Ice Fox 111 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Hello all, whilst browsing through my stacks of gaming magazines I came across a forgotten gem from long ago: a copy of N64 magazine from December 2000. The exact same time the Gamecube had just been announced/shown at Spaceworld. Inside was an exclusive interview with the genius himself, and now I type it up for all to see. You're welcome. -- Q: Gamecube's described as 'the first of its kind'. Why? A: We're advocating that from the standpoint of game creation. Of course, based on the specifications, there are different perspectives, and opinion will inevitably differ. Is Gamecube the best graphics-rendering machine ever? No, it isn't. But from the viewpoint of software creators, Gamecube is the most powerful and well-balanced games machine, and the cheapest to develop for. That's why we say it's 'the ultimate videogames machine and the first of it's kind.' Q: What's the Gamecube philosophy? A: It's very simple. Multi-purpose games machines so often end up being machines that can't do anything. I've seen many hardware manufacturers say, "Look, we've made the machine, it's up to you to decide how to use it". I don't like that. Now is the time that the game creators should get together to lead the market. Nintendo are good at entertaining, and we guarantee that Gamecube will be fun. We can be proud of providing guaranteed-quality software. Q: Will Gamecube win the upcoming console wars? A: Well, we're not cowards, but we certainly don't have any intention of fighting anybody. As far as the 'console wars' are concerned, please count us out. We like to go our own way. But we are working on what gamers want - and that's fresh and exciting games. I want Gamcube to be a machine the whole family can use, and we don't want them to think about how much it will cost. That's enshrined in the controller design, the box design, the cheap chipsets and the reasonable price. Those of you that have experienced Super Mario Bros in your childhood may now be of the generation where you have children that are starting to play games. That's what videogames should be - things the whole family can play. Q: Will Gamecube represent the same leap that N64 did? A: The evolution from N64 to Gamecube will be similar to the leap from the NES to SNES. It will offer a matured version of existing technology. Having said that, I'm sure your introduction to Gamecube will match your first experience of Super Mario 64. Q: Are you happy with the move from cartridges to discs? A: Yes, you're actually touching a very sore point there, but, as a matter of fact, I'm not too concerned about it now. We've taken a variety of measures to prevent loading-time problems with the discs. The sheer amount of memory is enough to get over the problem, and I don't think you'll see much difference in terms of having cartridges or not. But we've noticed that PlayStation owners are very generous when it comes to waiting for games to load! Q: How long did you spend designing the controller? A: The Gamecube controller is the one that I've spent the longest time on - it's around three years since I first started work on the design, and there were 40 or 50 different concept versions after the original concept. Our user target is very general - even a person who's never touched a controller can use the Gamecube joypad. Your grandmother can use it, even children with small hands can use it. Q: What can we expect from the big Nintendo characters? A: I have to admit that, of course, we are working on Gamecube games featuring our most popular characters. The staff members who worked on Lylat Wars are very eager to work on a new game, too. But there are lots of potential projects that we have to review simultaneously, and, frankly speaking, I don't want a situation where our creative staff are solely occupied with the continuation of established game series. Q: What about Metroid? A: Of course, you saw Metroid in the demo footage. But there ws no sign that said "This is a Metroid game". Many people asked about a new version of Metroid, what we can expect from Metroid and so on, so we showed some footage! What is important is that we start with ideas, then make characters and so on, and see what's good and whats bad as we go along. Q: So does "Luigi's Mansion" show the more mature side of the Mario brothers? A: Yes, I think you will agree that in the Gamecube footage, Luigi is less childish than he used to be. That's what I meant when I was reffering to Mario and Luigi becoming more mature - in terms of the look of the game and the character. I didn't mean that Mario would be like "Conker's Bad Fur Day"! Q: Are you keen on creating some new characters? A: Can you write down some new characters that I can use? [Laughter] Well, you know Pokemon has become so powerful that I think I had better come up with some new characters! Q: Why not show us more games now? A: We're ery aware of the leakages of game secrets, so we don't want to reveal even what kind of games can be expected. I had much more to show at Spaceworld, but the PR division told me 'no'! About 70% of our staff members are now devoting themselves to Gamecube and GBA games. Q: Do you see a future for 'interactive movies'? A: We are making interactive entertainment. We can all be the pioneers in creating something different from movies. When people say 'we are going to make an interactive movie', they are really saying 'let's spend money of gorgeous graphics and sound', I think we should be spending time and money making magic. You may have seen Animal Forest on the N64. This encourages communication between parents and children, and doesn't have the concept of levels of difficulty, or hurting others. I'm looking forward to realising this approach on Gamecube. Q: Is third-party support guaranteed? A: Of course, we never force third-party companies to make games for Nintendo, but with Gamecube it's going to be very, very easy, and the hardware capacity is going to be much, much bigger than other consoles'. I believe that third-party developers will find it very easy to develop software for the Gamecube as opposed to the N64 - the cartridge system was quite difficult to work with. Q: What other developers do you most admire? A: Rare. Rare make very good games. But otherwise, there are not many unusual or unique games out there at the moment - and that's what we should all be doing. Q: Where do your ideas come from? A: I always think what I'd like to do myself, and the kind of game I'd like to play. I start with a technical experiment and have lots of conversations, then get some kind of conclusion about what kind of 'play' I'd like. Or I think, "Is this going to please game-players, or surprise them?". What is most important is the initial idea; if it's not good, then the morale of the people working on that game won't be high. I always keep in mind what was important to me when we were children, and what was fun then. That's the core of many of my games. Q: What have you got planned for the future? A: I really want to make something very unique, very different. But, as you may know, I now have a responsibility at Nintendo as one of the board of directors, so I have to see a much bigger picture. I'm supervising about 30 titles at one time, and I'm only deeply involved with two or three - for example, the Mario and Zelda series. I'd prefer to have a small team, but the new approach we have of making games and consoles for the whole family is really fun for me right now. Q: What's your plan for Gamecube's and GBA's online capabilities? A: We're targeting the launch of Gamecube so that some kind of game will take advantage of the modem, and online capabilities will be launched with the Gamecube. I think I should refrain from going into the details! Q: Finally, do you still play the banjo? A: [Laughs] Well, I'm actually very bad with the banjo, but I do enjoy guitar, and especially acoustic guitar, and I often practice playing it... -- There you have it...so what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Krystal Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I think I've read this before, years and years ago. Once again, Nintendo sticks to their guns, the guns they've had since the NES days. "Make it fun, worry about graphics later." I had forgotten how much they were trying to expand the gaming market back then. Thankfully, they've really succeeded with the Wii. PS - I thought of a game idea in the time I was reading this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Fox 111 Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 Cool...you get things done, there, Dwight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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