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Is Shigeru Miyamoto Good for Nintendo?

asia_catdog_blue

Smash Ace
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Dec 31, 2010
Messages
994
If he was, is he good currently?

Many hated him for stagnating Super Mario Bros. and ruining Paper Mario.

Though, from what I have read from these blogs, there was more to him that many don't(or didn't) know... and, arguably, worse.

Sean Malstrom Topics
https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/celebration-of-miyamotos-retirement-day-one/
https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/celebration-of-miyamotos-retirement-day-two/
https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2011/12/11/celebration-of-miyamotos-retirement-day-three/
https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/celebration-of-miyamotos-retirement-day-four/
https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/grassroots-gaming/
https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/celebration-of-miyamotos-retirement-day-six/
https://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/...-part-of-the-problem-hardcore-gamers-go-nuts/

Heru Sankofa of Conflicting Views
https://conflictingviews.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/just-fire-miyamoto-nintendo/
https://conflictingviews.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/miyamotos-obsession-with-eliminating-story/

I know some of you hate these blogs. But they really have open my eyes.

It's why I see little love or care for Mario, Nintendo' BIGGEST Franchise! Also, why the Olde Nintendo 3DS was trash(limited battery, bulky design, one control nub, pointless 3D view, etc) And Star Fox became uncool.

Plus, his actions concerning the Olde Nintendo 3DS cost the company $900 million dollars!
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
Miyamoto is fantastic for Nintendo, I mean he designed so many great things. One thing I'm sure most people don't know is he designed the Gamecube controller which gave this community a definitive way to play Smash Bros.

Does he make mistakes? Yeah, I mean, everyone does and someone should probably keep an eye on what game franchises he ends up "changing", but everyone makes mistakes. There wouldn't have been a "Nintendo" without him.
 

asia_catdog_blue

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Messages
994
Miyamoto is fantastic for Nintendo, I mean he designed so many great things. One thing I'm sure most people don't know is he designed the Gamecube controller which gave this community a definitive way to play Smash Bros.

Does he make mistakes? Yeah, I mean, everyone does and someone should probably keep an eye on what game franchises he ends up "changing", but everyone makes mistakes. There wouldn't have been a "Nintendo" without him.
Really? What about Gunpei Yokoi? He design the Game & Watch. He created the Directional PAD! Hell, Miyamoto was his protege? He would have been nothing without Yokoi!
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
Really? What about Gunpei Yokoi? He design the Game & Watch. He created the Directional PAD! Hell, Miyamoto was his protege? He would have been nothing without Yokoi!
I think you are forgetting that he invented Mario and Zelda, which was the reason the gaming market revived after the crash.

And Gunpei Yokoi is awesome as well, nothing I said took away from anything Gunpei did.
 

N3ON

Gone Exploring
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I feel like Miyamoto has entered his George Lucas phase. The impact and pedigree of his past works can't be overstated enough, and he proved to be a true visionary in his field, but at this point I think he's lost the pulse of the industry. If he makes good choices nowadays, they seem to be pretty much matched by questionable ones (at least, of the ones we as the public can attribute to him).

imo it'd be worthwhile if Nintendo did what I think Miyamoto himself wants: give him is own development team of which he has complete control, but relinquish his duties of overseeing all those other teams. And if that works, stick with that.

However because of Japanese culture, and the significance they put on seniority and the like, the impetus to do this will have to come from Miyamoto himself. Nintendo isn't going to minimize his importance unless he really starts tanking the company.
 

Zzuxon

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Miyamoto is horrible for Mario. He's OK for everything else.
 

FalKoopa

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His decisions have become really hit or miss as of late. He should be more trusting of Nintendo's divisions about being able to handle themselves and not needing his supervision.

:231:
 

ILOVESMASH

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Something I don't understand about Miyamoto is why he just removes / does not bother adding optional stuff in games like Star Fox Zero's online mode and ability to use regular controls or Mario Galaxy's optional storybook section. Instead of telling the players what we want, why not just give us the options to do little things like this? It would make these games more accessible to audiences if simple features like these were added. I feel this issue applies to some of the consoles Miyamoto worked on as well. Why does the Wii U not have BASIC features such as being able to play Blu-Ray discs despite being a so called family system? Why do the current Nintendo systems still have region locking so that people who buy a japanese 3ds are automatically screwed over if they move to America? It just doesn't make sense.

