‘He’ll constantly evolve’: Nintendo creators discuss if Mario can reach 100 years
Miyamoto, Tezuka, and more discuss the future of Mario in the Nintendo Museum Book
Super Mario’s original creators have said the Nintendo mascot will need to continue to evolve alongside technology, if the series is to remain popular up to its 100th anniversary.
The original Super Mario Bros. team, including executive fellow Shigeru Miyamoto, executive office Takashi Tezuka, composer Koji Kondo, and SRD president Toshihiko Nakago, discuss the past and future of the series in a special Nintendo Museum book to celebrate the game’s 40th anniversary.
One segment of the interview asks the four creators if they think the Super Mario series can remain popular up to its 100th anniversary in 2085, to which they agree that the series will need to continue to evolve to maintain its relevance.
“One might think it would be a miracle if Mario was still here after 100 years, since we make things while not knowing when our players may get bored with them,” said Tezuka, transcribed by VGC. “If it’s not fun to play, you’ll get bored, and I’m always thinking of how to keep it so that something like that doesn’t happen so that people keep playing.”
“Different times bring different kinds of fun. What Mario can do now is completely different from when we started out. I want to continue making things people find fun to play, including the actions you do, by changing things little by little.”
Tezuka said that one consideration Nintendo may make for the future of Mario is that multiple generations of people have started playing games since the series began in 1985.
Until just a little while ago, two generations-parents and children were playing together, Tezuka said. “Now, three can. I don’t know if we’ll get to four, but we want to make something that can be played together for generations to come.
“I think it’d make me very happy if we can share that chance to experience Mario together with family and friends. We’ll continue to make Mario games for a long time, so please look forward to them.”
Miyamoto added that, although Super Mario is increasingly portrayed in other media such as movies, he believes it’s important to ensure that interactivity is at the heart of the franchise.
“It’s a given that Super Mario will constantly evolve by incorporating new digital technology,” he said. “Now we’re working in visual fields like movies, but I want to make sure we keep it interactive and digital. As long as we don’t forget Mario’s prime point – running and jumping – as we add new things, I think Mario will be with us for a long time to come.”
Further reading
He continued: “Nintendo takes on unique challenges, and if a new technology is interesting, I believe that by incorporating that technology, we can make that fun expand and grow-like rolling up snow for a snowman. So I hope that you will continue to stick with us.”
Kondo, who turns 65 next year, said he wants to continue making music for Mario games. Nakago, who is president of longtime Nintendo programming partner SRD, added: “I don’t know what will happen a hundred years from now, but I’m going to create programs that are intuitively conveyed to others.”
VGC published a Nintendo Museum review shortly after its opening last year.
We wrote: “When the Nintendo Museum is viewed in this light, as a spirited showcase of all the beloved memories you have for the company and its creations, you can truly appreciate it for what it is right now: a fun day out that reminds you of why you fell in love with Nintendo in the first place”
“Some will surely be disappointed by the lack of depth from its exhibits, but if you go in with the expectation that you’re likely to leave having learned very little, beyond how to pack a human-sized N64 controller into a suitcase, you’ll likely have a more enjoyable experience overall.”
