Miyamoto Unimpressed by Modern Games

[Yopaz]

He can throw stones in glass houses all he wants, I'm going to be over here playing all these awesome non-Nintendo games.

Did you read the article?

Miyamoto's point isn't that games are getting worse

Honestly I think this is to be expected. He's been in the industry for so long and he's seen a massive change in how games are played and received. Remembering people thinking Super Mario Bros. was an amazing new show of what technology could do having so many different levels rather than one screen barely without changes. He idolizes his young career when the industry was small and the future was open to reveal anything. Who can blame him for missing those days? He makes some decent points, but he's most likely struck by the same nostalgia so many of us gamers are struck with when it comes to certain games.

Let me be specific - It sure must be hard to surprise players when you keep on releasing the same games with minor tweaks every single time. On the other hand, there's plenty of games that are surprising and awesome and worth my time that I can play at any given moment so he can be nostalgic or he can be competitive and give me a reason to buy a Nintendo game for once.

Relevant captcha: jump higher

OK, so you said he shouldn't throw rocks in glass houses because there are pleny of awesome games that aren't made by Nintendo. That statement right there indicated that you were talking about quality, which was not what Miyamoto was talking about. If I got this wrong then I'm sorry.

As for Nintendo releasing the same title over and over. Well, I got nothing. Super Mario Galaxy was kinda original since it offered a lot to the series. New Super Mario Bros. offered a new Super Mario Bros. Zelda offered a new Zelda. The 3DS offers a great deal of ports with minor changes from the original games. So surprise isn't any element I relate to Nintendo right now.

Also if you think the rest of my post was regarded to you and intended as praise for Miyamoto you were dead wrong. I was saying that Myamoto is blinded by nostalgia and thus got a wrong impression. He's like those who wish those who wish they could live in the 70's or the medieval. He looks back with rose tinted glasses and fails to see progress, he fails to see what has become better. If that sounds like a compliment to you then I'll take it back and just call him an idiot, does that sound fair?

 

[Guffe]

Same as with movies, we've pretty much seen it all so to make a twist that surprises is pretty difficullt. Just as him I am not saying movies are bad today but there are very few which make me go "holy banans didn't see that one coming"

 

[Radox Redux]

Good lord. The amount negativity in this, over an entirely justified opinion. The last truly good game I played was in 2005 with Shadow of the Colossus. Whether you agree with me or not, I think there's certainly a criteria to be allowed an opinion along those lines.

Forgive me for liking an era where developers could try new things, where frat-boy gaming hadn't wilted the landscape of creativity, where a gamer could modify their games and platforms without being put on a virtual leash, where dynamic design was the rule, rather than the exception.

 

[Karadalis]

Hes right you know... the Wii library of games is completly unimpressive....

 

[Kahunaburger]

A better title for this article would be "Miyamoto too busy to play many games and dislikes aspects of the current market compared to the way it was a few decades ago." Although I guess "Shigeru Miyamoto is dissing that thing you like!" gets more page views.

 

[Eternal_Lament]

While his opinion is certainly something valid to have, there still seem to be some issues with this (keep in mind I'm adressing the points in this article, not the original interview). For example, this statement:

"Another problem is that there are so many games on the market today that it's difficult to find the right one," he continued. "In many ways I think I am in a similar place to the average game player. This is one of the greatest challenges for the industry right now."

While I will say that sometimes I don't know which game to get and what to avoid, I don't think this is an issue of games today but rather the means to which we are aware of them. For example, most of the stuff I have on my iPhone game wise was all stuff that wasn't easy to find through the main app store, but rather found through suggestions by others. But again, it seems much like how Miyamato is sometimes nostalgic for his games, he seems also nostalgic in how he remembers buying games. If it weren't for the fact that anyone can head online and check a forum or videos to see if the game they want to get is any good, he may have had a point there, but here I'd say Miyamato is probably wrong on this point.

Also, I've never understood this mentality of "Things were better when they were simpler" Sure they may have made us feel good, but how long could that have kept up before we got bored? At least with increasing standards matched with an increase in development we get games that far surpass what we could've imagined and make us want more. I'd say it's a healthy development, sparking companies to try and impress us net and to therefore see who can stay and who may need to go to the sidelines.

