CG Exclusive: Interview With Shigeru Miyamoto

Miyamoto-san talks about Wii Fit, upending tea tables, and why Donkey Kong is so $@#%ing hard.
5/20/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 3

So when we began designing the Wii, what we really wanted to do was bring that uniqueness and freshness back to a point where everybody could relate to it. And so our thinking behind it was that we wanted a device that people will play together in the living room; a device that will kind of give rise to new interactions and new conversations within the family; a device about which people will think, This is a machine that is fun and entertaining that I want to have in my house.

Crispy Gamer: How many tea tables were upended while developing Wii Fit?

Miyamoto: Making Wii Fit actually went pretty well. We took our time, and we didn't really have to upend the tea table. Why? Because we took our time setting the table properly.

I think where we had the greatest challenge was in designing the balance board. Originally, we started off with just one sensor in the balance board. Gradually, over development, we finally moved to a total of four sensors. Also originally, the balance board was designed to be plugged into the Wii remote, and we decided that having the Wii remote plugged into the balance board and on the floor would just get in the way and be too complicated. So we decided to include all of the wireless technology inside the balance board itself.

I think from that side, in developing the balance board, that's where our greatest struggles were. In other words, instead of upending the tea table for the software team, I ended up upending the tea table for the hardware team.

Crispy Gamer: You've been in this business as long as anybody. You've seen lots of changes, lots of things come and go. What else do you see down the line? What will we see next? Can you look into your crystal ball and tell us: What's the next evolution, or revolution?

Miyamoto: Well, my plan isn't, now that I've created Wii Fit, to create a bunch of fitness applications. But I've come to realize that the interactive technologies and interfaces behind videogames are something that can be applied in a lot of different ways and in a lot of different areas.

Obviously there are a lot of different technologies out there. To my mind, there are still a lot of ways out there, given the intuitive ease of the interactive interfaces that game designers are so talented at creating, to combine these technologies to help improve people's lifestyles and to bring new benefits to them. So, all I can really say is that I can see myself looking at different ways that we can do that in the future.

Crispy Gamer: Finally: Are you using Wii Fit yourself? You're looking quite trim these days.

Miyamoto: I go to the gym and I play Wii Fit. I weigh myself with Wii Fit, and with my other scale as well, so I'm doing what I can to take care of myself. I've probably lost about two kilograms since we started working on Wii Fit, which is about four and a half pounds. Not bad, right?