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Miyamoto talks up Wii-mote

  • By Walt Wyman, GameSpot
  • Posted Sep 12, 2006 6:40 pm PT

Nintendo's creative guru chats about inspirations for creating the Wii's unique controller and wanting to break conventions without going too far off the deep end.

While Nintendo has thoroughly explained the reasons why it bucked tradition and went with a motion-sensitive controller for the Wii, some may wonder how exactly the idea was conceived. In an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto on Nintendo's Japanese Web site, the creator of Zelda, Mario, and Donkey Kong shed a little more light on the creative process.

Miyamoto has previously stated that user friendliness is central to the Wii, an idea that he reiterates in the interview. "I didn't want something that would make people nervous about trying to use it at first glance. Rather, the goal was to make anyone who sees it want to try it out. However, as someone who has always made games, it had to be capable of playing past software."

In the process of contemplating how to make a controller that was not intimidating but still allowed for traditional game play, Miyamoto had this realization: "There's no need to use both hands." He added that the idea was to break the existing conventions a little but not too much.

"If you go too far off the deep end, the product will be 'eccentric for the sake of being eccentric,'" Miyamoto said. "This probably works for some specific games, but it won't succeed in creating a new standard." By way of compromise, Miyamoto says: "We were as daring as possible, without being overly eccentric."

201 Comments

  • markbridges

    Posted Sep 16, 2006 11:42 pm GMT

    Wii will rock.
    Period.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Sep 14, 2006 5:15 pm GMT

    still don't like the name, but it's looking good

  • rouguesquadron

    Posted Sep 14, 2006 4:53 am GMT

    While the Wii is definitely the dumbest name out there for video game counsel, I still can't wait to get my hands on one to try it out.

  • lotsofgunfire

    Posted Sep 14, 2006 12:10 am GMT

    wouldn't that slow u down and make it harder to play drinking that beer, guess not.

  • aldrenar47

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 9:09 pm GMT

    Merl57:
    "Wow I suddenly have an image of a person beer in one hand and wiimote in other."

    That's me you're seeing.

  • mat2g

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 8:23 pm GMT

    I still think Wii is a stupid name. They should have kept it Revolution.

  • Blacksamurai87

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 8:18 pm GMT

    The Man is amazing. The Company is amazing. I will work for this company, if it's the last thing I do. I must translate for them. Thank God I have this opportunity. I love Nintendo. With their amazingly phenomenal ideas, Nintendo will wave their hegemonic fists at Sony with a Wiimote in their hands and crush them. Sony will be a dominant icon in the industry no more.

    Viva la Revolution.

  • CrimsonTide29

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 7:49 pm GMT

    This will make multi-tasking, drinking or using the phone a dream come true

  • LTomlinson21

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 7:10 pm GMT

    The Wii is going to do some breath-taking things!

  • Merl57

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 6:22 pm GMT

    Wow I suddenly have an image of a person beer in one hand and wiimote in other.

  • rbarahona

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 5:17 pm GMT

    Very interesting. I'm very happy to see what the Wii and Nintendo is offering to us players. I'm a hardcore gamer (or so I think), and as much as I like to play games like RE4 and Gran Turismo or Final Fantasy; I think that these new kind of gameplay will be very fun.

    Really can't wait to get a Wii in my living room!!!

  • n2Deepeth

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 3:46 pm GMT

    trip187 wrote:
    Played the Wii at E3

    Sometimes there is a learning curve...as this is a whole new way to play games. You have to learn the gestures just like you learn button combos and moves. If what Nintendo is doing seems strange and unusual...it is only because it is not yet the standard. Nintendo CREATES standards. If you doubt that...check the last 20+ years of videogaming. Need a more recent example? In a an attempt to expand gameplay, Sony made a quick decision to make their controller motion sensitive. As usual, Nintendo is leading and others are imitating. Fanboy? Yes. All true? Still Yes.

    This guy's totally right. I grew up with Nintendo's crosspad and button layout controller setup. When the shoulder buttons came out, I was amazed how useful it was especially when several buttons needed to be pressed simultaneously. It took me a while to get used to analog (arguably I was wearing a cast on my left arm at the time), but outside of fighting games, I couldn't go back to digital since analog sticks provided sensitivity in intensity. I came to appreciate rumble for things like Ocarina of Time's Stone of Agony.

  • buckincrazy

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 3:44 pm GMT

    yay! sony's going down and nintendo's returning as king

  • scotty74

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 3:21 pm GMT

    Yeah, that would be a typical fanboy....or should i say Fan Boy. Haha...yeah they'll do well but not enough for #1....yet.

  • fritzjavel

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 3:08 pm GMT

    I'm a Nintendo Fan Boy and say Nintend will rule next gen console

  • mariokart64fan

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 3:02 pm GMT

    THEY did not make any mistakes with ds ppl thought it wouldnt sell good but look at it same story here ppl think wii wont sell bc of a controller , wii will see lol i bet itll sell as much if not more then ds lite and ds combined

  • playwrite

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 2:52 pm GMT

    ah miyamoto. we love you so. i'm pretty sure any negative comment about him results in claims of heresy.

