Shigeru Miyamoto doesn’t think of himself as a “genius”

All sorts of questions are brought up during Nintendo’s financial results briefing Q&A, and this week one investor brought up how he believes Shigeru Miyamoto is able to produce hit games because he’s a genius. Miyamoto was also asked about what he discusses during a talk to new employees every year.

Miyamoto began his response by saying that he doesn’t think he’s a “genius”, but instead feels he’s “quite ordinary.” As for his talk, it’s intended to teach developers that “game design is about planning” and “about observing the world around us and figuring out how to assemble those elements into an engaging video game.”

Miyamoto said the following:

“You referred to me as a ‘genius,’ but I consider myself quite ordinary. Each year, I give a talk to about 100 to 200 new graduates and mid-career hires, and afterward people often say that they were wondering what kind of person I was and were relieved to see that I was surprisingly ordinary. I often think it would be fun if I didn’t have to work, so I’m always thinking about things like, well, if I have to work, how can I do it more efficiently. And if I am going to do the same work, how can I make it more of a hit, because when a project is a hit it makes future work easier. In the talk I give every year, I touch on those challenges that come with creative work.

My annual talk is divided into three parts. The first part covers the history of Nintendo, starting with hanafuda playing cards, moving through toys, and leading to how we have become the entertainment company we are today. The second part focuses on what Nintendo values in game creation and what our strengths are. For instance, I discuss the evolution of the game interface by tracing the development of our controllers since the arcade days. In the third part, I address game design. New developers, especially those who are avid gamers, oftentimes aspire to create upgraded versions of the games they have played before, but I explain that game design is not about that. Rather, it is about observing the world around us and figuring out how to assemble those elements into an engaging video game. I explain that game design is about planning. That is, it is about assessing what hardware and development environment to use to create the game, whether the desired game can be realized with its available processing power, and engaging in trial and error to bring it to life. Many attendees find this perspective refreshing in that it is different from their own concept of game design or feel that they sympathize with our philosophy of product creation.

The talk only lasts about two hours every year, so to help employees retain what they have learned, I think it will be useful for them to visit Nintendo Museum to explore the history of our past challenges.”

Miyamoto is actually not very involved with video games these days – in fact, he wasn’t a part of the Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom credits. His efforts are focused on things like movies and the Super Nintendo World theme parks.