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Thursday, Feb 15, 2007

Having created franchises like Donkey Kong, Mario, and Zelda, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has been a big name in the industry for a long time. And if you've read one interview with the man in the last 20 years, you've pretty much read them all.

He likes new challenges. He likes innovating. He likes to make games that anyone can play. If the interview is from 2001 or later, it might mention how he got the idea for Pikmin while he was gardening.

CNN today posted a transcript of Miyamoto's recent appearance on Talk Asia, and while much of it reads like a "greatest hits" of the developer's previous Q&As, there are some interesting passages where he might be doing more than reciting the same answer he's given 100 times before.

When asked about why Nintendo hasn't jumped headfirst into the profitable world of violent games like Grand Theft Auto, Miyamoto replied, "My personal thought is, and I think it is the same with Nintendo, that before thinking about how to handle violence in video games, I think it is important to think about pain people feel. For example, you would not laugh at people with disabilities. There are bullying problems in Japan. Looking at the overall picture, it is important to understand and feel the pain that people might have. We make our games based on that philosophy, using means other than violence."

Talk Asia host Anjali Rao also asked Miyamoto about how he deals with fan feedback, noting that gamers are rarely restrained in offering their opinions.

"This is a difficult subject," Miyamoto confessed. "If a fan makes a suggestion, I will often put it in my mind, and I will take in whatever comment I feel is useful. But I make my own predictions of how a user might react to the games I create, and I would say I am sensitive to whether those reactions are in line with what I predicted. People generally have different views and opinions about anything. So I would only listen to whatever information is useful for me. It is interesting to hear what other people say. But instead of reading the blogs, I would rather stand behind a person playing the games and sense how the player is reacting to the game--whether he is unhappy with the games, or if he is having fun. I can feel all of that directly. It is more useful for me to do that than to read what he thinks of it."

Keep checking the GameSpot News Blog for more stories from every corner of the gaming world.

--Brendan Sinclair

Posted by GS_News, 11:50am
123 Comments | Post a Comment

Comments

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So if anyone doubted that nintendo is a kiddie company, you heard it straight from the bosses mouth
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:00 pm PT
I have murdered hundreds of Goombas and alike..........and I've never thought about how they feel...........playing LoZ: Wind waker at the mo........
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:02 pm PT
Miyamoto is very good at bringing out good points.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:04 pm PT
@deadlyfriend

This only implies that Miyamoto's games well never be violent. Third party developers can still make mature titles for the Nintendo platform.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:04 pm PT
Listen to Miyamoto ^^ He is good at what he works.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:10 pm PT
What a laughable statement. I guess he just makes the zyklon b, he doesn't administer it.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:13 pm PT
deadlyfriend - so the opposite of violent is "kiddie"? Better get back to your grown-up GTA.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:14 pm PT
I'm glad that he thinks that way. I dont think that crap like GTA should even be a game. If it ever should have been a game, thats all it should have been. A game. But its like a series instead. A series of crap. Every GTA is the same, except for a small amount of added guns, different city and different vehicles. Other than that everything else is more or less the same. Drive here, kill this. Drive there kill that while screwing this hooker in your car. Drive there do some cool jump on a motorcycle. Drive there and kill those gangs. Such a variety in GTA.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:21 pm PT
deadlyfriend "So if anyone doubted that nintendo is a kiddie company, you heard it straight from the bosses mouth"

The only thing I see, is some kid who thinks that a lack of violence is "kiddie". Grow up.

Your guns in videogames don't make you mature, they make you look really immature that you NEED that so you can feel like a big grown man.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:22 pm PT
I'm sorry but to me not supporting violence doesn't mean kiddie. To me, the demand for violence in a game is a childish attitude. The demand for innovative gameplay, that makes you think and connects you with a character is adult.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:25 pm PT
CNN needs faster typists. That episode of Talk Asia aired more than two months ago. In fact, I wrote a little rant about the interview in my GameSpot blog that day.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:31 pm PT
He's not the boss of nintendo.. He's the maker of Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong.

Nintendo Wii isnt a kiddie console obviously, the console is meant to appeal to all kinds of people and all kinds of genres.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:33 pm PT
He's not the boss of nintendo.. He's the maker of Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong.

Nintendo Wii isnt a kiddie console obviously, the console is meant to appeal to all kinds of people and all kinds of genres.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:33 pm PT
Deadlyfiend:

Violence does not equal adult. Some of the most kiddie and immature people in the world play GTA. If you equate non violence with kiddy, then your views on life are really screwed up.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:38 pm PT
Well said. It doesn't take violence and gore to make a good game. That's not to say that there aren't very good games that include such elements, but they're not what MAKES a game good.

