Miyamoto Interview: "I could make Halo"

Shigeru Miyamoto the renowned video game designer who created Zelda and Donkey Kong, was recently interviewed for Entertainment Weekly and discussed things such as social issues he might one day address in a videogame and his disappointment with the sales of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

When asked about whether he was worried about losing touch with young American gamers and the fact that more copies were sold of Halo than Metroid he gave the following reply:

"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."

[eques judicii]

was that a dis on halo? how dare he!

his version of halo would have huge eyes and fuzzy tails... instead of bullets you'd shoot rainbows... and the covenant would have stolen master chiefs strawberry shortcake. You'd have "karts" with bananas hanging off the back instead of the warthog, and your teammates would jump on the enemies heads. Everytime you kill an elite instead of blood, coins would pop out so you could get a 1up... instead of overshield you'd get star power!! Glowing mushrooms instead of grenades... etc..

the best part? an E rating!

[Xeoset]

And instead of an awesome character to play it as, you'll be a fat, italian plumber who can't get the idea that his girlfriend wants to seperate from him. So he chases her into large castles.

Man, designing games is easy.

[dantesparda]

Actually that sounds pretty good, i'd like to see that, LOL!

[Nightrider128]

your just mad that he decided not to help on a piece of crap and work on something different.

[heroman711]

dont worry, halo is way too cool for wii anyways

[Nightrider128]

Your just mad because he burnt halos arse right off.

[TriggerHappy]

"But he just chose not to" and instead made zelda.

[kewlkat007]

he can, the guy is still a great designer. So I'm sure he can make an FPS, but not sure if it would have the SAME recognition as HALO. Big time shooters are probably not his thing. Anyone can make a decent FPS.

[Mushu426]

and that is all he was really trying to say. If you think about it that's why they created the wii as they did anyway. Nintendo President said they were going to make a system like xbox or sony because that's where the trend was going but they decided to do something different. So agree with you dude I don't think that was a dis to Halo.

[Hayabusa 117]

You'd think it would be easy for anyone to make a decent FPS, yet, look at all rubbish FPSers out there.

[Caxtus750]

seriously that is bad! a very big headed comment!

If bungie said they could make "zelda" there would be an outrage...so i suggest this guy stops being so big headed and accepts that there is other talent in the industry and that not everything he does is amazing.

[Mushu426]

One, no one can just make a Zelda game nor would anyone say that they could. Its' not that type of genre to be done like that. Second, he wasn't being big headed he just simply meant it isn't that hard to make a top selling first-person shooter. Like it or not it does take serious talent to make and sell the type of games "he" makes, and not just well but insanely well (gamers hall of fame well) contsistantly. Besides, even if he was a little big headed, I really couldn't blame him, its Shigeru Miyamoto. Some of the best games of ALL-TIME, timeless classics still played to this day on just about every mobile device you can think of, were made by him. Just look at all the games that were made because of Tetris. Tetris is the original definition for what makes a puzzle game a puzzle game, Ya know what I mean?

[Caxtus750]

see, my point. He is saying it isnt hard to make a top shooter.

Isnt that a tad big headed? granted he has made some games but saying Bungie are not AS talented is wrong....maybe there arnt...but he has no right to slag another company off like that! there are many FPS'...yes...but not many TOP ones.....and very few like halo....and whats his point? he couldnt make halo...he made metroid...not as big or popular.....so he couldnt.......he makes great games...but fails in that genre compared to halo...why does he think he has to be great at everything?

[Mushu426]

You say "granted he has made some games but saying Bungie are not AS talented is wrong....maybe there arnt..." so if by your own admissions Bungie isn't as good as Shigeru then why the uproar. If he can do it he should say so if asked and he was asked. It would be different if he came out without being asked and said that but he didn't.

Oh and there a lot of games like Halo for example: Lost Planet, Command and Conquer, Gears of War, Ghost Recon 1&2, Call of Duty1 2&3, F.E.A.R., Amred Core, Earth Denfense Force 2017, Battlefield to Modern Combat, Battlestation Midway, Quake, the list goes on and all these games are the same type of game( give or take a few things). The main reason why Halo sells so well is the multiplayer. That's all me and my friends play, we rarely plan the adventure mode. Heck, the adventure mode is way to hard you have to quit your job and dedicate you life to beating it and that is just on normal. So, to conclude its not a big headed comment, no one would blink if Sony or MS said it and he so does not fail in his own genre. He made quite a few of the GREATEST GAMES OF ALL TIME that doesn't sound like failure to me. Failure sounds like being outsold by a less powerful system month after month and you came out a entire year and change before only to make matters worse this less powerful system is only about 2 million or so shy of reaching your worldwide sells and its only been out for 6 months.

