Eguchi: Wii U uses 3DS Miis, different ways to use HD, more
Nintendo software producer and director Katsuya Eguchi on why Nintendo is keeping the basic Mii design from Wii to Wii U…
“Actually, the Miis that will be used on the Wii U are going to be the same as the ones on the 3DS. On the 3DS we tweaked [the design] a little bit. We added some features, and the Mii editor that’s on the 3DS is different from the one that’s on the Wii. Ultimately we’ll use those same Miis on the Wii U. Right now it looks the same as the ones on the Wii because we don’t have the ability to create Miis in the Wii U yet.”
Eguchi on what’s holding Nintendo back from making mini-games featuring characters entirely from Metroid/Mario and how they determine which concept fits an artistic vision. This was in reference to how Battle Mii featured Metroid elements and that the lead Chase Mii character wore a Mario hat.
“It depends on what the development team’s take on Miis, using Miis or a franchise character… It depends on what their feel is, how they want the game experience to be. If you use a Mii, you’re playing as your character within that world. If you’re playing as Mario, you become Mario playing within Mario’s world. There’s that difference. It’s a little bit hard to understand, but I think you can get a feel for what I’m saying? So with Chase Mii and Battle Mii, our goal is to have the player feel like they’re in this foreign world, running around and being chased by their friends. So that was our intent in using Miis for that game.”
Eguchi on how Nintendo will approach HD graphics with their franchises…
“I think the way we get around those challenges that you mention is, we look at a franchise and find out what’s right for that franchise, utilizing the HD. For example, you saw the HD Zelda demo at the briefing, and how detailed and graphically awesome that looked. So that’s something you can see in a Zelda game. Or for Metroid or Starfox, we could do something really cool, bring those out a little bit more. For games like the New Super Mario Brothers Mii that was also shown… Because that game uses the Mii characters, we’re able to really bring out those details, so that while you’re playing the game, even though your character looks very small, you still know which one you are. So there are different ways of utilizing HD.”
There’s one other piece of information from Eguchi. When asked if Nintendo is planning on using 3DS to Wii U connectivity extensively, Eguchi said that he couldn’t elaborate, but discussions about further opportunities are taking place.
