Hello, this is Nagata from Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun. Three years after the production of MOTHER 3 was restarted, I interviewed MOTHER 3 creator Shigesato Itoi. This wasn’t a conventional interview, with a third party lobbing questions, because I accompanied Itoi on most of his visits to the team during development. As a result I feel that we were able to set aside the usual pleasantries and atmosphere-building and reach the genuine core of the matter without embellishment. Consider these the liner notes for a new work, released after a twelve-year hiatus.

This article is available in Japanese, English. ＞ Japanese（日本語）

Part 3

A Three-Man Decision

As I was listening to your story, it occurred to me that one of the main reasons you decided to resume development on MOTHER 3 was probably because the impetus came from Miyamoto and Iwata.

Itoi
Oh, absolutely! I knew they were saying that while already understanding all the hardships. And it wasn’t only coming from the idea of making money. Of course, the two of them have plenty of business sense, so it wasn’t absent from their minds.

Yeah.

Itoi
It’s a bit like I said earlier, where I don’t want to oversimplify the matter by saying “It’s thanks to everyone.” I also don’t want to oversimplify it by saying “The world runs on more than just money!”

For sure. (Laughs)

Itoi
I want to preface this by saying 500 times: “I love money!” And it’s only once I get that message across that I can say: “But.”

(Laughs)

Itoi
You laugh, but I mean that. Sometimes there are “buts” you can only add after you’ve prefaced it with something 500 times.

Yeah.

Itoi
They said what they did while truly understanding the risks and responsibilities. I’m not sure exactly how to explain this either, but I guess it boils down to sentiment. It was precisely because their sentiment came across that I could feel motivated to take it on. Miyamoto, Iwata and I are in different companies, and we each bear different responsibilities. But broadly speaking, in a way, the three of us riding in the taxi that day were a single team. Well, we are a team in a spiritual sense, and I really cherish our connection.
So... It really means a lot to me. The fact that those two men said what they did carries immense weight for me. And that is precisely why, having taken on the project, I resolved to never come crawling back to them later to plead for help. So, sentiment was certainly a crucial element, but once we set things in motion, it becomes a formal agreement between our respective companies.

That’s true. And from Iwata’s perspective, projected sales were certainly part of the equation, but perhaps he sees the positive impact the MOTHER brand has on Nintendo as a company.

Itoi
Yes. I think Iwata knows about both. After all, he’s one of the producers of MOTHER 2.

An offer based on both sentiment and business.

Itoi
I would say the business aspect is the one more on the forefront. Iwata is certainly a sentimental person, but he’s not someone to put that before all else. So from that end, I believe he suppressed that sentiment when he was weighing this decision over and over again, eventually landing on the thought that we should make the game.

I can see that.

Itoi
And, just maybe, we’d be able to say that we’ve reached the end of an era.

Ahh.

Itoi
Who knows? But another thing to keep in mind is that three years ago, Miyamoto was demonstrating his ability to pick up on trends when he decided on a handheld console.

Oh! That’s interesting in a completely different way.

Itoi
Yeah. I firmly believe that it wasn’t about reducing the scope of development, but about reading the direction of where things were heading in the industry at that point. And that was the same thing on my mind about games in general. I’ve mentioned this several times now to various outlets, but home video game consoles not coming with their own display is a relic from the days when personal computers didn’t, either. Home consoles are interesting, and they’re not going anywhere, but I think including a monitor will be the norm from now on.

Interesting. Yeah, I can see how today we’re reluctant to keep leaning into a setup where you plug something into a television. You can do that, but the competition is fierce.

Itoi
Right. So that means there’s an advantage to having a special display for the console. That’s got handheld consoles like the Game Boy advancing pretty quickly. These handheld devices are more than just having something portable—it’s about having a screen already attached to them, like you would a computer.

Perhaps Miyamoto saw that coming.

Itoi
At the very least, he sensed that shift. And I felt like it was time to get on board with it. We had lots of offhand chats about things like that, after all.

In other words, the three of you held on to that sentiment, but it was also promising enough for each of you that you decided to resume development.

Itoi
That was the only way. Which goes without saying, though.

Yeah.

Itoi
So, regardless, there were myriad things that lined up for us to go back and make MOTHER 3 again. Give it a bit of a rebirth. The end product isn’t out yet, but the development is at least wrapped up now, so at the very least, we can start reflecting that we were glad to have done it.

I see.

Itoi
But, you know... Even things like this, when you look back on them, make good stories.

Yeah, it’s interesting.

Itoi
So if there are any elementary school students reading this, I want you to remember this: “If you truly want to make something happen, take the map you’ve drawn out now and make it four times bigger.” It might be more daunting, but it’ll at least be more earnest.

Yeah.

Itoi
Making something happen is an incredible thing. That alone is something to be proud of.

And for now, we can firmly say that on April 20th, MOTHER 3 is coming out.

Itoi
Yes we can.

(To be continued)

2006-04-20-THU