[Boink]

stick to your kiddie games and bugger off.

[ThaGeNeCySt]

lmao @ bugger off.... that's just wrong...

[consolecrusader]

Miyamoto is starting to get a david jaffe attitude and I like it.. lol

[sumfood4u]

This is just asking for trouble, but we gammers can't really consider something great unless we have competition! Believe It!

[Maddens Raiders]

I think he was making a (not-so) veiled stab at MS for the recent inflammatory statements made by Moore and the VP of production or w/e the hell about the kiddish, Wii. He should've said, "I can make Gears." But that would've really taken some hairy ballz.

Cheers.

[PS360WII]

He was just stating that he could make a fps but he wants to try and make another way to play a game...

but yeah he'll probably be getting some backlash from it. Two ways to look at everything

[Odiah]

Take a big spoon of it's been done before, add a couple drops of booooooorrrrrrrring and stir into a bowl of overrated.

hey presto!

[frostbite06]

srry, that formulas for resistance

[Nightrider128]

Over hyped then presto you are the new bungie and have created halo

[ITR]

I bet he could.

Last time we saw Metroid 3 in a demo it had same visual power as Halo 2, but I think they may have gone futher with it now, since it went from a launch title to a release in Oct. 07'.

I doubt Bungie cares.
Miyamoto could make a clone but he said chose not too.

[Donkey Slayer]

and the standards would have been put way too high for Halo 2.

[frostbite06]

bottom line is halo 2 is fun to play. If it wasnt, it wouldnt have sold like it did and halo 3 hype wouldnt be where its at now

[Bonsai1214]

well, when the developers of the game say "we screwed up" i think thats saying something.

IMO, the first was much more fun to play.

and you know that many people bought it because it had the halo name for it. people bought it and realized it wasn't as good as they expected it to be.

MIyamoto made super metroid.. 'nuff said. but the past is the past and we need to take a look at his new product

[Donkey Slayer]

MS releasing super hi res pictures of "gameplay" that looked way better than it really was while running on an xbox.

I agree, Halo:CE was better. Even so the level designs were severely lacking. Miyamoto has energy and passion and wouldn't resort to using the same textures for every level and wouldn't resort to doubling the lenght by making you play it backwards.

[calderra]

Nintendo and brashness just do not go together.
And what he's doing is, yes, disrespecting Halo. He's saying it's unoriginal, and that it's not fun to play.

The only reason he's going to get away with it is because people will afford more room for a Japanese developer to say this about American games- if Bungie said they could make Zelda, people would boycott Halo 3 in droves.

I also like how he says it's a good thing that he doesn't listen to gamer feedback: "I never try to look for what people want". That's exactly what Halo 3 is all about with Bungie, from the massive public Beta to a currently-running competition where players can design a multiplayer emblem that will appear in the game.

I can totally see where listening to the fans and working to tailor the game to their wants is a terrible idea. Can't you? Heh.

Also note, he only said this while being asked why Halo outsold Metroid. What he's saying is basically that Metroid only sold less because it was so original and inventive that nobody wanted to play it. Because, you know, that makes sense.

Miyamoto is an awesome guy, don't get me wrong, but brashness has no place in this guys' world. You have to remember that for all of his speeches about originality in games, there are probably at least 20+ Mario games out there, and what, a dozen Zelda titles all-told? Mario Party 9's probably coming out soon...

And as another random example, after the Spaceworld2000 Zelda demo showing Teen Link, everyone was wondering what was going on with Wind Waker, and Miyamoto defended WW by saying Link was always going to be featured as an 8-year-old boy, and that the series was never going to take a more mature turn, and that it would always be cartoony. And the major Zelda game? Twilight Princes... hmmm...

