Comments From Miyamoto On Wii, Industry 209
This past December, Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with the Talk Asia program. It was only just recently translated and (via Ars Technica), CNN is carrying the resulting commentary. Miyamoto discusses the creation of Mario, the future of the Nintendo, the problems facing the games industry today, and the 'awesomeness' of the Wii's name. "I think anyone can enjoy video games. But some people shy away from them, just by looking at the shape of the console, or they think it is complicated when they have to plug the machine into their television set. However, I think if it is something that is simple to connect and play, it can be enjoyed by anybody, especially if they can interact with the characters. We also have to think about the themes of the games. There is an abundance of themes that people are interested in, and video games have only touched on few of them."
Re:Video Games for Dummies (Score:2, Insightful)
PS: Serviced your car at home recently?
Re:Video Games for Dummies (Score:3, Insightful)
I honestly don't know what he quite meant. The SNES was dirt simple to set up and run compared to the Wii. Sure, it can be set up as braindead as any other appliance (blinking VCR, anyone?), except for the sensor bar and SD card. I'm also not criticizing the Wii interface OR saying that plugging in the sensor bar is hard to do or beyond anyone--I just don't understand how the Wii can be pointed to as something that's simpler than a machine that just needs to be plugged into the television.
Re:Video Games for Dummies (Score:4, Insightful)
Maybe I'm unique, but I have helped dozens of people set up their DVD players, Surround Sound Systems, and videogame systems; just because they're intimidated when looking at dozens of inputs of various shapes and sizes on the back of their TV does not mean that they have no interest in gaming.
It's Far harder (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Video Games for Dummies (Score:5, Insightful)
Semi OT: Good design isn't about user intelligence, it's about user interest level. If you hand somebody that is really interested in gaming a machine that requires an OS install, they'll go through the steps to follow the process. If you hand that same machine to somebody who doesn't care much, they'll lose interest rather quickly and skip it. Intelligence doesn't factor into it.
This is something that applies to... well... just about ANYTHING you present to other people. I could, for example, convert this post to ROT-13. You're smart, you could decode it, right? I doubt you would, though. I certainly think most people here wouldn't bother, anyway. It isn't because you and everybody else here are incapable of translating it, it's because I would have made a bad design choice while trying to communicate my views with you. It wouldn't be very accurate of me to say that anybody who skipped my post is 'a moron'. If anything, I'd be the moron for doing something like that and expecting anybody to invest the time.
So, no, he isn't saying the Wii is for morons.
Re:Nintendo fans are blind! (Score:5, Insightful)
I have a Wii, and I love it to bits. I've been playing it a fair amount. I also have a PS3. I haven't gotten a game for it yet, because none of them look interesting.
I have more than one 60+ character on World of Warcraft. I own a Sega Genesis+Sega CD, SNES, 3DO, Saturn, PS1, PS2, and N64. I have something in excess of 200 various games for PC and Mac. I have written my own video games for my own amusement, I have done major revision work on one of the roguelike variants, I've contributed code to Angband (which was even in the official distribution for a whole sub-release before the entire spell system got converted to lua!), and I probably spend in excess of twenty hours a week playing video games. I have published papers (admittedly, not peer-reviewed) on game design and usability.
And yet, I think the Wii is clearly well-suited to people like me.
So, is the problem that, having an advanced understanding of video games, I am not a person with only a basic understanding, who would naturally prefer the PS3?
Seems to me that the Wii is a much better machine for [b]playing games[/b] than either of the competitors. Yes, they have very impressive graphics. The Wii has a controller which is flat out better for playing games. Since I'm interested in playing games, not watching photorealistic cut scenes, playing movies, or otherwise doing things which are not "playing games", the Wii is by far the best of the current options.
Re:Kind Of Sad (Score:5, Insightful)
It's pretty difficult to be a rebel when you are the one in authority.
As Miyamoto says, he's no longer a Nintendo employee. He's on the board of directors. He's also the head of EAD.
He's not "toeing Nintendo's line", Nintendo's toeing his line. I don't think some people realize how powerful he is. He has nearly as much authority on paper as Iwata and probably more in practice, because CEO's come and go but the loss of Miyamoto would be devastating to the company. He is not just a game designer. He is one of Nintendo's top executives, and he oversees all game development for the entire company as well as most hardware development.
Re:Video Games for Dummies (Score:5, Insightful)
On the contrary, it would be better for everyone to learn how to drive on a manual transmission.
