Miyamoto says GameCube pad "really underwhelmed"

via Computer and Video Games


Mario man Shigeru Miyamoto has delved into Nintendo's past to discuss where the company might be going in the future.

Frank and honest in his answers, Miyamoto criticised the GameCube controller and how his ambivalence towards it made him consider the problems in the gaming industry in general.

"We made it as a culmination of everything leading up to it, but it really underwhelmed. This line of thinking doesn't give us anything else to shoot for, does it?

"The GameCube controller is a product of us feeling that, without this or that, people wouldn't be able to play the games we make.

"But then we realised that was a problem, that we were thinking based on that controller as the premise."

Miyamoto went on to explain the two main ideas behind the DS. "The first was something Mom won't hate," he said.

"It had always been that if your Mom caught you playing Mario she would frown, but if she walked in while you were watching a Disney movie she'd be all smiles".

"The other theme was 'making it so you could bring the system to school.' Why can't a game system help out at school, right?

"I wanted to make titles like [the Japanese/kanji dictionary released only in Japan] even if they didn't sell. If we could succeed in getting them out there and take that next step, people might be able to take their DS's out into public or to school."

Miyamoto also tackled questions about the Wii Fit peripheral, saying, "If it continues to gain popularity overseas, that's something I look forward to, since it means more Wii Balance Board titles might come out."

Finally, he hinted at where he sees the DS going in the future. "Once people can use it in a wide range of public places, we could probably set up servers and create a good environment that links together play at home and play on the go-then work game technology into that.

"When you take your DS out on the town, you'll be able to do all kinds of fun things with it in public spaces. This year we plan to challenge ourselves with that kind of system."