Table of Contents
This is the 2015-2019 page of the Shigeru Miyamoto Archive.
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2015
2015 Nintendo Company Guide
Publication Date: 2015
Subject(s): Nintendo
Format: Essay
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Translator: Agnes Oshiro
Notes: Nintendo periodically makes company guides to advertise to prospective employees and to welcome new employees. These scans are 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 5 or 6 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 Mr. Iwata.
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.
NintendoWiiUUK – 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: NintendoConsoleGaming 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.
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.
2016
Living in Digital Times – Shigeru Miyamoto accepts the Lifetime Pioneer Award at the KAPi Awards
Publication Date: January 27, 2016
Subject(s): Inspiration, real versus virtual experiences
Format: Award ceremony (spoken English, dubbed)
People: Tim O’Leary (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgSqOb-9JvU
Notes: The Kids At Play Interactive Awards (KAPi) were managed by Living in Digital Times. They were given to children’s interactive media sold in the United States and you can read more about them here. Mr. Miyamoto recorded a video accepting his Lifetime Pioneer Award in 2016.
Summary: He’s honored to be recognized in children’s interactive media. Since he didn’t have a TV or car growing up he had to make his own media.
An idea for a guy chasing a gorilla became his first game.
He explored the natural environment a lot growing up, which inspired The Legend of Zelda.
Gardening with his wife lead to another idea for a game.
He made a game based on his experiences taking care of his dogs.
He tries to make sure his games encourage kids to think and be imaginative. People say that virtual experiences are taking over real ones, but virtual experiences allow for trial and error. He looks forward to children balancing real world and virtual experiences.
Nintendo of America – Nintendo Direct 3.3.2016
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero, Star Fox Guard (0:30)
Format: Promotional video (dubbed)
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct/03-03-2016/
Notes: It appears that this Direct was livestreamed, but made private later. It was uploaded separately by YouTube user GamersPrey here.
Summary: He is sorry about the delay.
Star Fox Zero is an authentic action game, which he hasn’t worked on in a long time. The more you practice, the more fun it gets. The plot and game structure is similar to Star Fox 64, but the story and plot structure are new. Teleporters are important to the story and branching paths. Fortuna is challenging and has giant enemies. Once you beat normal mode new paths will appear. Star Wolf and his team are a tough challenge. There is a two-player mode where one player controls the Arwing while the other shoots.
The Project Guard he showed 2 E3s ago is now Star Fox Guard. You use Slippy’s security system to ward off enemies. There are about 100 levels and you can uploaded levels you’ve made.
IGN – Miyamoto Interview: Why We Made Changes to Star Fox Zero
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero, Star Fox Guard
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Unnamed IGN interviewer, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkLqWOxqkAs
Summary: In other Star Fox games you shoot in the direction you are flying, in Star Fox Zero you can shoot independently of your movement. Honing your skills is an important part of Star Fox games.
The delay was because the game originally was let you choose which missions you wanted to play, you jump in and out. Star Fox fans who play tested that version didn’t like it. They’ve also improved the graphics, enemy AI, enemy placement, and difficulty.
Only the retro Arwing could use the smart bomb originally, but they found it made for more strategic options.
The teleporters are Andross’s most dangerous experiment. General Pepper uses one to put Andross in an alternate dimension.
Star Fox Guard is a companion game to Star Fox Zero. It’s an introduction to shooters for everyone.
Time – 9 Things Shigeru Miyamoto Told Us About the New Star Fox
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero, Star Fox Guard
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Matt Peckham, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://time.com/4245215/starfox-wii-u/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160405192457/http://time.com/hive.org/web/20160405192457/http://time.com/4245215/starfox-wii-u/
Summary: The gameplay is fresh because it’s split between two screens. It’s going back to its roots, that’s why it’s Star Fox Zero and not Star Fox 4 or 5. He didn’t want to tell a new story, it’s about the relationships between Fox, General Pepper, and Andross. Teleporters play an important role in the gameplay and story.
The teleporters become important after you’ve beaten the game, opening up new routes. They will also answer questions like why Andross was kicked out of Pepper’s team.
They haven’t yet decided to turn Project Giant Robot into a full game. Project Guard is now Star Fox Guard, it’s a companion game and the launch version of Star Fox Zero will come with a separate disc with it.
After E3 2014 they got feedback and decided to make Star Fox Zero more like Star Fox 64, and more like a movie than a TV show.
Star Fox Zero is an action game the likes of which aren’t common anymore. You learn a new skill, perfect it, and use it to find the best path.
It’s also welcoming to younger players that are playing an action game for the first time. The cooperative mode can be played with other people in your household and Star Fox Guard can introduce people to the Star Fox universe if they aren’t good at action games.
The Completionist – Star Fox Zero | Interview With Shigeru Miyamoto! | The Completionist
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Jirard Khalil, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqpr3uK5rcY
Summary: The most important thing in a Star Fox game is to feel like you’re piloting the ship. For Star Fox 64 they focused on flying and aiming at the same time. This time there are 2 screens so the flying and the aiming are separate. They called it Star Fox Zero because it’s the same characters as before, but re-imagined.
Star Fox Zero is faster paced and the levels are a little shorter. They extended the gameplay farther than they originally planned. You can replay levels to find new routes, it will be fun for new Star Fox players and old ones.
You can experience the story as you play. He is interested in the idea of parents teaching their children to follow in their footsteps, so those aspects of the story are important to him.
People really like that “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” quote, but what he meant to say was when he rushes a game and it doesn’t come out right he’ll always regret it. He didn’t mean to tell anyone they made a bad game.
They replayed levels over and over, fine tuning enemy placement and working with Platinum Games.
They started with a game where you controlled a radio-controlled airplane, controlled with the GamePad. Then they thought a cockpit view on the GamePad would be fun. If you add shooting they realized it would make a great Star Fox game, you can move around freely during movie scenes, watching on the TV or the GamePad.
It will be fun to play in the living room where other people can watch you. There’s a co-op mode where one player flies and the other shoots.
There is more focus on whether Andross is truly evil and if General Pepper is truly good. There are Japanese folktales about rabbits and monkeys.
This is a hardcore action game with a great story. Mastering the controls will make you feel like a pilot.
TheJWittz – Interview with Miyamoto: Star Fox Zero
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: TheJWittz, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Summary: There are alternate paths in Star Fox Zero, just like in Star Fox 64. The teleporters are important to the story and gameplay and add to the replayability.
They’ve created a new way to play, there are new enemies and bosses, but Star Fox Zero is mostly based on Star Fox 64.
Someone on the development team of Star Fox 64 was their equivalent of Slippy.
The Star Fox crew’s “metallic legs” were a design choice.
The vehicles that were best for Star Fox Zero, with its two screens, were different than what was best for other Star Fox games. The Gyrowing missions are slower paced, focused on exploration.
He didn’t mean to say a bad game is always bad, he meant you’ll always regret releasing a game in a bad state.
They used the delay to further polish the game and to make the game not focused on short missions and feel more like an adventure.
There’s a kind of multiplayer that is suited to Star Fox, but they weren’t ready to bring that online. A related game will have an online component.
He has seen the new Thunderbirds. Being a fan of the original he hoped the BBC would ask to do a Star Fox show with puppets.
He can’t comment on Slippy being playable in Super Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai gets to decide that. He’s been reluctant to have Mario using weapons in Smash Bros. Sakurai has done a good job making the Star Fox characters cool, but Kirby should be stronger.
As new hardware comes out they can find new ways for Star Fox to take advantage of it.
Video games used to mostly be played by technology enthusiasts and people in arcades. With smartphones everyone, from kids to grandparents, are playing games.
It used to look like video games would require bringing hundreds of people together, but now small teams can make games thanks to the tools available. The definition of what a game is has expanded, and now anyone can make a game. He can choose whatever genre he wants.
Star Fox Zero will be fun for old fans and people who have never played one. It rewards mastery.
The Game Theorists – Game Theory SPECIAL: Miyamoto Reveals Star Fox Secrets!
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Matthew Patrick, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z6a8Oswk1s
Summary: They weren’t planning on making a Star Fox game, Star Fox Zero came from experiments with a radio controlled airplane.
He felt like Star Fox 64 perfected the gameplay of Star Fox, but the GamePad opened up new possibilities. Fans of the older Star Fox games focused on what was different so they made it more like Star Fox 64. Separating movement and aiming is refreshing and feels new.
Every new technology is an exciting new opportunity to do something creative. Most people have grown up with video games by this point.
After they decided to use a fox as the main character of the original Star Fox they realized the Fushimi Inari Shrine was near Nintendo, and then used that as further inspiration. They designed the characters to look somewhat human, they weren’t thinking about a pilot’s blood flow or metal legs. He’s more worried about Fox’s tail when he sits.
They do some research on physics when they work on certain games, but sticking too close to reality can make the game harder to control.
They called it “rolling” in Japanese, but it was translated as “barrel roll”. He approved it because it reminded him of Donkey Kong. He asked Bill Trinen recently why people love “do a barrel roll”.
Entertainment Weekly – Nintendo’s Star Fox Guard details, release date
Publication Date: March 3, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Guard
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Aaron Morales, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://ew.com/article/2016/03/03/star-fox-guard-details-release-date/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160609203216/http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/03/star-fox-guard-details-release-date
Summary: The whole family can enjoy Star Fox Guard. People in the living room can help by pointing things out. The level editor is as easy to use as Excitebike’s.
Entertainment Weekly – Star Fox Zero preview, Shigeru Miyamoto interview
Publication Date: March 4, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Aaron Morales, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://ew.com/article/2016/03/04/star-fox-zero-preview-shigeru-miyamoto-interview/
Summary: They canceled Star Fox 2 because new hardware was coming out soon and they couldn’t keep the frame rate stable.
The strategic elements from Star Fox 2 were reused in Star Fox Command. For Star Fox Zero they wanted to use two screens and have the aiming and shooting independent from each other.
It’s always important to Nintendo to be doing something unique when designing hardware or software. They also want their systems connected to the living room TV so the games are fun for everyone to play or watch.
They started with experiments involving flying a radio-controlled plane on the TV, with the GamePad showing a cockpit view. They realized it would make for a good Star Fox game. They started with Star Fox 64 3D, which had motion controls.
The main reason they partnered with Platinum Games is because they are close by, but they also asked to put Fox into Bayonetta 2.
They’ve put a lot into making Star Fox Zero a replayable game. There aren’t a lot of games anymore that focus on improving and mastering your skills. Hopefully young players can experience a game like that.
Game Informer – Shigeru Miyamoto Discusses His Favorite Movie And Games Of 2015
Publication Date: March 4, 2016
Subject(s): Favorite movies and games
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Mike Futter, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: He stopped watching Star Wars movies as they relied more on CG. He was very impressed with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He respects the challenge they had. He liked seeing several of the actors return.
He’s been very happy with Splatoon, a young team made it and they have introduced a new kind of shooter. He’s been happy to see fathers playing Super Mario Maker with their children.
They try to make games that will sell for two years, so they can take their time with the next one.
Nintendo France – Star Fox Zero – Monsieur Miyamoto dévoile les secrets de la licence ! (Wii U) (untranslated from French)
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Presentation, interview (live translator)
People: Bertrand Amar, Michel Ancel, Grégoire Hellot (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhzwYH8s0L8
Notes: This is from Japan Expo 2015, which was held in Paris, France.
The Official Pokémon YouTube channel – #Pokemon20: Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto
Publication Date: April 15, 2016
Subject(s): Pokémon’s 20th anniversary
Format: Promotional video
People: Shigeru Miyamoto (subtitled)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv_bZt0kUsY
Summary: Congratulations to Pokémon. About 6 years before the first Pokémon game released he worked with Tsunekazu Ishihara on testing things out. It took a long time because they were also working on Earthbound. He worked on implementing the Nintendo Game Link Cable.