[Mushu426]

He's not being brash, as I stated above he's made some the best games of ALL-TIME and you can't ignore that at all. He was only saying that making great FPS games are not diffcult to do that why you see so many of them. Like the explotion of WW2 shooters on playstion. Plus, he never meant or said he didn't listen to gamer opinions, I have personally read several articles with him on many sites including nintendo's site, that couldn't be futher from the truth. The wii is what it is because of the millions of suggestions he got from gamers like you and me. Even the games the post next on VC and Neo Geo comeing to US soon was because of gamer opinions and the controls for Smash Bros. Brawl. Need I go on. He meant instead giving people the same old thing they've had too too many times before he tries to do something else "new". Because new, fun, and different sells more that safe, same, and old. Also, dude, no developer would dare say they could make game like zelda! Zelda is one of those games that can't be duplicated by anyone else because of comes from the heart of Shigeru. It's a cult classic those games CAN'T done by others, the just can't. It would compare at any rate, its too much greatness to risk competing with like that. And I do not believe if someone else was to say something like that, that people would boycott Xbox. That's just crazy talk. Its like saying people will boycott Nintendo for him saying he can make Halo. Its pure crazy talk, just not going to happen. The metroid 3 comment, nah, I don't know how you got that. It was far from boring it agian is another cult classic and they haven't even released Mario Party 8 so 9 is sooooo far off. He never said Halo was unoriginal or boring. He just said he got the skills to make the game if Nintendo wanted him too. Halo is a game, it not that serious to say he disrespected it. Like I said before you read to much into what he said and by doing that you completely missed his point.

[tplarkin7]

FPS are "easy to do", Mushu426? Try making a game that sells over 10 million copies. Halo 1 was a masterpiece, and pushed console gaming to the next level. I think Miyamoto is complacent, or at least defending a complacent Nintendo. Miyamoto supposedly designed the Wii, and that is not pushing gaming to the next level.

[artman]

agree... the game designer should create something new, not to create another similar gameplay, ofcoz it's also take a risk to get failed on the market.

[midgard229]

zelda has no story line, no voice overs, no levels up, no new weapons, all u collect r keys and heart contrainers and a few accesories. the story has been the same forever and my 9 year old brother beat zelda 3 times dying only once. thers no character development, theres nothing but a tedious quest to kill ganon again. sry, it was good for orcina, but to repeat it for windwaker and twilight, come on. do something new, and stay consistent, u cant link not one zelda game to another except maybe the early ones and rocina to majora's thats it. and those 2 were the best. Miyamoto needs to make something new, and metroid...that game is mediocre at best in my opinion.

[ItsDubC]

TP is an amazing game in my opinion, and I have to disagree w/ regards to the storyline. Don't let your bias against Nintendo ruin the game for you.

[BrainDead]

ha ha look at everyone crying over his comments. And no you could not make a game, especially not zelda. Also midguard Halo 3 should be named halo 1.2 because all it has different is a new grenade and a different storyline.

[Mushu426]

meant to agree with you.

[power of Green]

Oh! really! all i see are Sony fanboys!, BELIEVE IT!!!!...

[Donkey Slayer]

This is what should be for EVERY Desperate Sony illogical hating fanboy like you.

[midgard229]

LOL if u cant make zelda than u cant make stick figures, i dont have 360, i have ps3 but i've seen all that halo 3 has and its certainly not halo 1.2, new grenade??? how bout 2? a portable turret, new weapons, levels, armor custimazation, story, man cannon that launches u accross the level, portable gravity device and more. get ur facts straight lol.
im a fan of games not consoles

[Rasulis]

I'm sure he didn't mean any major disrespect. He's just saying that taking a genre, especially an FPS, and improving on it can be done by most developers. Yes Halo is a fun game that showed us how the FPS genre could be improved, but Mario64 and Ocarina of time created a whole new genre that showed how 3D games were suppose to be made.

Well other developers are improving on genres he is spending his time creating completely new concepts on how games are suppose to be played. Now he is only a man and is faulable.

[BIadestarX]

NOOO! I wouldn't want to see Master chief dressed with with green and a dress like link. By the way... why is link always portrayed as a female on most events.

Also, Miyamoto.... "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" ... that's why no everyone like zelda... and that's why when it comes to FPS... american dev rule.

[ItsDubC]

Interestingly enough, I think that if Miyamoto did try to make games based on what ppl want, he wouldn't have made so many genre-defining games in his career. I think ppl tend to want something that's merely an improvement over what they already have, instead something completely different from what they already have. I'm glad someone in his position is able to think outside of the box as he does.

