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Nintendo began by producing card games.
The desire for amusement has always been present throughout human history.
That cannot be denied.
When one of our games became particularly popular, people sought to hinder its success.
And why?
Confucianism, which is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, saw all games as corrupt.
Only work and seriousness were considered to be virtuous.
The economic surge, however, has created new possibilities for structuring one's free time.
From 1965 onward, we had to develop new games to satisfy the wishes of our customers.
By 1975, we created the foundations of what was to become the Famicom.
We expanded the world of games, computers, and audio-visual experiences.
A Famicom is a video game that runs on one's TV at home.
The software is located on a plastic cassette that one plugs into the console, which is itself connected to the TV.
A Famicom in Japan costs ¥14,800-about EUR 125.
We are trying to create a cheaper sales model.
The Super Famicom consoles, however, cost more than EUR 200.
If we were to redesign the console, the customers would have to buy new games all over again.
It is for this reason that we leave the console as it is and develop new games for it.
We determine our pricing based on the average allowance of a Japanese child.
We see this sum of money as our point of orientation and continually develop new games at this price point.
At Nintendo, games are work and work is a game.
We were allowed to observe a game test with one of Nintendo's game testers.
Do you play games better than a child?
Better than a child....I play equally as well. I was a child not too long ago.
Nintendo doesn't produce games for a specific type of gamer.
We have something for everyone.
We now enter the holy of holies.
This is where the new games are produced.
The fear of industrial espionage at Nintendo is so intense, that only well-known games are running on the monitors that we see in the office.
We are only allowed to be in certain rooms.
And there we meet the creator of Super Mario.
I am Myamoto. I am 40 years old.
You are the creator of Super Mario. How did the idea come about?
I wanted to create a special character, so I thought of an Italian with a mustache.
The figures appear very small on the screen, so I wanted to make him stand out.
That is why I exaggerated the proportions of mouth, nose, and eyes.
I had to employ a few tricks to make the character easily recognizable.
And thus Mario got his hat, his big nose, and his mustache.
Super Mario is very popular around the world. There was even a movie released about him. Do you think that he will become as popular as Mickey Mouse?
They are often mentioned in the same breath, but that is just an idea of the media.
We have to be patient. Mickey Mouse is 50 years old. Super Mario has to turn 50 as well before we can have that discussion.
There is a lot of competition in the marketplace. What are your thoughts on this?
It is above all a competition between the developer and the customer. We try not to see the other companies as competition.
We are only concerned with the quality of a new game when compared with the old ones.
Kids today have sports clubs after school. They go to tutoring. They are constantly pushed by their parents. Their time is limited.
Yet even at school, kids are thinking about video games.
When they think about games that are not in front of their eyes, their sense of fantasy is at work.
Even if one doesn't consider this a form of education, it is useful to have as an adult.
I think that is very good.
In the USA and Canada, Super Mario 3 sold 12 million copies. In Japan it sold 3 million copies. One out of three families has a game.
We pose the questions to ourselves: Who are our customers? And what do they want?
Are you still as creative as you once were?
That is something that concerns me. Budgets are enormous. The development costs for a new game here at Nintendo are virtually limitless.
If I were to develop games independently, I could not afford to do so without taking enormous personal risk.
That makes me a little nervous.
But yes, sometimes I question whether I am a manager or a creator.
Can you still draw?
Yes, sometimes.