Tezuka on Mario’s success, hopes he’ll remain Nintendo’s leading character, more

Last month’s issue of GamesMaster contains an interview with well-known Nintendo developer Takashi Tezuka. There were a few interesting topics that we wanted to highlight.

First, here’s what Tezuka said when asked about why Mario resonates so well with people and the key to his longtime success:

“Personally, I think that even before people come to like Mario as a character, it’s the gameplay of Super Mario that really resonates with them. We created Super Mario Bros paying close attention to intuitive feelings – things that anyone in the world can relate to – which users feel through the gameplay; running is fun, jumping high is something you want to do, falling is scary and spikes hurt you if you touch them, etc.

I think it all started with how the gameplay resonated with players. From there it’s been how we’ve continued to make Mario games for so long, and all the work we have put into making sure that Mario is never used in an inappropriate way, that has allowed him to slowly become such a well-loved character.”

Next, a few comments about the essential ingredients in a Mario title regardless of the genre:

“Ultimately it comes down to the quality of the gameplay. No matter how many Mario games we release, if players don’t enjoy them, it can only be a bad thing for Mario. The quality of the visual design is also very important too; it’s vital that we work hard to make sure that we present everyone with the same image of Mario across all these different games.”

In a topic that’s not necessarily Mario-centric, Tezuka spoke about his relationship with Shigeru Miyamoto and Toshihiko Nakago, who he has spent 30 years with:

“You could say that the three of us have spent more time with each other than with our loved ones! We usually eat lunch and dinner together, and speak to each other more than anyone else. We talk about a broad range of things – everything from serious work-related conversations to our families – with the aim of trying to understand each other’s way of thinking. Sometimes one of us comes up with something unexpected though, and it’s always fun when that happens.

One thing we often do when we have to decide on something is ask the opinion of the others, even if we know they are going to say yes. We’d then use this as part of our reasoning in making the decision. Or conversely, we check to see if they have an opposing view, and then decide against a certain course of action.”

Last but not least, Tezuka shared a few words about what his hopes are for Mario’s future:

“That Mario has been loved so much up to this point is nothing short of miraculous, although obviously this is in part the result of the untold work of multitudes of people, not limited to just the developers at Nintendo. It’s impossible for me to imagine what Mario will go on to become in the future, so I am very excited to find out. However, I do hope that even after 30 more years, Mario continues to be Nintendo’s lead videogame character.”

You can purchase last month’s issue of GamesMaster now for the full interview with Tezuka.