Miyamoto on Mario Run and Wii experiments, Pokemon GO’s success, Nintendogs may work better as mobile-only
With all of the Super Mario Run information coming in tonight, a new set of interviews with Shigeru Miyamoto are beginning to appear. The Verge is one of the first outlets with a discussion with the legendary developer.
During the chat, there was plenty of talk about Super Mario Run including how some of its origins are tied to Wii. Miyamoto also spoke about Pokemon GO’s success, and said that some franchises like Nintendogs may be better-suited as mobile-only.
Here’s a roundup of Miyamoto’s comments:
On how Super Mario Run can introduce the series to new players…
“I feel like Mario was what introduced millions of people to video games and interactive entertainment, and I think that Mario will continue to serve that role. And I think with Super Mario Run that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
On how Nintendo has been toying with the idea of a one-button Mario game since the days of Wii…
“As we were doing those experiments, we thought that that kind of approach would perhaps best be suited to iPhone. So that became the basis for Super Mario Run. Nintendo has been making Mario games for a long time, and the longer you continue to make a series, the more complex the gameplay becomes, and the harder it becomes for new players to be able to get into the series. We felt that by having this simple tap interaction to make Mario jump, we’d be able to make a game that the broadest audience of people could play.”
On Pokemon GO’s success…
“Certainly when we first embarked on our mobile strategy, a key element for us was the idea of bringing our characters and [intellectual property] to a much broader audience. But I think we were surprised by the impact that [Pokémon Go] has had in terms of bringing that audience back to our own games.”
On how the Pokemon GO effect could also apply to Mario and Animal Crossing…
“We have Super Mario Run releasing now, and it’s already decided that we’ll be making a Mario game for our next system. And similarly with Animal Crossing, the hope is that when we release the Animal Crossing mobile game, we’ll have more people who become familiar with the Animal Crossing world and characters, so that when we next release an Animal Crossing game we’ll have a much larger audience who will be interested.”
– Miyamoto also notes that some other franchises, such as pet-rearing simulator Nintendogs, could potentially work better as mobile-only experiences
– “Depending on the IP there are different opportunities”
On how each of the Super Mario Run modes were made by a separate team…
“I was hoping that by developing for mobile things would get simple, but they actually didn’t.”
On how Mario being introduced to new gamers could affect the series…
“Super Mario Run is going to introduce millions of more people to the fun of Mario, and it’ll become the entry point for them. And then the question becomes, once you’ve gone through that entry point, then what comes next? Is it a more traditional Mario experience? Is it something like the Mario Galaxy games? We’ll then have to look at what it is these new fans want from a Mario game, and we’ll continue to see Mario evolve in that way.”
“I hope people will continue to recognize the areas where Nintendo has taken that first step. And hopefully someday people will look back on the Wii U and think ‘Oh wow, I remember when Nintendo did that, and now look at what’s come of that.’”
