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Posts with tag Miyamoto

New York Times: Miyamoto is awesome

The latest interview to come out of Shigeru Miyamoto's New York press meetings is with the New York Times, who, rather than just asking about Wii Fit, chose to profile the man behind the haircut. Accordingly, most of their article is a historical look at just how great Miyamoto is, and how influential he has been to game development, with supporting quotes from Game Informer's Andy McNamara and Disney Interactive's Graham Hopper.

The most interesting bit is when Miyamoto discusses his game design influences. We've all heard how gardening inspired Pikmin and a scale led to Wii Fit. Miyamoto acknowledges that this is somewhat of a change from his previous game design process: "Whereas before I could kind of use my own imagination to create these worlds or create these games, I would say that over the last five years I've had more of a tendency to take interests or topics in my life and try to draw the entertainment out of that." Coming next year -- Wii Make Games!

Miyamoto 'stressed' by Wii Fit

According to Time's latest interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, there may have been some genuine upending of tea tables during the making of Wii Fit, as opposed to the metaphorical kind that Shiggy prefers.

Chatting to the publication to promote the game, Miyamoto confessed that the he and his team felt "a lot of nervousness" while developing the title, and that the lofty expectations of other people caused some stress. The article also mentions that the game's development "nearly led his 15-person development team to quit in frustration," though we've no idea whether that's Time slightly embellishing a story, or what Miyamoto actually said.

All this talk of feeling stressed, Shiggy, and yet our letters offering slow, sensual shoulder rubs still go unanswered. He can't complain.

Gallery: Wii Fit: Central Park launch


[Via Go Nintendo]

Miyamoto talks WiiWare launch, American devs

Now that the WiiWare service is up and running (and we got to play at least one game so far), you're probably as curious as we are concerning the lack of Nintendo games available for download. With an entire catalog featuring nothing but third-party titles, it might seem like a silly idea to launch a Nintendo service with no Nintendo games on offer. It's something that we thought was very much against what Nintendo's usual operational procedures are.

Then, like a knight in shining armor, Shigeru Miyamoto charges in and tells us why we need not be concerned. "I think America has always been better at creating unique products," he says. Wow, we're flattered! Miyamoto is a big fan of the North American indie game scene, commenting they are "able to let their own personality and their own kind of unique interests really flourish in the games that they're creating." This is one of the reasons why Nintendo felt safe with the WiiWare line-up unleashed on us today.

[Via Joystiq]

Miyamoto: Link's Crossbow Training is FPS Training

Now that Link's Crossbow Training is coming out in the region that matters (Japan), Nintendo has begun promoting it with one of their "Iwata Asks" interview series. This time, Shigeru Miyamoto is back in the hot seat -- and at the beginning of the interview, he expresses surprise that producers Takashi Tezuka and Eiji Aonuma aren't there as well.

Right away, the surprises begin. Describing his motivation for Link's Crossbow Training, which he sees as an introduction to the FPS genre, Miyamoto reveals himself to be an FPS fan: "I've always been into first person shooter (FPS) style games, 3D games in which you can walk around freely and see things from your own point of view. " He describes the perspective as "more comfortable, more natural," and then upturns the interview's tea table, saying that he originally wanted The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to be in first-person.

Since this is an interview between Iwata and Miyamoto, you know that can't be the only awesome quote. There's a bit in there about explaining Link's gun use with a Terminator-esque story. You should really just go read the whole thing.

We told you: Colbert mocks Miyamoto


When Stephen Colbert came third in the Time 100 poll, we pretty much knew that he wasn't going to be happy. Of course, as is his style, he takes quite a bit of time to lash out against Korean pop star Rain, his new arch-nemesis. But, Colbert also takes a jab at gaming icon (and winner of said poll) Shigeru Miyamoto, who you helped skyrocket to the top of the rankings.

Check past the break where we've embedded the video of Colbert attacking the gaming legend.

Continue reading We told you: Colbert mocks Miyamoto

Miyamoto is your Time Person of the Year

We all made it happen. The man, the myth, the legend himself, Shigeru Miyamoto, has crushed the competition on the voting block and secured his rightful place at the top of the list for Time Person of the Year. Of course, this doesn't actually mean he's going to be on the cover of Time magazine, but it's good to know he's at the top of the list. If anything, this will mean that Stephen Colbert will make fun of him on his show (check past the break).