Nintendo UK – Star Fox Zero – It’s Got to Feel Immersive and Look Cool
Publication Date: May 13, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Yugo Hayashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2016/May/Star-Fox-Zero-Dev-Team-Interview-Part-One-1106940.html
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/tvUui
Notes: This interview was conducted by Japanese outlet Nintendo Dream and translated by Nintendo UK some time later. This is part 1 of a 3 part interview. Nintendo UK’s website is excluded from the Internet Archive so I have used archive.ph.
Summary: At the time of Star Fox 64 it was popular to have characters with voiced lines, but he thought it would be better to not have them if they were repetitive. It was a fast-paced game so the lines needed to be quick and punchy.
When you’re holding the GamePad and sound comes from the speakers it’s like someone is whispering to you. Enemy sounds come from the left speaker and allies from the right.
As a child he would hold model rockets and move them around while making sound effects.
The TV and GamePad show different perspectives. During experiments he found that replays that aren’t from the cockpit look cooler, so he wanted to incorporate that. You can choose which perspective you want to see, and it’s fun for others to watch. You’ll want to complete levels again and again to find cool scenes.
The two controls sticks and motion controlled aiming are really intuitive. They weren’t sure about including all the vehicles during training, but decided they didn’t want players to have no clue how to handle something in a later level. He recommends everyone start with training mode.
Nintendo UK – New Vehicles Broaden the Scope of the Gameplay
Publication Date: May 20, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Yugo Hayashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2016/May/Star-Fox-Zero-Dev-Team-Interview-Part-Two-1107887.html
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/17KA0
Notes: This interview was conducted by Japanese outlet Nintendo Dream and translated by Nintendo UK some time later. This is part 2 of a 3 part interview. Nintendo UK’s website is excluded from the Internet Archive so I have used archive.ph.
Summary: The Arwing can transform into the Walker, an idea which goes back to Star Fox 2.
They wanted to utilize Fox and Falco’s amiibo, they change your Arwing and Walker into a retro model.
He wasn’t being totally serious when he suggested the Walker’s wings should flap, but everyone liked it. They wanted it to be bird-like. They worked on making an Arwing amiibo that can turn into a Walker, but weren’t sure the joints would be strong enough.
The Gyrowing gives you a lot of freedom and allows you to hover. The Gyrowing level is like an adventure game.
You can catch sharks in Zoness if you let a shark swallow Direct-i and reel it in. You can get a lot of points this way.
He’s credited as producer and supervising director, but he was basically the director. He was almost a director on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but the last time he was actually credited as one was Super Mario 64.
Nintendo UK – Our Focus During Development
Publication Date: May 27, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero, Star Fox Guard
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Yugo Hayashi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2016/May/Star-Fox-Zero-Dev-Team-Interview-Part-Three-1109190.html
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/kck97
Notes: This interview was conducted by Japanese outlet Nintendo Dream and translated by Nintendo UK some time later. This is part 3 of a 3 part interview. Nintendo UK’s website is excluded from the Internet Archive so I have used archive.ph.
Summary: It was really important that the player feels like a pilot. The appeal of an action game is in improving your skills. You can find different routes through stages and perfect them, then compare them and find which route is best.
He’s often said that story isn’t as important as gameplay, but he gave it a lot of his attention. A plain good versus evil story wouldn’t be interesting. Dogs and monkeys don’t get along in Japanese culture, but they wanted to delve into that with more backstory. Teleporters are a major part of the story, some want to use them and others want to destroy them. Watching Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins will allow players to understand the game world better.
They came up with Star Fox Guard as an introduction to Star Fox Zero. It’s easy to understand. They’ve been experimenting with this idea since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
There’s about 20 ways through the game. Players should watch videos of others playing for tips.
They had trouble deciding if the invincibility mode prompt should be after 3 or 6 deaths.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – The NES Connection – Nintendo E3 2016
Publication Date: June 14, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Interview/demonstration (live translator)
People: Samantha Robertson, Ed, Chiko Bird, Bill Trinen, Raymond Elliget (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: Originally part of a live Nintendo Treehouse event at E3 2016.
Summary: He wanted to go back to the original spirit of Zelda, which was about freedom. You have to search and talk to people to figure out what’s going on and who you are.
There are different footstep sounds for different areas.
He thinks he is credited as executive producer, but did a lot of things a director usually does. He made sure Link’s movements and interactions with nature are natural, and looked after the financials.
You can take an enemy’s weapons and use them against them.
He tried to recreate nature as-is.
As more features get unlocked there are more ways to solve puzzles.
He was in the Boy Scouts as a child and once climbed a mountain and got a view of a lake. A scene in The Legend of Zelda reminded him of that, and now in this game it’s even grander. Sometimes you’ll have a destination in mind but then something strikes your interest and you’ll go explore that.
When he’s out of arrows he lets the enemy shoot him, then collects the arrows.
The higher you go up a mountain, the colder it becomes. You need to use food and armor to prepare.
Fanbyte – Miyamoto: New Zelda channels spirit of the original game
Publication Date: June 14, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Danielle Riendeau, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.fanbyte.com/readyset/miyamoto-new-zelda-channels-spirit-of-the-original-game/
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2016.
Summary: As they added more features to The Legend of Zelda games they realized it was becoming more linear. They wanted to return to the freedom the series originally had.
Non-player characters were telling you everything, now they have gone back to not knowing who you are or what you’re supposed to be doing.
Nintendo of America – Pokémon GO – Demonstration – Nintendo E3 2016
Publication Date: June 15, 2016
Subject(s): Pokémon Go Plus, Pokémon Go
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Bill Trinen, Josh Wittenkeller, Aaron Zheng, David Numrich (translator), Raymond Elliget (translator), Tsunekazu Ishihara, Junichi Masuda, Tatsuo Nomura, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqbsdqjgj-k
Notes: The release date of Pokémon Go had not been announced, but Mr. Miyamoto states that Pokémon Go Plus will be released before July ends. It did not release in North America and the United Kingdom until mid-September.
Summary: Satoru Iwata and Tsunekazu Ishihara started work on the Pokémon Go Plus.
The light on the Pokémon Go Plus will tell you what’s going on, it will connect to your phone via Bluetooth and allow you to play Pokémon Go.
They want to release the Pokémon Go Plus before July ends. It will cost $34.99.
Nintendo made games that use location information as far back as the Game Boy Advance, but they weren’t able to get good data. Pokémon Go uses GPS data, which lets them expand gameplay. Pokémon Go Plus is the first Nintendo-related device that doesn’t connect to Nintendo hardware, it will expand their horizons.
You can connect Pokémon Go Plus to your parent’s smartphone and play with them.
Game Rant – Legend of Zelda Creator Says Main Series Will Not Feature Female Link
Publication Date: June 16, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Unnamed Game Rant interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://gamerant.com/zelda-female-link-miyamoto/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160617153525/http://gamerant.com/zelda-female-link-miyamoto/
Notes: There was some speculation as to whether the character we saw in some early footage of Breath of the Wild was female. This interview took place at E3 2016.
Summary: Link is the protagonist of The Legend of Zelda, not Zelda. You can use different types of characters in Hyrule Warriors.
IGN – E3 2016: Why Zelda: Breath of the Wild Is Coming to Wii U and NX
Publication Date: June 17, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Jose Otero, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: Eiji Aonuma is interviewed separately for this article, too.
Summary: Developing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took longer than expected, the physics engine prevented them from releasing it last year. A new The Legend of Zelda game for the Switch wouldn’t appear for a long time, and Breath of the Wild doesn’t focus on the Wii U’s features, so they changed direction and decided to release it for both systems a while ago.
GhostRobo – MIYAMOTO CHALLENGE!!
Publication Date: June 18, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, hobbies, amiibo
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: GhostRobo, Bill Trinen, Raymond Elliget (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh4_o1grT3Y
Summary: The Legend of Zelda was about being dropped into the world and discovering who you are, and as the series progressed it became more focused on dungeons. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is more like the original where you’re dropped into the world.
The bosses get harder for him over time. He really liked the fight in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time where the boss jumps from painting to painting.
It’s difficult making stories for the Zelda games that don’t contradict the story of another game in the series. The focus in Breath of the Wild is more on the physics system and Link discovering himself than the story.
He makes games based on his personal experiences. Young developers may want to live in a large city and focus on what they find fun. Experience more than games.
As games become more technologically advanced it’s important not to forget the original point of a series.
He can’t talk about his hobbies, but he’s planning an amusement park, and he’s made some short films. Working in these different mediums has been inspiring, it’s sort of his hobby.
He wanted to make a Star Fox amiibo, but they weren’t able to. Wolf Link is probably his favorite amiibo.
If he was stranded on a desert island he would bring Miitomo and Breath of the Wild.
They used to print their own manga to show others, but it’s good that people can now stream their gameplay, people don’t need strategy guides anymore.
[They both draw Mario, Bill Trinen declares Mr. Miyamoto’s better.] [They both draw Yoshi.]Maybe if they put his Yoshi drawing’s face on GhostRobo’s Yoshi drawing’s body? His drawing is maybe 70% complete.
[They both draw Link and Bill Trinen declares Mr. Miyamoto the winner.]Should he draw a Triforce? You don’t know if it’s going to be in Breath of the Wild.
Game Informer – Monolith Is Helping Work On The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Publication Date: June 20, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Monolith Soft
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Ben Reeves, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: Monolith Soft is helping with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. There are over 100 people working on the game in Tokyo and Kyoto.
Game Informer – Miyamoto on Breath of the Wild’s Innovations and Zelda’s Future
Publication Date: June 21, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Interview (dubbed)
People: Ben Reeves, Raymond Elliget (translator), Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zjd4A5GDOo
Notes: You can hear Raymond the translator’s voice-over for most of the interview, but there is a portion where translator Bill Trinen is on camera speaking.
Summary: They try to shake up The Legend of Zelda games every time. They implemented a physics engine and tried to recreate nature.
Zelda and Mario games evolve with technology. Mickey Mouse has evolved with movies, that’s why he’s stuck around.
He prefers for the player to make their own story, but they have to find a balance between that and a more guided story.
Animals are an important part of making a believable world. Hunting animals pains him, but that’s reality. They had a lot of talks about how to handle it. The animals create more movement, and you have to be careful because some animals are dangerous.
They had to delay it as they worked on feeling out the shaders, polishing things, and working on the physics.
If they use this physics engine again things will go more quickly.
iHasCupquake – NEW LEGEND OF ZELDA GAMEPLAY & MEETING MIYAMOTO
Publication Date: June 22, 2016
Subject(s): Joining Nintendo, parent’s support, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Cupquake, Red, Raymond Elliget (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EMe1kO41w8&feature=shares&t=268
Notes: The description has a link to the “full” interview, but the website it was on does not exist anymore, and the page was never archived.
Summary: He used to want to be a manga artist, but decided to make toys. It’s surprising to see toys, video games, and movies considered the same media. He wanted to be a puppeteer in elementary school.
His father was supportive of him becoming an industrial designer. His mother was interested in dancing and calligraphy, and she was also supportive.
He joined Nintendo as a toy maker, and that got his first exposure to video games there.
They were making The Legend of Zelda around the same time as Super Mario Bros. He wasn’t very familiar with American or European culture and didn’t know how to make a fantasy story.
They’re calling The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild “open air” because they’re recreating nature. It’s incredible to see it all come together.
As he was sitting on a train watching the scenery he thought it would be interesting if someone was running alongside, jumping over things, that’s Mario. The Legend of Zelda came from his experiences camping and hiking. It’s incredible to see the survival aspects come together with Breath of the Wild.
The delay isn’t really so they can add more content, but rather so they can polish the game. For example, can you climb upside down? Or how do they represent that last spurt of energy when you’re climbing? How do you make shooting an animal realistic, but still maintain the essence of Nintendo?
