In the lead-up to Super Nintendo World’s opening at Universal Studios Japan, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has been making the interview rounds. In a recent piece in The New Yorker, Miyamoto was asked about his own children, and whether or not they were fans of video games. In an interesting moment, Miyamoto revealed that his children were big fans of Sega, particularly games like Out Run and Space Harrier! As the father of Mario and Zelda, some might assume that this would make the legendary developer jealous, but it seems that this only drove him to work harder to win his children over.
Did you ever feel jealous about them playing a rival’s games?
[Laughs.] Not jealous so much as inspired to try harder, so that they preferred the ones I made.
In the interview, Miyamoto also noted that all of the video game consoles in the house belonged to him, so he could take the console away if the kids weren’t following the rules. Essentially, that means that the Sega console belonged to the father of Mario! While this might seem surprising, game developers have long avoided the “console war” debates that so many gamers participate in. Developers like Miyamoto have long looked to what rival companies were producing, both for their own entertainment, and for inspiration on what they might be able to do better!
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While Miyamoto clearly had no qualms about owning a Sega console, the rivalry between that company and Nintendo was quite fierce in the ’90s. The two consoles inspired countless schoolyard debates over which company was truly the best, resulting in a book and subsequent documentary about the rivalry, called Console Wars. A lot has changed since those days, however. In 2001, Sega exited the console market, opting instead to produce titles as a third-party publisher. Over the last twenty years, Nintendo and Sega formed a much friendlier relationship. Since then, Sonic the Hedgehog has even gone on to appear alongside Miyamoto’s creations in games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series. Perhaps having a Sega console around the house back in the day helped encourage Miyamoto and Nintendo to make those collaborations happen!
Which console did you prefer: Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis? Are you surprised that Miymoto’s family owned a Sega console? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!
