Game news Because of his lack of reaction, Mario’s dad made the creator of this cult Nintendo license cry
Mario’s dad, Shigeru Miyamoto, is a true perfectionist who likes to see things through to the end. Very meticulous in details and concerned about the players’ pleasure, he also sometimes lacks empathy towards his teams or external studios. Here is a new example.
Demandingness and perfectionism
If all game creators have different philosophies and temperaments, we find certain identical character traits in the people who have shaken up the video game medium. If we take the example of Yu Suzuki, the man behind Shenmue, Virtua Fighter and SEGA’s biggest arcade hits (Hang-On, Space Harrier, After Burner, OutRun…), he was a stickler for details who was rarely tender with his protégés. Not that he was obnoxious, but he always sought to get the best out of his teams, even if it means rushing them more than necessary when it was necessary.
A concrete example ? For Virtua Fighter, with the advent of 3D games, he quickly understood that his employees were going to have to put aside years of experience to relearn almost everything. There were many refractory people who felt that it was too much to ask of them. Yu Suzuki then organized martial arts sessions because they wanted his employees to understand the moves. All those who showed indifference were asked to take their things and go down to the lower floor, synonymous with professional downgrading, and they found themselves doing paperwork. The others were then able to work, with all their motivation, on the future Virtua Fighter which became a phenomenon in Japan and around the world. This case is far from isolated and certain creators do not hesitate, at certain times, to be vile with their staff. Which is far from trivial, especially at a time when abuses no longer remain silent.
Miyamoto, same fight?
Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong, has a slightly more subtle approach, but he never hesitates to say what he thinks. It is thus renowned for its “Chabudai Gaeshi“, which can be translated as the turning of the tea table. Concretely, the native of Sonobe does not hesitate to require his team to start from scratch, even if the project is well advanced. The protégés of Retro Studios, the famous Texan studio behind Metroid Prime, saw all the colors when Shigeru Miyamoto passed through their corridors. The Japanese came to take stock of the projects imagined by the Americans and the latter were rather confident for one of the games. In the end, Shigeru Miyamoto rejected absolutely everything (he was angry it seems) and it was the least advanced project that was put forward before being skipped for the creation of the very first Metroid Prime.
Shigesato Itoi said Miyamoto once made him cry.
He thought he would receive praise from Miyamoto when he showed him the original plot for Mother, but Miyamoto didn’t really say anything.
So he cried on the train when he left.
Interview Part 4: https://t.co/Zbz4FOX0M7 pic.twitter.com/ZpLfAaKLTM
— Stealth (@Stealth40k) January 4, 2024
During an interview, Shigesato Itoi, the creator of the Mother series, better known as EarthBound, made a statement that says a lot about the impact that Shigeru Miyamoto can sometimes have. Getting validation from Mario’s dad is like entering the den of the wolf without knowing what sauce you’re going to be eaten with. Shigesato Itoi, during his meeting with Miyamoto, was convinced that the plot of his first game Mother would upset the Nintendo designer. However, at the time of the presentation, nothing went as planned. Shigeru Miyamoto remained stoic and the disappointment was so great for his interlocutor that he collapsed on the train taking him home. Ultimately, the story did not end there since he was called back some time later to tell him that a production team was ready to begin production. In video games, like other fields, some people need this empathy and this encouragement to move forward and we sometimes have to face this type of disillusionment.