Miyamoto is a "Slightly More Friendly Steve Jobs"

[The Wooster]

Miyamoto is a "Slightly More Friendly Steve Jobs"

Shigeru Miyamoto is "just as cutting" as Apple co-founder, Steve jobs, according to one Star Fox developer.

"His style of chasing ideas and cutting through bullshit is brilliant," said Q-Games founder, Dylan Cuthbert, when asked asked to describe his experiences working alongside industry legend, Shigeru Miyamoto. "Internally he's kind of like a slightly more friendly Steve Jobs, but just as cutting."

While his public image is that of an affable, off-beat genius, effortlessly outstripping rival developers with his quirky charm and eye for compelling simplicity, those who've worked with Miyamoto often paint him as a driven and demanding perfectionist.

"For example, staff members who have worked with me for a long time will often come up to me and say, 'I thought of something' but about 70% of the time, I say, 'That won't work,'" he said during an interview in 2011.

Likewise, while known mostly as the fashionably-scruffy "digital auteur" who made computing cool again, Steve Jobs has been described as "a tough guy to work for" and "hard to like" by former employees.

It does seem somehow fitting that two men who radically changed the faces of their respective industries might share some of the same character traits. That being said, much like how the average Apple enthusiast was willing to forgive Jobs his personal excesses given his marketing genius, I imagine the average gamer wouldn't bat an eyelid if they found out Miyamoto spends his evenings shoveling interns into a furnace, providing he starts work on Pikmin 3 once he's done.

Source: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/notes/game/game-mailbag-q-games-dylan-cuthbert-answers-your-questions/10151094789971000]

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[Ne1butme]

If you keep performing a Chabudai Gaeshi, then you might get reputation. However, creating some of the best video games ever will also give you a reputation. I suppose one has a lot to do with the other.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

Now we need an epic rap battle for Steve Jobs vs Shigeru Miyamoto.

 

[Fappy]

Well I am glad my current job doesn't have me sitting in a furnace then D:

I can see Miyamoto being a die-hard perfectionist. Just look at the level of polish on nearly every game he has ever worked on.

 

[Davroth]

Kudos for finding the most menacing and sinister looking Miyamoto picture ever. XD

Makes perfect sense to me, btw. Whether you like the big Nintendo franchises or not, Miyamoto always delivers quality work in ever project he's involved, at least as far as I'm aware of.

 

[bimon_1234567]

"[...] the average Apple enthusiast was willing to forgive Jobs his personal excesses given his marketing genius [...]"

Wait, what? Being good at marketing is now an excuse for being a jerk? That's a new low.

Why do people feel the need to idolize the head honcho of a company that makes stuff they like anyway? I like the toilet paper I regularly buy but you don't see me worshiping the head of the company that makes it.

 

[mfeff]

Both men are known for being extremely pragmatic in their philosophies, which is not much of a shock considering both are/were practicing Zen Buddhist of the Soto school. Zen folk have a tendency to be very "no bullshit", considering that is the focus and or point of the practice. As far as Shigeru shutting down nonsense from junior co-workers? Welcome to Japan.

Really slow news week... I gather?

 

[fieryshadowcard]

Why do people feel the need to idolize the head honcho of a company that makes stuff they like anyway? I like the toilet paper I regularly buy but you don't see me worshiping the head of the company that makes it.

The difference in satisfaction is that at the end of the day, you don't keep your used toilet paper for future use and/or appreciation. Not sure what your analogy was going for.

 

[Waaghpowa]

Steve Jobs has been described as "a tough guy to work for" and "hard to like" by former employees.

I think this is being nice.

 

[draythefingerless]

Both men are known for being extremely pragmatic in their philosophies, which is not much of a shock considering both are/were practicing Zen Buddhist of the Soto school. Zen folk have a tendency to be very "no bullshit", considering that is the focus and or point of the practice. As far as Shigeru shutting down nonsense from junior co-workers? Welcome to Japan.

Really slow news week... I gather?

except its not junior co workers, its long time staff members, people experienced and worked with him long time.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

(Bear in mind that I'm not that big on Nintendo on the whole.)

Even if Mr. Miyamoto was no more nice a person than Mr. Jobs, they differ significantly in one very important regard:

The quality of Mr. Miyamoto's works is not often outdone by his competitors, let alone for a significantly lower price.

 

[Rad Party God]

Well, duh, you don't create some of the best games ever created and change the face of gaming industry forever out of thin air, some blood, sweat and tears has to be shed to make it happen.

 

[mfeff]

Both men are known for being extremely pragmatic in their philosophies, which is not much of a shock considering both are/were practicing Zen Buddhist of the Soto school. Zen folk have a tendency to be very "no bullshit", considering that is the focus and or point of the practice. As far as Shigeru shutting down nonsense from junior co-workers? Welcome to Japan.

Really slow news week... I gather?

except its not junior co workers, its long time staff members, people experienced and worked with him long time.

That does put it in somewhat of a different light. As an explanation, my experience with Japanese as it comes to business (especially with the older set) tends towards the kohai and senpai relationship as a matter of culture. The philosophical and religious bends tend to be a matter of personal disposition that end up being compatible with the Japanese flavor of Buddhism. A combination of an oligarchy and patriarchy pervades the philosophy, culture, society, and certainly business.

So while on the one hand it demonstrably holds back ideas from the bottom from floating up to the top, it also tends to localize the responsibility and accountability when shit goes wrong.

As a loose allegory, Bioware... something goes wrong lots of folk step in, and many people step out... PR, Ray M., writers get videos made of them about how they are hacks, Casey H. gets dragged in, Mac W. gets brought up... EA looks like the bogey man... the responsibility is all over the place.