I guess it comes down to how you define "violence" as well. There's a lot of "killing" in Mario, Zelda, etc. . . It's just cartoonish and not sensationalized.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:42 pm PT
wow this doesn't mean kiddie you idiot. First of all, he restrains from violence because he cares about other people, and miyamoto isnt the whole company and cannot talk about other people.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:53 pm PT
That's a pretty good philosophy, actually. In the end, the problem people have with videogame violence is how it affects the player.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:56 pm PT
lol... disabled people...
Posted Feb 15, 2007 12:59 pm PT
I don't care if a game's violent it has to be fun #1 ! Besides I think the guy is talking about extreme violence and gore like in Resident Evil. We have plenty of games by Nintendo like Metroid and Zelda and Smash Bros. which have violence in them.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:02 pm PT
Wow, deadlyfriend, aren't you the popular one.

I have never doubted Miyamoto in his otherworldly powers of creating the most imaginative of pictures in video games. He's almost like Willy Wonka.

And I put emphasis on ALMOST, because he's more like Gene Wilder than Johnny Depp. I always liked Wilder better in that part.

*pulls up bulletproof shield*
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:02 pm PT
hmm...I wish he would talk about his next franchise.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:03 pm PT
Miyamoto is a good guy, but Nintendo needs to understand that mature themes don't necessarily require excessive violence or sex.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:03 pm PT
I don't particularly have a problem with violence in video games. The Resident Evil franchise is one of my favorite series of games, and the best game in that series, RE4, was released on that "kiddie" system...the Game Cube. That being said, I respect Miyamoto and I don't feel that he should have excessive violence in his games. Mario, Zelda, Pikmin...there are violent aspects to all of those games, but it's handled in a non-graphic way. (Although I must say I was a little disturbed the first time that I accidentally drowned about 50 Pikmin...and their little spirits floated up, off the screen.)
Miyamoto makes GREAT games and I would only call them "kiddie" because they make you feel like a kid at heart when playing...and that's a good thing.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:04 pm PT
Nintendo is evolving to not just be a kid-specific game publisher. Miyamoto's words are worth understanding since the Wii will focus on games of all categories. Kid or adult, Nintendo and everybody else in the industry will continue to keep the consumer entertained for as long as they can.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:10 pm PT
Miyamoto rules!!
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:12 pm PT
Violence doesn't make a great game. Gameplay does!
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:14 pm PT
I still like how Miyamoto-san thinks. He'd rather see peoples reactions to his games first hand than read it on paper. You can't get better than that. There is no question why he is in the position he is today. He thinks more into his projects than most others do, thats why his creations are the hilight's of Nintendo.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:14 pm PT
It would be one thing to decapitate someone in a game and have them fall down dead and another to have blood fountain out of the neck splash on the screen and leave a large puddle of blood on the ground... I think he is shying away from the later.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:15 pm PT
I'm sorry but I don't always agree with what Miyamoto says. Action with violence comes with great ideal for games as you would see in movies. It's all apart of the entertainment buisness, drama, horror, action,comedy. And about 70% of the time these type of genre usually come with certain types of violences up to a degree.

I can understand Mr. Miyamoto gonna try to keep Nintendo Image clean. But with all do respect it's not what he wants it's what the consumber wants. 3rd party can make the games but it's up to Nintendo to reject the use of those games to be played on there system. Which is why most of the ppl never look to Nintendo for games liek this they always look some where else.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:17 pm PT
Thanks Mr. Miyamoto for reinforcing the fact that violence != fun. Seriously, this guy makes really good games and knows what he's talking about. He makes the same kind of games like how Disney used to make good family films. Look at the Lion King. It was fun to watch, but it had a good story and used violence appropriately (plus it stole from Hamlet). You can't bash it for being kiddy because it was designed for EVERYONE, including adults. The same works for him. Pikmin, Zelda etc. are FUN to play while not glorifying the violence.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:18 pm PT
I can't say that I agree with Miyamoto that fictional violence is a terrible, insensitive thing, comparable to laughing at people with disabilities. Come to think of it, that comment is a little insulting to anyone who enjoys less-than-wholesome media.

Still, Miyamoto-San is entitled to his view, and he's certainly earned my respect. I hope that his philosophy and approach to games will never change. He is the man, and anyone who disagrees needs to be shot.

