http://web.archive.org/web/20030811223536/http://www.video-fenky.com/features/miyamoto.html
Miyamoto's Tokyo Univ. Lecture (7/3/2003)
Instructor: When I think of Nintendo, I get the impression that they usually don't allow much media exposure to the process of how games get made.
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Instructor: Speaking of which, what role do you play in development?
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Instructor: So why did you begin calling yourself a producer?
Miyamoto: Once we finished Mario and Zelda, the next thing I wanted to do was sequels. I thought Zelda could turn into a new and different game if the game system was more fun and we could switch between maps and things, so... I had people under me do Mario 3 and The Adventure of Link, so I figured, hey, I'm a producer now. There's also one more reason.
To tell the truth, in Nintendo there aren't any official positions called "director" or "producer". Instead you have the kacho/bucho (section chief/department chief) system. The thing is, though, people overseas don't get that system. So when I started dealing with overseas folks, I wanted to sell myself to them, so I just wrote "producer" on my business card. With that title, people from overseas could recognize what I do, and it worked all right. Later I got yelled at from the head office about assigning myself titles, but... (laughs) Those are the two reasons I started calling myself a producer. These days, a typical game takes about 20 or 30 main people and then another 20 or so support guys to create. People say that it takes three years to complete the software, but really, if you have 30 people and eight months, you can make the software. Zelda, though, takes more like a year. So what do we do with the other two years? Well, first there're
five of us who build the basic concept and project plan. I, along with an employee who serves as
the director, get involved at this point, and for the next half year this plan gets solidified... then another half year, and so on, until the full design behind the project is decided upon. After that, eight months and that's it. I talk to
the director during conferences and such, but when I ask "Is this fun?", I don't like people who say "Yes! It's fun!" I prefer guys who look all troubled and say "Mmmm, something's missing..." Even if the director's concerned, though, sometimes the people around him still say "It's fun" when I say "Well?" to them. It's tough, but
with a talented director, I can afford to slack off on the project...