Good job, everyone. You've done your duty, soldier, now enjoy some much-needed R & R.

Continue reading Miyamoto is your Time Person of the Year

Famitsu knows a legend when it sees one


Now might be the right time to construct a bigger, stronger mantelpiece in the Miyamoto household, because Nintendo hero Shigeru Miyamoto has just won another damn award. This one comes courtesy of Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, which recently held its own awards ceremony in recognition of its 1,000th issue.

As Miyamoto picked up 2007's MVP gong and subsequently burst into tears on stage, it seems fitting that two of his most ubiquitous Wii creations also did rather well, with Wii Sports (not a pack-in game in Japan, remember) bagging the Best Hit award, and Wii Fit grabbing a trophy of its own for innovation. So congrats, Shiggy -- even if you don't return our daily letters asking to meet up IRL for a chat, some chamomile tea, and a round of Wii Sports tennis (he'd be really good), we still love ya!

Miyamoto thinks Wii Fit could change family life



At first, we weren't going to post about Shigeru Miyamoto's Wii Fit interview with The Times, as it seemed fairly unremarkable. There are the usual platitudes from Shiggy about reaching out to all ages, and some tiresome examples of how mainstream press outlets still expertly patronize gamers (according to the article, the games industry "has long been the preserve of obsessive, nerdy teenagers, mostly called Alan"), but there's actually some interesting parts there also, tucked away amongst the fluff.

For starters, it appears that Miyamoto is an absolute hard ass when it comes to parenting. Well, not really, but the Nintendo legend does reveal that he's always nagging his kids to get off of their backsides and go outside when the weather is good. And this guy is trying to sell videogames?

More intriguingly still, the Nintendo legend speaks about how he hopes Wii Fit will have an impact on family life. As Miyamoto puts it: "In Japanese households, suddenly new conversations are springing up between fathers and mothers, fathers and daughters, talking about Wii Fit. We would love that to happen in Britain."

Can you folks envisage a day when your family time is dominated by talk of your BMI and hula hoop personal bests?

Gallery: Wii Fit


[Via videogaming247]

Revealed: Why Mario isn't in Wii Fit



Had you described Wii Fit to us three years ago, we'd have gambled our entire gashapon collection on Mario, a man with a quite ridiculous number of pastimes, being on the front of the box. A title such as, ooh, we don't know, "Mario Workout" wouldn't have been out of the question. Not any more, though -- not in the age of the expanded audience. Nowadays, Mario doesn't have a divine right to appear in every vaguely sporty Nintendo game.

And we're glad about that. Not only do we totally dig Wii Fit's sleek, minimalistic look, but Mario is already in enough stuff, and even Mario's daddy, Shigeru Miyamoto, agrees with us (great minds and all that). As Shiggy explained to MTV's Stephen Totilo: "We wanted to create it so that people of all ages could look at it and feel it was for them. I think [including Mario] might have limited its ability." So including Mario might limit the appeal of something? How novel!

Gallery: Wii Fit

Miyamoto: Zelda team back in action

It's Shigeru Miyamoto speaking, so really we could have pulled any quote from Jeremy Parish's 1UP interview and stuck it in the title, or just said "MIYAMOTO SPEAKS: YOU READ IT NOW," but this is the most directly newsy bit out of the interview, which was ostensibly about Wii Fit. He denied that Nintendo is abandoning its core franchises (and audience) in part by saying "we do have the existing teams at Nintendo working on the kinds of products we've always made over the years. The Zelda team is forming again to work on new games! But to me, it's about finding these new interactive experiences and bringing them to people."

Miyamoto spent much of the interview talking about Nintendo's love of the "hardcore gamer." Interestingly, he sees the upcoming Japanese launch of Link's Crossbow Training as the opposite of the normal Wii strategy -- the first step toward getting Japanese gamers used to first-person shooters.

Miyamoto nominated again for Time 100



It's that time of year again, folks -- the point at which we implore you to help us shamelessly rig an internet poll so that Nintendo design guru and all-round hero Shigeru Miyamoto can climb as high as possible in Time magazine's list of the year's most influential people.

The Shigster is amongst 207 names to be shortlisted for the final Time 100, and currently lies in 25th spot, after coming ninth last year. At the time of writing he's sandwiched between Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (who, as a self-made billionaire of 24, we find eminently punchable) and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of the assassinated Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto.

