in skill level between beginners and experts increased, which is why they added collection items.
Having a game console in the living room means that everyone sees what’s being played, and they want the people watching to enjoy the experience too.
Super Mario Bros. was very special to him, since that was the first. Super Mario 64 was a new challenge. Super Mario World allowed them to put a lot of things together cohesively.
When he drew manga he always included a certain character, and he’s done the same with Mario and video games.
They couldn’t include Yoshi in Super Mario World’s Ghost Houses or underwater levels due to performance issues.
His favorite Nintendo characters that he helped make are the Pikmin, he wants them to spread. But this year his favorite are the fox, falcon, rabbit, and frog.
They almost cut the Kuribo Shoe from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Two of his inspirations are the continuous evolution of technology and his hobbies.
He’s not so interested in other people’s games that he’d like to work on one. He doesn’t like to be too mindful of the competition. When something outside of video games becomes popular they like to figure out how to bring it to video games.
AP News: With ’Mario Maker,’ Nintendo relinquishes control
Publication Date: September 10, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker, Mario’s success
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Derrick J. Lang, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://apnews.com/article/5ab4cfaad0814c9aa6261759123923fc
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230526194915/https://apnews.com/article/5ab4cfaad0814c9aa6261759123923fc
Summary: He thought it would perfect after 30 years of Super Mario Bros. to allow players to make their own levels and share them.
They used to only be able to have five Koopas on screen at once, but as technology has evolved they’ve been able to make a new Mario game taking advantage of it, without thinking too much about the story.
He wanted Mario to be his Mickey Mouse, someone to use in all his games. He wanted Mario to be the most iconic video game character in 10 or 20 years, and he’s lucky that it happened.
Nintendo UK: Mario Myths with Mr Miyamoto
Publication Date: September 10, 2015
Subject(s): Myths
Format: Promotional video
People: Shigeru Miyamoto (subtitled)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu2DnTd3dEo
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto nods or shakes his head to on screen questions and only speaks for the last one.
Summary: Mario is named after former Nintendo of America warehouse worker landlord Mario Segale.
The Mario on the cover of Super Mario Bros. is not about to lose a life.
He would definitely not let Dr. Mario operate on him.
Super Mario Bros. 3 was a performance.
Bob-ombs do not turn into Boos when they die.
He is Bowser Jr.’s mother.
Mario breaks blocks with his fist.
None of his courses are in Super Mario Maker, but he will post something.
Time: Here’s What Super Mario Bros.’ Creators Think of Super Mario Maker
Publication Date: September 11, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Matt Peckham, Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://time.com/4030885/super-mario-maker-nintendo-wii-u/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20151007173055/http://time.com/4030885/super-mario-maker-nintendo-wii-u/
Notes: This interview took place in late June.
Summary: He was surprised when the development team of Super Mario Maker made a level that didn’t require any controller input.
Super Mario Bros. levels show the creativity of the developer, but they come to life when players use their creativity to explore them. Super Mario Maker is the ultimate expression of that idea.
As developers it’s time to move in a new direction.
They used graph paper to plan the levels of the first several Super Mario Bros. games. You can make changes and test them instantly with Super Mario Maker, but it used to take a day. They eventually got PC tools to speed things up, but Super Mario Maker is 10 or 100 times better than those were.
The tools team at Nintendo proposed the idea for turning the Super Mario Bros. tools into a game.
The future of the Super Mario Maker series is unknown, their next system may not have a GamePad.
Los Angeles Times: The Player: ’Super Mario Bros.’ at 30: The plump plumber who changed gaming
Publication Date: September 11, 2015
Subject(s): Mario’s origins and enduring popularity, how Shigeru Miyamoto approaches game development
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Todd Martens, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: This article includes quotes from several people talking about Mr. Miyamoto.
Summary: The secret to the success of the Mario series is Mario’s big nose and mustache. He drew Mario for Donkey Kong, which was the first game he made. Many manga artists would have a character they used in all of their works, he decided Mario would be such a character. He was called Mr. Video at first. There were only 16 by 16 pixels to work with, but he feels he was able to make a recognizable character within those limitations.
As Mickey Mouse evolved with animation he wanted Mario to evolve along with video games. With every new piece of technology came a Mario game.
Nintendo of America: Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary Special Interview ft. Shigeru Miyamoto & Takashi Tezuka
Publication Date: September 13, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Maker
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: Contains footage from the 1980s and original design documents for Super Mario Bros. Nintendo UK uploaded a subtitled version.
Summary: Programmers used to be able to make games by themselves.
Since Donkey Kong he has made games where Mario uses his jump. Super Mario Bros. came from a meeting where he presented an idea for a game with a bigger hero and beautiful graphics. Side scrolling was rare in games at the time. He wanted to use land, sea, and sky settings.
