Miyamoto Searching for Nintendo’s Next “Big Hit”

There is no denying that Shigeru Miyamoto is the most influential man in the history of gaming, with his efforts shaping the industry into what it is today. The man responsible for Mario and Zelda has already accomplished more than what other icons can only dream of. But eager to expand his horizons even more, Miyamoto feels that it his “basic job” to find Nintendo’s next big hit.

Miyamoto has only played supervisory roles in Nintendo’s latest titles, and now we know why. During a  Q&A session with investors, he clarified that he was backing off (but only to a small extent) from existing Nintendo franchises.

“The ideal situation is one in which I do not need to give any direction. If we look at such a situation from one perspective, my giving directions may hold back my subordinates’ independent and voluntary growth. Accordingly, sometimes I intentionally give them freedom. Of course, I do not let everyone go totally unchecked. I supervise whenever necessary.”

He further added: “I am spending more time than before on finding new ideas for new developments rather than focusing my energy on work in my teams in order to solidify the contents of (existing) franchise titles, I am acting with the understanding that one big hit title can change multiple phases of a situation in the entertainment business, and I feel that finding such one big hit is my basic job.”

Whatever the man will conjure up, it won’t be anything short of Legendary, and chances are that it will be the killer app that will push the Wii U and 3DS forward.