Miyamoto interview: "I could make Halo"

by Kevin Kelly { May 7th 2007 at 10:29AM }

Yes, Shigeru Miyamoto told Entertainment Weekly that he could make Halo, although he did go on to say, "It's that I choose not to." It's hard to imagine what a Miyamoto-designed Halo would look like. Lots of bright colors, anthropomorphic flora and fauna, and guns that squirt pink goo come to mind. On second thought, maybe imagining that is a bad, bad idea.

Miyamoto drops this gem and some others in a recent interview, including the fact that "If I could build a game that somehow made the young people respect their elders ..." He also wants to make a game that teaches freelancers to pay their taxes. Thankfully, before we can decide he's lost his marbles, he goes on to say "But I probably sound like an old man when I bring these things up."

Whew. We didn't want to have to say it for him. Still, there's a reason Shiggy was named one of Time's 100 most influential people, and that the Wii is riding a wave of popularity ... he seems to know what fun is.

Tags: Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, ShigeruMiyamoto

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)

LongshotX @ May 7th 2007 10:36AM

Nothing but a pipe dream... Your version of Halo would suck!

Dumdum @ May 7th 2007 10:38AM

All versions of Halo suck. (except the pc version)

Gabriel @ May 7th 2007 10:40AM

Senile or not, when the man who made 3 games that got platinum score on Famitsu says he'd like to make a weird game like that, I bet you it would be good

Ichidou @ May 7th 2007 10:41AM

Man, here's a thought.

You know how at the end of Wind Waker, you could play as Link without his hero tunic on? What if, at the end of Twilight Princess, you could play as that Miyamoto? :D

Master Sword and all ^_^

Kite @ May 7th 2007 10:42AM

Hehe, longshot was fast :D

Still, I would like to see an 'unusual' game coming from him. Something no one would expect. But that is probably too risky.

But still...imagine...

GlitchCog @ May 7th 2007 10:42AM

Halo? The last enjoyable first person shooter was Doom.

Konny @ May 7th 2007 10:43AM

Shiggy is so lame.. time for him to retire.

He keeps rehashing the same old franchises year after year.. and people call him innovative? How about something other than Mario or Zelda.. that was cool 20 years ago. You dont need to put Mario in every other game that Nintendo puts out.

He was also responsible for the whole N64 cartridge fiasco..

Jack of No Trades @ May 7th 2007 10:43AM

Its not his cup of tea. Don't even try Miyamoto. You don't even have a system powerful enough to make a game better than Halo.

GlitchCog @ May 7th 2007 10:44AM

Jack of No Trades,

Power does not a good game make. See my Doom 1 more fun than Halo comment.

samfish @ May 7th 2007 10:45AM

Of course his version of Halo would suck, Longshot. You can put all the glitter you want on that turd and it's still a turd.

Now go back to playing your shitty PS3.

Ricardo @ May 7th 2007 10:46AM

This guy's an idiot!

samfish @ May 7th 2007 10:46AM

Oh christ, it took about 4 seconds for the Anti-Nintendo Brigades to come out of the wood work like the termites they are.

Honestly guys. Hating Nintendo isn't going to make your tiny dicks bigger or any more of a man.

chawboo @ May 7th 2007 10:48AM

yeah he could make halo, but he would have needed to do it twenty years ago, now all he does is make sequels. i liked twilight princess, but lets be honest it is basically ocarina of time 1.4. the wii remote is where the innovation ends at nintendo. glad i found some poor shmuck to take my wii off my hands for $100 more than i bought it for.

Number One @ May 7th 2007 10:48AM

What he's trying to say is that making an FPS or any shooter for that matter doesnt take much creativity. Most weapons and settings in shooters are deviations from originators that people could go back to and play if they werent so spoiled by expensive graphics. Now consider how creative a video game developper is when two opposing factions, one human, one alien, use the same guns?

Im talking to you Queers of War!

JodyAnthony @ May 7th 2007 10:48AM

ok we get it longshotx, you love ps3 and hate wii ;)

Jack of No Trades @ May 7th 2007 10:49AM

samfish & Glitchdod

Ive been playing Oblivion on the PS3. It is the first game in a long time that makes me say (WOW!!) and want to play it. Oblivion would have sucked on Wii. Not enough power. I agree that Doom is better than Halo, but not multiplayer wise.