IGN – Why Miyamoto Didn’t Want to Call Zelda: Breath of the Wild An Open World Game
Publication Date: June 22, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, open world versus Open Air
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Jose Otero, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: There is also a statement from Bill Trinen in this article, further explaining the use of Open Air.
Summary: People want to name everything in the game and tech industries, but they don’t want to be swayed by the technology available at the time. They want to use what’s available to make what they want. They wanted to make a game where you can do anything, and it’s fun. They felt it would be best to use their own term, and Bill Trinen used Open Air.
IGN – 6 Cool Things We Learned About Zelda: Breath of the Wild at E3 2016
Publication Date: June 24, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Jose Otero, Bill Trinen, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: Bill Trinen was interviewed here too instead of just translating. This interview took place at E3 2016.
Summary: Before anyone used the term sandbox he called Nintendo games gardens in a box.
There is a list of missions and quests in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. There is a big emphasis on freedom, so it’s not heavy on the story. You can choose whether to do the missions or not. The story is a bit more vague than with other The Legend of Zelda games.
Kotaku Australia – The Makers Of Zelda On Why Their Games Are Usually Late
Publication Date: June 24, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, delays
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Stephen Totilo, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/06/the-makers-of-zelda-on-why-their-games-are-usually-late/
Notes: For this article it sounds like Stephen Totilo had three interviews: first a brief interview with Mr. Miyamoto, a second with Mr. Aonuma, and a third with Mr. Miyamoto. The first may have been the omitted last question from the What Makes Shigeru Miyamoto Tick interview, even though that interview came out later than this one.
Summary: He has to set a release date, even though he doesn’t want to.
The worst kind of delay happens when the direction of a game hasn’t been decided. Sometimes delays happen because making something takes longer than expected.
About 2 years ago they realized it would take longer to implement the physics, AI, and graphics they wanted in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. He and Eiji Aonuma had an idea of when the game was supposed to come out. Someone else looked into it and convinced them to delay it.
Game Rant – Miyamoto Updates Fans On Status of Pikmin 4
Publication Date: July 6, 2016
Subject(s): Pikmin 4
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Unnamed Game Rant interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://gamerant.com/pikmin-4-update-miyamoto/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160707154739/http://gamerant.com/pikmin-4-update-miyamoto/
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2016, it is most likely from the same interview as the Legend of Zelda Creator Says Main Series Will Not Feature Female Link entry.
Summary: They are working on Pikmin 4. It has been difficult to fit it on their list of priorities.
Kotaku – What Makes Shigeru Miyamoto Tick
Publication Date: July 6, 2016
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the core of a game, sound, game feel
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Stephen Totilo, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://kotaku.com/what-makes-shigeru-miyamoto-tick-1783220930
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160706200212/http://kotaku.com/what-makes-shigeru-miyamoto-tick-1783220930
Notes: This interview took place at E3 2016 and also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Summary: He knows a game is good when he enjoys it. It also needs to be unique as a Nintendo game. What makes a game unique can be the technology used and how things are combined. It’s more like editing. If the core of a game is different from others, then it is unique, even if the technology and techniques are the same as another.
The core has to do with how others experience it. You can only play a game with two screens using the Wii U. If they made The Legend of Zelda realistic it would be like other games. Zelda games are about exploration and adventuring. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is about thinking for yourself as you fight against the land.
The developers felt that Breath of the Wild should have a similar core as The Legend of Zelda. They had been making dungeons larger and more complex, which required them to be done in a set order, and the tutorials had to be longer. They had strayed from the series’s core. The physics engine and freedom to explore has returned Breath of the Wild to its roots.
He doesn’t feel old, it doesn’t feel like he’s gone full circle.
There’s a lot of discussion with the programmer and director to make sure the controls feel good. A feeling of weight is very important. Response is also important, if a character doesn’t respond appropriately to the environment it causes a disconnect.
They try to use sound effects that remind the player of the real world. Games should remind a player of what they know. Wearing headphones while playing is a great experience.
Directors sometimes give vague instructions to programmers, leaving it up to them to decide how to make things. He tells directors and managers to include details. Specific instructions lead to specific feedback, and the discussion it leads to is important too.
Nintendo – Until the animation of “Star Fox Zero” is completed. [Part 1] At the best production site (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: July 27, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero – The Battle Begins
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Kyoji Asano, Eiji Inomoto, Tetsuya Nakatake, Benimaru Itoh, Takaya Imamura, Mitsuhiro Takano, Shigeru Miyamoto
Japanese Link: https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/5ae6d967-2e23-11e6-8360-063b7ac45a6d
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200228111235/https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/5ae6d967-2e23-11e6-8360-063b7ac45a6d
Notes: The title is a machine translation. You can watch Star Fox Zero – The Battle Begins here.
Nintendo – Until the animation of “Star Fox Zero” is completed. [Part 2] Stories and Expressions Unique to Anime (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: July 28, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero – The Battle Begins
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Kyoji Asano, Eiji Inomoto, Tetsuya Nakatake, Benimaru Itoh, Takaya Imamura, Mitsuhiro Takano, Shigeru Miyamoto
Japanese Link: https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/6ad8e0a6-2e23-11e6-8360-063b7ac45a6d
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200228112158/https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/6ad8e0a6-2e23-11e6-8360-063b7ac45a6d
Notes: The title is a machine translation. You can watch Star Fox Zero – The Battle Begins here.
Nintendo – Until the animation of “Star Fox Zero” is completed. [Part 3] Enjoy more if you play after watching (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: July 29, 2016
Subject(s): Star Fox Zero – The Battle Begins
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Kyoji Asano, Eiji Inomoto, Tetsuya Nakatake, Benimaru Itoh, Takaya Imamura, Mitsuhiro Takano, Shigeru Miyamoto
Japanese Link: https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/7b805637-2e23-11e6-8360-063b7ac45a6d
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200228113444/https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/7b805637-2e23-11e6-8360-063b7ac45a6d
Notes: The title is a machine translation. You can watch Star Fox Zero – The Battle Begins here.
Time – The Man Behind Mario Explains Nintendo’s New iPhone Game
Publication Date: September 7, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Matt Peckham, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://time.com/4482878/super-mario-run-apple-iphone-shigeru-miytamoto/
Notes: This interview took place after Apple’s September Event 2016.
Summary: Super Mario Run is one of the mobile games Tatsumi Kimishima was referring to. The team is mostly people who made Super Mario Bros., Takashi Tezuka was the developer, and he was the producer.
They wanted to make a Mario game that can be played one-handed. Some people have trouble holding the run button and jumping. To bring the simplicity of Mario to mobile devices they needed Mario to run automatically. Battle mode is for people with just a few minutes to play. As you get better you’ll be motivated to go for high scores.
Smart devices have reached many people around the world and they want to bring their games to as many people as possible. They’ve made a Mario game around smart devices with simple interfaces and a broad audience. They’ll bring Super Mario Run to other devices, but iPhones are very streamlined.
They are not planning connectivity with Miitomo or the Switch. It could interface with My Nintendo. Pokémon Go lead to Pokémon Red and Blue selling more, and they think Super Mario Run will have a similar effect.
It was a shock to meet Tim Cook because he didn’t realize he was older than him.
USA Today – Miyamoto on why Mario is finally coming to smartphones
Publication Date: September 7, 2016
Subject(s): Pokémon Go, Super Mario Run, George Lucas
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Marco della Cava, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: Pokémon Go shows the power of smartphones. People were questioning Pokémon’s popularity before the summer.
They’re bringing Mario to smartphones now because they are becoming more suited to gaming.
While it’s important to keep putting Mario on new platforms, virtual reality isn’t something families can do together, and it’s hard to play for a long time.
He turned into a fanboy when he met George Lucas. George turned his dream into movies.
His friends wanted to start a bluegrass band in college, but they couldn’t find a banjo player.
Apple – September Event 2016
Publication Date: September 8, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run (5:51)
Format: Presentation/demonstration (spoken English, live translator)
People: Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NS0txu_Kzl8&feature=shares&t=316
Summary: Mario has evolved for every new platform. His next goal is the iPhone.
[Bill Trinen comes on stage to interpret.]They want people all over the world to enjoy playing as Mario, so they are bringing him to iOS. Anyone can pick up and play a Mario game, and now its simpler than ever before.
[Phil Schiller begins demonstrating Super Mario Run.]Mario runs to the right automatically, hurdling gaps and enemies. The longer you tap the higher Mario will jump. You can play while holding a handle on the subway, or eating.
There’s a battle mode called Toad Rally where you challenge a character and try to beat their high score. You can challenge your friends or people around the world. You keep collecting coins until time runs out.
You can expand and customize your Mushroom Kingdom with your coins.
Since they want people of all ages to enjoy the game it will be sold for a set price. Super Mario Run will release later in 2016. They will release Super Mario stickers in iMessage on the same day.
The Telegraph – Shigeru Miyamoto on bringing Mario to the iPhone: ‘Nintendo’s platforms were the most popular in the world, but that’s changed’
Publication Date: September 8, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run, Apple, smartphones
Format: Transcribed interview
People: David Phelan, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: It’s important for action games to respond quickly and for the hardware they run on to be stable. They couldn’t get that from phones until now, with the iPhone 7.
They’ve made side-scrolling games to be simpler and for a more casual audience, but they wanted to make something even more simple, even for people who have never played a Mario game.
They have been making hardware hoping to get more people interested in video games because they used to be worried about people quitting gaming. Smart devices have increased the reach of games so now they want to bring Nintendo characters to them.
Pokémon Go brings GPS and an always-online connection to life in a way that’s unique to smartphones.
While they are restricted to Apple’s hardware, they are always trying to do something unique and different.
They want to make things for the maximum number of people, so they won’t make something that requires the latest iPhone.
Super Mario Run will come to Android eventually, but iOS is very stable. Nintendo and Apple work well together because of their similar philosophies.
Nintendo’s hardware used to be the most popular in the world, but now smartphones are. They’ll keep looking for opportunities to make something specifically for them.
TheVerge – Super Mario creator Miyamoto on why Nintendo turned to iPhone / An interview with legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto
Publication Date: September 8, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Lauren Goode, Sam Byford, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: They have had to come up with ways to make Mario simple over the years. They previously had an idea that was deemed too simple, but it was used for Super Mario Run. Their main focus is to draw people to their platforms.
Super Mario Run focuses on jumping so people don’t have to worry about running jumping at the same time. It can be played with one hand and for short time periods to bring Mario to a large audience.
Nintendo’s game systems used to be the first device that children interacted with, but now it’s their parent’s smartphone.
A 3D Mario game where you explore would be difficult to do on a smart device, so those will continue on Nintendo platforms.
Super Mario Run didn’t come from his experiences, it came more from watching his wife. She doesn’t play many video games, but she uses her smartphone a lot.
IGN – 11 Things We Learned About Super Mario Run
Publication Date: September 9, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Jose Otero, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/09/09/11-things-we-learned-about-super-mario-run
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160910142817/http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/09/09/11-things-we-learned-about-super-mario-run
Summary: It wasn’t new for Nintendo, but Apple had never had live translation during one of their events.
It’s been easier to focus on specific games since he became a creative fellow. He was working on Super Mario Run and Star Fox Zero, and then just Super Mario Run. The director is Takashi Tezuka. Hideki Konno is working on the kingdom portion of the game, all the Super Mario Bros. developers have come together.
The levels in Super Mario Run are a bit shorter than usual. There’s a lot for skilled players to find. The kingdom side of the game is about playing battle mode and customizing your Mushroom Kingdom.
In Toad Rally you can choose an opponent matched to your skill level, or a friend. You can use your My Nintendo friend list.
Beating a level in world tour will make it appear in battle mode, where it will be endless.
They wanted to make sure Super Mario Run was fun for people who aren’t good at games. They also know how to make Mario games difficult, don’t worry about that.
Super Mario Run is distinct from their other Mario games. He hopes to bring people to the Mario games on Nintendo platforms.
