Miyamoto Interviews> Febuary 20th 2002, Overgame

Question: Have you viewed the petition about your new Zelda?

Miyamoto: I am well aware of the internet petition. Of course I listen to the opinions of others but a realistic Zelda would cause problems, in particular if one wants to make a connection between GameCube and Game Boy Advance.

What role does realism play in videogames I ask myself. Is this image more interesting? Sometimes.. however, what if a "detailed" hand with 5 fingers is catching a bottle but the fingers pass right through it? Is this still realistic? Rather than to show each meticulous and tiny detail of a finger, it is more important to make the end action look more credible by working on the movement and functionality of the arms and the hand in relation to the object.

Question: How was your childhood?

Miyamoto: As a child I drew cartoons and manufactured puppets. I played at the arcades a lot and I was known at the time to be very good at Space Invaders (Laughter). I worked 4 or 5 years at Nintendo before starting to make videogames. One day I thought of Donkey Kong...

Question: How do you feel about Sega going third party?

Miyamoto: Now that we work with Sega I can finally speak freely about game design with them, in particular with Yuji Naka of Sonic Team.

Question: Has anyone ever asked you to leave Nintendo and join their company?

Miyamoto: Yes, I sometimes get proposals to work in other companies, but I do not say anything to my company (laughter). Nintendo is the company which makes the most innovative products. I am not sure that I would be able to make games like that elsewhere. At Nintendo I can make the games which I want (laughter).

Question: Are you rich?

Miyamoto: Rich? I don't know.. I don't wear very luxurious clothing (laughter). The money which I earn is mainly dedicated to video games and I am very content.

Question: What do you think of Xbox?

Miyamoto:" Xbox is a nice machine, but the control pad is really very large and uncomfortable. You know, Japanese don't even carry shoes in their house, they do not like bulky things in their homes. (laughter). Look at the GameCube, it is practical!

Question: Who are your games aimed at?

Miyamoto: Everyone! People can say "Mario is only played by the children" but actually I did it for an audience much larger. Pikmin is conceived to be simple and "innocent" but it was made to be appropriate for all the public. I am happy that Pikmin touched the hearts of so many."

Question: Are you developing a Pikmin sequel?

Miyamoto: It would be simple to develop a sequel to Pikmin. (Jokingly) All we would have to do is change the story and make new maps, right?(laughter). I am currently working on something completely different, but you will never see black Pikmin! (laugh).

Question: Will Europe get a good supply of quality games this year?

Miyamoto: Our philosophy concerning quality has not changed since the Nintendo 64, but by increasing our internal teams of developers and by having more producers to supervise the external developers, we will indeed be able to release lots of titles in the coming months.

Question: Do you let your children test future games?

Miyamoto: No, my children do not test my early games. We never reveal any confidential information to children. Never! (laughter)

It was only after Pikmin was announced that my children realised the name came from an instrument I play the guitar with at home - a pick.

Question: Do you ever play games with your children?

Miyamoto: Yes, I often play with my children, but I don't always win, especially not in Smash Brothers Melee! I didn't want my children to buy GameCube (laughter), I preferred to get it myself so that I am able to supervise how long they play.

Miyamoto: Before I leave I would like to say I intended to say that in Japan Nintendo, Sega and Namco has announced their collaboration to make the the GameCube arcade board, Triforce. You know, I am really very pleased to say that all the developers are very happy to work with the hardware. It is so easy!

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