Kite @ May 7th 2007 10:50AM

Can we please keep the flame off this. He just gave an interview about how he designs his games. Cut him some slack. You do not have to take your fanboy-wars on every topic. Thank you.

And for those so quick to jump the gun, read the article and read the question where he gave the answer that joystiq posted. It doesn't hurt to place things in context.

That, and he mentioned an introversion-game. Always a plus in my book.

JodyAnthony @ May 7th 2007 10:52AM

also you people are sad. i love how anything with the word nintendo on it is automatically bad to you people.

oh well, I got a sega master system yesterday. Cant wait to get home and play some Alex Kidd and Gangster Town (I have decided the SMS phaser is WAY better than the NES Zapper)

samfish @ May 7th 2007 10:52AM

The last game that made me say WOW was Viewtiful Joe, Jack.
...and that probably could have been on the the N64/PS1/Saturn. It's my favoritestest game of all time, too. I still play it today...especially when it's been a shitty, frustrating day.

Power is nice, but it doesn't matter at the end of the day.

C. Grant @ May 7th 2007 10:53AM

Kite: agreed. I'll be deleting and banning outright flames in this post, starting now!

JodyAnthony @ May 7th 2007 10:54AM

the point of my story that joystiq cut off being that you all can go ahead and keep arguing about how games can only be fun if the console is really powerful while us intelligent people will just play fun games no matter how weak or powerful the console may be.

john p. @ May 7th 2007 10:55AM

"If I could build a game that somehow made the young people respect their elders ..."

Metal Gear Solid 2

sheppy @ May 7th 2007 10:55AM

"What he's trying to say is that making an FPS or any shooter for that matter doesnt take much creativity."

Just because the industry doesn't support the creative shooters doesn't mean they aren't out there. I mean, show of hands time. How many of you people have the following games?

Bet On Soldier
Tribes Vengeance
Timesplitters: Future Perfect
Painkiller

I mean, if we're going to talk about uncreative shooters, let's look at the ones people passed by.

polly @ May 7th 2007 10:56AM

That picture makes him look like a Japanese Michael Jackson.

Jack of No Trades @ May 7th 2007 10:57AM

Wii fans are the most over-protective fans out there. Is it because you know subconsciously the Wii is handicapped.

Jake @ May 7th 2007 10:59AM

Number One,

Wow, way to slip in a 360 goty bash. Though you do sound like an idiot when you dis Gears for having aliens that use the same guns when there are no aliens in Gears of War. The Locusts don't come from a different planet, hence are not aliens.

Now on topic. I think Miyamoto is a bit out of line when dissing Western developers for not taking chances. Nintendo's big budget titles basically are sequels to proven franchises or at least use characters from proven franchises. Their really innovative games are usually low budget titles. I honestly can't think of a game where they really went out on a limb. Mario cart, ssb, ? I mean, WiiSports, Warioware, and cooking mama are a few really unique and innovative games, whether you enjoy themm or not, but they didn't cost very much at all to make.

Nintendo doesn't take that much of software risks.

sheppy @ May 7th 2007 11:00AM

"Wii fans are the most over-protective fans out there. Is it because you know subconsciously the Wii is handicapped. "

No, I'd just say it's because a vast majority of the bashes have no basis in reality. Wii has it's problems but that's in the lack of quality software and titles that justify the waggle controls, not the power of the system. If power was the only thing, I wouldn't regularly break out my Dreamcast.

Jack of No Trades @ May 7th 2007 11:00AM

C Grant

Why are you going to ban people for posting in a thread that is titled (Miyamoto interview: "I could make Halo")

You and me both know that will intise a flamewar.

This is ridiculous.

billychaos @ May 7th 2007 11:02AM

Regardless of what peoples opinions are about shiggy, if he designed halo, i'm sure it will NOT suck. He is in fact a professional game designer and has been a very successful one for over 20 years. To say he would make a 'halo' that would suck is absurd. You may as well say a highly successful lawyer will suck miserably if he took your case in a trial...That's a retared assumption to make.

haywood jablomey @ May 7th 2007 11:02AM

Wow. The trolls (jack and konny) are out in force again this morning.

Trollin' trollin' trollin'...

Jack of No Trades @ May 7th 2007 11:04AM

I wouldn't say we are trolls

We are more like Equalizers.

