Interesting Wired Article on Miyamoto (1 Viewer)

[Edan W]

Why Nintendo Won't Grow Up

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

It stuns me that a no-talent egomaniac like Blackley has the gall to take Miyamoto to task on what types of games he should be making.

Hey Blackley: exactly how many copies of Trespasser are filling landfills on the west coast?

What an a**hole.

 

[Donald Wong]

I can't believe they're comparing the revenue from Mario games to the revenue from the Star Wars movies. There are 5 Star Wars movies. How many Mario sequels have there been? About a dozen? What's the average price of a movie ticket (since Episode 1, mind you) compared to the average price of a video game? Apples and oranges here. What an idiot.

 

[Andre F]

What issue of Wired is this in? I'm kind of backed up in my reading...

 

[Andy Sheets]

I didn't note the number but it should be on stands now since I just flipped through it at Tower the other day. There's also an article about how sports has become the most important genre in video games, and there's also a sidebar about how Microsoft should get more exclusives to help the Xbox.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I read the first page of that, but I pretty much see where it's going.

It's BS. Sure, Nintendo's big games are filled with bright colors and happy-go-lucky characters, but they still have the balls to go the other way. Nintendo did, after all, make Metroid, and they did get one of their second party developers to make Eternal Darkness. And beyond that, those "kiddie" games are FUN.

 

[Mark Evans]

Poor article, peppered with bias against Miyamoto in order to make a point, imho (huh, the quotes against him are both from current and former X-Box developers, weird...).
Honestly, Morgan's got the hammer to the nail on this one. Nintendo is not solely a goofy kid's game company, just predominantly one. They still sell mature titles as well, point blank true statement. Who cares if Miyamoto doesn't want to sell violent stuff? Half the violent video games out there just use it as a selling point anyway.
If even ten percent of games being made today had an ounce of his vision and talent for making things just pure fun, the industry would be far better off than games that allow us to blow off individual fingers.
Is Mario less fun because you can't blow a Koopa's head off with the water pack? Is Zelda less fun because Link won't sleep with hookers to get his health back and pound on them after to get his rupees back? Doubt it.
I'm sure I'll be eating those words in five years time when Seamus Blackley is the most powerful and respected game designer in the world. Wait, no I won't...

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

God help us all if that ever comes to pass...

 

[Edan W]

You know, I don't think that article is crapping on Miyamoto as badly as everyone here is letting on. Yeah, Seamus Blackley makes a dumb comment, but really, who cares? Almost every other industry quote is appropriately respectful, even reverent, in tone. And while the article definitely asks whether Miyamoto is going to continue to be as relevant to the industry as he has been in the past, I don't think they're answering that question by saying "yes, he's washed up, next please". In fact I think they're saying just the opposite:

Miyamoto has trained the industry, but there are certain lessons - about the value of subtlety and imagination, about the art of emergence - that it has yet to learn. Likewise, the industry has not yet trained him. And probably never will.

 

[Graeme Clark]

I read the first page of that, but I pretty much see where it's going.

It's BS.

Perhaps you should have read it all then. This is not an article about Nintendo. It is about Miyamoto. They mention Metroid and Eternal Darkness, but those are not Miyamoto games.

The article is not a "Miyamoto needs to get his act together or he's going to be left behind" piece. Although that is a possibly reality. It is simply more a venting of frustration that a designer of his talents continues to paint with a fairly safe color pallet.

Do you not wonder what he could possibly create if he had the urge to create something a little more realistic and gritty? Of course he can remain successful doing what he is, and maybe he is perfectly happy creating the games that he has, but artists do tend to do some of their best, and most respected work when then decide to take a different direction.

Besides, he can always go back to making Mario and Zelda.

And the issue is January 03 (11.1)

 

[Andre F]

And the issue is January 03 (11.1)

Thanks...

 

[Sean Moon]

If Miamoyto wanted to make an adult game, do you really think that Nintendo would say no? This man is probably the most powerful and respected game designer on the planet. He does what he does because he wants to.
I dont want Miamoyto to change. Every one of his games have a magic to them that most other games do not. In fact, most Nintendo games do. That is what sets them apart in my opinion. They still make kiddie type games while the world is abandoning them...but damn are those kiddie games fun. And that is the main point of gaming...fun. And Miamoyto delivers fun in spades.

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

Nothing more needs be said.

