Disrupting the Game, a new book from Reggie Fils-Aimé, has just released around the world. It’s chock-full of details on the inner-workings of Nintendo, along with anecdotes and points of interest Reggie took in during his tenure at the Big N. In one particular snippet of the book, Reggie shares a story about Miyamoto and his constantly focus on creativity and ideas.
On one late night with Nintendo’s team, Reggie was out with NCL’s Yasuhiro Minagawa and Shigeru Miyamoto for a bit to eat at Keens Steakhouse. While Reggie and Yasuhiro were enjoying some food and chatter, Miyamoto was instead fascinated by the restaurant’s ceiling. The ceiling in this eatery is peppered with traditional smoking pipes, which were owned by customers who were part of the restaurant’s ‘Pipe Club.’ Customers could then come in and request their pipe to enjoy a smoke.
The litany of pipes scattered on the ceiling absolutely enthralled Miyamoto, who just couldn’t turn away.
During all of this, I focused on Mr. Miyamoto. He was smiling throughout the translations by Mr. Minagawa as he heard this story. He would tilt his head and gaze at the pipes on the ceiling. I was imagining all the ideas that were churning inside Mr Miyamoto’s brain. When you next see a game from Nintendo that features a room with long, thin-stemmed smoking pipes on the ceiling, you will know where the idea came from. I am fortunate to have partnered with him and Mr. Iwata, learning from two of the most creative and innovative minds in the gaming industry.
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