Miyamoto: I could make Halo, but I choose not to

The Father of Mario admits he could make a game like Halo, but insists his success has come from giving players new experiences.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly,
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has discussed the possibility of bringing
real-world social issues to his future games, revealed that he could
make a game like Halo, but chooses consciously against it, and he's also expressed disappointment at the lack of commercial success in Japan of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.



Although he admitted to watching films which deal with serious themes, such as Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers,
Miyamoto's games are typically at the other end of the spectrum, in
that they deal with upbeat themes rather than violence, or the like.
Miyamoto said he would consider addressing real-world issues in a
future game, however. "Maybe if I were to come across a problem in my life that affected me I would think about that," he said.



"A game like that would be very
interesting to make. At the Independent Games Festival at the last GDC
[the Game Developer's Conference] I saw a game, Defcon, which is about
thermonuclear war — the whole world is destroyed. That's a very
powerful message to put in a game."



Asked what specific issues he would bring to a game, Miyamoto continued, "One
is that in Japan, there are a lot of trains that have sections reserved
for the elderly or pregnant women. Young people in Japan sometimes sit
in them, but if people come up and need them, you are supposed to get
up. But most of the kids don't! It really upsets me. If I could build a
game that somehow made the young people respect their elders...



"And there is another issue bugging
me. In Japan there are a lot of people who freelance or work under the
table — people who don't pay any taxes. I look at places in the world
where people understand that paying taxes to the government helps
society. In Japan there's not that understanding. So [social
responsibility] is yet another issue I might address in a game. But I
probably sound like an old man when I bring these things up."




Asked, frankly, whether he feels like an old man, Miyamoto said, "Well,
I'm getting older and I have to pay more attention to my weight now.
[Rubs his tummy] So that's sort of a hobby of mine. I try to swim at
least twice a week. People say I should play the Wii to work out, but
whenever I do that it feels like I'm at work!"



The issues Miyamoto suggested stem from Japan, but games are a global
business, EW insisted, citing that American gamers have bought more
copies of Halo than they have of Metroid. Asked whether he worries that he's losing touch with what American gamers want, Miyamoto said, "I
could make Halo. It's not that I couldn't design that game. It's just
that I choose not to. One thing about my game design is that I never
try to look for what people want and then try to make that game design.
I always try to create new experiences that are fun to play."



Many Western companies aren't like that, however, and stick to
producing sequels and extending already proven franchises rather than
exploring original avenues. Risk plays quite a part, Miyamoto agreed. "With rising budgets, I understand why game companies have a great deal of concern if they don't design games in this way," he said. "But
you need to create what you want to create! In that sense, I would
really like to see people develop games like I do. When I show a game
to people I don't ask their opinion or give them a survey. I just watch
their eyes and their face while they play. Do they smile? Do they look
frustrated? So I guess I do test my games — but it isn't very
scientific."



Nintendo - and Miyamoto - have experienced great success in being able
to envision what players will find fun to play, but Miyamoto admitted
that there have been instances in which games haven't always turned out
as expected. "In
the past we've worked with some outside development houses on titles
like F-Zero and Starfox — and let me just say that we were disappointed
with the results," Miyamoto said. "Consumers
got very excited about the idea of those games, but the games
themselves did not deliver. And, well, to be honest with you, Zelda:
Twilight Princess is not doing very well at all in Japan. It is very
disappointing. But it is doing okay here in America."



On why Zelda may not be doing so well, Miyamoto continued, "Well,
I think a lot of people who bought the Wii are not necessarily the
types of people who are interested in playing that kind of game. And a
lot of the people who would want to play it [due to chronic shortages
of the console] can't find a Wii! But mostly, I think it's that there
are fewer and fewer people who are interested in playing a big
role-playing game like Zelda."



Finally, Miyamoto's son is graduating from college this summer, and
asked whether he has any plans to follow in his fathers footsteps by
designing a game, Miyamoto said, "He
wants to get into event planning. It makes me kind of happy because
it's somewhat similar to the task I do, which is coordinating things
between members of a team and coming up with a vision. But no, he
hasn't expressed any interest in doing a videogame. He is quite
creative though. The other day, for instance, he had to put together a
promotional video for one of his college clubs about skiing. So over
the weekend we drove around town and captured footage of a bunch of
skiing advertisements. Then we went back home to edit the footage." Miyamoto concluded, "It was fun to work on a creative project with him."

Sorry Iwata, but Miyamoto should be leading Nintendo- after all, he wouldn't purposely delay Wii shipments.

I wouldnt expect Myamoto to waste his time making a boring game like halo, its not his style.

"I think it's that there
are fewer and fewer people who are interested in playing a big
role-playing game like Zelda."

Strong words there

I know for a fact Miyamoto wouldn't make halo, it's a shitty game.

Well thats not surprising coming from a N fanboy

Would be suprised to know I love god of war, and half life?

Not really, since they are awsome games already (HL2, not HL1 i hope)

but they aren't N games, that's my point.
HL1 is an awesome game.

HL1 got annoying, i'll just read about it on Wiki

HL1 is a good game, however it does lack cinematics, with which PS2 games were so strong at.

I great game doesn't need fancy clock work. *cough*Super Mario Bros.