On his profile page, the magazine mentions the usual Miyamoto achievements (Donkey Kong, Mario, father of modern videogaming, etc.), but also refers to Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Fit, and ponders whether the latter will help "reverse gravity for all the obese, video game–playing kids out there." If it does, we'd say that's worthy of a top five spot next year!

[Via Eurogamer]

Iwata Asks: Mario Kart Wii


After Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii has become the latest title to appear in the excellent "Iwata Asks:" series of interviews. Featuring producer Hideki Konno, Wii Wheel project leader Kenichiro Ashida, and Shigeru Miyamoto (in fully relaxed, shirt-open mode) getting grilled by Satoru Iwata, it's a treasure trove of information for Mario Kart enthusiasts.

Alongside an enjoyably lengthy dissection of the series' history, there's also discussion about Mario Kart Wii's online play. The online matchmaking in particular sounds a treat, in that it allows players to join a race once it's finished, thus avoiding races becoming one-on-one affairs (as so frequently happened in Mario Kart DS). Players can use the Mario Kart Channel to check which of their friends are currently playing online, and even join them instantly.

Producer Konno and Miyamoto also explained the decision to include bikes in this game, with Konno admitting that his own hobbies influenced the choice, and Miyamoto stating that the bikes are there to "make the world of Mario a little more for boys [by] adding an extreme-like element to the game." (Apparently, the title was originally known as "Mario Kart X," with the "X" taken from "extreme")

Finally, we hear more on the Wii Wheel, and the reasoning behind it. As expected, the peripheral is designed to make Mario Kart more approachable than ever before, and project leader Kenichiro Ashida reportedly created "about thirty" prototypes (many of which you can see in our gallery). Oh, and he even made gold and black versions -- just for the hell of it. Do want!

Gallery: Mario Kart Wii


Gallery: The Evolution of the Wii Wheel

Iwata Asks Wii Fit: Volume 3

For those of you who just love the interviewing skills of one Nintendo pres Satoru Iwata, then you should know the next segment in the interviews revolving around Wii Fit has gone live. This time around, Iwata chats with Hiroshi Matsunaga and Tadashi Sugiyama, two folks who oversaw the software development of the game.

As you might imagine, the interview not only focuses on the introduction of the title from a developer's standpoint, but also fleshing out Miyamoto's idea to something more than an application for weighing yourself every day. Oh, and did you know that Wii Fit was originally planned as a DS game?

The skinny on Wii Fit is that it won't make you skinny

Once Iwata's Brawl interviews ended, we started having severe "Iwata Asks" withdrawals. Yet, we're glad we waited before turning to heroin, hash, or horse tranquilizers to fill the voids in our hearts.* Our patience was vindicated, and a few days ago Iwata once again started up his Q&A segments, this time questioning Miyamoto about Wii Fit.

If you were hoping that Wii Fit would be the answer to your love handles or scrawny limbs, though, think again. Wii Fit isn't a get-thin-quick plan, it's a life lesson. As was clarified by Miyamoto in the interview, "I don't think Wii Fit's purpose is to make you fit; what it's actually aiming to do is make you aware of your body."

Since body awareness is part of attaining a healthier lifestyle, don't be too deterred. It's possible that Wii Fit can still get you on the right track to becoming fit, if you let it. Still, at the end of the day it's just a video game, not Richard Simmons.

*Seriously -- don't do drugs. [/Public Service Announcement]

[Via CVG]

Iwata Asks Miyamoto about Wii Fit

The Iwata Asks interviews with Masahiro Sakurai were interesting not just because of the revelations about Smash Bros., but also because they reminded us that Iwata was once just some normal guy who programmed video games for HAL Laboratory. We were pleased to see another Iwata Asks so soon -- and he's interviewing Shigeru Miyamoto this time about his latest project, Wii Fit.

As usual, Wii Fit was born of one of Miyamoto's hobbies. Seeking a new, healthier way to relax, Miyamoto quit playing pachinko and took up swimming. He then started graphing his weight daily. This was the basis for the "Wii Health Pack" project, which, at first, didn't have any design specs except measuring weight on a graph. The actual game, then, came from the need to integrate exercise with a device that measured weight. This began with an experiment with balancing on two scales.

The old rumor that Nintendo would be designing a new Balance Board for our big American clown feet is also called into question by the fact that Reggie and other large-footed staffers were brought in to test the Japanese board.

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