14 DAY TRIAL // The gaming industry has a lot of iconic figures in the form of reputed game designers that have shaped the way we interact with games and how we can enjoy them in the privacy of our own home or on the go, thanks to handheld devices.
Without a doubt, one of the most respected designers is Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of franchises like Mario or The Legend of Zelda. He gained the status of cult icon and it seems that almost everything he touches turns to gold.
Sadly, things aren't always so, as Nintendo hasn't been going through the best of times recently, both in software and hardware sales. A lot of hopes were put in Wii Music, Nintendo's own alternative to music titles, which was created by Miyamoto. This didn't perform as expected, and now the president of the company, Satoru Iwata, has talked about it, stating that, contrary to popular belief, Miyamoto isn't a god.
“One of the reasons why Miyamoto is highly praised is because of his ability to stop, rethink about, and fix how he can convey the appeal of a software when he finds out during the latter phase of development that the software will not be good enough,” Iwata says. “This is why the games he has worked on have a high batting average to produce big hits. However, he is not God and even Miyamoto himself cannot hit the mark every time nor always predict how long it takes to complete development”
The president has then reassessed his company's desire to bring even more innovation to the industry and will continue to deliver never-before-seen things to the average user. “We are making efforts to not miss out on great opportunities. We are always searching for the next fun thing. With luck and some preparations, we hope to identify and catch these opportunities when they appear in front of us. However, no one can tell when these will comes to us, and it is inevitable that we may not always be able to launch our products at the most desirable timings.”
So, it seems that Miyamoto isn't really a divine figure and that he can also make mistakes, even though most of them aren't very noticeable.