Shigeru Miyamoto Unlikely to Work on Next Mario Game, Wants to Focus on Smaller Projects

The upcoming Wii U title Super Mario 3D World doesn’t see Nintendo’s mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto in a leading role, and it seems that the Mario’s happy father doesn’t have much of a desire to put himself at the helm of the series again anytime soon.

[EXVirtual]

To be 100% honest, I don't think anyone should be working on the next Mario game anytime soon. He needs a vacation.

Don't get me wrong, it's probably THE flagship series that saved the gaming industry, but over the last few years, it's been nothing but Mario (exaggeration).

I want them to focus on getting the other games out, like X and the new Zelda. How many Mario's did we get for the Wii compared to Zelda? Who knows how many Mario's and 2 Zelda's. Fair enough Zelda takes ages to make, but it would help if Ninty wasn't trying to put out 3 Mario games a year. Either way, I'm glad Miyamoto is doing other things aside from Mario.
@Realplaya and @Yodagamer, I'm not saying get rid of Mario. I'm saying that getting 3 Mario games a year is getting repetitive.

[Realplaya]

They can keep mario coming if it is of the highest quality. Also they have a lot of employees that work for the company and they all don't work on Mario so as long as Mario makes a profit make it but cross develope and make other games as well. Also have you noticed that they have produced over ten new titles that aren't Mario?

[LOL_WUT]

I agree with Exvirtual they need to give their lesser known games a chance. The WiiU has seen 3 Mario games in 12 months NSMBU, Luigi U and soon to be Mario 3D World give the plumber a rest focus on other projects. ;)

[Yodagamer]

Not having a mario game is like disney not having mickey mouse, donald, and co. Mario is it's own brand, he might be in alot of game series, but they're often different from each other (except nsmb which are kinda lazy imo).

[jonboi24]

But the difference between Nintendo and Disney, is that Disney doesn't rely heavly on Mickey Mouse. They make hits with new movies, characters and TV shows. Plus Disney is smart and rich enough to expand and buy accomplished companies, Marvel and Lucas arts.

[TekoIie]

@jonboi24

This analogy doesn't work overall.

When looking at Ninty's lineup Mario is a very small piece of the Pie. They're upcoming releases currently are SSMB, X, YNI, Yoshi's Yarn, Kirby 3DS, Donkey Kong and Zelda. More will obviously be announced for 2014.

On occasion Nintendo releases some true gems too which are stand alone games like Pandora's Tower and The Last Story. When Mario is removed from the picture their offerings are still just as plentiful.

"Plus Disney is smart and rich enough to expand and buy accomplished companies, Marvel and Lucas arts."

Publishers acquiring studios is not something we want in this industry unless the survival of a studio is dependent on it. It's often ended up hindering studios like Bioware :(

[mohuzas]

Mario may have often releases, but that's just how it is, he's the biggest Videogame character ever, there's no logic in just not making games starring him.

[lilbroRx]

@"To be 100% honest, I don't think anyone should be working on the next Mario game anytime soon. He needs a vacation. "

Says every bitter anti-Nintendo fanboy everywhere.

They hate seeing Nintendo succeed and so the first thing they attack given any opportunity are the most successful parts of Nintendo's software.

Mario is Nintendo's mascot and making games without is like Disney making products without Mickey, Donald or Goofy backing them. Mario is associated with quality and people actually like Mario more than they like Mickey mouse.

He's the most recognizable video game character in the world.

Its just sad the way people Nintendo haters want to see Mario stop making the company they hate so much, so successful.

[Eyeco]

"Mario is Nintendo's mascot and making games without is like Disney making products without Mickey, Donald or Goofy backing them. "

Disney DOES make products without Mickey, Donald or Goofy backing them.

[EXVirtual]

Whoa, hold it for a second. I'm a Nintendo fan. I'm getting a Wii U mainly for Zelda, Smash and X. I said this as well:
'Don't get me wrong, it's probably THE flagship series that saved the gaming industry'
I'm not saying that Mario doesn't sell well and I'm not saying get rid of Mario. I'm saying that getting 3 Mario's a year is getting repetitive Read the whole comment before lashing out.

Are you happy with getting 3 Mario's a year? Are you happy with not getting different games like Metroid and Starfox? Because if you are you're not helping Nintendo at all.

