3. ''So Shall We Do That?''
When you say “Let’s go!” and head for the finish line but fail to reach an agreement, sometimes that’s because there are too many people involved.
Yes, that’s right.
Because making a video game involves lots of people. It’s not just that there are more opinions flying around, but the whole situation gets more complicated. When lots of people focus on quality and get hung up on the negative, it’s not so bad because at least there are plenty of suggestions being passed around, but people who try to be mediators also show up and say stuff like, “In the end, isn’t that the same as what Miyamoto-san is saying—like the opposite side of the same coin?”
(laughs)
When that begins, it’s worse than being negative. That’s why I think you have to think like a man and woman before their wedding ceremony. The more they think about the venue, seating and gifts from a variety of perspectives, the more complicated it gets. But if they return to the simplest point, what’s most important is the question of whether they will or will not get married, right?
Right! (laughs)
So when everyone is saying this is no good and that’s no good and everyone’s like, “Well, what are we going to do?!” the person who can remind them of the core task at hand is the person who can find the solution.
Yes. That’s right.
That’s so true. They may disagree, but somehow they have to agree. Some people just disagree without ever thinking that they must eventually agree. That really jams up what needs to get done.
Yeah, some people are like that.
Why is that? Are they looking for approval or something? Do they think that if they complain, then you, or someone, will do something to resolve the situation?
They don’t even dream about being told they should give up on the marriage.
Exactly!
Everything is happening under the assumption that the marriage will take place.
I bet that kind of thing goes on all the time around you, with regard to everything from large to small matters. How do you tend to handle that?
When it gets really bad, I boil it down in stark terms, saying, “If that’s your attitude, shall we go that direction?”
Whoa.
I say, “If you don’t go to that direction, we have no choice but to go this direction.” After all, we have to move forward as a team.
And while you’re asking, “Shall we take that direction?” I bet inside you’re really angry. (laughs)
(laughs)
But in order to say that, you have to have the determination, as well as anger. When you say, “Shall we take that direction?” and they say yes, you know you have to have enough strength to jump in to clean up the mess when something happens.
Yeah.
That’s hard. I think deciding on a final solution is understanding the sense of urgency, of feeling the need.
Yes, that’s very true.
In order to settle on a final solution, sometimes you have to knowingly make a forcible call. For example, when five or six people go out to have lunch together, everyone doesn’t just walk off on their own. While everyone’s discussing the possibilities - ramen or soba or whatever - the group will break up unless someone speaks up and says, “Let’s have katsudon!” (pork cutlet on rice)
That’s right.
It isn’t the case that the person who first says, “Let’s have katsudon!” is selfish. Rather, everything moves forward because he made a call and said, “Let’s have katsudon!”
Oh, in that way, I’m the worst person to go out to eat with. When I’m asked what I want to eat, I say, “Anything is fine,” but then when the person I’m with suggests tempura, I say, “Tempura? Hmm....” (laughs)
Hey, that’s no good!
I know. I feel bad about it, though. (laughs)
In those situations, Shigeru Miyamoto isn’t worth much!
(laughs) I know it.
My wife is the same way. She says anything is fine, but then she is like, “Huh?! Tempura?!”
(laughs)