"You'll have to wait a minute - he's just drawing at the moment", a Nintendo PR lady kindly informs us as we wait anxiously to interview one of videogaming's genuine superstars. Five minutes later, a Nintendo of Europe executive emerges with a signed sketch of a group of Pikmin, grinning broadly. Shigeru Miyamoto provokes that kind of giddy, childlike response even among seasoned professionals. It's not often you get the opportunity to sit down and enjoy a conversation with a true games industry legend, but back in November we were lucky enough to be granted an exclusive audience with Shigeru Miyamoto himself.
An incredibly plush suite in the Four Seasons hotel in Paris was a suitably salubrious setting - a place where a simple club sandwich can set you back a wallet-busting 43 Euros, which the unassuming Miyamoto himself was clearly as impressed by as we were. Over the next 45 minutes or so, we covered a wide range of topics with the great man, the results of which you can enjoy below...
ONM: Recently, you said that you've wanted to create a multiplayer Mario game for 15 years. Why did it take so long to come to fruition?
Shigeru Miyamoto: We've been experimenting with many different approaches over the years. As a result, through trial and error, we realised we finally had the know-how to create a multiplayer mode. But the biggest change was the availability of the technology within the Wii hardware.
Before then, it was not actually possible. It's quite a technical thing you are talking about - to enable multiplayer mode in one fixed screen like in Super Mario Bros - and we really had a great many challenges to overcome. For example, when there are multiple players appearing on one screen, if somebody is late to catch up, then naturally without zooming out the total visible area of the screen, then that player might get left out. They would be off the screen and would not be able to play. And because each character is moving with their own AI, it required a great deal of processing power and that was provided by the Wii.
ONM: Do you think the success of the DS version helped to make it possible, as it made Nintendo realise there was still a huge audience for a 2D Mario?
SM: That's right. Of course, Mario's evolution to the three-dimensional world was interesting and fun, but simultaneously, 2D Mario is still loved by so many people, simply because anybody can play a 2D Mario game. In fact, even before the DS version of New Super Mario Bros, we had the Famicom Mini series in Japan (released in the UK under the NES Classics banner) where we launched a version of Super Mario Bros. for the Game Boy Advance.
With that release, many people started playing Super Mario Bros. for the first time. And so the DS version of New Super Mario Bros. was able to receive a certain level of appreciation from the public. So I think in all, yes, that kind of trend helped our decision to make another 2D Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii.
ONM: There's been a lot of talk about the Super Guide feature. Was that brought in because you wanted to make the game harder? Did you think maybe that games were getting too easy for core gamers?
SM: In the case of the DS version of New Super Mario Bros., we really tried to challenge ourselves to make the appropriate difficulty level, so that both novice players and veteran players could enjoy the game through just one piece of software.
However, that was easier said than done, and we found out it's not that easy to make one game that can satisfy both novice and veteran gamers. So that's one of the greatest challenges we had during the development of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and that's why specifically we have come up with a multiplayer mode where veteran players can sometimes help the novice players to aid their cause.
Also in the single-player mode, if you die eight times in a stage, you'll have the option to refer to the Super Guide mode, just as if you were referring to a guide book, even though it doesn't show you secret items.
So that sometimes you might just want to see the game being played, and think "okay, this is the route I should take", or sometimes you feel that you want Luigi to take care of certain areas and you can later jump in and resume play. In other words, we tried to make the main single-player mode challenging enough for the 'hardcore' gamers yet make it so that even the novice players would not have to give up.
ONM: Was online multiplayer considered for the game at all? Was it just too difficult to get it to work without any lag?
SM: Well, it's not for purely technological issues that it wasn't included. After all, as you know, we already have online play in Smash Bros., and technologically speaking, I don't think it's creating a high amount of lag. It's just a matter of our priorities when it comes to the creation of a game. We just prioritised on making a multiplayer mode where four players can sit together and play while seeing each other's faces.
We thought that this was more important as far as this New Super Mario Bros. was concerned, but we don't know about the future. Because network environments are getting better and better every day, it may be possible in a future edition to incorporate that type of multiplayer online mode for a real-time action game. But I am just talking about the technological aspect here. What's more important, of course, is if it's going to add to the fun aspect of the game.
ONM: Would you say that's part of the overall strategy with the Wii - that you wanted to get away from the traditional image of the lone gamer in the bedroom? Was it a deliberate decision to make local multiplayer games so that the family could all sit in the front room and play together?
SM: No, I would not say that. I just mean that it so happens that the Wii hardware now is often hooked up to a big television in the living room, so with those kind of circumstances, when we thought about what kind of Super Mario Bros. game we should make, we imagined that multiplayer mode would enable and invite the whole family to play together.
That's not just confined to this specific project but I myself am a self-declared avid gamer - for my age! - and I'm always fond of playing the single-player mode and trying to conquer everything myself. But also, there are many Nintendo employees who are really good at the Super Mario Bros. games and when they try out New Super Mario Bros. Wii's multiplayer mode they enjoy themselves very much.
In addition to being able to enjoy the game's single-player mode, they said that they were able to discover this new joy that they hadn't experienced with previous versions of the Super Mario series.
