Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary game designer known for creating some of Nintendo's most successful franchises including Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong, talked to a small crowd of gamers and media in front of Apple's SoHo store in Manhattan regarding his creative process.
Through the interview, Miyamoto revealed the story behind the upcoming mobile game Super Mario Run and the future of the Super Mario franchise.
The Story Behind Super Mario Run
In front of the small crowd, Miyamoto talked about the origins of the Super Mario and Zelda franchises, but also revealed that the idea behind Super Mario Run came from an attempt to create a one-button control scheme.
"We found a great way to make an accessible Mario game and bring it to iPhone and reach a lot of people," said Miyamoto, adding that the breakthrough led to the development of Super Mario Run.
"I feel like Mario was what introduced millions of people to video games and interactive entertainment, and I think that Mario will continue to serve that role," said Miyamoto in another interview, with Super Mario Run expected by the legendary developer to follow in the footsteps of past Super Mario games.
Miyamoto also said that he and Nintendo wanted Super Mario Run to be simple enough for beginners, but able to offer the complexity that many hardcore Super Mario gamers will enjoy. He noted that the game will feature new kinds of jumps and other tricks that will be unique to Super Mario Run's design.
Super Mario Run As A One-Time Purchase
Miyamoto separately explained that the decision to implement a one-time purchase model to unlock all the features of Super Mario Run was made to make sure that as many people as possible would be able to play the game.
In comparison, other free-to-download games offer players to make several small purchases, but such a model only rarely allows companies to recover the development costs of their apps.
In addition, with the one-time charge of $9.99 for Super Mario Run, parents will not have to worry that their children might spend hundreds of dollars of in-app purchases without their knowledge and permission.
The Future Of Super Mario
When Miyamoto was asked about the future of the Super Mario franchise, he simply laughed and said that he does not know what will happen over the coming years.
Miyamoto, however, said he believes that in order for the Super Mario franchise to continue, it needs to evolve alongside the available technology in the video game industry, which is exactly what Nintendo is doing by launching Super Mario Run for mobile devices on Dec. 15.
