1992 interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Mario Kart team talks about drifting, battle mode

The power of the internet strikes again! This time translators have provided an interview from 1992 with not only Shigeru Miyamoto, but also the Super Mario Kart team on the game. Here's a look at the inception of the game:

Miyamoto: We started doing some early experiments in Fall of 1990, and when it looked like we were on to something fun, we chose the directors. The main development really got started around April of last year.

Masato Kimura: I can’t remember, when did we first come up with that guy with the big helmet on…?

—What is that?

Kimura: Before we used Mario characters, the driver was just a normal racer with a helmet.

Tadashi Sugiyama: At the beginning of the development we did a bunch of research. I read an introductory book on kart racing, and a video called “Drift Contest.”

Miyamoto: The biggest extravagance of all was taking everyone to the Nemu no Sato amusement park for a day of go-kart racing. We could have made this game without that bit of “research”! (laughs)

Sugiyama: Oh no, it was very helpful. (laughs)

Miyamoto on Battle Mode:

Miyamoto: Mario Kart has four game modes: Grand Prix, Match Race, Time Trial, and Battle Mode. But Time Attack was really more of a bonus addition. I know that ultimately, a racing game must include a time trial mode, so it was something we had to add, but it was a part of the game we figured we could leave to the end. The thing we spent the most time thinking about was the Battle Mode.

The very fact that Battle Mode has nothing to do with racing is what made us want to add it, and give it special attention. It helped strengthen the image of the game: it’s not, “you get to become a world class racer!”, but rather “you get to race around and play in this go-kart with your friends!” To tell you the truth, I think we could have made a couple more games around that basic concept. Maybe a game where you use poles and compete in slalom skiing, or something with a jump platform, and you see who can get the highest jumps.

More of the interview (provided by Shmuplations) can be seen in the source link below.