Joystiq's Peter Rojas recently had an opportunity to interview Shigeru Miyamoto. Some interesting bits:
One of the more popular aspects of [Nintendogs] is when two Nintendogs players have their dogs wirelessly interact with each other. Where do you think wireless gaming might go from here? What else do you think wireless gaming can do that hasnt been done yet?
Nintendo is a company that isnt just about wireless, were a company thats focused very heavily on linking players and bringing them together. And its something thats been a challenge for us. Weve put a lot of effort into it and we feel weve got a very rich experience in that area. Weve had ideas about coincidental linking with other players, and obviously, with the Game Boy Advance sometimes even up to eight.
Some long-time Nintendo fans complain that Mario is turning up in too many different games and too many different genres. Do you think that theres a risk that hes being relied on too much or that maybe his impact is being diluted by being in so many different types of games?
At this point in time my team is still the team thats solely responsible for all Mario platform games. We created Mario platform games and were going to be the team that continues to do that. For the true Mario games, that is, the true Mario platform games, were still at a point where you can expect a high-quality true Mario platform game once every few years; were not just going to continue to turn those out.
As far as the Mario character games go, I really feel that Mario is a brand for Nintendo. And what Mario is, is a character that allows both gamers and non-gamers to relate to video games. He brings people in. He makes them feel comfortable. And in that sense, I think hes very good. He can introduce a lot of people to video games because hes a character that people know. And when they see him in a game, they may be more willing to pick up that game and maybe experience a new genre. And in that sense, I think that its not weakening the brand whatsoever.