Miyamoto: This Is The Year For A New Character

As a fan of Nintendo--or even console gaming in the US at all--it's impossible not to have respect for the man behind some of the most well-loved and innovative titles of this generation. Shigeru Miyamoto started out on arcades, converting an old game called Radar Scope into the first Donkey Kong, beginning his rise as a top designer and engineer within Nintendo. From a game inspired by King Kong and Popeye, Miyamoto shifted his arcade focus to caverns and magical kingdoms with Super Mario Bros., then to his childhood explorations in caves, which translated to The Legend of Zelda.

To put it in different terms, Miyamoto's hobbies matter. Not only because he translates his own interests into his next big game, but also because those games tend to be very, very good. In a recent shareholder's meeting (translated by Andriasang), both Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata took some questions about their upcoming projects. The man behind Mario apparently has had to be told not to talk about his latest hobbies too much:

I'm often asked about my interests, but the CEO has told me to if possible not speak about this as the theme of my next game would be known externally. About one year back, I started talking about cats, and right according to schedule, it was announced. We'll soon be completing Nintendogs + Cats, which features cats.

Of course, after this disclaimer, he goes on to mention that he's "still full of energy," and that his recent hobbies include swimming and also doing some community work within a local youth guidance committee.

Miyamoto also throws his fans another gem, having commented at E3 a few years back on another game in the Pikmin franchise. In this latest communiqué, he notes, "Amongst the present promises, I have to finish Pikmin quickly, so production is progressing extremely well."

Why does he have to finish it quickly? Well, it looks like Miyamoto's eyes are turning toward a new franchise. "It's been nearly 10 years since I made the Pikmin character, so I feel this is the year where I must at long last make a new character. This is as far as I'll answer today." So while we may not see it this year or the next, the next big Nintendo property is clanking around somewhere. I'm not sure what can be gleaned from "swimming" and "youth guidance," but then, we're talking about the guy who can take 'caves and lanterns' and make Zelda, and translate 'gardening' intoPikmin, so I think we'll have fun no matter what form the character takes.

Still, who wouldn't like to see this new character soon? My head is swimming (ha) with possibilities!