3. Being Told to “Take off the Underwear”

Iwata - Well then, this is how Miis were born, but to be frank, after being pulled to and fro in order to create Miis, Takahashi-san’s group was finally set free to create “Otona no Onna no Urania Techou”, reborn as “Tomodachi Collection”. Where did you begin?

Takahashi - At first we said, let’s make something for women, but as were were making the “Mii Channel” (※13) the DS became more and more popular with women, so direction was changed to make the focus of the game more for anyone regardless of their age or gender, and once the Miis were finalized I often consulted with Sakamoto-san while developing the “Everybody Votes Channel” (※14).

※13 “Mii Channel”＝ One of the Wii channels installed with the Wii hardware. Allows for people to arrange different facial parts to easily create avatar characters of their friends and family.

※14 “Everybody Votes Channel”＝ One of the free channels available for download from the Wii Shopping Channel. Players can vote in different questionnaires and see the tallied results.

Iwata - Takahashi-san was put on the “Everybody Votes Channel” right after handling Miis on the Wii, so it took him even longer to return.

Takahashi - The Wii was released in December of 2006, and it wasn’t until April 2007 that I finally returned.

Iwata - And so from there you had to completely reset.

Takahashi - Right, as of that April the concept was already solidified, so we began development with that - “the ultimate family software that just makes you want to get up and show it to people”.

Iwata - But “the ultimate family software” could very easily lead you in the wrong direction if you don’t understand the intent. Perhaps the phrase “that just makes you want to get up and show it to people” gave you all a clearer image of what we were going for?

Takahashi - Rather than asking me it would probably be better to ask Okamoto-san directly (laughs).

Iwata - Ok, Okamoto-san - did you get what you were being told? “The ultimate family software”.

Okamoto - Yes. There was already the feeling that our group was creating something meant to be well received by families.

Iwata - Ah, your team was indeed the type to go back and forth with, “Look! Look! I just made this thing!”

Okamoto - Right. And I certainly don’t have anything against that kind of thing.

Iwata - Certainly not.

Okamoto - I thought it was quite fun (laughs).

Iwata - (laughs) When were you brought in, Itou-san?

Itou - I came in during the last 6 months.

Iwata - Well then, towards the end.

Itou - Yes, I came in right at the end.

Iwata - What kind of thing was it at that time? At that point was the structure and flow already completed?

Itou - Yes, the concept was already finalized, and when I first saw the ROM the Miis were already working and this Mii that was wearing plain old jeans was speaking in this droning voice similar to Pierre from “Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What to Eat?” (※15). It was kind of surreal.

Iwata - He was speaking with the synthesized voice engine.

Itou - Right. First that really took me for a loop.

※15 Pierre from “Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What to Eat?”＝ A cook character that appeared in the DS software “Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What to Eat?” (released July 2006). He explains cooking instructions by voice.

Iwata - Usually sound in games is developed with the idea that you have a certain world view you want to get across, so here’s the kind of music that should be made. And here was this piece of software that had any kind of thing thrown in willy-nilly, it was quite “omnivorous”, since we’re talking about cooking software. You must have been at a loss when told to put music to that, no?

Itou - It was indeed taxing. Before I had come in during those last six months, (Daisuke) Shiba-san (※16) already had some BGM… Oh, Shiba-san is a graduate of this seminar.

Iwata - Right, he’s a senior to all of you attendees.

※16 Daisuke Shiba＝ Handled music in “Tomodachi Collection.” A member of the Planning and Development Division who also handled titles like “English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills” and “More English Training.”

Itou - Some of the BGM that Shiba-san had made was already in the build. That song was quite mysterious, like something I had never heard before, so I felt “I’ve been put in charge of making some truly out-there music”.

Iwata - Afterwards, when Sakamoto-san was listening to the music he’d give this bizarre criticism like, “it’s intense”, and on top of all that, if he was presented with something more stilted he’d say, “it’s still got its underwear on” (laughs), or so I heard from Shiba-san during “Iwata Asks”. Did you understand what that even meant, Ito-san?

Itou - Yes, I read the back and forth between Nakamoto-san and Shiba-san when the email was forwarded to me, and it did indeed say “it’s still got its underwear on”.

Attendees - (laugh)

Iwata - That doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d read at work, in a work email (laughs).

Itou - Right (laughs).

Iwata - And to a woman that could be borderline sexual harassment (laughs).

Itou - But I actually said it myself. “How far on is the underwear?”

Attendees - (laughs)

Iwata - … right.

To put it another way, what is the focus of the music in the world of “Tomodachi Collection”? Perhaps it’s “take off its underwear”, but I have a feeling that that just leaves more and more question marks over the heads of all of the attendees here.

Itou - Perhaps the best way to put it is, cheap feeling? Also, not the kind of music that would stay in your head. This isn’t the kind of software that was meant to be pulled along by its BGM.

Iwata - But to be asked for something that’s cheap feeling and doesn’t stay in your head must feel incredibly insulting for someone who writes music, no?

Itou - It was rough (laughs). But I’m actually the type that isn’t particularly good at really focusing hard on creating something, so I can’t really make, like, orchestral sound, for instance. So I had this kind of complex because of that, but on this project I could provide these single tracks, these single melodies - these kinds of songs that you’d have to conclude that someone made it half-assed - and they were well received (laughs).

Attendees - (laughs)

Itou - I remember clearly feeling, “oh, even I can provide something here”.

Iwata - I see. Its like your weakness was actually a strength here.

Itou - Yes.

Iwata - Then let’s hear about how Unno-san was brought in. This was your first job after entering Nintendo and being placed within the company, right?

Unno - This was indeed my first job.

Iwata - Nice - right after entering the company you managed to hit on a double million seller.

Unno - But that’s scary in and of itself (laughs).

Iwata - What were your thoughts when you first saw this?

Unno - When I first saw it Miis were already working on the DS and I thought, “Whoa! It talked!” It already had 10 or 20 mini-contents made by (Masanobu) Nakagawa-san (※17).

Iwata - Nakagawa-san is a programmer who joined at the same time as Okamoto-san. He develops lots of ideas he has on a whim and shows them to the team. Then, he figures that someone will put it in a game if enough people show interest. He’s a rather free spirit, for a programmer.

※17 Masanobu Nakagawa＝ Handled lots of the programming for “Tomodachi Collection” indulging the Mii maker tool and minigames. Stationed in the Planning and Development Division.

Unno - There were all of these contents made by Nakagawa-san, and I had heard from Takahashi-san that “this is made to appeal to the family”, so I figured that maybe this was the kind of game that customers would use to create their own content and show to people.

Iwata - What were the circumstances surrounding the decision of what you would be handling?

Unno - First I started with the rather boring things like coming up with a Tomodachi list, whether you’re talking about the stores, or who’s in the city hall, since it was my first year, but around the time my second year began I was put in charge of the portions internal to your condo. At the time Takahashi-san said, “this is a heavy portion to deal with - but you can do it!”

Iwata - That is certainly a heavy portion.

Takahashi - Yes. Undo-san was put in charge of everything from solving Mii’s troubles, giving them food and the portion communicating with the Miis. He was put in charge of all of that even as a second year since we didn’t have enough human resources…

Iwata - What a rather honest confession (laughs).

Attendees - (laugh)

Takahashi - But Unno-san is good at his job - so I knew that he would be able to create these portions with precision.