  • Killer4DaBizkit

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 2:41 pm GMT

    If he was head of Sony . . . there'd be only 1 console on the market. PSWii

  • Eviltwin

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 2:35 pm GMT

    It's a genius

  • Units420

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 2:30 pm GMT

    To Latinbro1: I totally understand what you are saying. And I will just say, as an admitted Nintendo fan boy, the N64 analog stick was jarring to my system. I am not gonna lie, I thought it was mean of Nintendo to make us get used to a whole new way of playing. However, a few minutes with Mario 64 changed that and it was sad to see the N64 and its controller fade. But I am confident no competent developer would put out a product that is unpractical and impossible to use. I could be wrong and the Wii-mote could bomb. But I highly doubt it. Nintendo usually delivers on its promise for fun and innovation.

  • jaggy_12

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 2:26 pm GMT

    MIyamoto is a gaming genius!!!

  • EMAN2g

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 2:08 pm GMT

    xD

  • bminns

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 2:02 pm GMT

    i like the new controller

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 2:00 pm GMT

    the wii mote is a big risk that they toook

  • yawannataco

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:55 pm GMT

    "AND YES I AM A NINTENDO FANBOY IM MOST LIKELY THE BIGEST AND OLDEST BUT HOW CARES I STILL BUY GAMES FOR MY OTHER SYSTEMS LIKE NEXT WEEK ILL BE PICKINK UP OKAMI BECAUSE I PLAYED THE DEMO AND ITS GREAT I HOPE THE MAKE PART 2 FOR THE WII ITS WELL SUITED FOR OKAMI AND GUESS WAT ITS A PS2 GAME SO THERE YOU SEE IM A FANBOY BUT NOT A HATER LIKE MOST MS AND SONY FANBOYS I KNOW GOOD GAMES WHEN I PLAY THEM I BEEN PLAYING THEN FOR 30 PLUS YEARS"

    And I don't suppose that, in those 30 years, anybody bothered to teach you about what I call "The Wonder Dot", commonly refered to as a PERIOD. It makes things much more... what's the word... readable..?

  • metroidlink1030

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:45 pm GMT

    "I loved the Nintendo Revolution. Whatever this Wii is, it's not for me."

    Uhh...you're basing your opinion on the name of the console? That's pretty stupid, in my opinion. They're still taking the exact same approach as to when the console was the Revolution.

  • lukey405

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:40 pm GMT

    "NightShadow-PR
    I loved the Nintendo Revolution. Whatever this Wii is, it's not for me."

    You, sir, are a moron.

  • xboxps2cube

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:40 pm GMT

    All the Game Companies are getting shaky knees.... The only company that has yet to admit it is M$. I like that Everybody is being honest for a change. Fanboys should learn a thing or two from this year

  • Squids-Ahoy

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:37 pm GMT

    There is something o be said for that.

  • crills

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:35 pm GMT

    AND YES I AM A NINTENDO FANBOY IM MOST LIKELY THE BIGEST AND OLDEST BUT HOW CARES I STILL BUY GAMES FOR MY OTHER SYSTEMS LIKE NEXT WEEK ILL BE PICKINK UP OKAMI BECAUSE I PLAYED THE DEMO AND ITS GREAT I HOPE THE MAKE PART 2 FOR THE WII ITS WELL SUITED FOR OKAMI AND GUESS WAT ITS A PS2 GAME SO THERE YOU SEE IM A FANBOY BUT NOT A HATER LIKE MOST MS AND SONY FANBOYS I KNOW GOOD GAMES WHEN I PLAY THEM I BEEN PLAYING THEN FOR 30 PLUS YEARS

  • NightShadow-PR

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:29 pm GMT

    I loved the Nintendo Revolution. Whatever this Wii is, it's not for me.

  • crills

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:28 pm GMT

    i dont care wat no one says sony didnt steal the motion idea they copyed it yes they had the eye toy but when nintendo showed the wi mote the first time in 2005 sony and micro soft were makeing fun of nintendo so were alot of people on these furums and chat rooms then once sony got the word from other devlopers that the wii is seriously going to take it to the next level they try to make there own before e3 witch was horrible lets just be real here nintendo allways delivers on good old fun and lets not for get they made the rumble a standard and the anolog and 4 ports on the consol mario 64 was the first real 3d consol games man even the ds has a rumble pac that works great something the psp lacks so all you haters can keep your multi media fake next gen systems im geting me a wii with all the launch games even if it cost me 1000 dollers it will be well spent .P.S why would i want play games on a system that has great graphics but plays like gaMES FROM TEN YEARS AGO

  • gigaSheik

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:20 pm GMT

    Kingadam21:

    Cheers, man! See you later after the Nintendo conference!

