Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto speaks about being different

Anjali Rao of Talk Asia had the honor of interviewing legendary gaming icon Shigeru Miyamoto who was the man behind “Jump Man” Mario and Donkey Kong. Game designer, innovator, and 2007 GDCA Lifetime Achievement Awardee, Miyamoto has been the constant image of game revolution.

Shigeru Miyamoto started way, way, way back as an artist. When he was introduced to video games, his desire to be making toys and entertainment products grew even more. But his company only had him draw pictures, simply because the company didn’t make or sell video games. Soon, he became an industrial designer.

He then began to draw things related to video games and the machines that play them. He got lucky when he became part of a game’s development from planning to finish. The game? It’s none other than skull-scratching, chest-beating Donkey Kong. When Donkey Kong became a success, the game production part of the company came to a greater focus.

Miyamoto has been designing games ever since. Of course, being noted for his emphasis in revolutionizing, Nintendo also strives to innovate with him. The driving force of Nintendo isn’t focused on outselling; he says they always try to beat the competition by “trying to develop something that is totally unique.”

Presenting the Wii – the machine that is as revolutionary as its name. He has discussed the reason behind the name before, but this time he explains it in a whole different light:

Japanese people have a funny habit of abbreviating names. For instance if you have a “Family Computer,” people call it “Famicom”. We at Nintendo had thought of giving it a name that can not be abbreviated. It is a very short official name, and we wanted to add other words to create a new additional name. Such as “Wii Sports” “Wii Play” and so on. We debated how the Wii might be thought of in the English speaking countries. And we came to a conclusion that there is no other choice but to use this short, appealing name.

He explains further that every time something new can be made, good things are sure to happen. New things sprout new opportunities. As the former Nintendo president had said, “do not try to compete with the others, try to be the only one.” Nintendo often becomes the risk taker, but that’s the price to pay for setting themselves apart from others.

Setting apart from others? That’s clearly an understatement.

Read the whole Talk Asia interview with Ninty legend by clicking the link below.

Anjali Rao of Talk Asia had the honor of interviewing legendary gaming icon Shigeru Miyamoto who was the man behind “Jump Man” Mario and Donkey Kong. Game designer, innovator, and 2007 GDCA Lifetime Achievement Awardee, Miyamoto has been the constant image of game revolution.

Shigeru Miyamoto started way, way, way back as an artist. When he was introduced to video games, his desire to be making toys and entertainment products grew even more. But his company only had him draw pictures, simply because the company didn’t make or sell video games. Soon, he became an industrial designer.

He then began to draw things related to video games and the machines that play them. He got lucky when he became part of a game’s development from planning to finish. The game? It’s none other than skull-scratching, chest-beating Donkey Kong. When Donkey Kong became a success, the game production part of the company came to a greater focus.

Miyamoto has been designing games ever since. Of course, being noted for his emphasis in revolutionizing, Nintendo also strives to innovate with him. The driving force of Nintendo isn’t focused on outselling; he says they always try to beat the competition by “trying to develop something that is totally unique.”

Presenting the Wii – the machine that is as revolutionary as its name. He has discussed the reason behind the name before, but this time he explains it in a whole different light:

Japanese people have a funny habit of abbreviating names. For instance if you have a “Family Computer,” people call it “Famicom”. We at Nintendo had thought of giving it a name that can not be abbreviated. It is a very short official name, and we wanted to add other words to create a new additional name. Such as “Wii Sports” “Wii Play” and so on. We debated how the Wii might be thought of in the English speaking countries. And we came to a conclusion that there is no other choice but to use this short, appealing name.

He explains further that every time something new can be made, good things are sure to happen. New things sprout new opportunities. As the former Nintendo president had said, “do not try to compete with the others, try to be the only one.” Nintendo often becomes the risk taker, but that’s the price to pay for setting themselves apart from others.

Setting apart from others? That’s clearly an understatement.

Read the whole Talk Asia interview with Ninty legend by clicking the link below.