[TheDivine]

Eyeco

So does Nintendo. They release more games than Sony or MS do, prob both combined. Mario is one franchise of a hundred. People only see Mario because he's the face of Nintendo similar to how Mickey Mouse is for Disney or Sonic is for Sega. Yes Disney makes many other products without Mickey just as Nintendo makes many games without Mario and Sega makes games other than Sonic. The point is none of those companies would ever STOP making media with their mascots. Of course they make other stuff in addition to the mascot stuff.

This is the topic of whether Mario is getting too many releases, NOT of whether Mario is their only franchise. Just because there's a lot of Mario releases doesn't mean the dozens of other ip's suddenly disappear.

I love Mario but I'm personally burned out. The releases used to be so far apart it was a special occasion and meant a game you would play for years was releasing. Now its just another Mario game. The New series was brilliant one off that they turned into a sub series. Its bland and boring. They're doing the same with 3d Land/World. He'll even Paper Mario resembles the New series. All Mario games now use the world 1-8 layout, similar worlds (poison, lava, sand, layer cake, ice exc) and a similar art style. It feels generic, rehashed, and watered down.

I will say 3d World does look fantastic but the 4 recent 2d games plus the Luigi dlc and the other recent 3d games diminishes the impact of that because its too much too soon.

[Chrischi1988]

3 Mario games a year, you smokin crack?

When did the last 3D Mario come out on a home console? When came a 2D Mario, before the Wii Us? Super Luigi U is an Add-On, not a single game by itself and that people who hate the Wii U actually want to make it look like that is funny, why dont we treat every CoD DLC as a completely new Call of Duty game? How many do we have then? 6 a year or something like that. You guys really are afraid, that a franchise, which you seem to not like, can be successful, even without your blesseing, gamers nowadays are really a sad bunch, it is a shame, that I consider myself a gamer.

[SonyDroneKilla]

Yes becausr dlc=brand new game. Lets not pull a blackb*tch here

[XxGOWxX]

A wii u game isnt small enough for him? zing!

[Lboogieskells]

This guy should be the head on Nintendo, Satoru Iwata is driving the Wii U to the ground.

[Dgander]

Miyamoto is the one that is preventing online multiplayer on the Wii U, he needs to work on smaller projects and stay away from franchises that need more features if you ask me. Iwata is good where he is but he needs to stop being the nice guy, take charge and tell studios what games to make (Should have told Retro to make Metroid instead of another Donkey Kong) He also needs to buy or open new studios because Wii U is a HD console it takes longer to develop games for unlike the Wii.

[Misaka_x_Touma]

That for 3D World not having online. Go back a re-read what he said. The interview was about 3D World. The arthor and the user who submitted it made it seems that way to get hits.

[-Gespenst-]

I HATE to say it, but I think it's possible Nintendo could become the next Sega...

[mcstorm]

I can't see it there is more chance of Sony becoming the next Sega as Sony as a company is not doing well at the moment where Nintendo can manage on there own with the 3ds sales and the games like Pokemon, Mario kart etc can keep Nintendo alive with the money they still have in the bank.

I know the sales of the wiiu are not what they should be but it has not had an impressive line up of games the 1 12 months on sale but it is now getting them and with people looking to jump to next gen over the next 12 to 18 months the wiiu sales will pickup.

[EXVirtual]

He didn't even mention Sony.
Sony isn't going anywhere. The PS4 sales are going to be crazy. The Wii U sales will pick up, but at this point, it has no chance of beating the PS4 and even the XBO to some extent, coming from a Nintendo fan.

I agree that Nintendo isn't going anywhere either, but the Wii U is not going to be the big success that the Wii was.
OT: I also think that for the Wii U sales to pick up noticeably, Nintendo needs to bring back franchises like F-Zero, Starfox and Metroid. And some new IPs. They don't have to be the most innovative games ever either, they just need to be something apart from platforms over and over again.

[snitch_puck]

I beg to disagree. Sony is doing fine despite the quarter flunk. I mean seriously? what corporation is perfect to not have flunks in a year? Nintendo however... and I have to say your statistical prediction is soo good, you should collaborate with Pachter! Kudos. You enlighten the mood on the Wii U.

[AsimLeonheart]

Sony only had a bad quarter. They are still expecting a 30 billion Yen net profit for the full year. Besides, Sony has spun off gaming in to a separate division. The rest of the company's financial troubles do not affect gaming any more. PS3 is doing great and PS4 is seeing incredible demand. The gaming division suffered a minor loss because of the costs related to new hardware launch and slowing PS3 sales as result of impending PS4 launch, which is completely acceptable. Please stick to the topic instead of diverting criticism by bringing Sony in to the discussion.

