Miyamoto Says No to Digital Distribution

miyamotoAs more companies are turning towards digital distribution, the face of gaming continues to change. Heck, Steam is making forward progress in this realm all the time, while services like XBox Live and the PSN prove that new huge games can be released digitally like Battlefield 1943 and Fat Princess. Even Nintendo delivers some great old games on the Virtual Console.

While many point to digital distribution being in gaming’s future, one Shigero Miyamoto says this is not so. In a recent interview with Mercury Evening News, the man behind Zelda and Mario says that one thing you can’t do online is the distribution of new and exciting hardware. Uh… duh?

Entertainment is something that will not just become digital. If I look at Wii MotionPlus, this is something that you’re not doing via digital distribution.

Basically, digital distribution can’t be the future because you can’t give people new peripherals to waggle with over the Inter-tubes. Ah, Miyamoto-son… a pillar of ingenuity, he is. What do you guys think? Is digital distribution the future of gaming? Or is it just part of gaming’s future?

Source- VG247 and Mercury Evening News

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I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

23 thoughts on “Miyamoto Says No to Digital Distribution”

  1. After our interview, Mr. Miyamoto picked up a large club and excused himself from the room, telling me that he was about to go catch his dinner.

    Miyamoto isn’t a fan of digital distribution because Nintendo’s current demographic could really care less. He’s right that all they want to do is waggle. While digital distribution is an important part of Sony and Microsoft’s futures (1943 and Fat Princess being good examples, just as you mentioned), I think that Nintendo being the lone hold-out is going to cause DD to take a back seat priority compared to snaring more of the casual audience.

  2. Now, I do like using Steam for downloads, and I have a couple games from Direct2drive. But, honestly, having a hard copy is much, much better than having it downloaded. With some downloads, if you lose it, due to like, technical error, you’re pretty much screwed. But if you have a hard copy, it’s easy enough to pop the disk in and download it or play it.
    Small things like Audiosurf, Wii virtual downloads of small games, and XBox Live and PSN games that aren’t big are fine.
    But, sometimes it is easier to Digitally Download.
    It’ll probably just be a part of gaming future, but it should be the future of gaming.

  3. Well, Xbox 360 just brought out a ‘Games on Demand’ feature which lets you purchase (with real money not MSP :O) good for those with large hardrives and alot of money, Oblivion for 19.99? Dinny hink so. So this to me will make Sony bring out a feature like it. The games are pretty big and expensive so i’d think it will just be a part of the future, not the future.

  4. [quote comment=”7973″] With some downloads, if you lose it, due to like, technical error, you’re pretty much screwed. [/quote]

    Well with steam you can uninstall and reinstall any game you own as many times as you want. also with digital distribution like steam you can get %50 off deals.

  5. You’re exactly right, Jim. Which to me is another bonus of digital media. While I like owning a disc, of you lose it, you’re screwed. Recently I’ve been repurchasing music that I lost the physical discs to- had I just bought them digitally, I could simply redownload them.

  6. Well, not everyone that owns an xbox has live.i have a couple of friends that ant connect to live for various reasons, not having the money being a big one. it is only five bucks a month, but still. if live were to become free, like steam for xbox, than downloading might become gamings future, but until then i would say that its only part of the future.

  7. I can’t speak for the consoles, but STEAM is definitely for me. I can’t say how many times I’ve purchased a game, only to know that if I waited 4 more months, I could have had it half priced on steam, or some Crazy weekend deal:

    Speaking of which: Anyone see their Bundle this weekend? It was a savings of about #100 bucks, all these awesome DLC Titles for super cheap… I woulda bought it had I not already owned Audiosurf, Braid and a few of the other great ones.

    Look at the “Mid-Week Deal” they have right now. WAW on for half priced? Jesus…

    With things like this, I don’t know how anyone would say that this isn’t the future forsure. (Unless bandwidth suddenly becomes ruled by north korea, of course)

  8. I guess he’s thinking in the future, we can get gaming hardware digitally.

    Like when the dude in TRON went in the computer… but backwards.

  9. Arent the weekend deals and crazy great deals on Steam because Valve is such an awesome company? I dont think Microsoft and Sony area bout to throw us good games at better prices. Valve is one of the only companys that pampers the gamer.

  10. Would say steam is the first step in realizing this thing, i bought this weekends deal which was a pack of indie games saved me about ÂŁ60. But having the hard copy is always nice and reassuring.

