Miyamoto doet stap terug van franchise, zoekt monsterhit

Shigeru Miyamoto neemt toch een stap terug van de grote franchises van Nintendo, zodat hij zich kan concentreren op zijn eigen projecten. Met die onaangekondigde games hoopt de gevierde ontwikkelaar een nieuwe monsterhit te maken.

“The ideal situation is one in which I do not need to give any direction. My giving directions may hold back my subordinates’ independent and voluntary growth”, zegt Miyamoto in een gesprek met investeerders na de bekendmaking van hun kwartaalcijfers. “Of course, I do not let everyone go totally unchecked. I supervise whenever necessary. I end up using less of my energy and, as a result, I am starting to have time that I can spend for myself.”

En met 'myself' bedoelt Shiggy 'Nintendo'. Wanneer Miyamoto niet bezig is met zijn managementtaken, komt zijn creativiteit opborrelen.

“I am spending more time than before on finding new ideas for new developments rather than focusing my energy on work in my teams in order to solidify the contents of (existing) franchise titles. I am acting with the understanding that one big hit title can change multiple phases of a situation in the entertainment business, and I feel that finding such one big hit is my basic job.”

Miyamoto is ervan overtuigd dat zijn teamleden goede games kunnen maken. Daarnaast overziet Satoru Iwata, directeur bij Nintendo, een tweede gigantische ontwikkeldivisie, wat alle geruchten wegneemt die claimden dat Miyamoto de enige zou zijn die alle first party-projecten zou overzien.

“No single person can replace Mr. Miyamoto instantaneously. They are living in a different age from Mr. Miyamoto and their experiences are different from Mr. Miyamoto’s", zegt Iwata.

“On the other hand, there have been many people who have observed how Mr. Miyamoto works, have worked with him or have been left in situations where they have to take on more significant responsibility without being allowed to be dependent upon Mr. Miyamoto. I am confident that people are growing. Even for the development fields that required Mr. Miyamoto’s involvement in the past, the situation is changing."

“Of course, there are the areas that we have to say, ‘Miyamoto’s involvement certainly makes a difference here.’ However, when we look at the culture and know-how held as a group, not just one particular person at any given time, the situation has significantly changed over the past 10 years. Please take this as a remark from an individual who has been watching Mr. Miyamoto.”