Q: You have said that development teams are too big today, and that you prefer to work with a max total of 10 persons. In that perspective, it must had been fun creating New Super Mario Bros.
Miyamoto: Yes, and I had to do Donkey Kong all alone. We a lot grew during the NES era, but I had to do Super Mario Bros and Legend of Zelda the same time. Back then I welcomed new co-workers. Today it's easy to look back and see the charm with that time.
Q: New Super Mario Bros has got some criticism for being too easy. Has it been difficult to make games for both new and old gamers?
Miyamoto: I always try to make games that caters to both accustomed and unaccustomed gamers, so that's always a difficulty. But sure, I had never to deal with it directly as this time.
Q: You're known to customize Nintendo's next game controller after a new Mario game. How was your input with the DS?
Miyamoto: I am an industry designer at base, so I contributed with advice and assistance in the big perspective. I checked how the buttons fitted, the distance between the screens, things like that.
Q: How do you know when a game is real good?
Miyamoto: I use to invite my colleagues and their families and let them play. I don't tell them anything, but I study them how they play. I give them no hints at all. It's very good to see how people manage to play a game for the first time. Then I have help by Super Mario Club, a team that bug test all the games. They also say what they think of the games if they're good or bad. They always speak their mind and give criticism on level of difficulty and other things.
Q: The music in the Mario games had always been special, and is apparently inspired by bluegrass that you like a lot, but still you haven't written any music since Donkey Kong.
Miyamoto: It because I don't have time, but I still have an influence what kind of music that is selected. I have benefit to work with Nintendo's best composers. I often bring discs that I play for them, so they understand what genre I am looking for and what feelings I want to supply with the music. For me, the genre, the feeling and the pace are more important than melodies. I also have my point of view on the sound effects.
Q: Nintendo is sometimes accused of catering too much to the Japanese gamers. Are you afraid that westerners don't understand them? (the games)
Miyamoto: Everything is about choosing universal subjects; then a game can be appreciated by anyone. Take Nintendogs as an example. Everybody likes to pet dogs. Therefore anyone can appreciate that game. Can I ask you what you ate for dinner yesterday?
Q: I ate a steak.
Miyamoto: That phrase actually came from a Brain Training commercial. When we ask that question, people start to wonder. The question has nothing to do with games, so even though the people that are not gamers think this must concern me! It's better to ask that question than how many weapons that will be in the next Zelda.
Q: During the years many different Mario Projects has been rumored to be in development just to vanish later on. A sequel to Super Mario 64 has been in development, and a 3D Mario for snes, and during the Gamecube era; Mario 128 has been mentioned i many different contexts. What happened to these games? Have they only been rumors, is Super Mario 128, Super Mario Galaxy?
Miyamoto: Super Mario 128 is only one of many experiments we had. Suddenly everybody talked about it. I have the easy habit of starting a project to later not do much of it. There is a lot unfinished work on my desk. I worked on a prototype for a N64 game with Mario and Luigi in it back and forth for a time.
Q: What's your role in Super Mario Galaxy?
Miyamoto: I oversee almost all Wii games that we develop, but I focus my time extra with SMG and Zelda Twilight Princess.
Q: Nintendo's goal with Wii is to change the videogame industry. How do you think it will look in 5 years?
Miyamoto: I think games are too complicated today. With the 3D games, the gamers had to manage a camera, and still perform more complicated maneuvers than earlier. We want to get off that with Wii. Everybody should be able to play. The interaction will be direct thanks to the motion sensitive game controller. You get in touch with what happens on the screen in a whole new way.
Q: Mario 64 was in a way the introduction to the 3D era, and you said that you wanted to give Mario as many moves as possible. It seems that you have changed your mind now.
Miyamoto: It's true that I wanted to give Mario as many moves as possible, and that I also wanted implement a few thing just for the sake of it, not that it would be necessary to complete a task. I also made sure that it wasn't necessary to use more than a few buttons to complete the game, except for the camera.
Q: It's easy to see how the adjustment to simplicity works for Super Mario Galaxy, Wii sports and Wario Ware, but you originally created Legend of Zelda as an antithesis to Super Mario, and that's been the story through-out the years. Does Zelda really fit in your new philosophy?
Miyamoto: What we have observed with the DS is that many start with the simple games, and then they advance to Mario 64 and more advanced games. By the end they have also found Zelda.
Q: When you look back at your time at Nintendo, is there something special that you remember the most?
Miyamoto: I get very nostalgic when I look back at all the games I have been involved in. Some periods has been extremely tough, but since Nintendo is a company that always want to renew the game industry, I have always loved this job, and still do.