  11. Personally, I don’t think his argument holds water. Now, Miyamoto is a GENIUS in game design, and if he were to give a good reason related to game design that digital distribution couldn’t work, I wouldn’t ask questions. But, saying that digital distribution is weak because it can’t distribute hardware seems like kind of a cop-out.
    Here’s how I see it. Imagine a future where Brick & Mortar game stores are extinct. The only way to get a console is at a store like Best Buy or (shudder) Radio Shack. These stores carry consoles, but are they willing to devote a wall of their stores to Wii accessories? Is steam going to ask at checkout if you want the new Wii Steering Wheel Of Amazing Shininess? Will Direct2Drive politely inform you that your play experience will be horribly impaired without the vital Golf Club™ attachment? Of course not.
    Like I said, Miyamoto is a genius and all, but the argument that you can’t download hardware is a bit weak.

  12. You could sort of get hardware through DD. Order it and get it delivered to your door. In a way that could be seen as getting hardware through DD 😛

  13. Hey… Full DD can be possible with teleport pads. Buy a Motion Plus and boom its on the pad. But… idk if teleport pads are possible so there is a slight bump there.

  14. Ninty doesn’t care about DD, because they don’t care about software in general. Where do they absolutely shred the market? With a little white stick you waggle, a weight scale you balance on and a plastic wheel you pretend to drive with. Nintendo doesn’t care about games anymore because they aren’t in the “video game” business, they just make toys now.

    You may think that Ninty’s mascots are an Italian plumber, a kid in a green cap and a lady adventurer in a space suit, but in reality it’s a six year-old kid, a housewife in middle America and your grandparents.

  15. Don’t care about software? With what would you waggle, balance on, or pretend to drive with, among other things? With no software, you’d be doing nothing and effectively, those “toys” are worthless. So they’ve ensnared the casual market. They’d be retarded to let that go just to please the butthurt “hardcore” gamers out there.

  16. [quote comment=”7991″]
    Nintendo doesn’t care about games anymore because they aren’t in the “video game” business, they just make toys now.

    You may think that Ninty’s mascots are an Italian plumber, a kid in a green cap and a lady adventurer in a space suit, but in reality it’s a six year-old kid, a housewife in middle America and your grandparents.[/quote]

    I couldn’t have said it better myself..

    @ Anthony: I think this is what I was getting to in other posts about ‘Serious/Hardcore’ Games vs. Passive, [while still awesome] “E” Games.

    Wii/Natal/Simple, Basic, “My Grandma can do it” games are for the passive, non-thinking game type. “hardcore” games are games that make a [nerd] lasting, memorable experience [/nerd] to you because of its CONTENT, not it’s experience alone.

    i.e. my Grandma would love wii bowling; that doesn’t make it classic or memorable… that makes it old-friendly and accessible. Sure, its great; if you define ‘great’ as ‘successful’, but it is NOT ‘hardcore’.

    It’s like comparing Assassin’s Creed to Tetris… You’re trying to eliminate things in an orderly fashion with precision… Does that mean the mechanics are the same?…

    Sure… Poor example. But none the less, games that are designed for children or made extra-simple (like Mario) are not “hardcore”, they are classics that are targeted towards the widest audience. Sucessful games don’t mean Great games.

    (Oh and P.S. F* Peripherals)

  17. Well, Tetris is 10 times the game that Assassin’s Creed is, IMHO.

    And Mario’s content makes for a lasting impression. I had a fantastic time exploring Super Mario World and its secrets and challenge stymied even the hardest of the hardcore. Just because it uses less buttons than games these days does not make it less hardcore.

    And hardcore are targeted to wide audiences, as well. Halo? Call of Duty?

  18. Yeah, those games are targeted to wide audiences, but not as wide as something like Mario; games that 6 years will play aswell as the non-gamers.

    I also have a fantastic time playing Super Mario World levels. My roomates and I are going through it again right now actually (we’re stuck at 94 though, can’t find the other 2 levels…)

    Maybe my definition of “hardcore” isn’t something I can put into palpable terms. I think of it as PG movies to R. or softcore vs hardcore pornography.

    Ah, whatever. I love gaming, I like the simple aswell as the complex. Wii is fun at parties, but all in all I think I prefer a more serious, thought out, story driven gaming experience.

  19. Haha, yeah those last levels are a pain.

    I think for you it is if it a mature game or something.

    For me, if its something my fiancee can beat, its casual. She can’t beat Mario.

  20. [quote comment=”7975″][quote comment=”7973″] With some downloads, if you lose it, due to like, technical error, you’re pretty much screwed. [/quote]

    Well with steam you can uninstall and reinstall any game you own as many times as you want. also with digital distribution like steam you can get %50 off deals.[/quote]

    yes, very true, believe me, I love how steam works (in some ways).
    but for some places, they don’t do the deals, take direct2drive.
    I was on awhile ago, to reinstall my Rainbow Six Vegas 2, but it neither would install because I appearantly overused my installs (guess they don’t want you to have it more than once) and some games were still 40-60 bucks.
    Digital Distribution SHOULD be cheaper, do to the fact you don’t need the resources to produce a CD.

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