Nintendo's Miyamoto says he isn't a genius and "I'd prefer not to work at all, but If I'm going to work, I want to do so as efficiently as possible"
Nov. 7, 2024He also expands on his video game design philosophy
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As reported and translated byAutomaton Media, one of the questions referred to Miyamoto as a genius. When you create some of the most famous and beloved video game franchises of all time, it’s easy to see why people would think that. He replied that when he gives his yearly seminar to new Nintendo employees, many of them say things like, “I wondered what kind of person Mr. Miyamoto would be, but I was relieved to find that he’s surprisingly normal.”
He refutes the genius label, saying “I think I am a pretty ordinary person. If possible, I’d prefer not to work at all, but If I’m going to work, I want to do so as efficiently as possible. I’m always thinking about how to make what I’m working on a hit, because If I make a hit, this makes my next job easier.”
It’s a very pragmatic way of thinking about work, and it’s clearly done well for Nintendo – the company’sstock pricehas risen over 400% since 2000 and many of its games are the best-selling in the world.
He expands on his actual video game design philosophy, too. “Among the game developers who have just joined Nintendo, many of them often play games themselves, and their thinking is that they want to create a fancier version of the last game that they played,” he explains. “However, I explain to them that game design is not about this, it is about looking at the things around you and putting together the aspects that you think would be interesting in a video game.”
It’s often been said thatNintendo doesn’t competein console or game wars, it just does its own thing, and this design philosophy could explain why. TheSwitchdoesn’t have the same performance capabilities as thePS5orXbox Series X, but it’s much cheaper and its portability make it far more accessible.
If you can read Japanese, you canread the full Q&A here.
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You should check out some of thebest Nintendo Switch gamesavailable right now – there are a few franchises Miyamoto started on there.
I’m Issy, a freelancer who you’ll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I’ve always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you’ll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I’m currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.
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