During Nintendo’s latest shareholder Q&A meeting, Shigeru Miyamoto stressed the importance for developers to “work for the consumer, not your boss”, ensuring that teams can produce games that will satisfy players.
Afterwards, ex-Nintendo developer Takaya Imamura added his own two cents to the conversation and stated that Miyamoto has always viewed games as “products”, not “works of art”, and believes that his background studying industrial art helped shaped this viewpoint (thanks, Automaton).
“Mr. Miyamoto studied industrial design at an art university, and he views games as ‘products,’ not ‘works of art.’ I think this perspective is what leads to game development that’s more aligned with the user.”
If it’s not clear from the quote, Imamura doesn’t believe Miyamoto’s view of games to be a negative one. Instead, it helps to ensure that game development is done in service of the player, ensuring that the final product is one of exceptional high quality.
The discussion over whether game development can be viewed as an art form has been ongoing for many years, and we believe that yes, it absolutely is an art form. But it’s one that customers are ultimately paying good money to experience, and we don’t necessarily believe it’s wrong, therefore, to also view them as products.
Hey, if it helps make sure they’re consistently great, then we’re all for it.