They didn’t look at other runner games for inspiration. They made it vertical so that Mario was bigger.
They are selling Super Mario Run for a fixed price so parents will know their kids can play it as much as they want.
Nintendo of America – Mr. Miyamoto introduces Super Mario Run!
Publication Date: September 12, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1116137695137349
Notes: Bill Trinen makes a brief appearance, shaking Mr. Miyamoto’s hand. This video was posted a day later on Nintendo Mobile’s YouTube channel.
Summary: Mario runs on his own so you can play one-handed. Mario will hurdle enemies and small gaps automatically. You can play while holding the handle on the train or eating a hamburger
Nintendo.co.uk – Nintendo Classic Mini: NES special interview – Volume 1: Donkey Kong
Publication Date: November 4, 2016
Subject(s): NES Classic Edition, Donkey Kong
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/K9wbJ
Japanese Link: https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/cb4c1aca-88fb-11e6-9b38-063b7ac45a6d
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200228110340/https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/cb4c1aca-88fb-11e6-9b38-063b7ac45a6d
Notes: This is volume 1 of a series of interviews about NES Classic Edition and its games. Nintendo UK’s website is excluded from the Internet Archive so I have used archive.ph.
Summary: He only checked in on the NES Classic Edition’s development. It began as a project at Nintendo European Research and Development. The staff working on the Famicom version borrowed an old, yellowed alarm clock of his in the shape of a Famicom and used it in presentations.
He didn’t work on the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Donkey Kong or Mario Bros. He instead worked on Baseball, Tennis, and Golf.
He told a few friends he wouldn’t be talking to them for a few months as he worked on Donkey Kong. It ended up taking 4 or 5 months. There used to be a bath at Nintendo that he would use after spending all day at work. They had a bath to make use of the water they boiled to make playing cards. He made Donkey Kong for the American market.
Mario is 24 or 26 years old. In Donkey Kong Mario’s pet kidnaps his girlfriend. A Nintendo of America landlord was named Mario and he looked like the character so that’s how he got the name. A dictionary said that “Donkey” can mean stupid, but Nintendo of America disagreed. People got used to it.
There was originally a voice clip of Mario’s girlfriend saying “help!”, but a native English speaker heard it and thought she was saying “kelp”.
The Donkey Kong testers would stay at work late playing it. The Nintendo Entertainment System version felt like it was stretched and it had fewer colors. They made Mario die if he fell more than 1.5 times his height, but now he falls much farther and is fine.
Nintendo.co.uk – Nintendo Classic Mini: NES special interview – Volume 3: Super Mario Bros.
Publication Date: November 18, 2016
Subject(s): NES Classic Edition, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Takashi Tezuka, Koji Kondo, Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/CDsaG
Japanese Link: https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/5470f000-967b-11e6-9b38-063b7ac45a6d
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200228110813/https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/5470f000-967b-11e6-9b38-063b7ac45a6d
Notes: This is volume 3 of a series of interviews about NES Classic Edition and its games. Nintendo UK’s website is excluded from the Internet Archive so I have used archive.ph.
Summary: He wanted Super Mario Bros. to be the ultimate Famicom cartridge game. The first game he made with Takashi Tezuka was Devil World, and he was a big help in making Super Mario Bros. Fitting all their technical know-how into it was like a puzzle.
During development he asked if the screen could show more of what was ahead, but Mario would be smaller if the perspective was farther away. Toshihiko Nakago said it would be fun to have a small Mario too. He decided small Mario would lose a life when hit, but big Mario would become small Mario. The “Super” in the title refers to big Mario.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was directed by Mr. Tezuka and went well, so they decided to make a new game. Super Mario Bros. 3 took over 2 years to make. The Super Mario Bros. took 7 or 8 people to make, Super Mario Bros. 3 took 20-30. There was a Map Room where programmers lined up and programmed levels from sheets of paper.
Players ended up being stressed about not being able to save the game, but with the NES Classic Edition you can have 4 suspend points.
The Nintendo Entertainment System lasted for so long because of the advancement of game cartridges and new people joined Nintendo.
Nintendo.co.uk – Nintendo Classic Mini: NES special interview – Volume 4: The Legend of Zelda
Publication Date: November 25, 2016
Subject(s): NES Classic Edition, The Legend of Zelda
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Akinori Sao, Takashi Tezuka, Koji Kondo, Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/qPGvB
Japanese Link: https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/4c71577f-9ca2-11e6-9aaf-063b7ac45a6d
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200228110409/https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/article/4c71577f-9ca2-11e6-9aaf-063b7ac45a6d
Notes: This is volume 4 of a series of interviews about NES Classic Edition and its games. Nintendo UK’s website is excluded from the Internet Archive so I have used archive.ph.
Summary: He wanted to bring a sense of adventure to a game, like in Indiana Jones movies. He thought it was interesting how people would brag about their role-playing characters. His game would have a sword and sorcery theme, and be based on treasure hunting.
The intro song was originally an arrangement of a Maurice Ravel song, but they realized it wouldn’t enter the public domain for something like another month. The song Koji Kondo came up with to replace it suggests courage.
Link holds up a sign that tells players to look up more information in the manual. They included it so that people who used a Famicom Disk Writer Kiosk would have something physical as proof that they bought the game. It was also meant to give the game an epic feel. With the NES Classic Edition you can use a QR code to look up the game manuals. Overseas versions had a map, but since he felt it would be more fun without one it was sealed and told players to only use it as a last resort.
He wasn’t thinking of the Indian rupee when he named the currency, it just sounded cute. They are more like rubies.
The Nintendo Entertainment System represents competition. People would play its games for much longer than an arcade game. You wouldn’t have to pay 100 yen for each inning when you played Baseball. He worked on design for Baseball.
Nintendo of America – The Vision for Nintendo at Universal Theme Parks
Publication Date: November 29, 2016
Subject(s): Super Nintendo World
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Mark Woodbury, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9j-MHzwEQ8
Summary: He is amazed at how the essence of Nintendo’s games are being brought to life by the park developers. They are working hard to make it fun for all ages.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Jimmy Fallon Debuts the Nintendo Switch
Publication Date: December 7, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Demonstration/presentation, interview (nonverbal)
People: Jimmy Fallon, Reggie Fils-Aimé, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://youtu.be/7TJ7IUNWGl4?t=67
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto sits in the audience and does not speak at all during this demo of Super Mario Run and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on The Tonight Show. Bill Trinen, Mr. Miyamoto’s frequent translator, is sitting next to him.
Summary: [Reggie Fils-Aimé tells Jimmy Fallon that Mr. Miyamoto is watching.]
[Mr. Miyamoto waves and shows his shirt to the audience.]
[Jimmy plays Super Mario Run and asks about his performance.]
[Mr. Miyamoto gives him a thumbs down before turning it into a thumbs up.]
[Jimmy briefly talks about Mr. Miyamoto’s experiences exploring outside as a child and he nods.]
BuzzFeed News – Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why Nintendo Finally Brought Mario To The iPhone
Publication Date: December 7, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Transcribed interview, demonstration
People: Joseph Bernstein, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IchrmP6CBpY
Summary: [Mr. Miyamoto plays Super Mario Run one-handed while eating various deserts with his other hand in an embedded video.]
He’s excited to bring Mario to a new audence and people who haven’t played one for a while.
For years they didn’t think they could get the same level of gameplay response from a cell phone as with their own hardware.
They experimented with a Mario game for the Wii where Mario jumped in time with music.
Nintendo saw footage of highly-skilled players that never stopped running in Mario games and thought about bringing that experience to everyone.
They considered including GPS in the 3DS for a game, but decided it made more sense to make such a game for mobile devices, which already had GPS.
Kids get hand-me-down phones from their parents. They want to bring their IP to children on smart devices.
TheVerge – A chat with Shigeru Miyamoto on the eve of Super Mario Run, Nintendo’s first smartphone game
Publication Date: December 8, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Andrew Webster, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: Mario introduced millions to video games, and he thinks he will continue to do so with Super Mario Run. They experimented with a one-button Mario game for the Wii. The longer a game series goes the more complex it becomes, and the harder it is for new players to get into it.
They started making mobile games to increase the reach of their intellectual properties, but they were surprised by Pokémon Go’s ability to bring that audience back.
He’s been working on making levels with Takashi Tezuka. Once new players play Super Mario Run the question becomes what kind of Mario game is next.
He hopes people will look back on the Wii U and think “look what came from it”.
Time – Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Nintendo’s New iPhone Game
Publication Date: December 8, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Lisa Eadicicco, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://time.com/4594652/super-mario-run-shigeru-miyamoto-interview-iphone-apple-2016/
Summary: He had a good idea for a Mario game since he’s been using smartphones for many years. The biggest challenge was figuring out the core elements to include. It was challenging to get the performance they wanted from the iPhone, they are used to working with their own hardware.
A challenge with game development is that the first game in a series tends to be simple and appeal to a broad audience, but as time goes on more and more mechanics are introduced and it becomes difficult for new people to get into it. They tried to reset things with the Wii and DS. With games its fun to think about what you should have done differently and to plan ahead.
They felt it was important that parents could pay once for Super Mario Run and then let their children play as much as they want. Their other mobile games will have payment structures that make sense for each game.
They have a lot of assets to choose from Mario’s long history, it was hard to choose what wouldn’t make it in. They made Bullet Bills come from behind you and spiky enemies are larger.
He got the idea for the Kingdom Builder mode from playing Neko Atsume with his wife, and to have a place to save your accomplishments.
Smartphones finally got to the point where they could deliver the performance they need. Nintendo products used to be the first computer or game system children interacted with, but now they are getting smartphones and they wanted to reach them. Many adults have also moved away from gaming, but have a smartphone. Pokémon Go reached a lot of those people and he hopes Super Mario Run reaches a lot of people who used to play Mario games.
Vice – We Asked Miyamoto Which Nintendo Character He’d Like to Drink With
Publication Date: December 8, 2016
Subject(s): Drinking with a Nintendo character
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Danielle Riendeau, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: He doesn’t drink beer, but if he were to have a drink with a character he had created it would be Fox McCloud, he’d have the best stories.
Vice – Shigeru Miyamoto on Designing Mario for Mobile in ‘Super Mario Run’
Publication Date: December 9, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Danielle Riendeau, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: They hit the reset button with the DS, trying to appeal to a broad audience. When they were making the New Super Mario Bros. series they experimented with a game where you only jump, which is the most fun thing to a broad audience. They went back to this idea when designing Super Mario Run.
Boo levels were designed to incorporate more puzzle elements, there are three types of them in Super Mario Run.
People may see something in Super Mario Run that they want to use for their Super Mario Maker levels.
Events at the Apple Store – Super Mario Run
Publication Date: December 9, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run, getting a job at Nintendo, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, controls, popularity
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Katie Linendoll, Austin Creed, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/super-mario-run/id1184967541?i=1000430691578
Also available as just audio: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/super-mario-run/id1184967541?i=1000430691577
Nintendo of America posted a clip on X: https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/808725929857937408
Summary: He keeps making games because technology keeps evolving and he has new life experiences. He tries to combine them. Things were simpler in the 8-bit days, you could focus on the gameplay. There used to be 5 people working on a game, you could say “I made this”, but now even a small team is 30 people and you might not know who did what. He has to remind the programmers and artists why he’s still important. They can implement changes much more quickly with something like iOS.
When he was looking for a job Nintendo told him they weren’t looking for industrial designers, but he managed to get an interview. He got the job after showing off his portfolio. Nintendo went into video games because Space Invaders was such a big hit. He got his start making graphics.