Konny and I are outnumbered 200:2.

samfish @ May 7th 2007 11:05AM

"I honestly can't think of a game where they really went out on a limb. Mario cart, ssb, ?"

Metroid Prime.

Nintendo is probably more ballsy than most other companies out there. Yeah, they release a bunch of sequels, but that's also because people demand them.

Personally, I'm still hoping that their next ballsy move is to bring back Kid Icarus in a bag way.

haywood jablomey @ May 7th 2007 11:06AM

Don't kid yourself, jack.

Y'all are trolls, plain and simple.

LongshotX @ May 7th 2007 11:07AM

He would effectively ruin FPSs if he tried. And Halo? Give me a break. I'll pass on Master Mario throwing mushroom grenades, and fighting the Covenant forces of Goombas, Shy-Guys, Bombs, Koopa Troopas, etc. No sorry I'll pass.

And No I don't think Nintendo is a bad company, just that I personally don't feel like they have had much to offer since the SNES. And Miyamoto is obviously hugely influential but to say he could make Halo is truly a bold statement. Next thing we'll hear is that Jack Thompson can make Final Fantasy or a great Gears of War sequel without blood.

JodyAnthony @ May 7th 2007 11:08AM

"And Miyamoto is obviously hugely influential but to say he could make Halo is truly a bold statement."

he was just trash talking. thats what figureheads from all 3 of the big 3 do.

Jack of No Trades @ May 7th 2007 11:10AM

samfish

"people demand them"

Who? Nintendo Hardcore fans?

Metroid didn't come close to the sells of Halo.

josh @ May 7th 2007 11:16AM

"He keeps rehashing the same old franchises year after year.. and people call him innovative? How about something other than Mario or Zelda.."

For the GC, he created a new franchise, Pikmin. The first one was great fun, I haven't played the sequel yet. For the DS, he created Nintendogs (which I haven't played). For the Wii, he co-created Wii Sports, which is very fun if not really a full-fledged game. I'm sure he has other original games coming for the Wii as well.

Ken @ May 7th 2007 11:12AM

C'mon guys. Seriously think about it. If this guy can make an epic story like Zelda (any of them) and turn that into a great Adventure game.

You know he can make generic FPS #462 and turn it into a great game. All you have to do is add a story (which is what the people at Bungie did) to a FPS; and you've got Halo.

Oh and @sheppy

I love Painkiller :) Great, mindless killing.

Denny Crane @ May 7th 2007 11:14AM

"Regardless of what peoples opinions are about shiggy, if he designed halo, i'm sure it will NOT suck. He is in fact a professional game designer and has been a very successful one for over 20 years. To say he would make a 'halo' that would suck is absurd. You may as well say a highly successful lawyer will suck miserably if he took your case in a trial...That's a retared assumption to make."

DENNY CRANE!

Ken @ May 7th 2007 11:14AM

Jack

You know as much as I do, that Metroid Prime was not meant to try and "beat" Halo's sales. They are two different types of games.

Ones a mixture of a platformer and shooter; and the other one has online multiplayer (did the first one have online? I can't remember) and stuck with just a FPS.

Ken @ May 7th 2007 11:15AM

Sorry for like 3 comments in a row...

@Wruh roh!

Imagine if they used the Half Life 2 engine; with it's physics... that would be seriously good.

samfish @ May 7th 2007 11:16AM

"Who? Nintendo Hardcore fans?"

Among others, yes. They keep selling millions of copies, which is more than most games could HOPE to sell. Don't try and marginalize it.

"Metroid didn't come close to the sells of Halo."

And your point iiiiiiiiiiis...?
1) It sold in big numbers, anyway.
2) It's an example of Nintendo taking a risk on a big budget game.

Jonathan Tran @ May 7th 2007 11:18AM

I never understood what is so good about Halo. At least, to me, GoW looks interesting. I have played Halo many times, and every time just thought "I'd rahter be playing Counter Strike, Half Life 2 (or 1), Goldeneye, or AvP2, or pretty much any FPS other than Halo. Weapons are boring, physics are boring, violence is unrealistic/dumb.

Crono @ May 7th 2007 11:18AM

"I'll pass on Master Mario throwing mushroom grenades, and fighting the Covenant forces of Goombas, Shy-Guys, Bombs, Koopa Troopas, etc. No sorry I'll pass."

You have unwittingly just described what could possibly be the coolest and most screwed up FPS ever imagined.

I would totally buy that game.