Shigeru Miyamoto Confirms Multiple games from Nintendo were intentionally developed to benefit from the recent Super Mario Bros. movies, according to a recent interview in Famitsu.
Quick Facts
- At least three Nintendo games were created with the Mario movies in mind, per Shigeru Miyamoto.
- The confirmed titles include the recently released Star Fox, Princess Peach: Showtime, and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book.
- Production on the first Mario movie and Princess Peach: Showtime began around the same time.
How Movie Production Shaped Game Development
During the Famitsu interview, Miyamoto explained that leadership sometimes makes lineup decisions based on specific cross-media needs. When developers planned to include Fox in the script for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the team decided to make a new Star Fox game. Similarly, discussions during the production of the first Mario movie led to Princess Peach: Showtime, prompting the team to make Peach more active in the film.
Development on Yoshi and the Mysterious Book kicked off early to ensure a Yoshi game was available once the character was confirmed to appear in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Miyamoto indicated that Nintendo will likely continue maintaining a positive relationship between its games and other media initiatives moving forward.
Character Crossover Rules at Nintendo
Despite these media-driven connections, Miyamoto noted that this strategy does not mean the floodgates are open for unrestricted crossovers in future Nintendo films. Nintendo generally adheres to a strict rule that characters from different worlds must not mix, with Super Smash Bros. serving as the primary exception.
Pikmin characters represent another exception, having been cleared to appear in any other character's world. While bringing Fox into The Super Mario Galaxy Movie broke traditional internal boundaries, Miyamoto cautioned that introducing characters like Samus would complicate matters too much, meaning crossovers will remain selective rather than indiscriminate.