Miyamoto: 'DS was designed with mothers and school in mind'

by Chris Greenhough { Jan 30th 2008 at 8:00PM }

For its 1,000th issue, lucky old Famitsu got quite the gift: a chance to sit down with Nintendo design guru Shigeru Miyamoto and chew the fat about Nintendo's past, present, and future.

As you'd expect, numerous topics were broached, with the DS talked about at length. Miyamoto explained how Nintendo approached designing the handheld, revealing that the company aimed for "something Mom won't hate," as well as a system that could help out at school.

As for what the future holds for the dual-screened wonder, Miyamoto said Nintendo was focused on making games that people would want to play at both home and, well, everywhere else: "When you take your DS out on the town, you'll be able to do all kinds of fun things with it in public spaces. This year we plan to challenge ourselves with that kind of system."

Elsewhere in the article, Shiggy discusses how his dismay with the GameCube controller directly influenced the development of the Wii Remote (the reporter apparently tried to defend the controller, but Miyamoto was having none of it), and reassured fans that Mario and Zelda still had big roles to play in Nintendo's future.

Tags: famitsu, GameCube, Miyamoto, Wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Brello @ Jan 30th 2008 8:09PM

What's wrong with the gamecube controller?

Kasey Johnson @ Jan 30th 2008 8:19PM

Nothing inherently bad, it was just the strange button placements, and it was somewhat small for most American hands I guess.

Sora267 @ Jan 30th 2008 8:42PM

"somewhat small for most American hands I guess."

Not really; I'm a fatass with gigantic hands and I prefer using the 3rd party Mini controller. o.O

Brello @ Jan 30th 2008 8:51PM

I'll admit, the shoulder buttons could have been better. Clickly clicky click gets old.

Joshua @ Jan 30th 2008 11:21PM

GameCube controller is the best I've ever used.

Can't imagine Melee without it...

Nigeria @ Jan 31st 2008 9:15AM

The Gamecube controller was worst controller of the last generation.

The erratic button placement was horrid, especially for traditional fighting games. And what was up with the Z button?

It didn't even have a serviceable D-pad. How can you have a controller without a decent D-pad? But the Wii/DS sort of rectified this situation, though not by much.

Frederik @ Jan 31st 2008 2:13PM

The worst of the last generation, are you serious? It fit perfectly in my hands, the analog stick was comfy (and placed sensibly, unlike on the Dual Shock), and the buttons were easily accessable. It was the best of the last generation, without a doubt.

Salty Soil @ Jan 30th 2008 11:02PM

So, because Zelda games weren't selling madly in Japan (before Wii), Nintendo figures the whole video game market is disappearing? Or just their share of it?

Also seconding the "what's wrong with the gamecube controller."

dreamparacite @ Jan 31st 2008 12:08AM

Eh, I don't like the C button thing, because some games could use 4 little buttons next to each other sometimes...plus doing OoT on Wii with it is...interesting. I know that's not really backing up my argument since the controller was meant for gamecube games but....ack! Shoulder buttons.

Anticrawl @ Jan 31st 2008 12:42AM

No offense, I love my DS but can Nintendo maybe make their next handheld and/or console with GAMERS in mind? Come on now, we've been footing the bill for over 20 years for Nintendo, it is time for us to get our due. Nintendo owes us that much. You guys can't say they aren't using our undying loyalty to make a killing off everything they sell. Perhaps next time they could take one for the gaming community for a year or two until the price of their hardware drops. I like gameplay but I also like power, and ample power means prettier visuals, better physics and AI. Plus there is a lacking of really great games on the DS that I'm a fan of. I want to buy more DS games but I can't seem to find anymore I want that are out. Granted the PSP has a great deal less.

Anyway Nintendo, you owe us. Make something that isn't laughed off the stage like the Wii was before. You're one of the most profitable companies in the world, use some of it to give back to the industry and satisfy the majority of Nintendo fans. Use that Wii and DS money to compete with the other two companies on every level and keep you're unique twists on gameplay intact.

raindog @ Feb 2nd 2008 3:23AM

I've been playing games for literally over 30 years, and the Wii is the most enjoyable console I've owned since about 1983. Yes, even more enjoyable than the NES, which I'd peg several levels below my Commodore 64 or Amiga 500.

The only gamers the Wii isn't aimed at is the Johnny-come-latelies who didn't start gaming till the nineties or later.

Anticrawl @ Feb 2nd 2008 10:23PM

Have to disagree. My father introduced me to gaming around 1984-86, he was big into gaming since Ralph Baer released the first gaming system. I find the Wii to be lacking in any real original and fullfilling content these days. I have about 8-10 Wii games (not counting virtual console games) and haven't felt compelled to pick any of them up after the initial first day or two of playing. I had more games for the Gamecube that I could pick up and play anytime or any day and enjoy them with or without friends.

I do suppose this will change when SSB:Brawl comes out though.

Just because you carry yourself as an elitist gamer doesn't mean your opinion is all inclusive or correct. I'd imagine the majority of gamers (new and old) wanted more from the Wii. In fact my dad got a Wii of his own just for Excite Truck because Excite Bike was his favorite arcade game of all time and was shocked at how little fun could be taken from it.