Overview
- Makoto Nakayama recounts in a newly reported Famitsu interview that Nintendo embedded senior talent with Jupiter during Mario’s Picross development.
- Shigeru Miyamoto “personally” coached Nakayama on Mario’s fundamentals, while Yoichi Kotabe supervised art and taught the team how to draw the character.
- Nakayama says Tsunekazu Ishihara shared game design guidance with staff as part of Nintendo’s close oversight.
- He recalls Miyamoto proposing the use of Mario for Jupiter’s debut, which led to the creation of Mario’s Picross.
- Nakayama adds that he avoided poaching Intelligent Systems employees, instead recruiting ex-staff like Noriaki Teramoto and taking HR referrals for candidates not hired there.