[midgard229]

when will we see a new franchise? new characters? 20 years of link??? is miyamoto reusing him because he knows thats what works and thats what fans will buy? or is it that he's limited to only zelda? can he create a new fresh fun rpg after 20 years? apparently sadly not. its fine to keep old series going, but we need something new miyamoto

[Lacarious]

confusing talk you are doing. Something fresh you ask for eh. I have an idea... perhaps Miyam... er.. I mean Nintendo can come out with a new way to play games. I don't know why Miyam.... er.. Nintendo does not do that or come out with something fresh after all these years of gaming? One would think that this knowledge of gaming would come in handy and help them to push out new products and dominate once again.

But that is obviously not the case... right... midgard?

[synLamont]

You honestly can't be serious. From Midgard's comment it looks like he was talking about games not a console. The main factor the the wii is selling well it the is the price. If the X360 and the Wii was the same price the Wii would be nothing than a mere kid's play toy and nintendo fans holy grail. Don't confuse hardware sales with game sales all of nintendo's top selling games are the same games just re-hatched. Most of them look alike nintendo is scared of change with it comes it comes to their top franchises. When was the last time Miyamoto came out with a new charater or icon that sold a game that did not start on the NES?

[Lacarious]

I've heard your nonsense time and time again. The FACT is that the wii is selling at a very high rate meaning that it is a very successful system. You say the price is low... yeah.... since when the F is $249 or $299 or whatever they charge "low"? So like.... is $50 for a game considered pocket change?

And chumpy... don't confuse your fanboy BS with the truth.

The Big N is selling way more than enough Wii software.

One day you will grow up and shed yourself of the fanboy curse.

[Lacarious]

no other gaming fella\company compares

[Xi]

Much like I couldn't create zelda, and bungie couldn't make Resident Evil. He wouldn't be able to make something like halo.

[kewlkat007]

some new offerings, but I like the fact that every new console Nintendo puts out they keep these original and classic games. The only Mario I didn't like so much was Sunshine, but still I played it..come on its Mario, I'm not expecting halo type fun here. It is what it is.

I repeat..Any developer can make just another FPS. Providing they take the time and research. No you can't duplicate the success of Halo with a first try.

If you wanna talk about this guy and Sequals, I mean take a look at so many other Big name third-party developers. This guy is first-Party lets not forget.

Some TOP franchises that have been reincarnated over and over since the 80's:

Ninja Gaiden
Mario
Metal Gear
Metroid
Zelda
Final Fantasy
Dragon Warrior
Mega Man

Can we say Japanese Developers know how to milk it.

[midgard229]

difference is those things have a story that continues, it has new characters and it changes for the better, most of the time. like i said, duh its fine to keep zelda, why dissapoint the fans and take what they love?? just invent something new aswell. example, square-enix has the final fantasy series, but thats not all they have, they have created Kingdom hearts and it was a success, star ocean, valkyrie profile, and others.
people want their classics yes, but we also wanna see miyamoto (nintendo) take a chance and make something new......OH wait they did, and they failed! lol, or had little success. Pikmin. YUCK!, Geist, holy crap ewwww, custom robo...crap. as we can see nintendo only succeeds in their old rehashes because the fans love it. 20 years of fans, thats why its selling. i just wish their was something more than zelda, mario and metroid on a nintendo console (not talkin bout hand-held) then i'd actually get the wii

[kewlkat007]

fault Princess TAODSTOOL and ZELDA falls for the same tricks after 20 years. That bowser/gannon and company always seem to snatch them up so effortlessly.

Nintendo has Nostalgic 80's 24+ gamers that seem to love the classics. Most kids today don't really know what made these games great, so I can see where that comes from.

[cdawson]

What is it with Japanese gaming industry stars acting like arogant a-holes?
Try being a little humble for once and recoginizing your success for making childish cartoon games, and not comparing your success to games that are aimed a totally different audience.

[OneBubbleBastard]

My grandma on crack can do HALO.. Crappy game..

[Diselage]

Every game designer has the capacity to make Halo they just lack the talent and skill.

[Hayabusa 117]

Funny how he says he could make a game by simply asking what the customers want it, but he prefers to simply do his own thing and "watch the expression on their faces" to see if it's fun for them. Isn't that essential the same thing? Tailoring your game to the desired audience so they enjoy it?

And when was the last time Bungie conducted a massive customer survey to know whether or not Halo fans want to drive a Scarab? Bungie do respond to customers, but I would say that 99% of their halos game design is based on the Bungie designers, not the demands of the fans.

The reason why Halo sells more then Metroid, is that Halo simply appeals to more people in the west (blood, explosions, e.t.c). And the reason why Bungie made a game with such a widespread appeal, is because they made a game that appeal to themselves as western gamers I'm pretty sure Metroid out-sold Halo 1& 2 in japan.

