Master Higgins Conference Call
By: Eric M. Martin |
Tuesday July 08, 2008 |
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We got on the horn with the infamous Master Higgins and heard his thoughts about games, the Wii, and Hudson’s E3 plans. |
| Mika Kelly from Triple Point PR, Hudson’s Director of Marketing Mike Pepe, and Takahashi Meijin, executive of Hudson Soft, also affectionately known as “Master Higgins”, were all locked in a virtual room with other press entities and, of course, me. After boring them all to weariness with bountiful discussions of our weather, humidity problem, and why I no longer have internet-phone-cable bundle service, we got into the actual meat and potatoes of the conversation. Master Higgins has been in the gaming industry for over 20 years, and he has recently turned his focus onto ideas for hardware development. And, since Hudson just recently hosted a Deca Sports tournament, he had a serious reason to return to the United States. A lot of new Hudson titles will be announced at this year’s E3 expo, but it was clear that Master Higgins has more than just a few game announcements on his mind. He is clearly interested in not only seeing serious development for the Wii, but wishes to explore gaming possibilites involving the iPhone. While nothing for the iPhone could be mentioned, there are two major points that he feels should be addressed for the continued success of the Nintendo Wii. First is graphics. The Wii has been hallmarked, and perhaps plagued, with less graphical intensity than the other next-generation consoles. Although the Wii’s MO seems to gravitate toward family-friendly play, thus focusing more on gameplay than graphics, it certainly would not hurt to make some tremendous strides in the looks department.  Secondly, the range and accuracy of motion for the Wii’s controllers must be fine tuned as more and more games continue to surface. The Wii Fit balance board has definitely wrangled in Master Higgins’ attention and he feels that much can be done with that kind of freedom of motion and control innovation. However, the inherent problems that exist with the Wii’s wireless sensor system have not escaped his watchful eye. True, the Wii does have the staying power, and its use of controls have kept the industry on their toes, but there is still much room for improvement. This is key when a company wants to design a game where character movement accurately mimics that of the player. Master Higgins also had a few thoughts about casual gaming, noting that they have touched on the essence of gaming, which is playability. Too often, many game developers, when choosing a system, may feel that they have to use every button or lever when making a game, and that is not the case. If you can make the game work with basic controls, make the game work. Don’t worry about using every single feature on every game made. And, on games as a whole, even though he is a giant amongst the gaming and entertainment industry, Master Higgins does have a message to send to younger gamers. Quite simply, play games as part of being a child, but then make sure to turn the games off and experience the rest of what childhood has to offer. Games are entertainment, not a way of life. For more information on Takahashi Meijin, aka Master Higgins, as well as Hudson Entertainment’s upcoming contributions to E3 and the gaming public, make sure to visit Hudson Entertainment’s main website. Also make sure to keep your eyes out for Hudson titles that will be made available for iPhone and iTouch. Also, make sure to keep your eyes on the WiiWare market, since there are plans for an Adventure Island game. |
