7. N-1 Grand Prix

Lastly, I’d like to start with Ebisu-san and have you all comment on the way we made this game and say a few words to the fans.

At first, I felt like I was competing against rivals, but as we all worked together on the same thing, a feeling of solidarity arose, and the game turned out well. Looking at it now that it’s done, it was incredibly fun, so I think it would be good to release games made that way from time to time.

Miyamoto-san said the same thing the other day. Competing in a friendly fashion and inspiring each other resulted in a high-quality product, so I hope the players will sense that.

Veggie Guardin’ is a fast and furious game, so it’s good for relieving stress. On the other hand, Skip Skimmer is something you play in a detached way - almost with your mind blank. It has a soothing effect, so I hope everyone will enjoy that.

Okay. Mizobe-san, if you would, please?

I’m extremely happy that I could participate in this new way of making games for Nintendo. I’d like to submit a prototype next time, too.

So if there’s a next time, you want in?

Yes, I’d like to give it my best shot. Star Shuttle is relatively difficult, but I hope people will do their best. There’s a lot of content there, so you can thoroughly enjoy it. Also, Dolphin Park is a hidden element that shows up once you satisfy certain conditions, so I hope people will enjoy swimming freely around the sea and looking for fish.

All right. Funaki-san?

Looking at it now that it’s done, it was incredibly encouraging and informative, so I’m glad I did it. I hope everyone will enjoy the unique movement of twirling the controller in Treasure Twirl. And while the conditions for unlocking Loony Cycle are tough, I hope everyone will strive for it!

Niitani-san?

I both lent support and worked on my own minigame this time, so I was really bustling around. If I have another opportunity, I just want to make a game! (laughs) Once you get pretty good at Teeter Targets, you’ll be able to slide the ball along your paddle. I would love it if players become that good at it.

Okay. Hosokawa-san.

I’ve always developed games within Nintendo, so I haven’t worked much with outside developers. It was quite a learning experience to work with so many companies this time. With regard to the minigames, there are easy ones and hard ones, but they all possess elements that keep players hooked, so you can play them lightly or just keep plugging away at a particular one you like.

That’s an important point. In general, minigame compilations for families are geared toward everyone, so it’s easy to think they have no depth. But this time, all the developers were perfectionists, so all the games have depth and you can enjoy them to the fullest.

So each game requires its own strategy. It’s enjoyable when you play with others, but we talked the whole time about making it fun for single players as well, and I think we did a fine job of that.

Okay. Eto-san?

Making the game this way was incredibly inspiring, because we could ask the staff for opinions and see the progress and degree of completion of the other minigames right before our eyes. Control is difficult in Flutter Fly, but once you practice, it feels great when you can navigate the courses just how you want, so I hope everyone will give it their best. In Pose Mii Plus, you have to think at an incredibly fast pace, so there are moments of tension.

I see. Taniguchi-san?

Making a video game this way is like that organisation in Tiger Mask²⁸ called Toranoana (Tiger’s Cave).²⁹ Lots of people go in, but not everyone comes out! (laughs) We were rivals engaging in friendly competition and now that the product is done, I feel like it’s much meatier than if we had made one game on our own. Having made a game like this, I feel like diving into the Tiger’s Cave again! ^28. Tiger Mask: A manga (comic book) about professional wrestling. Written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. ^29. Toranoana (Tiger’s Cave): A training organisation in Tiger Mask.

(laughs)

In Wind Runner, we exaggerate the experience that everyone has had of fighting the wind with an umbrella on a windy day. The direction you go changes depending on how you move your umbrella with regard to the wind, so if you try for the same distance, it’s difficult. I’m proud that we made such an extremely challenging game.

All right. Naka-san?

It was a lot of fun facing off against everyone, so every year I want to participate in an N-1 Grand Prix by Nintendo! (laughs)

N-1 Grand Prix? (laughs) (Editor’s note: Naka-san’s idea is based off of M-1 Grand Prix, a televised tournament held annually in Japan by entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo, where comedians competed to determine who would be champion.)

Yeah. (laughs) One regret I have is that since it was our first work with Nintendo, we tried too hard to meet the deadline. Now that it’s over, I realise we could have made one more minigame. The original deadline was December or the end of January, but people were still working in March and April.

Sorry. I actually did some adjusting of the deadlines for each company as I watched everyone’s progress.

You did? (laughs wryly) I thought it was funny how we had been told the end of January, but a schedule from elsewhere said the end of February. But it was extremely informative paying attention to and fixing all the little details, so I hope we can work together again. With regard to Trigger Twist, it’s an incredibly pleasing minigame when you can nail each shot, so I hope people will enjoy it.

All right. Ohshima-san?

I definitely want to participate in the N-1 Grand Prix, too! But I want you to announce the top three chosen by players and not announce the rest. (laughs)

You want to gather votes and see what was fun.

Yes. I hope both children and adults will seriously challenge themselves to see how high they can stack an ice cream cone in Cone Zone. When it comes to Jump Park, players who aren’t used to action games can play it, but I especially hope people who love action games will play it. And for Spooky Search, I hope children will enjoy looking for and catching ghosts around their house.

Okay. And Nonaka-san?

First, I should mention how much trouble I caused everyone. And even to those who could not be here today, I’d like to use this occasion to express my gratitude. With regard to the number of people involved this time, when I look at the credits, there are about 200 people, not including debuggers. It’s an amazing feeling to have made a minigame collection on such a large scale! (laughs) That many people worked on this collection of minigames, but it came together as a package even as it displays each company’s character - as we originally set out to do. And while this is like a party game, you can enjoy playing it alone.

That’s right. I had someone lend me the final version the other day and had fun playing it alone in my room. (laughs) It was definitely worth playing alone.

Thank you. Of course, it is more fun playing with others. Everyone will find a game they particularly like, so you won’t regret buying it. And since it comes with the Wii Remote Plus, it’s a real deal!

And Takahashi-san, you’re last.

Listening today to everyone say how they would like to do this again, I realised all over again how much everyone inspired each other through the development process. Actually, staff members from the various groups within Nintendo’s Software Planning & Development Department were assigned to the various companies. So when it came to communication between department groups, this project pulled everyone closer together. That was another way this project went well. I think the final quality is a result of those two things - the various companies gathering together to make one game and the departmental members becoming more deeply acquainted through making something.

Everyone at Nintendo is also glad we did this, which is another rewarding aspect of the project.

As for my message to the fans, we made it easy to play for beginning gamers, but each minigame is deep and challenging enough for seasoned gamers. I also hope game fans will enjoy noticing which developers made which minigames.

By the way, the names of the developing companies and the game credits are hidden in the title screen. You can only make them show up with the Wii Remote Plus, so I hope everyone will look for them.

Today, you have all appeared to enjoy yourselves as you talk about the process, even though it must have been hard, so I hope that feeling reaches the players. There is a lot more packed into the game than may be apparent at first, so I intend to work hard so that it reaches as many people around the world as possible. Thank you for coming today.

Thank you for inviting us!