Miyamoto is a legend in the industry.  Though one could certainly argue that many of Miyamoto's earlier successes were as popular with the casual gamer as they were with what is now considered the core gamer, his games led to the creation of the devoted fan groups we consider hardcore today.  In particular, the original Zelda was so rich and full of content for its time that many fell in love, spending hours upon hours of their time unlocking secrets found within.

A few years ago, Miyamoto began speaking about how he had stopped playing games in his free time and I began to worry.  I understand that games had become too complicated in a sense, but at the same time the way he was talking didn't seem to allude to a refocusing on what made old-school Nintendo games classics.  It sounded as if he was ready to move on.  Miyamot has not lost his creative edge, it seems he has instead redirected it toward an experience that a wider audience can get around.  Whereas in the past you would expect him to unleash games in less casual franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Pikmin while at E3, he instead is now more likely to advocate casual titles like "Nintendogs" or the "Wii Music."

Nintendo still continues most of its core franchises, though at times seemingly without much thought.  Either way, from what I have been able to tell, Miyamoto no longer invests a heavy hand in most of these titles.

Has Miyamoto abandonned the types of games he once in many ways pioneered? Has his focus changed or has he always been concerned with the mass market?  One could argue perhaps that Mario or even Zelda targetted the same crowd as a Wii Sports, Nintendogs, or even a Wii Fit.  Perhaps Miyamoto has been targetting a more casual audience all along.  If so, perhaps he is more happy with the Wii's direction, all matters or financial success aside, than any of Nintendo's previous consoles for that reason.

I'm not sure how I feel about Miyamoto at this juncture - still one of the most influential and best-regarded talents in the industry, I can't help to wonder if he has already began to take his farewell bow out of the videogame-limelight.

I've been somewhat disappointed with Miyamoto over the last few years, especially since the Wii was introduced. It seems that the franchises he pioneered and made into household names (Mario, Zelda) take a backseat to things like Wii Fit and Wii Music. He has created some of my favorite games in the past with games like Super Mario Bros and Zelda 3 still being among some of my favorite games to this date.

Maybe it's the change of the times or just the direction Nintendo want to push the Wii in, but it's a shame to see Mario be overshadowed by games like Wii Fit. Look at E3 last year for example, they spoke about Wii Fit for a long time and hardly even mentioned Mario Kart Wii. It felt like Mario Kart Wii was a third party game the way it was put over.

I just hope in the future we'll see him introduce some new groundbreaking games that intererest the old school and core gamer. I'm not a fan of these Wii gimmick games he's currently working on so I hope he'll soon take a step away from them, he's got way too much creativity to waste it on them. I'd prefer him just to create another epic Zelda game and for it to not take as long as Twilight Princess did!

The worst times for Microsoft set in as Bill Gates started letting control go to other people

The worst times for Nintendo set in as Miyamoto started letting control go to other people

I think he has to be more involved in the games that Nintendo is making. It's still making some AAA titles, but lots of it is pure garbage

I agree with Sabious. He made Nintendo with Mario and Zelda(and plenty other titles too), but now he's neglecting the titles that made him and the company for a more casual audience. They need to make casual games a side project, not their main concern.

"I agree with Sabious. He made Nintendo with Mario and Zelda(and plenty other titles too), but now he's neglecting the titles that made him and the company for a more casual audience. They need to make casual games a side project, not their main concern.
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"LightYagami245 said:
That sounds good and all, but they did that last generation, and look how that worked out.

The Wii is making a ton of money right now, and not much of it is due to the core gamer.
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The industry has moved so fast and games have become so complicated (we've gone from an average of  2 controller buttons to around 12) that I think Miyamoto wants to simplify things for new generations. Its the same as when George Lucas decided to make the new Star Wars films for a new generation (so there is good reason for people to be worried).

Well, Miyamoto is not going to lose my respect, even though I agree he is shifting his view. One one podcast, I heard Miyamoto mention that Wii Music was great because it was a toy, and not a game. I do not think he's completely given up on making "game" games, as he's working on Pikmin 3. But let's face it, Nintendo has not been a pioneer of software innovation for some time. To be sure, they've done some remarkable things with hardware, but they truly have only a small amount of IPs, which end up being re-hashed again and again.

Miyamoto is getting old, and he's making games that will make him happy now. Shame.

No. He even stated himself that he's best at making traditional games, although he enjoys making educational/casual games anyway. Right now, he's working on both but is focused on his traditional games. He hasn't announced them yet and probably doesn't plan to until a few months or so before they're released.

Lost? No but losing is yes.

Actually, the question should be  "Was Miyamoto ever in touch with the core gamer?"

I actually made an image earlier today that sums up how I feel about things.

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1808/miyamotwofacegy3.jpg

No image upload working for me just yet, but may the reign of Miyamo-Two-Face end soon. We deserve to have our faith rewarded.

