News: Mario Creator Miyamoto on Retirement Page 1

Mario Creator Miyamoto on Retirement

20.04.2010

Mario Creator Miyamoto on Retirement on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

Miyamoto is one of Nintendo's most valuable assets and although he has topped other studios, he is facing his biggest foe, age.

At 57 the creator of Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong, Shigeru Miyamoto, is creeping up to retirement age, but the game designer is still willing to work on games and projects for Nintendo in the future if they let him. In an interview with UK mag GamesTM he divulges his hopes to continue to add to the gaming scene.

The company has to retire me some time. So from that perspective, yes I may have to retire from Nintendo some day.

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.

Despite receiving better critical and commercial results in certain areas, particularly handheld, platforming and now casual, Miyamoto feels that Nintendo's own goal is to create completely unique games as opposed to competing with existing or upcoming software from other development houses.

I have never approached development in terms of competing with any other existing or future game software from other companies at all. Our own goal is to try to make some unique games that cannot be compared with anything else on the marketplace, so I think that because there are no rivals to Mario Galaxy 2, we really needed to make a game that people consider to be very new.

They cheeky game creator will have to officially leave one day, but fortunately for Nintendo fans he'll want to stick about to help out where he can.

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welshwuff 20.04.2010#1

I have an image of Miyamoto dressed as willy wonka, opening the doors to Nintendo to 5 lucky youngsters with one of them the chanse to take on his legacy, but you have to get the golden nintendo points ticket in a game box first.

Martin_ 20.04.2010#2

I'd like to see Miyamoto released from Nintendo, see what he could do on other platforms, as well as Nintendo ones.

RATGUOF 20.04.2010#3

Nintendo better not retire Miyamoto. That would be the dumbest move Nintendo could make.

I sold my soul to Sony for a PS3...

JoshSL 20.04.2010#4

If Miyamoto can embrace modern gaming evolutions like story and depth rather than being stuck in the A to B gameplay of the past, then I'm OK with him staying. He can be a genius from time to time afterall, I just wish he'd show it instead of mindlessly pumping out Mario games we've played before.

we really needed to make a game that people consider to be very new.

This is especially rich coming from the guy who made NSMBW, and the guy who's making SMG2, essentially a map pack of SMG with all factors of explorability we've grown to know and love in 3D Mario removed.

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Darkflame 20.04.2010#5

I still bet Mario Galaxy 2 has more originality and imagination packed into it then 99% of "new" IPs on the market.
(although, honestly, that isnt saying much...)

If Miyamoto can embrace modern gaming evolutions like story and depth

Miyamotos games certainly do tend to lack story, but they do not lack depth.

Also, Id argue theres nothing modern at all about it either. In many way games are getting progessively more shallow not more deep.
For the last few decades they have been less about the player getting more skillfull and more about "characters" getting more skillfull.

Having a character get better due to levelling up stats isnt depth of gameplay. Its a trick to make people think they are achieving something.

By comparison, when playing Galaxy, you are getting better. The fluidity and subtly of the controls is such so you are learning over the game. The first time I did the Luigi purple coin challenged I failed many times. On a second play over? I did it on my second go.

Nothing about Mario's control's had changed. He wasnt a better jumper. *I* was a better jumper.

I'd like to see Miyamoto released from Nintendo, see what he could do on other platforms, as well as Nintendo ones.

Other publishers would probably fire him the first time he up ends the tea-table. Especially if they have just invested in modelling a thousand normal-mapped models now made worthless.
They probably wouldn't be happy with his "non-demographical-targeting" approach.
Nintendo isn't alone in that, but they are quite rare. Most company specifically aims at a market before a game is made, not after.

( Edited 20.04.2010 14:22 by Darkflame )

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jb 20.04.2010#6

If there is one thing I'd like Miyamoto to do is open up the storytelling to someone else, perhaps a younger group .

