IGN grabbed an interview with Nintendo chief, Shigeru Miyamoto where he talks all things 3DS, online plans and Zelda: Skyward Sword. Have a read…
Miyamoto on how long the 3DS has been in development/what the process is like behind the scenes…
“Basically the way it works is – once we’ve finalised the design for a new hardware system and we’ve launched the hardware system, the hardware teams immediately begin research on what the next system will be. So it’s been – I don’t know how long – I guess about six years since we launched Nintendo DS, so they’ve been researching and experimenting with various things over the last six years, but it really finally started to take this shape that we see now about three years ago.”
Talking with Joystiq, Miyamoto said that Nintendo have been working on 3D tech for about 20 years and the 3DS is the result of research dating back to the Gamecube days.
SM: We knew the 3DS was coming. It was announced a while ago, but we didn’t expect so many games to be available. How long have you been working on the technology?
J: Nintendo’s been researching 3-D games for over 20 years. The first time we started looking at 3D with an LCD screen was during the GameCube days. We’ve continued to experiment with it since then, particularly implementing it into the 3DS. That’s something we’ve been working on for the past three years.
J: So back to 3DS, you guys talked about an online service for the platform. How similar is that to the DS online connection service and the Wii service? Are you guys fielding complaints about friend codes?
SM: I’m not really commenting on the working aspects of Nintendo 3DS today, but we’re obviously looking at taking the elements from the Wii online service and the Nintendo DS online service that work well and trying to find a way to maximize those the best that we can. Look at what we’ve done with the Nintendo DS, and that will give you an idea what the starting point is for what we’ll be doing on Nintendo 3DS. We’re just going to try and improve it from there.
The latest in the “Iwata Asks” series has been translated to ye olde English and is available at Nintendo’s site. Here’s a taster of what they are talking about in this Super Mario Galaxy 2 edition:
“I said I wanted to the game to be finished in one year, but in the end it took two and a half.” Miyamoto
It’s great to hear Miyamoto is still as passionate about making games now as he always has been. Let’s hope he continues for many years to come yet!
“Before the launch of the Wii hardware, we at Nintendo had already come up with the idea that the Wii is the machine that’s going to be hooked up with the television set in the living room of the household. And so then the family members become the basis for us to think about how we’d like to develop the hardware and software for Wii. And that is why I’ve made software like Wii Music, Wii Sports, Wii Fit and other assorted titles. Having said that, I’ve never lost my passion for making games which are enjoyed by the more traditional gamer. An example is the introduction of Super Mario Galaxy 2.” – Shigeru Miyamoto
Phew! We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Shigeru Miyamoto recently told GamesTM in an interview that he doesn’t have any plans to retire soon. The Nintendo legend of course is the man behind many of Nintendo’s top franchises such as Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda and he is now the head of development at Nintendo, ensuring standards remain high.
Miyamoto on retirement…
“Well, I am one of the company workers and the company has to retire me some time. So from that perspective, yes I may have to retire from Nintendo some day. But when I look around and see how aged cartoonists continue to work on their manga and how movie directors create new movies all the time, I understand that they would never retire. And by the same token, I guess I will still be making games somehow. The only question is whether the younger people will be willing to work with me at that far point in the future.”
Check out the full interview after the jump where Miyamoto talks about loads of other stuff including the Vitality Sensor, whether talk of a Wii HD frustrates him and why Nintendo stay away from violent games….
Shigeru Miyamoto knows everything. Yup everything. Except he may be forced to eat his words in a few years time if digital distribution becomes the norm for video games. With the success of digital music on iTunes, an increasing number of online gamers and of course the PSP Go! being downloads only, Miyamoto could off track saying digital downloads are not the future:
“Personally, I’m one of those guys who, even if I have all the songs from iTunes, I want the CD as well. I feel more reassured with that physical media.” says Miyamoto.
Personally we would like to see both available to consumers, a download version and a retail version, so that customers can decide. There’s just something more exciting about having a shiny new game in your hand.
Shigsy continues, “Entertainment is something that will not just become digital. If I look at Wii MotionPlus, this is something that you’re not doing via digital distribution.” That’s true but am I missing something here? That’s hardware, you can’t download it! Maybe I’m being think or something was lost in translation.
“The thing for us is we really don’t see the future of video games being merely confined to digital distribution or moving solely or even to a majority of our products being distributed that way.”
It will be interesting to see how much more Nintendo will embrace digital distribution. Obviously WiiWare and DSiWare are a start but will their service become a fully blown entertainment hub like Xbox Live? Time will tell, but remember during the Gamecube era, Nintendo made a mistake by saying that there was no future in online gaming.
The semi-follow up to New Super Mario Bros. from the DS was shown for the first time at E3 and most were very excited about Mario’s latest 2D platformer. While we got to see Mario in action, all we got for the new Zelda game for Wii was a mention that it was still in development and a single piece of concept artwork.
However, Nintendo Power have recently sat down with Shigeru Miyamoto to shed a little more light on both games.
Head inside to read the Q&A and for footage of New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
While talking at Nintendo’s E3 roundtable last week. Head designer and all-round super-human, Shigeru Miyamoto had some interesting tidbits abouyt two of Nintendo’s most saught after games, the new Zelda for Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
It is possible that the new Zelda could be a Wii MotionPlus compatible only game, like Ubisoft’s Red Steel 2.
“The goal at this point is that we would make Wii MotionPlus required in order to play Zelda. The bigger hurdle for us is not really whether people have a Wii MotionPlus or don’t have it, it’s whether or not the experience is one where people will think they want to have a Wii Motion Plus in order to experience it. There may be a group of people out there who look at people playing motion control games and have a hesitancy to try to play those because they’re worried that they might not look so cool, swinging a Wii remote around. But in watching people play New Super Mario Bros. Wii, even though it’s just a simple shaking motion, I’m watching people play [it] with a big grin on their face. So I’m hoping that we might be able to create a similar-feeling experience for Zelda.”
The BBC had a chance at E3 to ask Shigeru Miyamoto what he thought of the competition now Sony and Microsoft have both announced motion controls for their respective consoles.
More precisely Miyamoto was asked if Nintendo were“in danger of getting left behind by the competition” to which he laughed. Have a look around 3 mins 50 secs or read the transcript after the jump.
At Nintendo’s developer roundtable during E3 earlier this week, Shigeru Miyamoto showed some concept art from the upcoming new Zelda for the Wii. The image was supposed to remain un-shown to the public, however it has now found its way onto the Internet.
Rumours abound that the female figure in the foreground is a living incarnation of Link’s Mastersword and I have to agree that they could be onto something. Her cloak looks a similar shape to the swords guard and and the design on her front looks familiar. Also Link is not holding his sword in the concept drawing though he is his shield.
Whether this rumour has any truth to it will likely remain unknown for some time but we’re very keen to know more. Maybe Tokyo Game Show later in the year will reveal more details.
