Iwata Asks is a series of interviews conducted by former Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata with key creators behind the making of Nintendo games and hardware.






Iwata Asks: The Wonderful 101: Hideki Kamiya

The NES Millionaire

Iwata

"Iwata Asks" will cover The Wonderful 101, developed by PlatinumGames Inc.1 for the Wii U, in two parts. For the first part, I have asked Kamiya-san, the game's director, to sit down for a one-on-one discussion. Thank you for coming today. 1. PlatinumGames Inc.: A video game developer founded in 2006. With The Wonderful 101 for Wii U due out on September 15 in North America, the company is currently developing Bayonetta 2 for the Wii U console. Head office: Osaka. For more information, see the session of "Iwata Asks" dedicated to PlatinumGames.

Kamiya

Thank you for having me.

Iwata

Is that T-Shirt for The Wonderful 101?

Kamiya

Yeah. (laughs) I wore it here.

Iwata

I like it! (laughs) Before I ask about The Wonderful 101, I'd like to ask how someone like you, who makes such energetic games, came to be.

Kamiya

It's an honor.

Iwata

First, I'd like to ask how you first encountered video games.

Kamiya

I don't clearly remember, but ever since I was very young, I've been drawn to the sound of those digital beeps and blips. I remember they were always very familiar to me.

Iwata

Did you play video games mainly at your own house? Or somewhere else?

Kamiya

At first, I think I played in the video game corners at department stores and places like that. But when I was an elementary school student, things began to appear that you played by connecting to the television, like TV Vader2, the Epoch Cassette Vision3, Tomy Tutor4 and Intellivision.5 2. TV Vader: A home video game console released by Epoch Co. in 1980. It was a shooting game of the type in which you shoot down invaders.
3. Epoch Cassette Vision: A cassette-type home video game console released by Epoch Co. in 1981.
4. Tomy Tutor: A 16-bit game PC released by Tomy Co., Ltd. (now Takara Tomy) in 1982.
5. Intellivision: A home video game console released by Mattel, Inc. in 1980. In Japan, it was released by Bandai Company, Limited (now Namco Bandai Games Inc.) in 1982.

Iwata

Yes. Back then, various companies were putting out their own home consoles.

Kamiya

I really wanted a game console for playing at home, but my parents were very strict so they wouldn’t buy one.

Iwata

Everyone was like that then. A lot of people went to someone else's house to play.

Kamiya

An older boy in my neighborhood had the Epoch Cassette Vision. I really wanted to play it, so I'd go to his house, but he was a bully, so he would be mean to me every time.

Iwata

But you wanted to play anyway?

Kamiya

Yes. When faced with the choice of staying home without being bullied or playing Epoch Cassette Vision, the game console was the clear winner. Every time, I'd come home having been punched, but I'd go again the next day.

Iwata

It had that strong of an appeal to you. What was it about the games that had such a pull on you?

Kamiya

It's mysterious. Like I said before, I liked the electronic sounds, so rather than listen to normal music, I felt more comfortable listening to video game music. Of course, I also liked playing the games, but my ears really took to the music.

Iwata

I suppose you were born with that kind of taste.

Kamiya

Come to think about it now, yes, I think so.

Iwata

What was the first game console you got?

Kamiya

When I was in my first or second year of junior high, I bought a Famicom (NES) with money I got for New Year's.

Iwata

After a long time craving one and undergoing hardship, you finally had a means of playing video games in your own home.

Kamiya

Yes. But I couldn't buy it immediately after receiving permission. It was right in the middle of the unprecedented NES boom, so no one was selling it.

Iwata

Back then, even if you wanted to buy an NES, you couldn't.

Kamiya

And almost none of my friends had one yet. But a department store in my neighborhood was selling them to the first ten people to arrive when they opened for the New Year, so I got up at four o'clock in the morning and went. When I got there, though, ten people were already lined up!

Iwata

I bet that was a shock. (laughs)

Kamiya

I'm from Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture, but even just in Matsumoto, ten people were more determined than I was.

Iwata

(laughs) So you must’ve thought: "Man, these people love games even more than I do."

Kamiya

Exactly. I dragged myself back home. It was New Year's vacation, so my cousin had come over to play, and he said he had an acquaintance that would sell me an NES together with 15 games for the special price of 30,000 yen (about $300).

Iwata

That was lucky!

Kamiya

Yeah. So overnight I became an NES millionaire! I was pretty fortunate to have 15 game cartridges back then.

Iwata

I'd say so! No junior high student back then had that many.

Kamiya

I know. The first game I bought at the store with my own money was Nuts & Milk6, but I bought that before I bought the console, so I'd just been staring at the cartridge and instruction manual! 6. Nuts & Milk: An action game by Hudson Soft Company for the NES system, released in July 1984.

Iwata

Really? (laughs) What an experience for a junior high boy like that to suddenly get 15 games!

Kamiya

Yeah! Everyone would come to me to lend or borrow games. From that time on, I was absorbed in the NES. I think everyone in my generation was like that when they were children.

Iwata

Before, you couldn't play unless you went to a video game arcade, but now you could play at home all you wanted. It must have been like a dream come true!

Kamiya

It was. And the NES games were exactly like the arcade games. It was an incredibly desirable object. When I look back at it now, I don't think I've ever been as happy and excited to buy a video game console as I was that time.

Iwata

A number of factors led to that profusion of joy, like how long you had to wait and how much desire had built up.

Kamiya

That's right. I've never felt as happy to buy something before or since. That's what an incredible event it was!