Miyamoto Shigeru Interview with Nikkei
"Games Should Be Enjoyable Even for Those Who Don't Know Them"
"Nintendo Also Concerned About Preparing for Miyamoto's Retirement"
"When talking with executives at Silicon Valley giants, more and more of them are fans of Super Mario, which makes working together easier."
Shigeru Miyamoto (71), the legendary Japanese game developer known as the "God of Games" and the "Father of Super Mario," and a representative director fellow at Nintendo, recently said this in an interview with Nihon Keizai Shimbun. He evaluated that while game characters could only be seen in the computer world 20 years ago, now they can be seen in reality, making it possible to adapt them into movies at this point.
The animated film "Super Mario Bros." is enjoying a successful run. It was released in the North American market on the 5th of last month, topping the box office in over 60 countries overseas, and domestically it surpassed 1 million viewers in just 8 days, drawing significant attention. The movie tells the adventure story of Mario, an ordinary plumber from New York, who transforms into Super Mario to rescue his kidnapped brother Luigi from villains in another world.
◆ "Enjoyable even for those unfamiliar"... The secret to Super Mario's box office success
In the interview with Nihon Keizai, Miyamoto said, "If something I create is boring, I tend to fall asleep. This time, I was able to maintain a good kind of tension and enjoy it until the end," and he predicted the film's success after seeing the response at the U.S. premiere.
He added, "I wanted to create something that both Mario game fans and people unfamiliar with the games could enjoy," and "What I wanted most was for people to say, 'It was purely so much fun.'" He especially noted, "In this movie, we omitted explanatory dialogue in many scenes," explaining, "Some works have a lot of scene explanations, but I think a play without such explanations is the best."
This Super Mario Bros. movie is a film adaptation of the famous Japanese game character Super Mario, produced by Illumination, the American animation studio known for Minions. Miyamoto revealed the backstory that he first met Illumination founder Chris Meledandri over 10 years ago, who brought materials about Miyamoto and shared ideas, then proposed making a movie together.
Miyamoto Shigeru, Nintendo CEO Fellow (right), and Chris Meledandri, founder of Illumination [Image source=AP Yonhap News]
Regarding his collaboration with Meledandri, he recalled, "I had heard that when works are significantly changed, people around usually overturn the table, but with this person, we were able to make a major directional shift without big problems, and we had the courage to do so," adding, "We shared the same thoughts on how to calmly prioritize problems and balance the creativity I currently have."
He also said, "I was moved that we could additionally share stories about past failures." Both of them enjoy criticism, and during that process, they don't fight over 'why are you so pessimistic,' he introduced. He explained that both have experience that criticism is necessary to achieve positive results, so it did not lead to fights.
Miyamoto has long wanted to raise Nintendo's representative character Mario to the level of Disney's "Mickey Mouse." He said, "I think we have now approached Mickey and the Disney brand," and added, "In the past, when kids played with the classic game console Famicom at home, moms would get angry, but when they watched Disney movies, they would laugh. Nowadays, when kids play games on the computer, they are told to play Nintendo games instead."
◆ From Nintendo's 'parachute hire' to a 'living legend'
Born in 1952, Miyamoto has been a hitmaker at Nintendo since the 1970s when he was in his 20s, earning the title "God of Games." The games he developed, including Super Mario, Mario's longtime friend and rival Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda, were all great successes. Even now, over 70 years old, he continues to play a key role as a game developer at Nintendo.
Miyamoto majored in industrial design at Kanazawa College of Art in 1977 and joined Nintendo immediately after graduation through an introduction by his father's friend. At that time, Nintendo was facing management difficulties and had no intention of hiring, but he barely managed to get an interview and brought various product portfolios with passion, forcing his way into the company as a so-called "parachute hire."
Miyamoto's talent became known to the world with the release of his first developed game, Donkey Kong, in 1981. Nintendo was initially reluctant but installed the game in the U.S., where it became so popular by word of mouth that machines were in short supply. Following that, The Legend of Zelda and Mario also became hits, and over 40 years at Nintendo, every game he made was a success. In recognition of these achievements, he became the first game developer in Japan to be selected as a Person of Cultural Merit in 2019.
When asked in the interview what the most important sense in creation is, Miyamoto said, "Whether you are curious and having fun is important," adding, "It can be any strange feeling or guilt, but if possible, I want to create games that move emotions that have not been stimulated before."
When Nihon Keizai asked about his retirement plans, Miyamoto avoided answering. Nihon Keizai reported that Nintendo is trying to build a development system that does not rely on him, as his retirement would be a significant management issue.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
