In a recent interview with Wenner Media’s Glixel, Mario-creator Shigeru Miyamoto opens up about the creative development process, working with Apple, and the upcoming Super Mario Run for iOS. Miyamoto describes approaching Apple on the idea for the game, and working with Cupertino leadership that was willing to listen.
Nintendo has long been considered to be a company that’s similar to Apple in some ways, and Miyamoto expresses this in the interview. Both companies have a long history of being opinionated as to the creative process. Instead of creating products based on what they think customers will like based on approaches like focus groups, they create products that customers like because the products themselves are really good:
Of course, the recent publicity tour by Shigeru Miyamoto was motivated by the impending launch of Super Mario Run, the Big N’s first real foray into the mobile space on a platform not controlled by Nintendo itself. The fact that such a title is headlined by the most popular video game character in history just serves to up the stakes a bit.
As such, Nintendo and Apple are pulling out all the stops. Miyamoto himself appeared during Apple’s iPhone launch event to announce Super Mario Run, and took a significant portion of the keynote to demonstrate its gameplay. Apple has also worked hard to promote the title by featuring a banner in the App Store well prior to the game’s launch, and allowing users to be notified when it becomes available — a first for an App Store title.
And that’s not all. Last week Miyamoto-san appeared on the Tonight Show, where host Jimmy Fallon played through one of the game’s levels. Afterwards Apple launched a playable Super Mario Run demo in Apple retail stores nationwide.
It’s clear that both companies understand that this partnership is historic in nature, and as such, are going above and beyond to promote it properly. Miyamoto himself describes the similarities between Apple and Nintendo:
Speaking of simplicity, Nintendo wanted to go back to Mario’s roots, noting how complex control has become over the years:
After deciding that it didn’t want to go the free-to-play route, Nintendo presented an idea for a paid title with a free taste to demonstrate the game’s simplified one-handed gameplay:
I really encourage you to head over to Glixel and read the full interview. It’s an interesting look into the mind of the greatest video game creative in gaming history, and a subtle view into the working relationship between Apple and Nintendo. Miyamoto also talks about retirement, Minecraft, and a host of other topics.
