There was a question posed this weekend on Infendo radio of who has had more of an impact on Nintendo, Reggie or Miyamoto. My initial answer was that since being hired in 2003 Reggie has been the driving force for the rebirth of Nintendo and is the reason I am here so for me Reggie is the impact player at Nintendo. So a day goes by and I am watching my girlfriend play Super Paper Mario. I ask her which of the characters she enjoys plaing more and while I assume her answer would be Princess Peach (she always leans towards the female characters) she responded withour hesitation “Mario”.
I thought about it for a moment. Why are we still playing Mario games 26 years after he first came onto the scene? Simple answer, he is a plucky little character that touches us on some childlike mental level. His creator, Miyamoto, is an artist of almost limitless creative resources. The Nintendo corporation was built on the back of his ideas and if it wern’t for them Reggie would have nothing to take charge of and make money with (though given his track record I think he could make a million with just about anything.) Reggie may control it, but its still Miyamoto’s universe.
So I ask this question to you Infendo nation. Who is more responsible for Nintendo’s current state: Reggie or Miyamoto?
Is that a serious question? It’s obviously Miyamoto, he’s the visionary.
Miyamoto. Reggie might be big now, but his four years on the force don’t amount to Miyamoto’s twenty. Every game that Miyamoto has backed has been a creative success, both imaginative and innovative. Reggie likes the big cheese, but Miyamoto looks for the spices he can add to it. Which makes me think that Miyamoto probably made the first perfect fondu.
In this order: Miyamoto, Iwata, Reggie
All of the above, really. I don’t think the company would be quite where they’re at if it weren’t for the major players being the people they are.
Oh, and your girlfriend likes Mario because of the moustachio.
Its not possible to say… I mean, Miyamoto is visionary… its his charecters that keeps us coming back to nintendo year after year, But reggie is very important to. Its his driving force and presence and ability just strike aww into his listoners that nintendo has been able to make a comeback. As far as i say it, the two of them are an awsome tag team, and both are vital to the success of nintendo.
Miyamizzle for the win. Like Stan said. 20>4.
I don’t know much about Baketball, but here it goes,
Reggie is the Mascott. He gets in front of everybody and makes everyone fired up for the game, or in this case, a Nintendo Product.
Iwata is Wilt Chamberlain. He has really good skills but, he is not as popular as:
Micheal Jordan Which in this case is, Miyamoto. Even if you are ignorant about Basketball, there’s a good chance you know who he is. Just like Miyamoto. If your ignorant when it comes to Nintendo, there is a chance you have heard of him before.
Nintendo got to be important, in 1981, 1985, and 2006-7, because of Miyamoto. Nintendo got from their worst US market position to perhaps their best because of Reggie, but he’s just a marketing guru for one territory. He couldn’t have done it without Miyamoto delivering the goods with the DS and Wii. And in the Japanese market, Reggie is not a factor at all. Well, maybe now he is because of his recent promotion, but not during the Wii and DS launches.
Reggie helped their US comeback happen, but Miyamoto is still far more important to Nintendo. When he goes, in all probability they’ll be just another Japanese video game company again, albeit one with a lot of franchises to milk. If Reggie left tomorrow, Perrin or some other marketing exec could pick up where he left off.
I feel that Reggie was responsible for reconnecting Nintendo with reality, but it was Miyamoto’s connection with fantasy that has made Nintendo what it is. They work well together and both deserve respect for making the Wii a modern classic.
Simple question, complex answer!
Miyamoto was most important in the earyl 1980s through to the mid-1990s. Afterwards IMHO he lost influence as well as good ideas, a look at his recent interviews hurts me personally.
Fils-Aime is important in the sense that he changes the perception of the Nintendo brand from “kiddy” to “azzkikr”. We’ll remember the E3 announcement “kicking names”
probably forever. So at the moment he’s #2 on my list.
#1 Iwata
#2 Fils-Aime
#3 Miyamoto
I think it’s Nintendo as a whole, you can’t say one is more influential than the other as they each have their own jobs.
Miyamoto makes sure 1st and 2nd party Nintendo games are good lest he flip the table on their heads. Reggie originally hyped Nintendo up with a new attitude and who knows what exactly he’s doing right now, but Nintendo’s attitude change came before he was present. It just so happens that he sent the message out loud and clear.
I’m sure you can also thank Iwata who really started changing things up when he stepped up as president. You can also thank the very talented team at Nintendo who made the DS and Wii a reality, and I’m also sure that ex-pres. Yamaguchi still has something to do with Nintendo’s success.