Nintendo’s iconic developer Shigeru Miyamoto speaks to new hires every year to gauge the company’s values and what it takes to create great video games. At this month’s earnings call, an investor asked Miyamoto what he was saying during his speech.
I read in an article about the Nintendo museum that Mr. Miyamoto was giving a speech to the new employees
every year. what are you talking about Also, I would like to hear about your succession plans, from a
creative point of view. I impression from the outside is that you keep churning out hits
because you are a genius. I guess it’s hard to convey the basics of game creation,
so what efforts are you making? Do you think the essence of your creative thinking
is successfully transferred within the company?
Miyamoto: You called me a “genius”, but I consider myself quite ordinary. I give a speech every year
to roughly 100 to 200 new graduates and mid-career employees, and after that people often say yes
they wondered what kind of person I was and were relieved to see that I was surprising
ordinary. I often think it would be fun if I didn’t have to work, so I’m always thinking about things like, well, if I have to work, how can I do it more efficiently. And if I’m going to do it
the same job, how can I make it more urgent, because when a project is a hit, it creates the future
easier to work with. In a speech I give every year, I touch on the challenges that come with creativity
work.
I annual speech is divided into three parts. The first part covers the history of Nintendo,
starting with the hanafuda of playing cards, passing through toys, and leading to what we have
to become the entertainment company we are today. The second part focuses on what Nintendo
values in game creation and what are our strengths. For example, I discuss evolution
game interface following the evolution of our controllers since the arcade days. In the third
part, I do game design. New developers, especially those who are avid gamers, often
they tend to create upgraded versions of the games they played before, but I explain it
game design isn’t about that.
Instead, it’s about observing the world around us and figuring it out
how to assemble these elements into an interesting video game. I explain that game design
it’s about planning. That is, it is about assessing what kind of hardware and development environment
used to create a game, can the desired game be realized with the available
processing power and engaging in trial and error to bring it to life. Many participants think so
a perspective refreshing in that it differs from their own game design concept or sense that
they sympathize with our product creation philosophy.
The conversation only lasts about two hours each year, to help employees keep what they have
learned, I think it will be beneficial for them to visit the Nintendo Museum to explore the history
our challenges from the past.
Takahashi: The manufacturers at Nintendo, who develop a diverse range of games, use their own individuals
strength to create unique products. They listen to various stories from Mr. Miyamoto and
work closely with him to create games, with each person considering how these ideas can be
apply within their areas of expertise. The producers are thinking about what Mr. Miyamoto has
shared about his philosophy while creating games with his own abilities, and this
perspective is shared with their development teams in the same form.