Oops, did I say that?
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:20 pm PT
Well said, JediAutobot. High five!
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:23 pm PT
Nintendo makes games for all ages, that's the point.
If u don't understand their vision u should keep your mouth SHUT.
I'd rather play an Zelda or Mario back to forth than an linear game like GTA.
Nintendo was and always be the best developer.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:23 pm PT
"nestea_king I'm glad that he thinks that way. I dont think that crap like GTA should even be a game. If it ever should have been a game, thats all it should have been. A game. But its like a series instead. A series of crap. Every GTA is the same, except for a small amount of added guns, different city and different vehicles. Other than that everything else is more or less the same. Drive here, kill this. Drive there kill that while screwing this hooker in your car. Drive there do some cool jump on a motorcycle. Drive there and kill those gangs. Such a variety in GTA."

You do realise that you have summed up the entire games industry... Same formula, just a few added extras to create a "new game".

Nintendo games also suffer from the same thing - Metroid, Mario, Zelda and Pokémon have the same formula every game, but with a different background.

Please think about your argument before posting...
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:25 pm PT
hmm...what he said was flawed.

he's setting a double standard from cartoon to "realistic" type graphics. with the same argument he made...i can say i feel bad for that turtle getting stepped on by some big ol' italian plumber.

"it is important to understand and feel the pain that people might have" -miyamoto

that's his stand on things isn't it? so now...what about when princess peach gets kidnapped. doesn't anyone wonder the metal stress she's in? that she's been kidnapped by some fugly overgrown turtle who's trying to get with her? heh, sounds pretty traumatic for me.

the point is...there can't be a double standard when making a knowledge claim like that. it's a logical fallacy to have double standards. thus, what miyamoto said made no sense.

eh...i used to respect the guy -_- --->i still do, but...still...
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:26 pm PT
Blood and gore ≠ automatically a good game
ESRB Mature rating ≠ Mature person (virtually any in-game chat/talk proves this)
"Kiddie game" ≠ bad game (The Lion King for SNES was one of the most polished side-scrollers I've ever played)

I'm totally cool with violence, but it's not a must. Let's not forget that Goldeneye N64 was a Teen rated game.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:27 pm PT
Its funny how most people have this all wrong. The mature rating doesnt mean that a game isnt kiddie, it means that the game contains subjects that a 15 year old shouldn't be watching. For example there could be game with cute bunnies with the carebear theme song on the background but if the bunnies start killing each other with knives and blood is spilled all over the place then the game would be rated mature.

On the other hand a game with twisting plot and moral choices with near real grapichs which doesnt depict sex or violance will get an E rating.

A real mature person would apreciatte a game for its context and entertainment value rather than wether the game has nudity and extreme violence.

there are great games both with and M rating and with and E rating if you can appreciate both then you are a true gamer
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:29 pm PT
I love Mr. Miyamoto. He's not some shameless self-promoter, who goes out on a limb to bash the other companies, like Sony and Microsoft executives do.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:34 pm PT
Well, i dont mind playing games made for everyone, even though i liked soldier of fortune
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:43 pm PT
duh who wouldnt rather get hands on.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:46 pm PT
Regardless of what people think of Nintendo, there is one undeniable fact; they make great games.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:48 pm PT
he's made some great games, no doubt about that
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:53 pm PT
ive always hated the "kiddy" nintendo comments its dumb since video games is a toy i play games to have fun period all the char can be pink flowers for all i care and if the gameplay is on point ill buy and play it perfect example of a violent game sugar coated is super smash bros. i recalled me a bunch of my friend some of them gang memebers playing it all day no one cares its a fun game period
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:53 pm PT
Wise words from Miyamoto. Foolish words from those who think games need to be gratuitously violent. Games can be amazing without some guy getting his head blown off.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 1:56 pm PT
Miyamoto proves again why he's a legend.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 2:01 pm PT
[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]
Posted Feb 15, 2007 2:12 pm PT
Wow, Miyamoto makes some interesting points, and it really does make you wonder why anyone would want to play violent games for their violence.

So when is Manhunt coming to the Wii? I heard next year.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 2:14 pm PT
So if anyone doubted that nintendo is a kiddie company, you heard it straight from the bosses mouth

lmao

No violence?? Well if you played LoZ: WW, the way you kill the last boss is not exactly... not violent. So shut up Miyamoto and bring GTA to the Wii!! I can't wait to stab to death some hoes with the wii-mote
Posted Feb 15, 2007 2:35 pm PT
Ya, what cdevries said.
Posted Feb 15, 2007 2:40 pm PT
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