Two things make games fun to him: the thinking process after you die and need to try something new, and someone watching you play and wanting to try it themselves. What’s happening on screen has to be simple enough to be understandable, and the goal needs to be apparent. In Donkey Kong it was obvious you needed to follow the girders to get up to the gorilla. Mario was a carpenter at that point. In Super Mario Bros. he decided Mario would have a brother and fight against turtles. To get the turtles from the bottom to the top the game would need pipes. This clearly seemed like the New York sewers, so Mario and Luigi were plumbers. For Super Mario Bros. he wanted Mario to be both big and small, and Mushrooms, like from fairy tales, made sense to make him bigger. If he’s running through a forest it makes sense for him to be chasing after a princess.
When making The Legend of Zelda he asked himself how he could create graphics anyone could understand. He thought back to his childhood, of mountains and lakes. Limited graphics with the player’s imagination helps paint the picture of the world.
If something sells well they say they “we were lucky”, if it doesn’t they say “well, that’s unfortunate”.
He’s worked with a core team for 30 years, including director Takashi Tezuka and programming director Toshihiko Nakago. Things don’t start moving until they are on the same page. When working together they don’t talk about what’s fun, they point out things that are no good. They have postmortems before games release. He has to get back to Japan before December 15th for the postmortem of Super Mario Run.
They’ve always focused on one platform for their games because otherwise they have to spend a lot of time getting it to work on multiple platforms. Even when their platform wasn’t the best selling it was always affordable. The 3DS sold between 50-100 million, but there’s a lot more people with smartphones. With a dedicated gaming system you can use its full power, but now a smartphone can meet their own expectations. Apple has been the best partner.
Nintendo released a system with touch controls before the iPhone. The simplest control interface for everyone around the world is touch. Super Mario Run is instantly fun for first timers due to the controls, but there is also challenge for veteran game players.
Wanted to make sure Mario never stopped running because expert players never stop when they play Super Mario games. New players have issues holding down the B button to make Mario run. There are special blocks that allow Mario to perform other kinds of jumps or go backwards. Super Mario Run has a unique rhythm among Mario games.
He always wanted Fox McCloud and Pikmin to be more popular.
A few years after Super Mario Bros. was released there was a poll that found that Mario was more popular than Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse had been around for 40 years, and Mario for 3. He thought that when Mario is 40 he’ll see how he’s doing. Mickey Mouse evolved with cinema and animation, so Mario needs to evolve with technology and video games.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Shigeru Miyamoto Guesses The Size of Random Objects
Publication Date: December 9, 2016
Subject(s): The size of objects
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Unnamed The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon staff members, unnamed translator, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiUeuc7eOh0
Notes: This did not appear on the TV show, it is a web exclusive.
Summary: He started guessing the size of objects 10 or 20 years ago. It’s also fun to guess how much something weighs, they put that into Wii Fit.
[A pizza appears in front of him.]
43 centimeters.
[He measures it.]
45.
[A taxidermied raccoon is brought out.]
54 centimeters.
[He measures it.]
65. It would be 70 if you stretched the tail out.
[A Jägermeister bottle appears.]
About 23 centimeters.
[He measures it.]
22.
[A lightsaber appears.]
108 centimeters.
[He measures it.]
110.
[A bowling pin appears.]
Should be about 40 centimeters.
[He measures it.]
38.
[A question block appears.]
30 centimeters.
[He measures it.]
Perfect, 30 centimeters.
Glixel – Q&A;: Shigeru Miyamoto on ‘Mario’, ‘Minecraft’ and Working With Apple
Publication Date: December 11, 2016
Subject(s): What he’s proud of, the 3 people he works with the most, Super Mario Run, inspiration, Wii Fit, working with Apple
Format: Transcribed interview
People: John Davison, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: He has struggled with how to answer the question of what he’s most proud of, but he’s realized it’s the fact that he’s been working with the same group of people for 30 years. Working with Takeshi Tezuka, Toshihiko Nakago, and Koji Kondo for so long has allowed them to work well together.
They always strive to make sure they’re making something fun. They spend a lot of time with each other, going to lunch and dinner together. They generally agree on what’s fun and trust each other.
They knew they wanted Super Mario Run to be as simple as possible. Part of the appeal of Super Mario Bros. was just running to the right and jumping. The initial idea was a game where all you did was jump.
He doesn’t try to make something others will like, he makes things that he likes.
He sees it like running a talent agency, and he chooses Mario to represent new technology that comes along. They also always change how Mario looks to keep him fresh.
He doesn’t play games for inspiration, he watches a lot of dramas on TV. Looking at how they’re structured and which are successful can overlap with video games.
There was a fad in Japan where people would gather in their homes and do a silly dance. He saw a lawyer dance and make his children laugh one time. That image was in his mind as he was making Wii Fit.
He makes sure he spends the weekends with his family. He doesn’t golf or gamble because they take a lot of time. He used to camp with his children but now he gardens and does carpentry.
He makes graphs and flowcharts to design the structure of a game.
He’s a designer, not an artist. He creates products, not works. A planner works within constraints.
A few years ago he talked about giving more responsibility to younger people at Nintendo and that was interpreted as him saying he was going to retire soon. The younger people have designed the Switch while he’s focused on Super Mario Run and Super Nintendo World.
They took an early version of Super Mario Run to Apple because they needed a certain level of performance. They didn’t want to make a free to play game so they had to talk to Apple about having a free trial. At first they were told that a free to play approach would be good, but they were willing to try something new.
Apple is like Nintendo in that they think about how people will end up using their products. Both companies make sure their products are easy to use. He told Apple about how Nintendo of America decided not to use multicolored buttons for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System controller and how he liked Apple’s old colorful logo. Apple focuses on simplicity and making a safe environment. They wanted to be sure parents would feel safe letting their children play Super Mario Run and not having them worry about transactions.
They should have made Minecraft. They have some old experiments from the Nintendo 64 that were similar.
Katie Linendoll – Katie Linendoll Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto
Publication Date: December 11, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run, hobbies, sound
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Katie Linendoll, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xqKeBox0s8
Summary: He was nervous about playing music with professionals on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
He joined Nintendo to make toys, but Space Invaders became a big hit.
Interaction is what makes games fun, not just for the player, but also people who watch and think they can do better, or trying new things to overcome challenges.
When he makes a game he starts with a fun idea, and then he thinks about how to convey that fun. Everyone knows that you’ll get tired after exercising, Wii Fit was about turning that into a fun interactive experience.
They had to draw on their memories to draw simple objects for The Legend of Zelda, since they were working with 16 x 16 pixel tiles. They had to use memories that are common to all people.
There’s a quality to Super Mario Run that doesn’t exist in the real world, so they can’t rely on their memories to make it.
It was easier to focus on gameplay when the graphics weren’t as advanced. Younger developers also want to focus on graphics, but they can add more detail to animations than they could before.
It’s important to him to have fun in his everyday life.
His hobby is more practicing guitar than playing it. Bluegrass is very technical, so it’s hard to perform.
He weighed himself every day while working on Wii Fit and now he checks his blood pressure every day. He would use a tape measure so check how long things were after guessing. He’s also been into carpentry lately. He made a cat hammock out of a stool.
It’s important to think that what you’re doing is fun.
Where video games go in the future depends on what technology arises, and what can be used at what price.
He tried to refresh the Star Fox characters, though that might not have gone how he hoped. The Pikmin aren’t as popular as they used to be, but he still wants to make them more popular.
He works closely with the music team, going over what kind of sound effects to use. They worked hard on having the right sound effects for collecting coins in Super Mario Run.
UpUpDownDown – Nintendo’s SHIGERU MIYAMOTO talks with Austin Creed!!! — Expansion Pack
Publication Date: December 14, 2016
Subject(s): Game design, Super Mario Run
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Austin Creed, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba_vjAKkEOI
Summary: It would be easy to follow trends, but instead he thinks about what he finds fun. If he finds it fun, others will too. He also sticks to things everyone understands, human truths.
Super Mario Bros. was a game that anyone could play, but the Mario series became more complex, and it was harder for people to play it for the first time. New Super Mario Bros. was a restart, but smart devices appeal to an even wider audience. They wanted to make a game where all you do is jump, and making that as fun as possible.
CNN Business – Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto dreams about strange forests
Publication Date: December 14, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run, dreams
Format: Interview (dubbed)
People: Rachel Crane, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdP1kYN31oo
Notes: This video was also included in an article about Super Mario Run, which uses a quote from it.
Summary: He doesn’t want to reveal too many secrets about Super Mario Run. When you find the five pink coins you’ll be able to collect purple coins, and when you collect those you’ll be able to collect black coins.
Nintendo systems were often the first platform that children played video games on, but now that is often an iPhone. They have also recently become powerful enough to meet their needs.
Super Mario Run is for people who grew up playing Nintendo but stopped, as well as children playing their first game.
He’ll often have a dream where he’s had a great game idea but then forgotten it, or he’ll solve a problem he’s been having in his dream but then not remember how he did it when he wakes up. He has dreams where he picks a mushroom in a forest and a beetle comes out, and he keeps grabbing beetles.
Unlocked: The World of Games, Revealed – Game Journalism, Nintendo & Violence
Publication Date: December 15, 2016
Subject(s): Getting ideas, Mario’s popularity, game interfaces
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Alison Haislip, unnamed translator, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/b6f3207823645e4482f30d79b6c6dd82 (probably not available in all regions)
A clip was also posted on Nintendo of Amercia’s X account: https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/809882253643935744
Available for purchase from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B01NA9KXIG/ref=atv_pp_tt_0
Notes: Establishing shots show footage from both E3 2013 and E3 2015. The 30th anniversary of Super Mario is mentioned several times in the interview, and the couch shown has a Super Mario 30th anniversary pillow, strongly suggesting the interview occurred at E3 2015.
Summary: He doesn’t create gameplay and then tell someone to make hardware for it, and he doesn’t see hardware and ask what he can build with that. Due to his background in industrial design he has the mindset of storing away ideas for the right time.
[A clip from Gameheadz (incorrectly shown on-screen as “Gamerheadz”), a 2003 documentary, plays. Mr. Miyamoto is showing a concept sketch of Donkey Kong.]
The gorilla snatches the girl and runs away with her. The man chases after with a hammer, while avoiding barrels. A hole appears in the ground, which the gorilla falls into, and dies.
[Back to the interview.]
Early on there were polls that said Mario was more popular than Mickey Mouse. At the time he said Mickey Mouse has 30 years on Mario, let’s wait and see where Mario is when he’s 30. Maybe Mario is up there with Mickey Mouse at this point in his career.
When he has a controller and a TV screen he looks at what the interaction is between him and the screen, if he sees something interesting, then that’s what he starts with. In the beginning he was working with a stick and a couple buttons, his inspiration at the time was finding what he can do with that. As the interfaces changed over time, he was able to broaden his vision.
They didn’t set out to make a game based on motion controls. They saw that people were becoming uninterested in games because the controls were too complicated. They asked how they can bring more people to gaming.
Wired – Super Mario Run Is Here—and Shigeru Miyamoto Told Us 7 Surprising Things About It
Publication Date: December 15, 2016
Subject(s): Super Mario Run
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Chris Kohler, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.wired.com/2016/12/miyamoto-interview-2/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20161215194638/https://www.wired.com/2016/12/miyamoto-interview-2/
Summary: They experimented with a Wii game where the only control was pressing A to make Mario jump, but ultimately didn’t want to force people to use one button. They considered making it into a rhythm game.
Super Mario Run has some of the skill that speedrunners who never stop running use. There are special blocks that allow Mario to do different types of jumps, which gives novice players a sense of what that is like.
With games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Run where they take a new step he gets more directly involved.
Super Mario Run has a big development team and he’s been part of it since the start.
Super Nintendo World and Super Mario Run are part of a larger project to reconnect with older players and establish a connection with younger ones.
Nintendo systems are best enjoyed in living rooms by families.
Porting Super Mario Bros. to smartphones would be boring, Mario evolves with each platform. It’s more rewarding to take advantage of what’s unique about the iPhone. People would expect Super Mario Bros. to be free.