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EdEN 20.04.2010#7

Well, technically they DO have to retire him from the company proper at some point (law, bylaws and what not) but he can continue working as an exclusive "freelancer" after that.

crackedthesky 20.04.2010#8

SuperLink said:
If Miyamoto can embrace modern gaming evolutions like story and depth rather than being stuck in the A to B gameplay of the past, then I'm OK with him staying. He can be a genius from time to time afterall, I just wish he'd show it instead of mindlessly pumping out Mario games we've played before.
we really needed to make a game that people consider to be very new.

This is especially rich coming from the guy who made NSMBW, and the guy who's making SMG2, essentially a map pack of SMG with all factors of explorability we've grown to know and love in 3D Mario removed.

I think he was referring mostly to original series. It's been a while since Miyamoto came out with one of those, too. But as far as sequels go, a lot of Nintendo's sequels tend to keep bringing originality and creativity to their series. They aren't perfect, by any means (as much as I love Zelda, Twilight Princess was basically an extended Ocarina of Time that you could transform into a wolf in. It's hard not to admit that.)
But look even around this site, people are begging for more Pikmin and Starfox as we speak. So saying that making sequels at all isn't something he should be focused on is a bit harsh, I think.

As far as Miyamoto retiring goes, I don't have much to add that hasn't been said already. Nintendo will find some creative minds. Eiji Aonuma is a good guy. Personally, I would love to see Nintendo pick up Suda 51 and Shinji Mikami. Hidea Kojima might also do well for the company, and he reportedly loves Nintendo (despite making all of his games for Sony, haha.) But I don't think either of those three could take on Miyamoto's position. I think Aonuma is probably the only guy who could ever actually replace Miyamoto. Masahiro Sakurai might, if he came up with more original ideas instead of taking seven years to put out a new Super Smash, haha. Maybe his secret project will change my mind.

Edit this post:

[quote][b]SuperLink said:[/b]<br/>If Miyamoto can embrace modern gaming evolutions like story and depth rather than being stuck in the A to B gameplay of the past, then I'm OK with him staying. He can be a genius from time to time afterall, I just wish he'd show it instead of mindlessly pumping out Mario games we've played before.

[quote]we really needed to make a game that people consider to be very new.[/quote]
This is especially rich coming from the guy who made NSMBW, and the guy who's making SMG2, essentially a map pack of SMG with all factors of explorability we've grown to know and love in 3D Mario removed.[/quote]

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GreythaGreat 21.04.2010#9

SuperLink said:
If Miyamoto can embrace modern gaming evolutions like story and depth rather than being stuck in the A to B gameplay of the past, then I'm OK with him staying. He can be a genius from time to time afterall, I just wish he'd show it instead of mindlessly pumping out Mario games we've played before.
we really needed to make a game that people consider to be very new.

This is especially rich coming from the guy who made NSMBW, and the guy who's making SMG2, essentially a map pack of SMG with all factors of explorability we've grown to know and love in 3D Mario removed.

Just because his games don't have a deep plot or story does not mean that they lack depth. Super Mario Galaxy has more heart than any game I've ever played.

I'd rather give up video games all together than to have an emo-induced storyline put into a Mario game that requires us to sit in dark and lonely rooms, playing by ourselves.

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crackedthesky 21.04.2010#10

GreythaGreat said:
I'd rather give up video games all together than to have an emo-induced storyline put into a Mario game that requires us to sit in dark and lonely rooms, playing by ourselves.

I don't think anyone was suggesting that was the only other option.

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JoshSL 21.04.2010#11

GreythaGreat said:
Just because his games don't have a deep plot or story does not mean that they lack depth. Super Mario Galaxy has more heart than any game I've ever played.

I didn't say SMG had no depth, I said NSMBW had no depth, and I said SMG2 wasn't "very new", because it's not, lol.

I'd rather give up video games all together than to have an emo-induced storyline put into a Mario game that requires us to sit in dark and lonely rooms, playing by ourselves.

Hahahaha, so you think any game with a story deeper than "Peach loves cake and she got kidnapped" is automatically grimdark emo? Suit yourself.... I'll be here enjoying the hell out of Ace Attorney's fantastic plot.

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