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Miyamoto not a fan of excessive game violence, wants to punch it in the face photo

Everybody knows that Shigeru Miyamoto is a lovely little imp. Not only is he always grinning like some sort of lunatic, his games are colorful, gentle and most importantly, not all that violent. In fact, in a recent interview, the legendary game creator stated that violent content in games concerns him.

"[I'm] concerned that many developers focus just on excessive violence in order to stimulate people's minds. I believe that here are more ways of grabbing players' attention than violence alone.

I also hope that parents take advantage of age ratings when letting their children play."

Miyamoto is right when he says that there are more ways of getting our attention, but let's be honest -- rarely are they quite as effective as a hammer to the skull or a chainsaw through the neck. Like it or not, we're a violent species, and while most of us have reined in our base instincts to become civilized people, the majority of us still have an underlying fascination with the brutal.

Rather than be too concerned, I would instead be glad that a lot of people can release their violent sides through a videogame rather than let it explode in real life. There is a reason that stuff like violence and sex sells -- it's because deep down we're all vicious, horny bastards.

Even, I'd wager, Miyamoto ... and that's a scary thought.


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24 comments | showing # 1 to 24

falinter's Avatar
falinter at 10/21/2008 12:41
The reason is that most developers cop out and use guns to interact with the virtual world. I think Cliffy B said that a gun is the easiest tool to manipulate the virtual world.

There are obviously tons of other things developers could use but fists/guns tend to be the thing they fall back on instead of trying new things.
pedrovay2003's Avatar
pedrovay2003 at 10/21/2008 12:42
I agree with Miyamoto, but at the same time, I'm having a blast with Dead Space right now.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 10/21/2008 12:49
Jim, I'm shocked that you didn't make (or insinuate) the following SAT-style analogy:

Shigeru Miyamoto : videogame violence :: Chad Concelmo : old ladies
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 10/21/2008 12:49
I believe there are better ways to sell a movie than loading down the dialogue with gratuitous profanity. I can understand what he means here. Fun should come before carnal gratification.
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 10/21/2008 12:54
lol @ Reaprar
elsteveo's Avatar
elsteveo at 10/21/2008 12:57
Let's just keep adding nintendo characters into every time of sports game imaginable. Also we should make a game with the word fit in it so people think they are exercising but really aren't
catsithx's Avatar
catsithx at 10/21/2008 12:59
Well I guess he's right. I think i'll get back to you all on that I am going to play some Rainbow Six Vegas right now
Rosseh's Avatar
Rosseh at 10/21/2008 13:32
Ergh, I saw him on Channel 4 news and I have to say, I'm deeply disappointed with John Snow. The report was like looking back into the whole GTA4 business, with them generalising about the plot and saying it endorced violence.

I have to agree about the implications some Nintendo games have. It has that 1950s ignorant "innocent" racism/stereotype feel to it.
MissHinasaki's Avatar
MissHinasaki at 10/21/2008 13:33
God, I love that silly man. Just not a big fan of his company.

I think it would be good if we had more GOOD games that didn't focus so much on violence. The problem is that obvious violence and sex are the things that sell. Since those things are easy for the unintelligent to understand, and they are the majority, they are what we see more commonly. I mean hey, I probably love getting lost in a hack and slash for ours as oppose to a puzzle game, but if it was something done well, I'd probably be just as inclined to play it. I'm not drawn to the violence. It just tends to be what's out there. I dunno. Maybe it's just a stereotypical female thing, but I'm not that into extensive violence or shooting. Or maybe it's just more of the fact that I'm sick of it since it seems to be the only thing out there these days.
Ratcliff's Avatar
Ratcliff at 10/21/2008 13:37
I seem to remember reading something SOMEWHERE, talking about how games in Japan tend to sell better if the focus on creation, while games in the US tend to sell better if the focus on destruction.
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 10/21/2008 13:44
@Ratcliff:
Name one shmup that focuses on creation.
Prince Ghidorah's Avatar
Prince Ghidorah at 10/21/2008 14:19
Not to speak for the great Miyamoto, but his point is pretty clear. Developers use violence as a cheap, "go to," a default mode of interaction. It takes greater creativity to make a challenging, emotionally gripping game in which violence is not at center stage. This why there are a million interchangeable FPSs out there and only a few games like ICO.
VaeVictus's Avatar
VaeVictus at 10/21/2008 14:28
He's a hypocrit. He made millions promoting violence against turtles, mushroom men and fish. How many precious turtles have you stomped Miyamoto?
Altered Beets's Avatar
Altered Beets at 10/21/2008 15:09
Anyone who calls Miyamoto hipocritical is just being silly, either as a joke, or out of beligerent ignorance. If you really can't tell the difference between the violence of Zelda and say, GTA, you're trying too hard not to.

I mean sure, in the great Buddhist sense, violence is violence, but honestly, that isn't even a relevant comparison here.

Violence can work great (I loved Fight Club when I finally saw it), but often, use of violence is just lazy. I therefore agree about 79% with Miyamoto on this.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 10/21/2008 15:11
Get back in your box, Shiggy. No one cares anymore. Go make WiiPuppetry, or whatever other bizarre fever dream you're cooking up.
Linkoman's Avatar
Linkoman at 10/21/2008 15:29
@ratcliff: the japaniese tend to focus on making cute furrys while americans tend to create penis monsters.
Capn Birdseye's Avatar
Capn Birdseye at 10/21/2008 15:32
"I also hope that parents take advantage of age ratings when letting their children play."

Shiggy has always thought that games are for children - read his interviews, he designs his games for his children, his wife - he doesn't consider adults as a viable audience for serious gaming.

What he says here is no surprise. The media shouldn't let him get away with this just because he invented super mario, where they would have repeatedly vilified any one else.
Syn's Avatar
Syn at 10/21/2008 16:06
Yea, people are pathetic and base. We get the point.
Kyousuke Nanbu's Avatar
Kyousuke Nanbu at 10/21/2008 17:28
But they do let him get away with it, Nintendo saved gaming back in the 80's and this has given them a free pass on so many things that other companies get villified for. Its pathetic.

I admire the man's creativity but its obvious he has no idea on how the gaming market has evolved, its gone well past stomping on goombas(not that there's anything wrong with that) and plenty of titles have sold well that don't focus on killing, look at the sims, its about creation and its one of the finest selling series to date.
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar
Burnt Meatloaf at 10/22/2008 05:48
D.A.R.E. says kids should not use drugs. Miyamoto to give opinion in future interview.
VaeVictus's Avatar
VaeVictus at 10/22/2008 07:25
@ Altered Beets: "facetious" look it up.
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 10/22/2008 11:13
I love me some violence... but miyamoto knows what I like too... because when I'm not blowing off heads I'm jumping on turtles.
ZonerDude's Avatar
ZonerDude at 10/22/2008 15:38
Lazy game developers can't think up anything original and fall back onto the violence and degradation path. Miyamoto is right on all counts, especially his last piece of advice about parents making sure they adhere to the ratings system. For some reason the tone of this article annoys me and makes it sound as if Miyamoto is somehow wrong to be concerned about how heavy the violence is in the majority of games today. Good for him for going against the grain and doing his own thing.
GohanGVO's Avatar
GohanGVO at 10/26/2008 12:07
I agree with Miyamoto, but I worry that going the opposite route is just as bad. How many 'Nintendogs' and 'Brain Training' clones have there been? 8 billion or so (with 7.6 billion coming via Ubisoft)?
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