A game can innovate only by introducing new concepts

Jul 9, 2013 09:50 GMT  ·  By

Shigeru Miyamoto, the main game creator working for Nintendo, says that the company does not need to create a new game world and characters, but needs to focus on the development of mechanics that are interesting for gamers to explore.

He tells GameInformer that, “Certainly within Nintendo, we have people internally who are saying, ‘Well, we have our old characters from our old games, and that’s old IP, and we should think about creating new IP.’ But the question that we always ask is: ‘Does a new character really make it a new game?’”

The company has traditionally focused on a small number of protagonists, like Mario and Link, and supporting characters, but has constantly created new game experiences around them.

Miyamoto adds, “the answer to that is no. What makes it a new game is new gameplay and new interactions. So when we’re creating a game, we’re always looking at it from, ‘What is the gameplay, and how are making that gameplay new?’ And then, ‘Who is the character that is best suited to that gameplay?’”

The only moment when Miyamoto admits that new characters are required is when the gameplay concept created is not a good fit for any existing franchise.

The developer says that Pikmin was made because Nintendo had no other game universe that could support its core ideas.

The third game in the series is set to arrive on the Wii U home console in late August.

Nintendo is aiming to bring as many big franchises as possible to its new platform in order to revive its sales, which have been disappointing for the first three months of 2013.

The company expects to move 9 million consoles to gamers before March 31 of next year and most players believe that a price cut is the only way of achieving the objective.