Nintendo Wii Fanboy

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.

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!

The fourth and final segment of Iwata Asks deals with an often overlooked part of gaming -- sound. The interview also focuses on the design and planning of Wii Fit.

Three of the people Iwata questioned had previously worked on Zelda games, which (as you can imagine) are completely different than Wii Fit. Toru Minegishi talks about the challenges when making music for Wii Fit as opposed to Zelda, which was our favorite part of the interview.

For some interesting anecdotes, and to know what some of the developers' favorite things about Wii Fit are, make sure to hit up the last Iwata Asks, Wii Fit edition.

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?

For the second installment of Iwata Asks (the Wii Fit version), Iwata gets the nitty gritty from the developers of the Balance Board. It's pretty interesting to see what the board could have ended up looking like. Take, for example, the crazy octogan-shaped thing about. Also, whenever reading about a development process, it's almost scary to know all the problems and obstacles that the makers run into.

Of course, the developers prevailed and the Balance Board was born. From Sumo wrestlers to Miyamoto slamming a table, the interview has some nice insight on what it was like to make the unique peripheral. As per usual, click the picture or the "read" link to check it out for yourselves.

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]

We've been told that all good things must come to an end, and this unfortunately applies to Iwata's informative interview segments with Sakurai (no one ever expects a Sakurai inquisition!). So, what better way is there to end things than to talk about the beginning?

In this installment, Iwata questions Sakurai about the roots of the Smash Bros. legacy. While the original idea (Dragon King: The Fighting Game) sounds like it'd be a good time, we're really glad that Smash Bros. became what it did. To think, the game almost didn't have Nintendo characters in it (gasp, shock, sound of horror)!

As we always say, you can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been -- so, head on over to the interview and read about the beginnings of Nintendo's beloved fighter in the final segment of "Iwata Asks."

Looks like we missed an update in the on-going series of discussions between Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Smash Bros. Brawl. dev lead Masahiro Sakurai. This latest portion of their discussion centers around some of the new features that made the cut into the latest Smash Bros. game. Things such as the decision to include Final Smashes into the mix, as well as the almost limitless supply of trophies in the game are discussed.

Today's portion of the discussion focuses on the music of the game. With over thirty different games to pull tracks from, the music in the game is almost as important as the character roster. And with new arrangements of classic tunes, as well as the option to pick from multiple tracks on each stage, we imagine the task of incorporating what Sakurai felt to be enough music was brutal, to say the least. Still, we're glad they put the effort in, because that surely means this will be the greatest game ever made.


Read - Iwata Asks Sakurai: New Smash Bros. Brawl features
Read - Iwata Asks Sakurai: Music

Another day, another portion of the discussion between Satoru Iwata and Masahiro Sakurai. And today's focus is on the single-player experience in Brawl, which has gotten a lot more love from Sakurai than from those who've worked on previous installments in the franchise.

Essentially, he describes the single-player campaign as a completely different experience than that of the tried-and-true multiplayer game, citing differences in both character movement and the "basic game system." On top of that, it will offer players a more fleshed-out and digestible storyline, instead of just tossing the player into a scenario and asking them to complete it.

Following the first two installments of Iwata Asks with special guest star Masahiro Sakurai, we're now presented with the third. And, just like the first two segments of the interview, this one is chock full of interesting stuff. Again, we point to Iwata's uncanny ability to interview folks.

This piece of the interview focuses on the fun you can have in Super Smash Bros. Brawl with others, whether it be locally or through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connect. It touches on stage building, sharing and, one of the aspects of the title we're most looking forward to, co-op.

Following yesterday's dojo update, we were excited to see another Iwata Asks piece hit the net. For the president of an incredibly successful company, Iwata's interviewing skills are amazing. And, of course, we'll take any and all things about Super Smash Bros. Brawl we can get our grubby little mitts on.

In the second installment of Iwata and Sakurai's discussion, Sakurai discusses his feelings on working with the Wii and what he thinks of the console, as well as the design philosophy behind Brawl (they developed it thinking it would be the last game in the series, allowing them to put in as much as they could). Not only that, but Sakurai also goes on about how Super Smash Bros. Brawl could have easily been a more casual title (thankfully, it didn't turn out that way).

Overall, it's a very fascinating read.

The Super Mario Galaxy media frenzy continues with a bucketful of new videos. Naturally, we're emptying that bucket over your head, partly to douse you with fresh movies, but mostly for comedic effect.

You'll find the streaming clips in the Japanese site's powerups and galaxies sections, yelling out with orange word balloons, "New!" You can watch them past the post break, too. Also on the list of updates for today, the third volume of Iwata Asks (Super Mario Galaxy edition) has some great footage of a live orchestra recording one of the game's songs while Koji Kondo and Shigeru Miyamoto watch, an overturned tea table likely nearby. According to the interview, 28 tracks in all have been recorded by the orchestra.

It's likely just us -- in fact, we're sure of it -- but there's something about Super Mario Galaxy's main theme that reminds us of the Perfect Strangers opening credits, particularly the part where the song crescendos, "Staaanding tall!" Also, the action-platformer's music makes us break out into the "Dance of Joy" whenever we hear it, causing us to jump into the arms of anyone nearby. It's really quite embarrassing for everyone involved.