He should focus on creating a new successful IP like Zelda or Mario instead of helping in the development of stupid stuff like Wii Music. Right now Nintendo is basing on first party IP's and has almost no third party support, if they don't create new characters the iconic ones are getting old and sooner or later people will start to get bored like "Oh another Mario game, oh the same suits, look he is a racoon", it sucks that the wii only has Mario, Zelda and Metroid as AAA games, create something new and give the short italian plumber some rest!!

What is Nintendo's obsession will the phrase "core gamer" lol

no he hasn't. he admitted recently that he works best when doing a more traditional game as opposed to things like wii music so I think we'll see more stuff from him next year. this is the perfect year for wii owners to get another console in addition to the wii

Considering Miyamoto-san made the core gamer what it is by simply making games he wanted to make, not specifically catering for anyone in particular, I don't think he was ever in touch with the core gamer, but more in touch with his own imagination and experiences. Considering his stance on making games has not changed, and creation of games is still based on his whimsy, experiences, and genius, I believe it is the core gamer that has lost touch with him.

Well, he did happen to make this comment regarding his target audience not too long ago.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/18/miyamoto-says-nintendo-not-targeting-core-with-e3/

Admittedly it's about E3, but who other than the "core audience" is really going to be paying any significant attention to E3?

Miyamoto is and always will be an incredible man but when he calls Wii Music a great idea, you got me worried. And don't get me started with how much I HATE the Wii. His games used to be for everyone, but now he's just focuses on bringing in non-gamers.

I dont really care at this point, I dont care about nintendo

I personally think that if you cant please yourlself first, you won't be able to please others.

The case is the same with Miyamoto. I agree that I don't like the general direction he is headed in, but he has given us many years of adventures and will continue to as well as he can. As good as these game developers are they, they are probably starting feel their age, thus It will be important for them to step back and say 'I've had a good run'. Not saying that Miyamoto is getting terribly old( he is only 56),but there are alot of visionaries, creators and pioneers in every respective profession that will and have moved onto simpler things because they realize the accomplishments they've already made.

To answer your main questions; I dont think he has abandoned what made him a legend, I still think that he will show us something amazing in the times to come. As far as his viewpoint, I don't think it has changed very much to whatever it was; whether it was towards the traditional gamer or towards attracting various amounts of people from different lifestyles.

I don't think that he's lost anything. He's just trying to make what pays.

"He should focus on creating a new successful IP like Zelda or Mario instead of helping in the development of stupid stuff like Wii Music. Right now Nintendo is basing on first party IP's and has almost no third party support, if they don't create new characters the iconic ones are getting old and sooner or later people will start to get bored like "Oh another Mario game, oh the same suits, look he is a racoon", it sucks that the wii only has Mario, Zelda and Metroid as AAA games, create something new and give the short italian plumber some rest!!
"

"I dont really care at this point, I dont care about nintendo"

I don't think Miyamoto has lost a thing. This is about Nintendo's direction first and foremost, not Miyamoto's. Nintendo will allow Miyamoto to make anything he wants to, he has that freedom, but he has to adhere to the company vision for the future, which right now is expanding the audience. That's something which Nintendo are doing very well. Now that they have audience, as well as the money, they can invest heavily in the core titles and be more creative with their design.




Miyamoto spoke about the core titles a little while back:


Miyamoto was quizzed as to why the latest entries in both franchises weren't as "radically different from their predecessors".

For Zelda he's been telling development teams that Twilight Princess, the last entry in the Zelda line, wasn't a bad game but that he "felt like there was something missing."

For Mario he felt that although they did take the series forward from Sunshine and Super Mario 64, "certain elements of it do feel somewhat conservative in terms of how far we branched out with design."  

With that in mind, Miyamoto hopes the next installment of Zelda or a forthcoming Mario will feel newer and fresher than their most recent versions.

More onMiyamoto's thoughts in the MTV Interview.

"I don't think Miyamoto has lost a thing. This is about Nintendo's direction first and foremost, not Miyamoto's. Nintendo will allow Miyamoto to make anything he wants to, he has that freedom, but he has to adhere to the company vision for the future, which right now is expanding the audience. That's something which Nintendo are doing very well. Now that they have audience, as well as the money, they can invest heavily in the core titles and be more creative with their design.




Miyamoto spoke about the core titles a little while back:


Miyamoto was quizzed as to why the latest entries in both franchises weren't as "radically different from their predecessors".

For Zelda he's been telling development teams that Twilight Princess, the last entry in the Zelda line, wasn't a bad game but that he "felt like there was something missing."

For Mario he felt that although they did take the series forward from Sunshine and Super Mario 64, "certain elements of it do feel somewhat conservative in terms of how far we branched out with design."  

With that in mind, Miyamoto hopes the next installment of Zelda or a forthcoming Mario will feel newer and fresher than their most recent versions.

More onMiyamoto's thoughts in the MTV Interview.



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