Miyamoto: 'The Type Of Games I Create Has Changed'

Speaking in a new interview with The New York Times, which repeatedly compares him to Walt Disney, Nintendo developer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto has spoken about the changing nature and influences of his own more recent games. “I feel that people like Mario and people like Link and the other characters we’ve created not for the characters themselves, but because the games they appear in are fun,” said Miyamoto. “And because people enjoy playing those games first, they come to love the characters as well.” However, he described the Wii’s customizable Mii characters as “the most recent character creation from Nintendo”, before adding: “What’s interesting is that regardless of the user’s age, if they’re looking at a Mii, it’s their Mii. Before, when you’re playing as another character, it’s more typical of more passive entertainment, and by creating a Mii you’re becoming more a part of the entertainment experience.” “I would say that over the last five years or so, the types of games I create has changed somewhat,” said Miyamoto, when discussing more recent titles such as Nintendogs, Brain Training/Brain Age and Wii Fit." “Whereas before I could kind of use my own imagination to create these worlds or create these games, I would say that over the last five years I’ve had more of a tendency to take interests or topics in my life and try to draw the entertainment out of that,” he said. When asked about his own relatively low celebrity profile Miyamoto answered: “What’s important is that the people that I work with are also recognized and that it’s the Nintendo brand that goes forward and continues to become strong and popular.” “If people are going to consider the Nintendo brand as being on the same level as the Disney brand, that’s very flattering and makes me happy to hear,” he added.