So in addition to the solid fun being delivered by the single-player mode, the fact that we were able to add the multiplayer mode was a significant improvement. Coin Battle is going to be really exciting!
ONM: You've spoken about making Super Mario Galaxy 2 more difficult. Will we see the Super Guide return in that game?
SM: Well, as far as the challenge of Super Mario Galaxy 2 is concerned, I think it's going to be a really challenging game, but whether or not we are going to incorporate the Super Guide, I just cannot tell. In general, wherever and whenever appropriate, I think we will want to incorporate that kind of thing, but I cannot commit myself to anything specific right now.
ONM: Do you think it's difficult to keep Mario relevant for a modern audience? And, on the other hand, do you think people still respond to him because he's one of very few genuine gaming icons?
SM: When we first launched the DS version of New Super Mario Bros., we noticed that there were many people playing with the Super Mario Bros. series for the very first time. And I also noticed that there were many people who used to play Mario games before but hadn't played any games at all for a while, and then started again with New Super Mario Bros. DS.
So our hope with New Super Mario Bros. Wii is that we can actually make Mario really relevant to many more people once again. In the case of New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, we sold about 20 million copies of the game worldwide, but they were able to play just single-player mode. This time, because up to four people can play at the same time, even though we may end up just selling ten million, if we multiply that by four, 40 million people would be able to play! (laughs)
ONM: With so many games out there, it's getting more difficult to produce something that's really, genuinely original. This generation, Nintendo has arguably innovated more through hardware and software. Do you think it's easier to create something more unique through new hardware than it is with software?
SM: Well, I really don't know if I can agree completely with that idea. For example, the latest edition of Dragon Quest is selling very well in Japan and that software has created a unique phenomenon based on the so-called 'bark mode' which was first featured in Nintendogs. They have implemented that in a very unique fashion - so much so that many people are now carrying around their copy of Dragon Quest IX with the DS in sleep mode, to exchange messages, items, etc. with other players.
That technology has been available for four years or more by now and it so happened before that only Nintendogs seemed to be able to use that kind of technology quite so effectively. Actually I should mention also that Animal Crossing used that feature too! But anyway, in the past four years or so, very few people were making effective use of this feature, but suddenly Square-Enix was able to take advantage of that and many people for the first time were able to utilise 'bark mode'.
Maybe before that, they didn't know such a mode was even available. In other words, I think that established something that only unique software that is taking a unique approach can do, even when we're talking about the same old technology.
ONM: Do you think the fact that your rivals have come up with motion controllers of their own proves Nintendo was right with its approach to this generation? But does that also mean Wii has now lost its unique selling point?
SM: Well, I should say that it can be taken as a compliment if others are following suit, by saying that Nintendo was right in choosing a certain direction. But if you ask me if that is going to be good for the entire business, I really don't know. If everyone else is going to do exactly the same thing, unfortunately in this entertainment business that means less uniqueness, and uniqueness is always what Nintendo has tried to realise.
But when we are trying to do something, don't misunderstand that we are simply trying to explore one single direction by adding new features, or explore other new technologies. We don't look to the future in one direction only.
When you say that one element of our uniqueness might have been lost, you really don't have to be concerned about that, because Nintendo always tries to find something new. I hope you are looking forward to our challenge to discover this new uniqueness! (laughs)
Music To Our Ears? Could Miyamoto be planning an unexpected Wii Music sequel? Last year's big Christmas title from Nintendo, Wii Music, was something of a pet project for Miyamoto, and so we were keen to get his opinion on the slightly underwhelming critical and commercial reception. What we didn't expect to discover was that Miyamoto has future plans for Wii Music....
ONM: We'd like to briefly touch upon Wii Music. Were you surprised that it wasn't quite the success you had hoped?
SM: I think it sold lower than our expectations, given that it gave people the ability to play with music by way of videogames, but on the other hand it was a really unique game, I have to say. And also, even today, we are receiving several different offers from people in the field of music education, so as far as Wii Music is concerned,
I think it still has great potential. And in the future there might be some new developments, so I think that's one of the things that we want to look at from a longer perspective even though we don't have any clear-cut ideas we can share right now.
ONM: So you think it will perhaps have more of a ripple effect over time - that it will gradually influence people through education, for example?
SM: Talking about that, we may also want to think about the possibility of making some improvements, based upon the original Wii Music...
ONM: Wii Music Plus?
SM: Unfortunately we really don't have any news we can talk about at the moment. But like Wii Fit Plus, it's not really Wii Fit 2, in that it's not really a sequel to the original Wii Fit - but we have added some features to improve the overall experience. It's a kind of an 'enhanced' version of the original Wii Fit...
Mario On Moto Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario, talks about working with Miyamoto...
"He is such a wonderful person. He's a man who has created an industry and brought joy and fun and laughter and happiness to so many people around the world. He's created an entire industry which gives so many people jobs - including myself - where people are making wonderful livings doing something that they absolutely love. So much of that is thanks to Mr Miyamoto. For some people that would go to their heads. Not Mr. Miyamoto. He's kind and thoughtful and cool and humble and everything that you would want him to be."
