Wii Sports Resort island is a character

By Robert Purchese Published 7 July, 2009

Miyamoto wants to license, franchise it.

Nintendo's star thinker Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed that the island in Wii Sports Resort is a character, and we will see it time and time again across games spanning many different genres.

"I had been thinking about the Island Concept in one form or another for more than 10 years," reveals Miyamoto during an Iwata Asks interview on Wii.com.

"One part of Nintendo's business has been creating a whole host of characters which we have then licensed out. But I've always thought, seeing as we are a games company, that in addition to characters resembling people, why couldn't we also turn the actual stages of games into characters?" he recalls. "And also licensing it out as a franchise."

Miyamoto says Nintendo has discussed the idea for a "long time", and that the Wii Fit locale of Wuhu Island concept is "more or less the same".

"We really polished up the island, turned it into a resort and actually made the location into a kind of character. This will then lead to a range of island series," explains Miyamoto. "You could have adventure games, role-playing games, city-building simulation games... It will be fun to see all the ideas that we can come up with, won't it?

"We thought it would be a fun idea to have a location that everyone knows and then have all sorts of stuff going on there," he adds. "It would mean that players would already know the town like the back of their hands by the time they came to buy the next adventure game."

Wii Sports Resort launches here on 24th July and showcases the new Wii MotionPlus accessory.

We'll deliver our full analysis soon. Until then, head over to our recent hands-on impressions to see how Wii Sports Resort is shaping up.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (33) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DonnieDarko333 #1 3 years ago

    The island is a character....wonderful....

  • wizlon #2 3 years ago

    I don't mind that idea, but lets use the island for a pilotwings game eh? The flying game in Resort looks fun but i'd go crazy for a fully featured pilotwings game.

  • DFawkes #3 3 years ago

    Next Zelda set on the Wii Resort island confirmed?

    I'd imagine it'll appear in other games as more of an Easter Egg, like it'll probably pop up in the likes of Zelda and Mario Galaxy 2, but it won't be a big deal, just a visual signature.

  • Red_Bool #4 3 years ago

    Island hopping?

  • kangarootoo #5 3 years ago

    How will you know if someone has copied your island character in their own game?

    I wonder, is Mitamoto reaching that age where he will start spouting conceptual oddness? It does seem to happen to game designers once they reach a certain milestone.

  • kinky_mong #6 3 years ago

    So basically it will be a stage in the next Smash Bros. game.

  • neilka #7 3 years ago

    I think someone's trying to trigger the "insanity" getout clause in their contract.

  • reelbigkris #8 3 years ago

    kinky_mong:So basically it will be a stage in the next Smash Bros. game.

    Nah man, you play as the island in the next smash bros game. its a character dude!!

  • chubster2010 #9 3 years ago

    Maybe if the Wii was a little more powerful, and the Nintendo network was a little more flexible, Miyamoto's dream of a persistant Wii Sports Resort island (let's face it - this is all he's suggesting!) could become a reality.

    As it is, the suggestion of releasing a number of different games at retail all set on the same island just sounds like a developer lining up a short-cut to me!
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/09 @ 10:22

  • sneetch #10 3 years ago

    "It would mean that players would already know the town like the back of their hands by the time they came to buy the next adventure game."

    In fairness now, Shigeru, that would remove a lot of the "adventure" now wouldn't it?

  • Xerx3s #11 3 years ago

    Super Wii Sports Resort World III

  • wellzy4eva #12 3 years ago

    Is it me or wouldn't pilotwings be the best game for the wii, minigames and free flying make it ideal?

  • Irien #13 3 years ago

    I guess he doesn't realise that in many game types (RPG, Adventure, FPS to some degree, and even RTS) exploration of a new world/environment is a large part of the fun. If you keep recycling the same location (eg. the Telltale Games adventures) things get quite stale relatively quickly.

  • DrDamn #14 3 years ago

    Another one for where's my Pilotwings!!??! Seems silly that the one game from Nintendo's back catalog perfectly suited to the controller is not here.

  • The-Bodybuilder #15 3 years ago

    So......the island is where LOST is based on?

  • Eraysor #16 3 years ago

    What a great way to reuse old content and pretend there's a reason other than laziness for it.