I'm not saying that everyone should be required to drive manual transmissions, that we outlaw automatics. But if you learn to drive on a manual, you're probably going to be a better driver.
Why? Because automatics and CVTs are reactionary; you do something, and then the transmission adjusts to what you just did. Manuals are anticipatory, you decide in advance of what you want to, and then shift to bring that outcome about.
It's the difference between some mushhead in an SUV braking all the way through a turn, and someone in an S2000 slowing and downshifting before the turn, and then accelerating out of it and upshifting. The latter driver had to be looking ahead, thinking of what he was going to do before the turn came up. Learning how to drive with that mindset makes you a more anticipatory driver, even if you never drive another manual again.
Okay, huge digression from the topic, but you hit a nerve.
Re:Nintendo fans are blind! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Nintendo fans are blind! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Video Games for Dummies (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't know how things are where you live, but over here, cars with automatic transmission typically sell at $1000 more than the exact same model with manual transmission. I learned to drive with stick in less than a day, and it saved me $1000 on my car. I bet you have a wonderfully paying job to value your time off at more than $1000 a day.
I don't see how paying a lot of money to get a car that doesn't require a single day of training is such a good investment.
Re:Video Games for Dummies (Score:3, Insightful)
Or busy people. Let's remember that not everyone in the world has the same priorities as us. There's nothing stupid about that.
Um... try out the controller dude. (Score:3, Insightful)
Now let me examine how well it is integrated with the system. Well rotating the Wiimote also rotates the cursor on the system menus. You can also pick up Miis and shake them by pinching them between your thumb and forefinger. Red steel also uses this to drag around save files and options. In wii sports tennis position of your racket and twist of your wrist determines angle and spin of the ball just like in real tennis. I has simular experience in the bowling game. The moves are simplified so my friends can play almost as well as me, but my skill in these sports gave me an edge initially because normal motions translated so well.
Well what about other games... Smooth moves, Rayman, and Wii Play the controllers are INTEGRAL to the very game concept! I can not even fathom where you are coming from...
Now Sixaxis is obviously tacked on, I have never found a use for the "tilt" controls on the PS3. Also the idea of moving and aiming via very small thumb motions on BOTH X360 and PS3 is counter intuitive. I never realized how absurd it was until I played a console where I could just point and shoot. (Wii and computer)
Some may argue that computer is best controller for FPS, but I feel this is usually true because you get more modes of simultaneous entry (i.e. buttons) so you can circle jump strafe while shooting rockets at your jumping-strafing-wall-hopping friend. I am sorry but "computer" controls do not impress me either as I have yet to see a paint ball opponent strafe-jump out of my line of fire.
Lastly I dislike a computer control because after a long day programming I frequently CAN'T use it due to arm pain. I will grant that mouse is a great control vehicle as it makes aiming and selecting items easy, but this is the same concept as the Wiimote. You point you hit, but on the wiimote you point at the item and on the mouse you are moving it in an abstracted fashion that is 90 degrees out of phase with the screen. (Try to get your kid or grandfather to use a mouse for the first time and watch them struggle to figure out how to move it - the level of abstraction is a noticeable barrier to entry for new players.)
Now wiimote is far from perfect but I salute Nintendo for making a step in the right direction and look forward to seeing what the other consoles come up with for the next generation. This is a definite beginning of a new paradigm for consoles control.
Re:Kind Of Sad (Score:3, Insightful)
The N64 controller introduced a fair number of concepts we still see in controllers today. The Analog Stick and the Trigger being the principle ones. Certainly they were both elements of generations of joysticks that came before, but not since the Atari days had anyone bothered to consider them useful. Nintendo saw that with the advent of 3D games the analog stick would be imperative, and did something about it.
Most importantly, you need to remember that Yamauchi was dictator at Nintendo at the time. It was his vision that guided the aestetics of the N64 and the Gamecube. The Gamecube and Gameboy advance were purple because he wanted them to be so.
My experience with both controllers was positive. They were comfortable and effective at their tasks. I will grant you that the N64 controller's analog stick was easily worn down if you played demanding games such as Mario Party (the original one wreaked havoc upon it) and that the positioning of the Gamecube controller's analog sticks was slightly less orthogonal than the Xbox's. However, to call him 'batshit' is ludicrous.
We owe Miyamoto, and everyone like him, our industry. If 'batshit' is what it takes to make good games, then we should all be 'batshit'.