What I find funny about it though is that for someone who says they aren't surprised by most modern games now they sure seem to like only playing games that they developed, in other words games that could surprise him the least especially if he knows all the intricacies that went behind making it.

Also, I won't get into too much since other people said it as well, but yes, the 3D that Miyamato is talking about isn't the same way we view life as 3D. After all, I don't get headaches after 2 and a half hours when looking at real life in 3D.

 

[Charli]

Miyamoto...just retire. There I said it, get away from gaming, take some time off, if it strikes you, PLAY some new games, start to finish. And then come back stronger than before.

He's correct in one thing, when you work in the games industry there's very little time to yourself to indulge in other games. You immerse yourself entirely in whatever the project is at the time.

But seriously. Enough of this whining. If you're in a rut this exactly the mindset that takes hold 'BACK IN MAH DAY'. No, back in your day, rose tinted glasses are extra thick. So get out of projects and corporations and live for a bit again.
Does wonders.

 

[gibboss28]

A better title for this article would be "Miyamoto too busy to play many games and dislikes aspects of the current market compared to the way it was a few decades ago." Although I guess "Shigeru Miyamoto is dissing that thing you like!" gets more page views.

We can't stop here, this is sensationalist country

 

[Irridium]

Here's a way to surprise players Mr. Miyamoto. Why don't YOU come up with a new original IP?

Or if he's so set on making sequels, a new Pikmen.

 

[PurePareidolia]

OK, so you said he shouldn't throw rocks in glass houses because there are pleny of awesome games that aren't made by Nintendo. That statement right there indicated that you were talking about quality, which was not what Miyamoto was talking about. If I got this wrong then I'm sorry.

That's fair, I wasn't all that specific with the glass houses comment, but I did mean I in terms of surprisingness and being "worth my time", which I guess is kind of a quality bar in and of itself. On the other hand it might not be fair for me to say I know plenty of surprising original games when I don't play every game (or even most games) that comes out from time to time.

in any case my follow up post was only to clarify my original intent, not to presume anything about your position on the matter.

 

[Waaghpowa]

A better title for this article would be "Miyamoto too busy to play many games and dislikes aspects of the current market compared to the way it was a few decades ago." Although I guess "Shigeru Miyamoto is dissing that thing you like!" gets more page views.

RAWG HE HATES MY FAVOURITE THING!
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Oh wait, he didn't say that....awkward.

 

[John Funk]

Well, thank goodness he's here to save us with wonderfully imaginative and surprising titles like Wii Sports.

I don't know if you remember back in 2006, but as a party game Wii Sports WAS super surprising.

 

[Zipa]

Miyamoto is being a pretentious retard again, nothing to see. Move along.

 

[Lunar Templar]

sounds like he's just as picky about what he'll call a 'good' game as i am

 

[Raesvelg]

What a shock, that a man who hasn't designed a new game since the early '90s doesn't care for modern games.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

It's funny seeing people going after those who don't share Miyamoto's opinion. It's almost as if you're only allowed to have an opinion if it's the "right" opinion or something.

*Cough, Cough*

 

[xxcloud417xx]

I really think whoever wrote this title should slap themselves. Nowhere in this article does it say he isn't impressed with modern gaming. He talks about not having time to play games and how innovating is more difficult for the new playerbase, but he never goes and says he's unimpressed. Don't try to draw attention to your article with flashy or pointed titles if they are a blatant lie.

What's worse is the Miyamoto flaming going on now because your title makes him sound like an ass (which was my impression too prior to reading the article).

On topic I think that he's got the right idea, we are harder to please as modern gamers when it comes to certain genre. What baffles me though is how millions of people worldwide still find appeal for the same old formula when it comes to certain games, looking at you CoD and Battlefield, but then also expect innovation from other titles and get angry when there is none. Seems almost hypocritical on our part.

 

[OZITOMAI]

unimpressed? says the one that repeats the same stuff over and over again

 

[Zoe Castillo]

--

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Step 1: remake the same few games over and over.

Step 2: say all video games are samey and uninteresting.

Step 3: ???

Step 4: everyone thinks your an idiot.