Aonuma on Balance Between What he Wants to Express and What the Fans Want

On and off, there’s talk among the Nintendo and Zelda communities on the subject of whether or not Nintendo should listen to their fans more when developing games. Of course, the vast, vast majority of us are completely aware that Nintendo is closer to their products and obviously has a better understanding of the way in which they function, but at the same time, many would argue that Nintendo would do well to more often remove themselves from their product and see what the people they’re marketing it to really want. For better or for worse, however, Aonuma says fans already do have an expanded influence on titles in the Zelda series.

“I think with the Zelda series there are things in the games I’m trying to express, but there are also things the fans are expecting. The fans are expecting so much, but at the same time, like with Hyrule Historia, they are also more involved now.

I also have to think a lot more about what fans want more than before because of the Internet and social media. I have a lot more access to what fans are saying and I interact with them more. I think that’s very important, and I also think that’s something I want to do more of. For that specific reason, we made Miiverse Zelda communities, and I hope people continue to post on there because I’m reading it every day.” — Eiji Aonuma

Personally, I’m always wary of increased fan interaction in the development cycle, as I am of the opinion that the majority of fans don’t necessarily take the time to truly understand what makes a game great and, by extension, how to legitimately improve on that game. But I’ve already written an entire editorial on this subject, so now I’ll open the floor to the comments section.

Source: Mashable