Personally, I am fine with Mario games playing similarly throughout each installment. Just don't make them annual like with NSMB2 and NSMBU.
 

LancerStaff

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Something I don't understand about Miyamoto is why he just removes / does not bother adding optional stuff in games like Star Fox Zero's online mode and ability to use regular controls or Mario Galaxy's optional storybook section. Instead of telling the players what we want, why not just give us the options to do little things like this? It would make these games more accessible to audiences if simple features like these were added. I feel this issue applies to some of the consoles Miyamoto worked on as well. Why does the Wii U not have BASIC features such as being able to play Blu-Ray discs despite being a so called family system? Why do the current Nintendo systems still have region locking so that people who buy a japanese 3ds are automatically screwed over if they move to America? It just doesn't make sense.

Personally, I am fine with Mario games playing similarly throughout each installment. Just don't make them annual like with NSMB2 and NSMBU.
SF0 can't work without motion controls... They're forced because everybody's been clamoring for a game where you truly needed the gamepad.

Everything else, including SF0's lack of online, I don't think you can blame Miamoto for. I seriously doubt he'd come in and say the Wii U should be region locked and not play blue-rays.
 

Verde Coeden Scalesworth

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Dude, Blu-Rays cost a crapload of money to add in as an option. It's very reasonable for the Wii U/etc. to not have it.

Basic CD and DVD playback, however, would barely do jack to the price. As long as playing those doesn't weaken the console's lifespan, they should be natural options. The Wii did lose lifespan when you could play DVD's on it(the application exists for it, but isn't available due to this).

As for Paper Mario, he didn't entirely make it like that. Intelligent Systems asked Club Nintendo if they wanted story in Mario games(you know, instead of being clear they meant the rpg's). And thus, they were convinced it wasn't as important. Poor communication. Miyamoto only suggested to make it more unique, and to use a different set of characters. He didn't exactly order them to do anything so much as make suggestions. It's not to say that his influence wasn't an issue, of course. It definitely caused the overall problem, but IS still should've been more careful as well. It's very clear that the majority like SS though. It sold amazingly well, and one of the best selling Paper Mario games to date. Just some fans don't like it. It's more than older fans weren't turned on, while the new generation is. That sometimes happens. Sonic has gone through 3 major game design cycles as is. Classic, Dreamcast saga, and the new Modern. It's a super mixed bag in general, and some only likes only main game design, while hating the other 2, while some might just hate one. It's pretty hard to find anyone who likes all 3 designs overall, though. (Classic is basic 2D, Dreamcast Saga is pretty much all the 3D games before Unleashed, and new Modern is more or less "Boost" design). They may make a new variant as well. Obviously every game has differences, some with major gameplay options, but they have still some key similarities among others in that particular main game design. To note, the Advance games also followed the Boost, but were closer to the Classic gameplay that it wasn't simply a button or beyond innate to the gameplay like Sonic Rush was, which was similar to the later games where Boost was a major focus, not just good for points and sometimes helpful here and there.
 

Pazzo.

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Of course Miyamoto's good for Nintendo.

He, like all humans, makes questionable choices from time to time, but that should never invalidate his value.
 

Ura

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I like to compare Shigeru Miyamoto to Vince McMahon of the WWE. People that were visionaries for their respective fields that have since become out of touch though I would say Shiggy isn't as out of touch as Vince is.
 
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Radical Bones

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I think he's good for the company, but he (and no one for that matter) should have free reign over a game or a concept.

If he makes a bad call, people need to be able to tell him.
 

Mario & Sonic Guy

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It is important to remember that without Miyamoto, we would not have the Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, or Pikmin franchises today.
 

Strofirko

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The main problem on nintendo games department nowadays is far to be miyamoto and rather :timing and passive publishing of games.

Time is against a lot of first party products nowadays,but lately is very noticeable on nintendo,mainly the wiiu life cycle of games:delays(SFZ,Zelda U,Xenoblade X),gigantic gaps between releases(AKA first semester of 2013) and the lately rushed library of games (MP10,MTUS,TPHD).