2017
Nintendo of America – Nintendo Switch Presentation
Publication Date: January 12, 2017
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (1:00:25)
Format: Promotional Video (subtitled)
People: Reggie Fils-Aimé, Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto is seen in the background before Reggie introduces him. The original stream of this event was set to private. Uploaded by YouTube user Valiantenger.
Summary: The new Legend of Zelda game is good. Ask Eiji Aonuma when it’s releasing.
Vox – How the inventor of Mario designs a game
Publication Date: January 12, 2017
Subject(s): Getting started in the industry, game design, Super Mario Run
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Christophe Haubursin, Joe Posner, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-NBcP0YUQI
Notes: Contains brief footage from several other interviews, including the Sajber interview from 1998.
Summary: Everyone told him he had to have microtransactions in Super Mario Run, but he doesn’t like to be told he has to do something because that’s how it’s done.
A game needs a sense of accomplishment.
Video games were originally made by programmers, but he was a designer and artist.
He has to consider how to convey to the player what they’re supposed to do. They asked themselves why people stopped playing Mario over time, and it’s often because the controls were too difficult. Anyone can play Super Mario Run.
Nintendo of America – Nintendo Minute – 5 Favorite Things about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Publication Date: January 20, 2017
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Kit Ellis, Krysta Yang, Raymond Elliget (translator), Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: All Nintendo Minute episodes were set to private in late 2022. Uploaded by YouTube user Zelda Densetsu.
Summary: They were able to mesh together the horse riding, paragliding, and climbing in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You can feel a sense of growth through climbing. At first you can’t climb a tree, but eventually you will be scaling cliffs.
Tetris is digital and it’s clear where a piece will fit, but Zelda is analog and there can be many ways to solve a puzzle.
There are touching moments in the story, and sometimes players will feel moved because of what they put into the game.
You can feel when it becomes night, when it is cold, or when it rains.
Nintendo of America – Super Mario Odyssey – Nintendo Treehouse: Live with Nintendo Switch
Publication Date: January 20, 2017
Subject(s): Super Mario Odyssey
Format: Interview (live translator)
People: Samantha Robertson, Nate Bihldorff, Raymond Elliget (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: Originally part of a live Nintendo Treehouse event.
Summary: Mario games go back and forth between accessible and more complex. Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine were a bit more for core gamers, so Super Mario Galaxy is a bit more on the casual side. Super Mario 3D World is a 3D game, but is a bit more accessible. Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Run are more casual, so they wanted to make Super Mario Odyssey an action game for core players.
After letting his pet hamster run around his house he wanted to be able control Mario as if he was a hamster running loose.
They were able to make the camera controls feel good in Super Mario Odyssey. Mario travels all over in Odyssey, the younger developers came up with a lot of ideas. He wasn’t always sure Mario fit into these places, but that’s the kind of game it became.
This team has worked on a lot of 3D Mario games and they went back to the roots, to Super Mario Sunshine.
People can be afraid to bring him ideas, but he is open-minded.
Nintendo of America – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Treehouse: Live with Nintendo Switch
Publication Date: January 20, 2017
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Interview/demonstration (live translator)
People: Nate Bihldorff, Noriko (translator), Eiji Aonuma, Raymond Elliget (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: Originally part of a live Nintendo Treehouse event.
Summary: When you complete shrines they become warp points. With warping, horses, paragliding, and rolling off a cliff there are many ways to get around.
You can use the horses for battle. They put a lot of work into the animals and making them seem natural. It was important that it feel right to run and climb around.
Animators and sound people had to work together to make sure riding a horse felt and sounded right.
Fire can spread, and it goes out when it rains.
You can go straight to Hyrule Castle when you start the game.
The Completionist – Breath of the Wild Interview with Miyamoto & Aonuma | The Completionist
Publication Date: January 27, 2017
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Interview (live translator, subtitled)
People: Jirard Khalil, Raymond Elliget (translator), Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n7vqDy6mqE
Notes: Raymond Elliget the translator can be heard briefly from off camera.
Summary: They categorize games into two types: those that will obviously be great from start of development, and those where you can only tell once development is complete. They weren’t sure about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild until they’d finished. When a log doesn’t move properly, or an apple doesn’t look right it’s hard to tell how it will all turn out. The staff seemed to increase every day, from 30 to 300.
You can choose when to fight the final boss, they haven’t made a game like that in a long time. You can increase your stamina or your hearts.
Nintendo Investor Relations – Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Nine Months Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal
Year Ending March 2017
Publication Date: February 3, 2017
Subject(s): Pokémon Go, Pokémon Sun and Moon, Nintendo Switch, third-party developers
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto, smart device games, development structure
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2017/170207e.pdf
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220516224335/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2017/170207e.pdf
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2017/170203.pdf
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20210213110802/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2017/170203.pdf
Summary: He was surprised when Pokémon Go took off the way it did, as it did not seem to get much attention before release. It had a big impact on Pokémon Sun and Moon’s sales. Nintendo should make use of smart devices, especially to reach younger children. Pokémon Go’s spread far exceeded their expectations. It and Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition show how important it is to catch the attention of people who have stopped playing video games, and to bridge generational gaps.
During the development of the Switch younger developers showed they understood that Nintendo creates unique things.
Nintendo has combined the handheld and console teams. Third-party developers can easily port PC games to the Switch. Even though developers from the United States and Europe have a better reputation than Japanese developers, Nintendo has mastered state-of-the-art technologies like the Unreal engine.
They are trying many things with mobile games, including monetization options. Super Mario Run was moved ahead in their schedule.
One of their greatest challenges is not having so many employees that they can’t nurture their resources efficiently, which is why they work with external partners. Hiring too many new people risks losing an understanding of Nintendo’s DNA.
ZackScottGames – Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma! The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild!
Publication Date: February 3, 2017
Subject(s): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the “Link is actually dead” fan theory
Format: Interview (dubbed)
People: Zack Scott, Chiko Bird, (translator), Raymond Elliget (translator), Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qH7DvSBlwk
Notes: Raymond Elliget and Chiko Bird are not visible but can be heard speaking a few times. There is a transcript available on Zelda Universe.
Summary: As you make choices you become in tune with Link.
The Zelda team knows the series well, and they know it’s essential for players to solve puzzles themselves. The items Link uses to solve puzzles will always be important, as well as the environment. It’s important that Link grows.
They made The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the stereoscopic 3D and so you could play it outside. You can tell when an arrow won’t hit you on the 3DS, that’s why they made The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword you could choose your destination, in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild you can set markers since the whole world is connected.
A difficult question he gets a lot is “why is it called ‘The Legend of Zelda’ if Link is the protaganist?”. When they first made Link he was to be the link between people, or between a person and the Triforce. There’s a long running anime and manga series called Sazae-san. When a series runs for so long urban legends develop around it and there’s an urban legend that the main character is dead. It makes him happy to think that The Legend of Zelda is old enough to have such urban legends too.
Game Informer – 51 Rapid-Fire Questions About The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Publication Date: February 9, 2017
Subject(s): The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Ben Reeves, Eiji Aonuma, Raymond Elliget (translator), Chiko Bird (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video:
Notes: The camera briefly pans over to the translators after Ben asks if he can trust them.
Summary: Dubious Food is the strangest thing Link can eat.
Link’s last name is Link, and he’s not human.
He thinks Pauline lives in New Donk City.
The longest he’s slept was 20 hours.
The secret to a happy life is to enjoy everything.
Time – 10 Things Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto Told Us About Switch and More
Publication Date: February 13, 2017
Subject(s): Switch, Gunpei Yokoi, virtual reality, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Hiroshi Yamauchi, artificial intelligence
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Matt Peckham, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://time.com/4668908/nintendo-switch-miyamoto-interview/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170302222827/http://time.com/4668908/nintendo-switch-miyamoto-interview/
Notes: This interview took place in mid January 2017.
Summary: It is important to Nintendo to do something that only they can do. Gunpei Yokoi put fun first and would calmly examine a situation. They’ve been trained to be suspicious when everyone is doing the same thing.
Genyo Takedo, Satoru Iwata, and himself would give feedback on the Switch as it was being designed. Iwata put a lot of emphasis on making it that allows for networking. They discussed how they might incorporate mobile devices or browser features.
HD Rumble provides something new. There’s a group at Nintendo researching rumble technology.
The problem of being together online with virtual reality is being solved. A parent would probably worry if they saw their child using virtual reality. Making an experience short but fleshed out is a challenge too.
Eiji Aonuma has found a way to balance story and adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s important that a game’s story lingers in the mind. It’s important for Zelda games to allow the player to live the story. They wanted to make sure everyone had a different experience with the game.
Hiroshi Yamauchi’s philosophy was to not have a personal philosophy. Despite that he left the company with a philosophy that they should only use their money to make fun. That simplified things, they just had to think about fun.
Artificial intelligence doesn’t make sense in terms of cost performance. The scope of what they can do will increase as A.I. improves. Unlike the medical field they can do a bit of guessing and take shortcuts. They are interested in A.I.
He would like to set the standards for the possibilities of the next 10 years.
When he has a few days of work he works in his garden, hoeing. He made a cat hammock.
Game Informer – Miyamoto and Aonuma on Zelda’s Storytelling And Breath Of The Wild’s “Trick”
Publication Date: February 16, 2017
Subject(s): Story in games, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Ben Hanson, Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpM0S8kWsRw
Summary: He may have said things about story not mattering. It’s not that story is unnecessary, it gives a game world substance. A story can be so strict that you have to follow a certain path, or a story can take a long time to set up while you want to experience the gameplay.
Everyone will have their own story of their experience playing through The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Eiji Aonuma knows the secret of tying story and gameplay together.
Game Informer – Nintendo’s Miyamoto And Aonuma On Zelda’s Balance Of Fan Feedback
Publication Date: February 20, 2017
Subject(s): Testing and feedback, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, animals
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Ben Hanson, Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAqOq435K-I
Summary: He has stressed how important white paper testing and monitor testing are to getting feedback on games under development. You also can’t just ask someone “how was it?”. Monitor testing sees whether the concept of a game has been conveyed. He watches recordings of people playing games.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was very different from The Legend of Zelda, they wanted to focus on the action. They named it the way that they did because it’s almost a different series.
Starting with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time he loved Epona and all the animals. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has a designer and programmer just working on the animals. You can get to know the horses, raise them, and ride them. You can choose whether to hunt other animals for food or not. It’s fun to wonder where the birds are going.
Game Informer – Miyamoto And Aonuma On Training Nintendo’s Next Generation Of Developers
Publication Date: February 28, 2017
Subject(s): Training younger developers
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Ben Hanson, Eiji Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK0VlF-A9xU
Summary: There’s two parts of game design, the skeleton and the decorative exterior. Old people like him can’t keep up with the latter, so it’s better to let the younger developers handle it. But then younger people tend to follow trends.
When younger developers ask him how something they made is he tells them with an open mind and heart to go with it.
Nintendo’s philosophy has always been to be unique, they’re not fighting against the current trends. He tells younger developers to make what they want to make.
Nintendo of America – Have you ever wondered what Mr. Miyamoto’s favorite power up is? Here you go! #Mar10Day
Publication Date: March 10, 2017
Subject(s): Power-ups
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1116137695137349
Summary: If he could have any power-up in real life it would be a tail so he can spin and fly around.
Retro Gamer – Mario Kart The Untold Story
Publication Date: April 20, 2017
Subject(s): Super Mario Kart
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Nick Thorpe, Hideki Konno, Tadashi Sugiyama, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: This is from issue 167 of Retro Gamer.
Summary: The Mario setting is like a comic, the characters can appear in different roles, so he didn’t have an issue with being able to race as enemies in Super Mario Kart.
Having collectible coins on the track wouldn’t be possible in another racing game. You can jump because that’s essential in a Mario game.
They decided to make the game about competing for position with go-karts. The items seemed a natural way to help players who were behind.
He wanted to make sure Super Mario Kart worked well with two players and that they could battle, like in Mario Bros.