[Idba]

Sony is a multibillion dollar company producing Smartphones, TV's, pc, consoles and much more. And with their newest smartphone flagship (Z1) getting as much praise as it does with the huge demand for the PS4, Sony is going to be just fine

[Bimkoblerutso]

-Gespenst- didn't even say anything about Sony. Jesus H. Christ. How does this always become a conversation about Sony?

[Lboogieskells]

Sony would sell off their Televison, Music and Movie divisions before letting the Sony brand go up in smoke.

[jcnba28]

I agree, with the financial state Sony are in at the moment I can definitely see them ending up like Sega.

[Dgander]

Sony had a bad few years not just a quarter. Lets not forget they sold two buildings (one which was only completed in 2011), fired a bunch of staff and sold off/ closed down development studios just to make a small profit and please investors last year. The PS4 can turn the tides for Sony but as far as ending up like Sega, mcstorm is right Sony is the closest at this moment. Lets not forget the Vita is also dragging them down so even if the PS4 is successful they can still suffer losses.

[mcstorm]

Wow I never said Sony were going to do a Sega I just mean if any of the 3 console makers were to go bust it would be Sony because of how much of a bad shape the company is in at the moment not that they are going bust.

I'm a big fan of Sony products and have ant always will pickup there TV and sound systems.

also thanks dander you see where I'm coming from nice to see some people don't look at everything as a negative point.

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are not going anywhere any time soon but if you look at the current state of all 3 it would be Sony who would be the 1st to drop out.

[mohuzas]

yeah, the company who had one year of loss in their entire history of over a century are gonna become the next sega, yeah right.

[WeAreLegion]

Super Mario 3D World looks surprisingly good. This is the same team that did Galaxy 2. Let these guys take charge of the main Mario series. Miyamoto can do whatever he wants. He's Miyamoto.

[MNGamer-N]

I don't blame him for passing the torch, he is getting older and probably wants to work on all those little game ideas he's had over the years. I definitely will be ready to play them... whatever he is up to.

[jhoward585]

variety is key!

Simple as that!

[CAB1802theWiiUdefend]

Miyamoto, Make sure your "small project" drive Wii U sales

[jhoward585]

I got to say...we have some serious Nintendo fan up in here.

Nintendo could be hanging by a thread and they'll still fight for Nintendo to the bitter end.

A true Mario soldier.

[Sincere0121]

the sony fans are 10 times worse.

[solidjun5]

Lol. Fanboys complaining about fanboys. Comical.

[mohuzas]

i want to see that new IP of his.

[dangerousbrian0]

its a shame that nintendo does not bring some of the 3ds titles to the wii u like nintendogs and cats pilotwings resort you could use the gamepad for your touch screen I know peo[ple are going to say thats a stupid idea well others do they have if you look at the concept i would say it identical to the ds/3ds your tv would be the top screen and your gamepad would be your bottom screen/touch screen so why not use it to thateffect you never know it might save it if you can play cross 3ds/wii u for example play super mario 3d land on the move then at home continue the game in super mario 3d land wii u or super mario 3d world.Just like capcom and monster hunter 3 ultimate.

[TheLastVoiceOFsanity]

when Nintendo finally makes a Metroid game for the Wii U, the ad should be live action(like this Metroid Prime 2 commercial), and feature Amber Heard as Samus Aran. nintendo should also look into who did the special effects for the Iron Man trilogy, and hire them for the commercials.

[Reeze]

I love Mario, but it's kind of disappointing to see him in most games Nintendo releases. There are just so many sports games, along with all of the other Mario games...

I'm usually the one standing up for Mario games, but right now, I'd like to see a bunch of completely new ideas. Maybe a 3D Toad adventuring game. Maybe a completely new puzzle game with clever characters. I'm not sure, but I am interested in something new.

[Thepcz]

this is what is worrying me about nintendo... these small projects. this is why i am yet to buy a wiiu.

nintendo, we need big projects, not small mini-game collections.

its baffling that a video-games GIANT like nintendo with a such a distinguished back catalogue of games is being reduced to making games you would expect from a start-up made-for-mobile-phone games company.

what is happening nintendo?