Passive publishing is another problem:Many companies enforce the continuation of a certain series regardless of the original staff working on it or not.Nintendo uses the reverse logic ,and when a certain director quits,the franchise is shelved(unless it is extremely popular) Metroid , DKC, Golden sun, Kid Icarus, MOTHER are certain victims of this.In some cases it secures the franchise doesn't end in a stream of crap, but it also lead the fans wanting for more.

Miyamoto makes doubtful moves and suggestions,but some worked on the past and others not,on the case of Star fox zero Miyamoto was right to make a game in response to the fact very few games used the potential of the gamepad, but that was early 2013, 3 years later after the kinect has been kicked out of the equation, and critics changing the speech to make the same with gamepad, the result is what we can se today.(And I also have the same gut feeling about Fed Force)
 

Klimax

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He's good to make a new franchise.

But he shouldn't be involved in Mario, F-Zero and Starfox anymore.
 

Kold Pizza

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Miyamoto doesn’t have the same touch like he used, it feels that way to me. While I appreciate everything he has done for Nintendo, certain situations have happened over the years.

He is great for certain Mario games, but not for others such as Paper Mario.

He is great for The Legend of Zelda series.

He did a great job letting Retro Studios handle the Metroid series as that franchise has a good future ahead because Retro has done a great job with the Metroid games. Even though DK has a little uncertainty for the future, Retro also did a great job for that series’ games. DK has at least a more hopeful future compared to Star Fox and F-ZERO. Some franchises like those are still uncertain and Miyamoto needs to not get too involved and give them to developers that are creative with those kind of series.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

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He did a great job letting Retro Studios handle the Metroid series as that franchise has a good future ahead because Retro has done a great job with the Metroid games. Even though DK has a little uncertainty for the future, Retro also did a great job for that series’ games. DK has at least a more hopeful future compared to Star Fox and F-ZERO. Some franchises like those are still uncertain and Miyamoto needs to not get too involved and give them to developers that are creative with those kind of series.
You speak as if Miyamoto simply let Retro do whatever they wanted but this is actually far from the truth. He actually was far more involved with Metroid Prime than you think. He met several times with Retro Studios staff during development and was responsible for them making the switch to a first person perspective, the morph ball implementation and the visor system. Source:

He also paid a visit to Next Level Games in Canada, the ones who developed Luigi's Mansion 2. When seeing their work, he asked them "Is this really fun?". His philosophy also influenced the developers when making Luigi's Mansion 3.

Sources:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/06/21/1up/1561139369_953022.html

He also heavily influenced Pokemon creator Satoshi Taijiri and Sakurai himself.

So to answer the question: yes. He is good for Nintendo. He is less active as a developer and his role is now more of a mentor and producer. Obviously, he is human and makes mistakes.

Those who say "but he should stay away from X" don't know what they are talking about. Miyamoto wasn't single handlely responsible for how Paper Mario turned out. It was a group of people who worked on that game and he is only one man. I don't understand this arrogant attitude that because the man is getting old that he has nothing left to offer. We like to think that because we are the current generation we are better and wiser than the previous one in every way. The guy still has a lot to teach and they wouldn't keep him around if that wasn't the case, though I'm sure an irate gamer with a PPG girls avatar knows better.

And I know this topic is way too old, but the last person I want to hear saying that he is bad for Nintendo is TC, due to his history of self centered unawareness, narcissistic attitude and utter ignorance of game development who unironically follows and praises blogs written by people who aren't half as smart as they like to think they are. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he was the author of those pieces.
 
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Kold Pizza

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I will need to paraphrase my thoughts on Miyamoto and the whole Nintendo situation.

Yes, Miyamoto is involved with the Metroid series as he has been involved with many other Nintendo series (I am well aware of that and aware of him having a hand in many Nintendo projects). Miyamoto “letting Retro Studios handle things” does not mean he is not involved at all, it means whenever he gives ideas or anything to work with, he lets them go about their business as he does with his; when they cooperate together, Miyamoto will give the creative staffs do’s and dont’s and he gives them his input as well as certain ideas that the creative staff can take, run with, and sprout with. Many Nintendo games I grew up with mean a lot to me (Super Mario 64, TLOZ:Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, etc) and these were impactful in special thanks to Miyamoto’s involvement.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ghoulyboy/status/638761578582536192?lang=en

When Miyamoto was cooperating with Rareware, he gave them the idea that Donkey Kong could wear a tie (kudos to him for that concept); Rareware went with his idea when they redesigned DK back before the original DKC game released.