Ubisoft E3 2017 Conference
Publication Date: June 12, 2017
Subject(s): Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Format: Presentation (spoken English, live translator)
People: Yves Guillemot, Bill Trinen (translator), Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKXDIp3bm4s&t=3593s
Notes: I’m pretty sure this is the first time Mr. Miyamoto appeared at a non-Nintendo E3 presentation.
Summary: [Yves Guillemot introduces Mr. Miyamoto, who walks down the aisle and onto the stage with a blaster on his arm.]
This is blaster is a weapon from Mario + Rabbids :Kingdom Battle. He brought one for Yves Guillemot.
[Bill Trinen hands him a blaster.]These are different from the weapon in Ghost Recon.
He’s thankful to have been able to work with Ubisoft over the years. He’s known Yves for 25 years and gets to spend time with him at E3. He feels the passion Ubisoft has for Nintendo. They’re also software rivals. He has rabbids figures on his desk, and he’s a fan.
His condition for Davide Soliani was that the game couldn’t be a platformer and that it’s a Mario game that has never been made.
Mario + Rabbids :Kingdom Battle has a European feel and some great strategy and tactics.
GameTrailers – Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle: Behind the Scenes – E3 2017: Ubisoft Conference
Publication Date: June 13, 2017
Subject(s): Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Xavier Poix, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqp9KHZEXAc
Notes: The video bounces between several groups of people, but Mr. Miyamoto is sitting with Xavier Poix.
Summary: When Ubisoft pitched Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle to them, it felt new and it was a genre they had no plans to use for Mario.
Davide Soliani was very passionate during the presentation, that made him realize it could work.
The action of Mario and the playfulness of the Rabbids fit together.
The Ubisoft developers understand Mario. They know how to make unique games and have been supportive of Nintendo’s systems.
Game Informer – Miyamoto On Breath Of The Wild, Nostalgia, And If Yoshi And A T-Rex Can Co-Exist
Publication Date: June 15, 2017
Subject(s): Super Mario Odyssey, Yoshi, New Donk City, Mario Bros.
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Ben Hanson, Kyle Hilliard, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: The rest of this interview was published October 25, 2017 online. This interview occurred during E3 2017.
Summary: There’s an underlying philosophy at Nintendo that applies to both the Tokyo and Kyoto office.
His role with Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was to play the prototypes and make sure they felt good to play.
He’s seen movies where dinosaurs look like Yoshi and thought that they looked more like lizards. Mario knows the difference between the T-Rex he can capture and Yoshi, which he can ride.
They were worried people wouldn’t get New Donk City, but people have accepted it. He wants to be sure kids don’t copy Mario by jumping on Taxis or walking on the edges of buildings.
It’s important that young people today don’t see games like Pac-Man as old. By having a common thread among generations he hopes that Mario will be supported by children.
He played a Mario Bros. machine with the winner of Nintendo’s T-shirt design contest. It was nostalgic and he easily won.
Newsweek – What Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto Asked Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot Not To Do With ‘Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle’
Publication Date: June 18, 2017
Subject(s): Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Zulai Serrano, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.newsweek.com/mario-rabbids-kingdom-battle-win-nintendo-switch-627029
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170619105550/http://www.newsweek.com/mario-rabbids-kingdom-battle-win-nintendo-switch-627029
Summary: In the Mario & Luigi role-playing games the jump action is selected as a command. When other developers work on Mario games he tells them to have a unique element in the game and to only use jump as a command.
He likes it when Rabbid Peach throws down her wig.
Eurogamer – Miyamoto: Pikmin 4 still “progressing”
Publication Date: June 19, 2017
Subject(s): Pikmin 4
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Tom Phillips, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.eurogamer.net/miyamoto-pikmin-4-still-progressing
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220408041453/https://www.eurogamer.net/miyamoto-pikmin-4-still-progressing
Notes: This is a follow-up to a Eurogamer interview from 2015 when Mr. Miyamoto said that Pikmin 4 was being developed. This interview took place at E3 2017.
Summary: Nintendo’s public relations people told him not to say anything, but work on Pikmin 4 is progressing.
Eurogamer – The big interview: Shigeru Miyamoto and Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot
Publication Date: June 19, 2017
Subject(s): Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Tom Phillips, Yves Guillemot, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.eurogamer.net/the-big-interview-shigeru-miyamoto-and-yves-guillemot
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220704214045/https://www.eurogamer.net/the-big-interview-shigeru-miyamoto-and-yves-guillemot
Notes: Ths interview took place at E3 2017 and was part of the same interview as the previous entry.
Summary: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle started when Ubisoft asked to put Mario in Just Dance. Nintendo has had a relationship with Ubisoft for 20 years, but this is the first time they’re at the level of sharing characters.
They talked at Nintendo about how to appropriately depict Mario with a gun. Splatoon was almost a Mario game. There was a lot of discussion with Ubisoft.
Ubisoft understands how Nintendo works. The humor shows how Nintendo can handle those kinds of jokes.
IGN – Shigeru Miyamoto and Yves Guillemot Discuss Mario + Rabbids Partnership
Publication Date: June 20, 2017
Subject(s): Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Unnamed IGN interviewer, Yves Guillemot, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YShaLs6qVfM
Summary: People say he’s strict about how people use Mario, but he thinks he’s pretty open. Ubisoft understands their characters, so he felt safe.
Mario games haven’t had the Rabbid gag before, but they go well together. He likes how Princess Peach throws her wig.
They talked a lot about Mario’s weapon.
IGN – E3 2017: Shigeru Miyamoto and the Legacy of Mario
Publication Date: June 27, 2017
Subject(s): Game design, Mario
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Andrew Goldfarb, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/27/e3-2017-shigeru-miyamoto-and-the-legacy-of-mario
Notes: This is the video linked in the article demonstrating a Tox Box. This interview took place on June 13, 2017, during E3 2017.
Summary: It’s important to involve younger people in game design, it makes things more fun and there’s only so much you can make by yourself.
He tells his teams where the line is for Mario, though they try to push past it a bit. He has to be very clear when external developers make a game with Mario.
He was worried about the reaction to Mario being in New Donk City with normal sized people, but it worked out well.
Ideally they will have old characters do new things. It’s great when a new character fits a new mechanic, but he resists when someone is overbearing and tries to make new characters all the time.
He wanted to be a manga artist as a child and manga artists tend to have a character that they use in many things. That’s who Mario is.
He doesn’t want to remake any Mario games, making something new is more natural.
They have more in their tool set than just polishing a game now thanks to technological advancements.
He starts with a game’s mechanics and makes sure that the character they use is a good fit. It’s like he owns a talent agency. The difference between Mario and The Legend of Zelda is one of density.
His inspiration comes when playing games and thinking about how they might be improved.
It’s important to tell the programmers exactly what you want. He tells the directors to use flowcharts and numbers.
Players need to know what will happen, what’s safe to touch and what isn’t. The Tox Box is very clear and understandable, it’s one of his masterpieces.
He doesn’t want games to become completely controlled by thinking or moving your eyes in the future.
The creative levels in Super Mario Maker are great, especially the puzzle ones.
Future Mario developers will need to be creative, but so will the players. Mario is popular and relatable because the games require creativity.
Nintendo of America – The Nintendo Guessing Game – Filmed at E3 2017
Publication Date: June 29, 2017
Subject(s): Guessing game
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Hisashi Nogami, Kosuke Yabuki, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhEgsvNTEio
Summary: Two pairs (Hisashi Nogami and Kosuke Yabuki, Yoshiaki Koizumi and Shigeru Miyamoto) have to answer questions about each other on a whiteboard.
Both Mr. Koizumi and Mr. Miyamoto think that Mr. Miyamoto is more like Mario than Luigi.
They both think he is team Callie rather than team Marie.
Mr. Koizumi writes that his favorite Nintendo franchise is Super Mario, while Mr. Miyamoto guesses Zelda.
Mr. Koizumi writes that his favorite Joy-Con color is red, while Miyamoto guesses blue.
History – Von Pong zu Pokémon – Die Geschichte der Videospiele (untranslated from German)
Publication Date: August 20, 2017
Subject(s): Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Popeye, Pokémon
Format: Interview (dubbed)
People: Unknown History interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://youtu.be/f33oeSKpDh0?t=406
Notes: The title translates to “From Pong to Pokémon – The History of Video Games”. Mr. Miyamoto appears at 6:46, 15:43, and 41:40. Uploaded by YouTube user Yakuza112 Inc.
Miyamoto on Miiverse (Miiverse closure)
Publication Date: October 11, 2017
Subject(s): Miiverse
Format: Social media post
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171103113849/https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAADAAADV44komMdQA
Notes: This was Mr. Miyamoto’s last post on Miiverse, about a month before it closed, and contained a single image.
Summary:
Game Informer – Shigeru Miyamoto On Potentially Remaking Mario 64 And Yoichi Kotabe’s Art
Publication Date: October 25, 2017
Subject(s): Super Mario Odyssey
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Ben Hanson, Kyle Hilliard, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: The first part of this interview was published October 15, 2017 online. This interview occurred during E3 2017.
Summary: When Mario went 3D the camera had to evolve, which made the games harder to play. Super Mario Galaxy tried to not have a controllable camera. With Super Mario Odyssey they decided it was ok to have a controllable camera, but they made sure it was easy to do. There removed game overs so you can try different things. Odyssey isn’t a game you navigate through, it’s almost a puzzle game. There’s a lot of A.I. so that you don’t need to adjust the camera often.
He’s looking forward to players thinking for themselves and experimenting. It’s the idea of a boxed garden.
The Legend of Zelda series had been losing its open worldness over time. They weren’t sure how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be accepted. It wasn’t until they were doing the final touches in the last few months that they felt they were going in the right direction.
The modern Mickey Mouse is losing some flavor he used to have. They try to make sure that doesn’t happen at Nintendo. They want to evolve Yoichi Kotabe’s style of art if they can. They could probably make a game that looked like Mr. Kotabe’s art, but young children wouldn’t recognize it.
The New York Times – Nintendo’s Switch Brings Some Magic Back
Publication Date: December 29, 2017
Subject(s): Wii U, Switch, Nintendo employees
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Simon Parkin, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/technology/nintendo-switch.html
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20171231185853/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/technology/nintendo-switch.html
Notes: There are quotes from several Nintendo employees in this article but it’s not clear if they were all interviewed for this.
Summary: It was hard for players to understand the Wii U.
The Switch combines the different play styles Nintendo has used.
Over time he’s been trying to let the younger people take control. He tries to make sure their designers have more interests than video games.
2018
Nintendo Investor Relations – Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Nine Months Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ending March 2018
Publication Date: February 3, 2018
Subject(s): Nintendo Labo, Nintendo Switch, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, pricing
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2018/180210e.pdf
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220730052051/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2018/180210e.pdf
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2018/180203.pdf
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220522072746/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2018/180203.pdf
Summary: Nintendo is the kind of company with people who want to make things like Nintendo Labo. The idea to use cardboard to build things came from a request for proposals of novel things to do with Joy-Con.
Risks can be resolved by broadening Nintendo Switch’s consumer base. The ultimate ambition is for everyone to have one.
Has been wanting to make an animated film for many years, but interactive and non-interactive media are completely different. Universal Parks & Resorts introduced him to Illumination. He clicked with Chris Meledandri.
Nintendo treasures ideas and provides the highest value-added products.
There have been many discussions on how to win approval from consumers. Developers rethought hardware design after users said Wii Remote should have had different features or been attachable to the leg. As controllers were able to be made smaller there was the opportunity to make a console that was also a handheld.
Pokemon wo Tsukutta Otoko: Tajiri Satoshi
Publication Date: May 16, 2018
Subject(s): Satoshi Tajiri, Pokémon’s origins
Format: Essay
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://shmuplations.com/pokemon/
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20191109024601/http://shmuplations.com/pokemon/
Translator: shmuplations
Notes: Pokemon wo Tsukutta Otoko: Tajiri Satoshi is a biographical manga about Tajiri Satoshi. Mr. Miyamoto wrote an essay about his relationship with Mr. Tajiri and the history of Pokémon for it.
