In other words, it's you - the nonbeliever, the onetime fan, the
working professional who has since come up short on free time for
leisure activities - who Miyamoto believes is the future of
interactive entertainment. The revolution, to paraphrase, will not
come via the Sci-Fi Channel. It will instead be sparked by a gaming
renaissance featuring support from all members of the family -
self-styled technophobes such as Mom, Dad, and even Grandma and
Grandpa included.
At odds with competitors (such as Microsoft, who partnered with MTV
to reveal the Xbox 360), Miyamoto's got no stomach for flashy
product launches, fancy ad spots, and corporate synergy. But as
senior management director and general manager of entertainment
analysis and development division - read: head creative honcho -
for
Nintendo's
Japan division, he understands the value of
cutting-edge hardware and glossy marketing campaigns. He just
believes that best-selling set-top system launches are driven by
creative inspiration and quality game play, not catchy
buzzwords and rampant hyperbole.
A throwback to gaming's kinder, gentler era, the aging great
refuses to churn out cookie-cutter sequels, publishing blockbuster
follow-ups only when technological and storytelling advancements
warrant them. "We want Wii to be a system that will appeal to
everyone," he says. "The way to make this happen isn't just to
rehash the same old titles, but rather to exceed hope and take
games to a whole new level, beyond the boundaries of peoples'
expectations."
Looking at the starry-eyed man before me - slighter and shier in
person than pictorials convey - it's easy to see that if anyone's
capable of pulling off such a coup, it's Miyamoto. And, of course,
the man is the same nimble-minded young boy, hungry for excitement
and adventure, who saw gateways to parallel dimensions around every
tree and stoplight.