Fun is number one

Shigeru Miyamoto's reputation and prominence in the gaming industry means that his opinion is sought on a large number of issues, not always those specific to Nintendo itself. As the recognisable face for Mario and the company, he often reflects the opinions and ideology shared by his colleagues, so it's not surprising that his assessment of some current gaming trends isn't particularly positive.

In an interview with IGN, Miyamoto addresses the current prominence of first and third-person shooters on the market.

Sometimes I get worried about the continued reliance on making games that are so centered around guns, and that there are so many of these games. I have a hard time imagining – particularly for young generations of gamers – how they sit down and play and interact with that.

Previous forms of media, like books, made it easy for parents to know and understand what they’re buying for their children. With the transition into digital mediums it becomes more difficult for parents to have a full grasp of what’s going on. From a game developer’s standpoint it’s important to take that into account.

When asked about his role as 'Mr Nintendo' in public appearances, including the highly competitive environment at E3, Miyamoto's response was to emphasize his own priorities for games and his work.

It’s something that’s tough for me to objectively look at, and I think to me, what’s most important, is that I don’t betray the trust that people have in me. At a show like this, it’s my job to show we’re all having fun. People come to E3 and they want to talk about competition and who won the show, and all these companies combating one another.

But what we’re meant to be doing is bringing fun to the world. So rather than focusing on competition, I feel it’s my job to go up on stage and show how I can bring fun to the world by having fun myself.

While Wii U will have its share of shooters, do you feel that the gaming landscape is dominated by those kinds of titles?

[source uk.ign.com]