A portion of Nintendo’s consumers are also fans of franchises such as Star Fox, F-ZERO, Earthbound, and the Paper Mario series. Some of these fans feel that their beloved series has been left by the wayside by Nintendo (whether fans should feel that way or not is debatable). This is not solely the fault of Miyamoto (some may exaggerate whatever faults he is at), but rather it collectively falls on Nintendo. Think of the game creators developers in the same vein as you would think of a sports team; Miyamoto can coach these guys up (he has the knowledge of gaming, wisdom, and experience to do so) as well as giving his influence and input, when they succeed together they deserve praise for it and if they ever fall short of expectations then consumers will respectfully let them know about it (this is ideally how I think fans should be, but unfortunately there will always be fans that can get subjective and have knee-jerk reactionary type of thoughts in the social programs they post in).

The collective credit goes not only to Miyamoto for the success of the Metroid series, but also Retro Studios. Same with the early Star Fox Games, not only does collective credit go to Miyamoto, but also Argonaut studios.

Any criticism of Miyamoto or any human mistakes he makes does not detract all of his contributions to the video game industry and the status he has achieved. It is not outrageous for fans to give an honest critique on what Miyamoto can improve on unless they take their criticism too far like some of those toxic bloggers do.

I said that Miyamoto “shouldn’t be too involved with some series,” but that doesn’t mean I don’t want him involved with the projects at all. He has been good for Nintendo since the NES days and is still good for Nintendo today (this contrasts with some of the toxic bloggers thinking he is useless now). Developers could use his leadership and wisdom when they work on any new projects for Nintendo today. Not being “too involved” with a series or development team means that he must not be too restrictive on a creative staff’s do’s and dont’s, instead give them a chance to sprout as a creative staff; Rare grew as a creative staff because back when they were making games for Nintendo, Miyamoto gave Rareware not only his ideas to use, but also the chance for Rareware to sprout on their own and this lead to Rareware having their games for Nintendo be among the most memorable to this day (DK series and Banjo-Kazooie for example).

I felt that Miyamoto may “not have the same touch as he used to” but that’s not to say he is all of a sudden bad as a game creator, of course he’s still good. I feel that even though he may not be as active as a developer with projects as he used to overall (though he will still give an input to some games such as the Luigi’s Mansion series), he can still step in (I hold high regards for his abilities) and help do more to make Nintendo franchises like Star Fox, F-ZERO, Earthbound, and Paper Mario relevant again (this falls into the category of giving game creators an honest critique on what they can improve on for their consumers). He did allow Ubisoft to work with the Star Fox series so we will see how that goes from there. He has done a great job being involved with Retro Studios over the years (even though he may not be as involved right now with Retro Studios as he was back around the time Metroid Prime released, he over the years has done well entrusting Retro Studios with his ideas while at the same time not being too restrictive and letting the creative staff sprout whenever he is involved with the process as they cooperate). Here’s where he can also step in as it relates to what I said of “certain situations in Nintendo have happened”; Mario Kart Tour is considered as a game that pickpockets one’s wallet if the player is not careful; those are the type of tactics I expect from EA, not from Nintendo. These type of games are not something Nintendo should continue to do in the future, it wouldn’t bode well for their reputation (I will reiterate that a game like Mario Kart Tour isn’t solely the fault of one person, rather this falls on Nintendo collectively as I give them an honest critique about the flaws of this type of game and how they can improve from it). Even though Miyamoto today may not be as involved with projects now overall, he can still step in and prevent Nintendo from spiraling down this path. Perhaps I had set my expactations too high for to Nintendo to fix these type of issues as the gaming industry in general seems to be trending towards a different direction (microtransactions) and some things have transpired over the years, such as Konami’s treatment and ousting of Kojima as a gaming director.

One of the things I respect most about Miyamoto is his value for gameplay (how fun the experience can be as well as the overall quality) whereas some other companies outside of Nintendo are too focused on other things like the cinematic elements of a video game.

On a final note, here’s a Miyamoto quote for the toxic bloggers out there to consider when it comes to his value for the quality of video games:

“A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.”
 
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