Here's an interview with the head producer
[quote]Hideki Konno tells Game|Life what's cooking on Revolution
Now Playing: Still Mario Kart DS!
Topic: Japan
On Hideki Konno's business card, it says "Producer, Entertainment Analysis and Development." That's significant because it's the position that once appeared on the business card of Shigeru Miyamoto.
Hideki Konno is, therefore, a man to watch out for. As a producer at Nintendo's EAD -- the Kyoto studio responsible for Super Mario and Zelda -- Konno is the man responsible for games like Nintendogs and Mario Kart DS.
Game|Life sat down with Mr. Konno for a one-on-one chat last week in Seattle, and spoke about not only the challenges of developing Nintendo's first-ever online game, but also about a project (that, it should be stressed, is not at this point a retail product but a creative in-house experiment) that EAD is cooking up for the Revolution:
Konno: We have this game with a big wok that you use to cook Chinese food, and it's really interesting to have the meat and vegetables frying in there, and use the controller to flip the food around without it spilling out of the pan.
Game|Life: You were also the producer of Nintendogs. What are the different challenges of creating a brand new franchise like Nintendogs versus a game with an established fanbase and pedigree like Mario Kart?
Konno: As far as the actual software development, there's not much difference, technologically speaking. But the goals for each game were separate and unique right from the beginning. With Mario Kart DS, it's the fifth game in the Mario Kart series, a very well-established franchise, and our goal with that was to provide good content, good volume, to keep that fanbase satisfied with the direction of the series.
With Nintendogs, a new franchise, one of our goals is expanding the gaming population, and Nintendogs was designed to attract new gamers and infrequent gamers, while still appealing to people who often play games.
Game|Life: As far as the technology, how much have you learned about the DS's 3D hardware capabilities? It seems like the reaction to games like Mario Kart and Nintendogs is, "wow, they can really do this much?"
Konno: Our goal was to use the full extent of the hardware's capabilities, and I think we've done a good job. If you look at Mario Kart, we've definitely exceeded the N64, I think.
Game|Life: Different fans have different things they love about the Mario Kart series. What do you find that Japanese fans like that Americans don't, or vice versa?
Konno: Hmmmm