  • spekkeh #17 3 years ago

    I guess he doesn't realise that in many game types (RPG, Adventure, FPS to some degree, and even RTS) exploration of a new world/environment is a large part of the fun.

    True. I didn't like Twilight Princess all that much (compared to previous Zelda games that is, it still trounces nearly everything else), because I knew the whole overworld already and saw things coming miles away. Still this is a pretty good idea for more of the casual minded games. I just feel that the island is too small to really exploit it, as it is now.

  • KrissAkabusi #18 3 years ago

    I'm really not sure what the hell he is talking about. I assume the island is a hub, and I can see how if you want to use that hub for another wii fit or brain training or something, it might work. But an RPG? Surely that would be the most rubbish thing ever.

  • Genji #19 3 years ago

    Sounds like he's been watching Lost.

  • leftlion #20 3 years ago

    When are we gonna get that Captain Rainbow game they released in Japan????

  • Dezm0nd #21 3 years ago

    Would be a nice idea if each time you visited the island it had some sort of affect when you came back.

    Otherwise it'd just seem pretty anti-climactic.

    "Oh yeah this is where I threw a frisbee in Wii Sports Resort...." It'd be better if you earned access to a section of the island because of your past glories. Obviously nothing too game changing.
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/09 @ 13:04

  • peterfll #22 3 years ago

    As long as the Wii Sports Resort has a HATCH and a character that goes around screaming "WAAAAAALT! WWAAAAAAALT!". And "others".

    ps And Volkswagen van you can drive with the WiiMotionPlus.

  • raion #23 3 years ago

    yes, basically what he's saying is "we're bored to make games that only recycles the same ooold characters, so now we're gonna focus on making games recycling the scenery as well."

  • HuggyAtHome #24 3 years ago

    Screw that - I echo the comments above; where is PilotWings for the Wii??

  • samaran #25 3 years ago

    the flying game in wii sports resort is amazing, it's just crackdown with a plane and all the stuff less interesting than ability orbs removed. totally up for the island being expanded.

  • knocker #26 3 years ago

    Not so similarly - I found myself wishing the game Overlord was set in the Fable II world.

    But that was mostly cos I spent most of my time on Overlord I getting hopelessly lost.

  • MrScruffier #27 3 years ago

    Bit like Liberty City really

  • Sonic_D #28 3 years ago

    WSR gives a taste of Pilotwings on the Wii, the last games choice is a short of Pilotwings-lite experience. But yeh I can't believe there hasn't been a full blown Pilotswings Wii game yet, maybe they needed M+ first to do it justice.

  • grussbarbar #29 3 years ago

    I'm actually quite interested in what they can do with this idea. I think it does have potential when you start to think about it.

    I can remember myself dreaming up lots of different fantastic adventures all with my parents' house/neighbourhood as a starting point. I can see the benefit of having a familiar locale to play around with. Also, if the island has enough interesting landmarks (and it does read that way), then I wouldn't know why you can't explore them all in different games. Use the mountains for a skiïng game. Explore caves in a dungeoncrawler. Solve a point 'n click mystery in the city and lighthouse. Discover Pikmin living in some of the Resort's gardens. Race some Mario Kart around the island. Try to make the island profitable in a kind of SimResort game. =P

    There are lots of possibilities and they all expand the idea of the island being a sort of adventure paradise where anything can happen. =)

  • smelly #30 3 years ago

    RE: Pilot wings

    There's only so many games nintendo can make in a year you know.. Besides they're already overrun with re-hashing old franchises this year (punch out, one boy and blob, zelda, mario, metroid & probably pikmin, kirby and kid ikarus).

    Gamers keep complaining they never work on anything new.. but then demand more sequels from other franchises.

    which is it to be?

    Besides, i'm sure they are working on loads of other un-announced stuff anyhow (they werent about to announce EVERYTHING at e3 and leave the other shows - such as the tokyo one - empty were they?)
    Edited by 1 at 07/07/09 @ 17:15

  • darc #31 3 years ago

    "I had been thinking about the Island Concept in one form or another for more than 10 years"

    LOL he must have been the life of the party!

  • Sharks #32 3 years ago

    Does this mean I get to play as the island?

  • Canyarion #33 3 years ago

    Sigh... nowadays everything he does has to be a 10 year old idea. (Don't get me wrong, I like Shiggy and I think it's a nice but not all too new concept.)

    And this is very old news.