Miyamoto: realism in games 'were pretty much failures'

Shigeru Miyamoto said he wasn't excited by the idea of games matching reality. In a 1989 interview for Japanese publication Gamer Handbook, recently translated by shmuplations, he suggested Tom and Jerry's cartoon reality was a better model for Nintendo's early games.

He argued players can be frustrated by "animation-heavy games which prioritize visual smoothness over responsiveness." Miyamoto made a vague allusion to the popularity of "karate games"—likely referencing Jordan Mechner's Karateka—and noted those titles offered "beautiful" movement, "but as games, they were pretty much failures." "It's about how it feels to the player," he said, using Mario's exaggerated abilities as an example.

"If you think about it, Mario's jumping ability is actually ridiculous... he'd be the greatest Olympic athelete ever! (laughs)" He contrasted Mario's later, higher jumps with the Donkey Kong days, when "he only jumped about his own height, which didn't feel wrong.

Japan

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