And if it's that "Any developer can make a game like halo = so many FPS then do most of those FPS get poor ratings/haven't sold millions of copies?

Anyway, I'm pretty sure Bungie could make a Zelda, if they wanted to...

[ItsDubC]

I agree for the most part. FPSs seem to be much more popular in the western world. Nintendo even admitted that the Metroid series is really only a success in the west, which is why Metroid Prime 3 will be released almost everywhere else before release in Japan.

[Kuest]

I, self-proclaimed king of the world, could *scoff* EASILY make the midly exicitng Halo, whihch, i might add, is SO much lesser than LEGENDARY ZElda or Mario

[23478ueyur_938223]

Excellent idea. I'm sure everyone will appreciate this.

[ITR]

Why should he?

You can't innovate if you just sit back and do whatever anyone else says.

Think outside the box.

No good artist ever thinks from within the box.

As a photographer I try to create photos I like first and then hope everyone else likes them as well.
(If I can't enjoy the photo I doubt anyone else can.)

If I listen to everyone my photos just become convoluted and a re-hash of old work.

A standout artist will always do it their way.

[BitbyDeath]

So how's creating sequals/remakes of Zelda, Mario and Meteroid a new experience for everyone?

[ItsDubC]

I'd agree w/ u if Metroid for the GC wasn't completely different from Metroid on the SNES, or if Mario 64 wasn't a completely different style of game from SMB for the NES, or if Zelda Wind Waker didn't take an artistic departure from the traditional Zelda series.

[anthonsh]

yeah, i got to about 8 and just thought id throw in an opinion.

Metroid was never TRYING to be anything like Halo. Metroid has its roots in a completely different place, and suffers a bit because of it (think Sonic). That being said, I have high hopes for both Halo and Metroid "3"... This is going to be a great year.

[ITR]

Wow the negative spin meisters are out tonight.

[ChickeyCantor]

He only stated that he could make a game targeted to the American audience, but he didnt. But he thinks he should make creative and original japanese games for the American audience.

And lets face it Halo isnt that original game-play wise, apart from the art design its very much like other FPS.
Although its still a great game.

[dominusbellum]

is there really anything else you can do with an fps i mean you run you shoot you kill what else is there really but the story for halo is really really good if anyone has ever read fall of reach knows what i am talking about.

[commadore65]

it's in to response to a question about making games for western audiences.

I think people are forgeting how creation works. a bunch of musicians might be in a funk band but that doesn't mean they couldnt play rock, or classical. Same applies for art, writing, and anything involving ideas.

One creates what they prefer themselves, however could still imitate and add to other styles.

@bitbydeath
yea i thought that, but i think alot of games repeat the same tricks in differant ways (as any ageing franchises should). but i suppose the wii-mote is a new experiance.

[dominusbellum]

no you could not

[KnowitAll]

You all make it seem like halo or halo 2 have made a huge impact and changed the industry forever! Some of you even seem to say its sold over 10 million.(Which it hans't)
Halo has a lot of advertisement, "makes people be like wow its on tv must be good"

http://vgchartz.com/worldto...
1. Super Mario Bros 40.02 Million!!!!DAMWTF#@$^%#
31. Halo2 7.89Million

[dominusbellum]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...

[SickRick]

"But you didn't." So stop hating. Thanks.

[ChickeyCantor]

why cant he?
he showed the world what a platform game should be, he showed with Zelda how an adventure game should be.
so he can sure make a FPS.

"is there really anything else you can do with an fps"
well look @ Metroid. A FPS with adventure and puzzle combination.

[dominusbellum]

i was just joking dude i don't doubt he could i was just being a fanboy i think any developer could make anykind of game but some would specialize in different areas than others about the puzzle thing in metroid i understand that you are saying thats innovative and stuff but when i'm trying to save the human race i don't want to do a puzzle i want to save manking but i see where you are coming from

i am new and am wondering if it is good or bad to have yellow bubbles j/w?
i saw my other link isn't working so i'll try posting it again http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...

[CrazzyMan]

he sounded like halo is an average game, which anyone could do. =)

however some people really think, that Halo is just overhyped. :)

[commadore65]

as people seem to assume. that was created by Gunpei Yokoi (who also created the game & watch, game boy, and vboy =/).

[dominusbellum]

nvm about the bubble thing i get it now my bad!!