Something goes sideways in Nintendo land... Shigeru is named... rather than a huge list of all these different people... I tend to think Apple was this way on some level. It's similar "I suppose" as this news snippet mentions (without getting into why)... just offering some expository dialog as to a plausible explanation.

Cheers!

 

[draythefingerless]

Both men are known for being extremely pragmatic in their philosophies, which is not much of a shock considering both are/were practicing Zen Buddhist of the Soto school. Zen folk have a tendency to be very "no bullshit", considering that is the focus and or point of the practice. As far as Shigeru shutting down nonsense from junior co-workers? Welcome to Japan.

Really slow news week... I gather?

except its not junior co workers, its long time staff members, people experienced and worked with him long time.

That does put it in somewhat of a different light. As an explanation, my experience with Japanese as it comes to business (especially with the older set) tends towards the kohai and senpai relationship as a matter of culture. The philosophical and religious bends tend to be a matter of personal disposition that end up being compatible with the Japanese flavor of Buddhism. A combination of an oligarchy and patriarchy pervades the philosophy, culture, society, and certainly business.

So while on the one hand it demonstrably holds back ideas from the bottom from floating up to the top, it also tends to localize the responsibility and accountability when shit goes wrong.

As a loose allegory, Bioware... something goes wrong lots of folk step in, and many people step out... PR, Ray M., writers get videos made of them about how they are hacks, Casey H. gets dragged in, Mac W. gets brought up... EA looks like the bogey man... the responsibility is all over the place.

Something goes sideways in Nintendo land... Shigeru is named... rather than a huge list of all these different people... I tend to think Apple was this way on some level. It's similar "I suppose" as this news snippet mentions (without getting into why)... just offering some expository dialog as to a plausible explanation.

Cheers!

i think the point was to show that even people who he works with for long time, and who are almost in tune with him, still get shot down ideas because of his perfectionism and quality standards. wich is fine really, 70% of ideas SHOULD get shot down in a project, in any creative team, in any part of the world.

 

[Allthingsspectacular]

At my current job, I have probably the best boss ever. Competent, efficient, knows how to motivate a team and does a good job at encouraging the right kind of behavior. Which includes moderating your work pace and giving instructions on what to do during an off day. I have nothing bad say about her.

And yet, there are still people at my team who thinks that she is a horrible boss. Which completely dumbfounds me.

I make this comparison, not to say Miyamoto isn't how it is described, but just as a reminder that some people take things differently than others. And how some people can exaggerate the truth.

I stress that I don't really know anything about Miyamoto, but reports like this are to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[mfeff]

Both men are known for being extremely pragmatic in their philosophies, which is not much of a shock considering both are/were practicing Zen Buddhist of the Soto school. Zen folk have a tendency to be very "no bullshit", considering that is the focus and or point of the practice. As far as Shigeru shutting down nonsense from junior co-workers? Welcome to Japan.

Really slow news week... I gather?

except its not junior co workers, its long time staff members, people experienced and worked with him long time.

snip

Cheers!

i think the point was to show that even people who he works with for long time, and who are almost in tune with him, still get shot down ideas because of his perfectionism and quality standards. wich is fine really, 70% of ideas SHOULD get shot down in a project, in any creative team, in any part of the world.

I like your explanation as well, and I don't see it in particular conflict with the kohai/senpai or honorific culture. Perfectionism and quality are pretty important both as a matter of philosophical penchant also as a matter of personal pride... I am kind of thinking a Marx (alienation of labor) inference here.

To bring it into a modern lexicon the "Cool Story Bro" meme seems to fit, in that study under a Japanese themed study... a sense of "while that may true... this is how we do things, and we will continue to do things "this" particular way; once that is achieved then we look at modification, deletion, or streamlining".

I sometimes call it working towards being "correct" rather than working towards being "right". The old guard are very traditional in this sense, very systematic in approach; could almost say it's a radical empirical approach... gives really good refinement but not much in the way of innovation. That being said and it's just my observation, individuality in the far East tends to be an honor earned, rather than a right... then again, much of that is in flux.

I am with you, it's not a bad thing.

And yet, there are still people at my team who thinks that she is a horrible boss. Which completely dumbfounds me.

I make this comparison, not to say Miyamoto isn't how it is described, but just as a reminder that some people take things differently than others. And how some people can exaggerate the truth.

I stress that I don't really know anything about Miyamoto, but reports like this are to be taken with a grain of salt.

I'm liking what I am reading here... it all seems out of context and borderline slanderous.

As far as SM the man has been around since dirt in relation to digital entertainment... I don't think he got to where he is by being stupid. Although he may be settled in his ways, can't really say it's for me or anyone else to really comment without a dog in the fight.

He is basically saying this about himself, not some anonymous source kicking dirt on his name. If anything it makes him more accessible, not distant. The best people tend to want the best people around them, and if some of the folk don't measure up there tends to be talk among the men. Gossip (for me) tends to speak more of the gossiper, rather than the gossiped.

The guy that put his name on Braid has a lot to say... which makes ya wonder. (about him).

 

[mixadj]

Why do people feel the need to idolize the head honcho of a company that makes stuff they like anyway? I like the toilet paper I regularly buy but you don't see me worshiping the head of the company that makes it.

The difference in satisfaction is that at the end of the day, you don't keep your used toilet paper for future use and/or appreciation. Not sure what your analogy was going for.

I don't know. I think its actually a pretty good analogy. As many I-devices come out on a regular basis and how easily they break, they are practically disposable.