Miyamoto: America Better At 'Unique Products'

Speaking in a new interview with Wired's consumer weblog GameLife, veteran Nintendo developer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto has said he believes "America has always been better at creating unique products." The interview focused on the new WiiWare service offering original downloadable games and the role played by independent developers. In particular the differences between the Japanese and American industries were highlighted, with the limited use of the PC as a video games machine in Japan fostering a smaller amateur development scene than in the West. “In Japan, there is a group of people who use the PC to create fun, interactive pieces of art. They haven't really come into the video game industry, but there is still the possibility within those communities to find some unique ideas”, said Miyamoto. "Here in the United States, you have these independent developers who have managed to get the skills and the training and the development, and also have managed to get access to the technology and the hardware needed to develop it," he added. "They're able to let their own personality and their own kind of unique interests really flourish in the games that they're creating." The article also hints at a new solution to the lack of storage space on the Wii, after Nintendo president Satoru Iwata suggested that the company was looking at ways to address the issue. When asked, Miyamoto also suggested that he might be interested in attempting a new one-man project at Nintendo, following the success of other recent titles with atypically small teams. "Yeah, I think it would be fun to do that," he said.