 

[Sean Moon]

Just read the article. Good read, but it does seem to play up the fact that Nintendo stuff, expecially Miyamoto's, does not appeal to grown ups. That it is for his fans.
Most of the fans are grown ups I think. Not just kids like the article suggests. Miyamoto is right in saying that games are wrong for trying to emulate film. They should be doing what film cannot. And games should be FUN. He cannot describe what he means...but I know what he means.
In Miyamotos games I am transported to another world. Everything is subtle in there. There is no big flash thing to call attention to itself. Everything serves a purpose for one reason or another. That is what makes the truly great games great. The little things. Like how Mario bumps into a wall when running. It just feels right without calling attention to itself.
Should we criticize Jon Lasseter of PIXAR for making nothing but KIDDIE movies? NO! He makes films that appeal to all ages, just like Miyamoto's games do. They may appear kiddie on the outside, but there is more meat under the skin to those adults willing to look for it. If someone wont play or watch something just because it looks kiddie then that is the stupidest reason I have ever heard. I watch film to be entertained and maybe think about issues and things. If a film is G it can excite me like anything else, as long as it is done well. I dont have to have an R rating and violence and sex dressed on the outside for me to consider it.
With games, I play them for fun. If a game looks fun to me I play it. It doesnt need to involve guns and guts of hitting to get me interested. I am not that shallow. I think the main problem with games now is they are too young as an industry. It is mainly governed by dollars and the fools are outnumbering the appreciators. Film has the mainstream audience, as well as the art house audience. Games are all about mainstream now. Slowly I am seeing games that seem more like "arthouse", ones that appeal only to a niche that can appreciate them, and then maybe crossover into the mainstream. There are many like me that appreciate games as art. They may not be widely accepted, but we appreciate certain games for their artistic and gameplay merit, much like many of us here appreciate films. Then there are the Joe 6 pack gamers, who only want flash and spectacle, who wont play a game because it is kiddie, or watch a film because it looks to artsy.
The videogame form is very young. I think in a few years there will be more appreciation for them much like film is appreciated now.

Or at least I hope.

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Here's the best quote from Miyamoto in that article:

"They also talk about the future of games being a kind of virtual reality. But I am not convinced that being more realistic makes better games."

I wish more developers would take these words to heart.

And I agree that the article is not a slam on Miyamoto and Nintendo. It presents both sides of the issue and ultimately concludes that Miyamoto doesn't make "adult" games because he doesn't need to, not when the games he does make are innovative enough to lead the industry in new directions.

 

[Masood Ali]

Blackley's quote is interesting, actually. Even though he is in no position to tell Miyamoto what to do (now, or ever), it seems like Blackley is brown-nosing Miyamoto in a sense; saying that he could take the mature gaming industry in a new direction if he wanted to.

 

[Graeme Clark]

Should we criticize Jon Lasseter of PIXAR for making nothing but KIDDIE movies? NO! He makes films that appeal to all ages, just like Miyamoto's games do.

No, but practically every one of Pixar's fans over the age of 13 is salivating at the possibilities of what Pixar could do once released from the confines of Disney.

 

[JoshF]

I dont want Miamoyto to change. Every one of his games have a magic to them that most other games do not. In fact, most Nintendo games do. That is what sets them apart in my opinion. They still make kiddie type games while the world is abandoning them...but damn are those kiddie games fun. And that is the main point of gaming...fun. And Miamoyto delivers fun in spades.

While I agree that Miyamoto has a knack for adding some magic to his games, I totally disagree that the world is abandoning these types of games.

Attack at will, but I believe Naughty Dog, Insomniac, and UbiSoft all make some fantastic "kiddie" style games that have a lot more magic than Miyamoto's most recent efforts.

I get the feeling that everyone's aware that he's lost some magic, and we're all freaking out, else we wouldn't be so peeved over this article in the first place.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I get the feeling that everyone's aware that he's lost some magic, and we're all freaking out, else we wouldn't be so peeved over this article in the first place

The last game released that he directed was Pikmin, IIRC. He didn't direct Super Mario Sunshine, nor the upcoming Zelda. He played a big part in them (Executive Producer, I think) but he didn't actually make them himself. He's busy making many games at once (he was working on multiple Mario and Zelda games, including SNES ports for GBA, and Pikmin 2 all at the same time, plus maybe even more games) so he's not focusing on other games as much as he does for his current love: Pikmin.

I don't think he's lost his magic, I just think it's refocused. He doesn't want to do the same thing with Mario and Zelda all over again, he wants to change things around and improve the formula. If you expect Super Mario Sunshine to be a more modern Mario 64, then you'll be disappointed. Mario 1 is not that much like Mario 3, which is actually a lot like Mario World, which is not much like Mario 64. Sharing a name doesn't mean the gameplay will be identical in each, the change is what keeps the games fresh. Some people just don't want to see changes.

 

[BrianB]

But Miyamoto CREATED Metroid

Are you sure about that, Morgan? I thought Gunpei Yokoi (who went on to design the Gameboy & is sadly gone) was the man behind the original Metroid.