Summary: When Mr. Tajiri told him about collecting and trading bugs as a child he realized that was the root of Pokémon. When children ask him how to get into making games he usually tells them to go outside and have many diverse experiences. Taking classes on game design won’t lead you to making Pokémon. Having different experiences fosters creativity. Mr. Tajiri’s experiences as a child informed the creation of Pokémon.
Before he met Mr. Tajiri he was impression with the game Mendel Palace. He got the impression that Mr. Tajiri could balance good gameplay and appealing to the masses. He knew Mr. Tajiri had another great game in him at the time.
Shortly after meeting Mr. Tajiri for lunch he got the planning document for Pokémon. It only described two Game Boys connected by link cable to trade monsters. It was a novel use of the Game Boy that couldn’t be done anywhere else. He entrusted Mr. Tajiri to Gunpei Yokoi. He received those plans in 1989, and Pokémon came out in 1996.
He was given a producer title for the original Pokémon, but he hardly had to give Mr. Tajiri any advice, he fully trusted him. What he did was convince Nintendo to give Pokémon more backup memory, which allowed them to include all 151 Pokémon.
Just before completion Mr. Tajiri said he wanted Pokémon to surpass Mario in universal appeal and for it to be remembered in history. There were no plans for multiple versions at the time, but Mr. Tajiri’s words sparked this idea. It would encourage friends to trade with each other. It was originally going to be red, green, and blue version, but they went with two instead.
Even if you’re a genius games are not made alone. Mr. Tajiri had Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda’s help.
He doesn’t think of himself and Mr. Tajiri as rivals, Mr. Tajiri is a colleague.
Ubisoft North America – Ubisoft E3 2018 Conference
Publication Date: June 11, 2018
Subject(s): Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Format: Presentation
People: Yves Guillemot, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHYtD8jWMTo&t=7962s
Notes: This is the second year in a row Mr. Miyamoto was part of Ubisoft’s E3 conference and does not appear in a E3 Nintendo Direct. It’s difficult to make out what Mr. Miyamoto says in this brief appearance.
Summary: [Yves Guillemot says that Fox McCloud’s appearance in Starlink: Battle for Atlas wouldn’t be possible without Nintendo and Ubisoft’s relationship and introduces Mr. Miyamoto, who is sitting in the front row.]
[Yves gives Mr. Miyamoto a model of Fox and his Arwing.]
It’s super.
NintendoAU – E3 2018 – A message from Mr. Miyamoto for Australia & New Zealand
Publication Date: June 18, 2018
Subject(s): Super Mario Odyssey
Format: Promotional video
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCxpsZE7hRM
Notes: This video is also available as a tweet. This video was filmed at E3 2018.
Summary: G’day to Australia and New Zealand. Choice bro to everyone who enjoyed Super Mario Odyssey. They will add more treasures and costumes.
Nintendo of America on X
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
Subject(s): Nintendo Labo
Format: Promotional video (subtitled)
People: Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1011738670099881986
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200518222744/https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1011738670099881986
Notes: The text in the video says that they made a couple games inspired by 1-2-Switch in Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Garage. Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Tezuka compete in a milking game.
Summary: He thinks Mr. Tezuka is letting him win.
CEDEC 2018 Keynote Speech (reported on by Siliconera, Bloomberg, and Kotaku, partially untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: July 22, 2018 (reported on August 22, 25, 2018)
Subject(s): Minecraft, massively multiplayer online role-playing games, Super Mario Run, Pokémon Go
Format: Presentation
People: Reported on by Alistair Wong, Yuji Nakamura, Yuki Furukawa, and Brian Ashcraft, Shigeru Miyamoto
https://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-doesnt-want-to-make-a-mmorpg-1828516864
Notes: CEDEC is a Japanese game developer’s conference that also gives out annual awards. The full speech in Japanese can be found here.
Summary: With the Famicom players didn’t have to put coins into an arcade machines to play, games could have a set end point. Super Mario 64 let the player collect as many stars as they wished. They’re lucky to have such a large market, they can make a lot of money by charging reasonable prices.
He tried making a block building game, but there were a lot of questions about what kind of game it should be and they couldn’t make it fun. He was blown away by a YouTube video that showed a convenience store in Minecraft. He wishes Minecraft had come from Japan.
He didn’t want to make a massively multiplayer online role-playing game since he gets tired of things quickly and wants to move onto the next project.
Making smartphone games is harder since the hardware isn’t familiar, but they started making them to reach more people. He made Super Mario Run a bit more difficult than the original plan, which led many to think it was too hard. They added the Remix 10 mode to make up for this, but he wishes the whole game had been like Remix 10. Mario games are about trying a level until you beat it, and that shouldn’t be gated by microtransactions. The fixed cost of Super Mario Run wasn’t a success, but they want to keep pushing it.
Everyone has ideas, but they aren’t all good.
He had doubts about Pokémon Go, thinking it too simple, and was surprised about how it took off. He thinks highly of it now.
2019
2019 Nintendo Company Guide (untranslated from Japanese)
Publication Date: 2019
Subject(s): Nintendo
Format: Essay
People: Shigeru Miyamoto
Scans:
Notes: Nintendo periodically makes company guides to advertise to prospective employees and to welcome new employees. This picture was taken by Erik Voskuil and is from his blog Before Mario.
Nintendo Investor Relations – Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Nine Months Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ending March 2019
Publication Date: February 3, 2019
Subject(s): Developing software, Nintendo’s IP, Super Nintendo World, Nintendo Switch life cycle
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/190208e.pdf
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220729230343/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/190208e.pdf
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/190203.pdf
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nintendo.co.jp%2Fir%2Fpdf%2F2019%2F190203.pdf
Summary: He has been entrusting the younger developers with more authority. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate shows that operations are going smoothly. He wants to nurture indie developers.
The reason he is delegating to young people is not because he can’t keep up with modern sensibilities. Nintendo creates bold new games without worrying about failing. Super Mario Party sold better than expected across several demographics.
Work is progressing on Super Nintendo World, but they can’t announce anything.
The Switch has many features not available on other hardware. Hardware lifecycles are usually 5 or 6 years, but it would be interesting if they could prolong that.
Nintendo of America – Mr. Miyamoto & Mr. Tezuka Spin the Wheel – Nintendo E3 2019
Publication Date: June 12, 2019
Subject(s): Mario, Super Mario Maker 2
Format: Promotional Video (subtitled)
People: Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhIW6_e9BdI
Summary: [Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Tezuka spin a wheel and have to do or answer what it says or asks.]
[He correctly guesses that Mr. Tezuka is imitating the Hammer Bros.]
Mario is special because he is a regular guy, not a superhero. He is also not middle-aged.
His favorite supporting character is Yoshi.
Great Big Story – 3 Unexpected Stories Behind Your Favorite Video Games
Publication Date: June 30, 2019
Subject(s): Mario’s origins
Format: Interview (subtitled)
People: Unnamed Great Big Story interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Video: https://youtu.be/jp_zqaNcbFI?t=541
Summary: Everything used to be monochrome, and they used 8 or 10-bit images.
He started with Mario’s nose, and added a mustache. Hair was complicated so Mario got a hat.
Mario was called Mr. Video at first, and he wanted Mario to be easily understood. Nintendo staff went to Seattle to help with Donkey Kong’s release. The landlord of the warehouse they were using was a man named Mario, who had a mustache.
When making Super Mario Bros. he thought it would be more fun if Mario could move left, right, and diagonally, or if he could jump twice.
He doesn’t like drawing masculine superhero-like characters, they aren’t as relatable. Mario’s younger brother, Luigi, was a color swap. Luigi was the second most common Italian name after Mario, and it means “similar” in Japanese.
You should make what you want, not what others want.
Nintendo Investor Relations – The 79th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Publication Date: July 5, 2019
Subject(s): Keeping up with trends, adventure games, controller technology
Format: Investor Q & A
People: Unnamed investors, Nintendo executives including Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/qa1906e.pdf
Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20190707034356/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/qa1906e.pdf
Japanese Link: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/qa1906.pdf
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20190701123411/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/qa1906.pdf
Summary: Nintendo has not fallen behind in Internet services or virtual reality. Their experiments show whether they will be fun or can be made in an affordable way. Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit is easy to use. Cloud gaming will become more widespread, but there will also be games that fun because they are being played locally. Super Mario Run has over 300 million downloads, which means that their opportunities are expanding.
They are accused of only sticking with established series, but after 30 years they are part of Nintendo’s brand. He has made many adventure games, but localizing the text and voice into 10 languages is very expensive. Younger gamers are less interested in them, too. Ace Attorney and Professor Layton make good use of the genre’s mechanics. He often works with people from other countries, including people at Nintendo headquarters.
Nintendo came up with the D-Pad and the analog stick. The standard type of controller used now is the best for accuracy and reliability. They would like to surpass that, and make a controller that reflects what the player does. No motion controller seems to work for all people.
Iwata-san (reported on by IGN, possibly incomplete)
Publication Date: July 22, 2019
Subject(s): Satoru Iwata
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Reported on by Esra Krabbe, Shigeru Miyamoto
Summary: Satoru Iwata didn’t feel like a boss, he felt like a friend.
It might ordinarily be difficult to have a boss younger than you, but they always got along and it was obvious he deserved the position.
While Mr. Iwata still worked at HAL Lab they got ramen together. It became tradition to go Dutch when they ate together, even as they became president and executive.
Many of Mr. Iwata’s words and structures have lived on. When he has a good-for-nothing idea on the weekend he no longer has someone to share it with on Monday.
Sankei (reported on by VentureBeat)
Publication Date: October 29, 2019 (reported on October 29, 2019)
Subject(s): Person of Cultural Merit award
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Reported on by Jeff Grubb, unknown Sankei interviewer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Link: https://venturebeat.com/games/shigeru-miyamoto-promises-not-to-retire-as-he-wins-culture-award/
Japanese Archive Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20191031011414/https://www.sankei.com/life/news/191029/lif1910290015-n1.html
Translator: Cheesemeister3k
Notes: Mr. Miyamoto was given the Person of Cultural Merit award. VentureBeat credits Cheesemeister3k with the translation but also includes a bit more than the linked tweet.
Summary: He is glad a light is being shined upon video games. He’ll keep doing his best so he doesn’t get asked if he’s going to retire.
Nikkei Asia – Nintendo’s Miyamoto wants to make Mario the new Mickey Mouse
Publication Date: November 23, 2019
Subject(s): Person of Cultural Merit award, The Legend of Zelda, Mario, Disney
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Natsumi Kawasaki, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: The article describes Mr. Miyamoto as “meeting with the media recently” so this may have come from a Q & A.
Summary: He’s not used to being in the spotlight, he was named a Person of Cultural Merit because video games became a part of Japanese culture. He couldn’t have done it alone and he’s proud that so many of Nintendo’s original developers are still working there.
When you start The Legend of Zelda you’ll be stomped by enemies, but you’ll be a superhero by the end.
He’s interested in allowing for a larger audience to enjoy Mario.
Many parents don’t want their children to play video games, but let them watch Disney movies.
He wants to keep making new things and not focus too heavily on they’ve already made.
Pourquoi faites-vous des jeux vidéo? (untranslated from French)
Publication Date: December, 2019
Subject(s): Motivation to make video games
Format: Transcribed interview
People: Pierre Gaultier, Shigeru Miyamoto
Notes: A translation of the title is “Why do you make video games?”.
Also known as L’1nterview: Why Do You Make Video Games? or Pourquoi Faites-Vous Des Jeux Vidéo?: De Nombreuses Figures Du Jeu Vidéo, Légendaires Ou Méconnues, Répondent À Cette Question Fondamentale.
You can read a bit more about this book at The Video Game Library.
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