  • grnidbandit

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 1:01 pm GMT

    Gimmick or not gimmick, nintendo will make a killing of the controller itself, a co-worker of mine pointed out the other day that there will be probably be a handful of gamers who throw their wii-mote by accident, or dropping it on a hard floor, i hope nintendo makes those controllers real durable

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:59 pm GMT

    k this shouldn't be making news.

  • dodgyd55

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:51 pm GMT

    makes a fair point its just not a gimmick controler

  • rey06

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:42 pm GMT

    oh eh,ok

  • bart8558

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:26 pm GMT

    When I buy one of those "Wii's" im going to tape a piece of paper over the system and sloppily scribble "REVOLUTION" on it.

  • Kingadam21

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:21 pm GMT

    gigasheik:

    Thank you for not being stupid, and thoroughly reading Mr. Miyamoto's comment!

  • Tk0vacs

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:18 pm GMT

    my point in my first post, was the wii mote is looking more like a gimmick than the innovation nintendo is lauding it to be. honestly how many people have donkey kongos or ddr dance pads or for that matter a light gun. albeit all these are seperate accesories. i think its great nintendo is trying to revolutionize the core gameplay mechanics. but it seems their focus is a little misplaced. it will really come down to how well sony succeds. as we all know where msoft stands

  • Sil3n7Knight

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:17 pm GMT

    *Prays to Miyamoto for a swift Super Mario Galaxy release*

  • jsambeckwith

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:06 pm GMT

    ENERSTAR: I'd say reasonably high. I mean, a lot of games were conceived in that state. Look at the first sonic's special stages. Wow.

  • Ices100

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:05 pm GMT

    What people don't already know is that this system is already the new standered, and if not why would sony of all companies try to copy it only to fail. It can work with just about anygame as long as it's made especially for it, so modern games like street fighter would be difficult to use it with....on the other hand though thats why they have two different types of controllers. I think everyone here at least knows it's going to be a the num 1 system especially after what was seen at E3, and as for graphics anyone to say anything bad about it doesn't know the meaning of the word. ...gamecube re4 anyone?

  • REVOLUTIONfreak

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:04 pm GMT

    Gamespot is never up to date on news, IGN had this posted days ago

  • remmbermytitans

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:04 pm GMT

    only another 24 hours or so....

  • capthunt

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 12:00 pm GMT

    pfff consoles

  • ENERSTAR

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 11:54 am GMT

    Forget the creative process, how high were they when they came up with such a brilliant idea?

  • LexLas

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 11:51 am GMT

    THERE WILL BE BIG NEWS TOMORROW ON THE WII !!!! CHECK IT OUT...

    http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/TheFeed/index.html

    I can't wait to know what it will be...........

  • KillbombX

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 11:50 am GMT

    I'll be getting a Wii, but only for first party and Wii exclusive games. Multiplatform games will most likely be bought on PS3 or 360. I have a feeling that Wii will end up just like my Gamecube...doing an awesome job collecting dust between major releases while I play other systems.

  • silverfang6

    Posted Sep 13, 2006 11:50 am GMT

    HELLO PEOPLE I hope someone can read this seeing how i am dead last but here i go to throw in my two cents.....
    1) Yes we all know the Gamecube bombed hard it's a known fact but it was defenitly a step in the right direction for the company...look for example they made Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube first and honestly it looked better then the PS2 version plus to get it on the PS4 it took them what 9 months...and it's not because of exclusive rights it was because the PS2 was underpowered compared to the Gamecube and the PS2 was a big pain in the @ss to work on....Sony makes crazy hardware specs but dosen't bother try to make it easy to program games for example "cell processor"
    2) Nintendo is a crazy inovator that designs new ways to play and they do a dam good job at it....i.e. The controller we use this day and age is because nintendo decided to invent the direction pad "nes", the analog stick "N64", rumble pack "N64" and of couse the far more sucessful then the PSP "DS" and now they are doing it again with the "weemote".
    I am confident they have a work around for the fighting genre because nintendo isn't that stuid knowing people are not going to be have with the results of playing a fighting game by jumping in the air with your fist all balled up high tryin to do a uppercut....to futher back this up in a interview with one of the creators of the new Smash Bros he stated that a convenital controller is going to be required because he dosen't feel it would work well with the "weemote"
    To all you haters out there "know your roots" and trust Nintendo on this concept they have yet to let me down and I personally think a 250 console that focuses on gameplay rather then "CG cut scences...." that someone boast are "real gameplay footage" and cost 600 dollars will defenitly be a better buy. And for the record I will probably own all three systems any true gamer would be no one can be happy about this price point with the ps3 do the math, a PS3 600 dollars, 1 game 60 dollars, a blu ray movie given the fact u have a 1080P television 30 dollars, hitting the creator of sony upside the face with a weemote priceless....

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