He had to reject Takashi Tezuka’s idea for flying around in a cloud, but you can do it now in Super Mario Maker.
The programmers would scold them if they made too many changes to levels.
Super Mario Maker is game design tutorial software. The process of creating levels is more fun than creating perfect levels.
Musical tribute to 30 years of Nintendo’s Super Mario (reported on by ShanghaiDaily, incomplete)
Publication Date: September 13, 2015 (reported on September 14, 2015)
Subject(s): Super Mario Bros.’ 30th Anniversary
Format: Presentation
People: Takashi Tezuka, Koji Kondo, Masako Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: A concert was held in Tokyo to commemorate Super Mario’s 30th anniversary. This is a different musical event than Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary Live.
Summary: It was touching to sing a birthday song with everyone.
Nintendo UK: Super Mario Maker Hardcover Artbook with Shigeru Miyamoto (Wii U)
Publication Date: September 14, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Bros.’ 30th Anniversary, Super Mario Maker
Format: Promotional video (spoken English, subtitled)
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdmzU47VVt8
Summary: Super Mario Bros. came out 30 years ago and he’s grateful that people have enjoyed Super Mario games since then.
Super Mario Maker’s booklet is beautiful with lots of hints.
Nintendo Console Gaming on Facebook
Publication Date: September 17, 2015
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero’s delay
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104010/https://www.facebook.com/NintendoConsoleGaming/posts/897445373656670
Notes: Nintendo Console Gaming was at least one of Nintendo’s official Facebook accounts for some time, it now redirects to the official Nintendo Switch page. This post was deleted sometime between September, 2016 and December, 2016.
Summary: Star Fox Zero will not release in 2015 while they work on the discovery players will experience, the level designs, and the cutscenes. They are aiming for the first quarter of 2016.
Super Mario Bros 30th Anniversary Live Concert in Osaka: whole concert (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: September 20, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Bros.’ 30th Anniversary
Format: Presentation
People: Takashi Tezuka, Koji Kondo, unknown host, a child and his father, unknown musicians, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipq-qxySzYg
Notes: A concert was held in Osaka and Tokyo to commemorate Super Mario’s 30th anniversary. Mr. Miyamoto speaks with other people important to Super Mario’s history in between some songs.
Super Mario Bros 30th Anniversary Live Concert in Osaka: Super Mario Maker contest (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: September 20, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Presentation
People: Takashi Tezuka, Koji Kondo, unknown host, a child and his father, unknown musicians, Shigeru Miyamoto
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAE8wROrcr0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEZV2PIESnw
Notes: According to the description of one video a boy was given the chance to win a copy of Super Mario Maker signed by Mr. Miyamoto if he completed a Super Mario Maker level designed by Takashi Tezuka.
Nintendo Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Semi Annual Financial Results Briefing for the 76th Fiscal Term Ending March 2016
Publication Date: October 29, 2015
Subject(s): Mobile apps, Switch
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/events/151029qa/index.html
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220408184449/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/events/151029qa/index.html
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/events/151029qa/index.html
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20210420191442/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/events/151029qa/index.html
Summary: If Nintendo takes advantage of the unique aspects of smart devices, then they can make new styles of games and spread them throughout the world. Want to encourage smart device users to play their video games.
No one can predict what will be next big thing in the entertainment business, Nintendo has to create the demand themselves. Their smart device business has the potential to be the next big thing.
Developers who knew the ins and outs of hardware were able to make quality software. Since anyone can make applications now they would like to make an environment that is applicable to many different devices.
He is responsible for plans that use Nintendo’s IP. Amiibo were a proactive use of IP. Mobile apps will expand the reach of Nintendo’s IP.
He doesn’t support making a game easy so that people who don’t play games can play something. Taking on a challenge is part of the fun. Star Fox Zero is challenging, but Star Fox Guard and cooperative mode are there so people who can’t handle it can still enjoy the game. There will also be a way to get an invincible Arwing.
They worked hard to make the dual screen setup and the controls of each vehicle easier to understand. Expert players needs the right kind of response from the vehicles, but if they are too responsive it’s too hard for the newer players.
They’ve perfected the control scheme. He hopes it gets players interested in more dogfighting games.
Nintendo UK: Super Mario Maker Let’s Play with Mr Tezuka & Mr Miyamoto (Wii U)
Publication Date: December 23, 2015
Subject(s): Super Mario Maker
Format: Promotional video
People: Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_aMxmwTRO4
Notes: Mr. Tezuka made a Super Mario Maker course and challenged Mr. Miyamoto to complete it.
Summary: Have you made something cruel?
What’s going on?
This is his last go.
He kind of had to cheat, but he did it!
It was an awful level, but his performance was awful too.
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