Miyamoto: I Might Not Have Been Hired By Today's Nintendo

Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto are so intertwined that it's hard to imagine them being independently successful. That's why Miyamoto's recent comments that he might not have made the cut if subjected to the company's current hiring process are so jarring. Speaking with Edge Online, the man behind Super Mario Bros. and the Legend of Zelda says that the company's success has made it possible for the company to be ridiculously picky with new hires.

"Especially recently, Nintendo has become one of those companies that graduates from colleges and good universities really want to work for," he says. "Because of that, the competition’s really become so fierce for positions. And that means that a lot of the recent recruits for Nintendo have tended to have the higher degree from the prestigious colleges and universities and whatnot. I often say to Mr Iwata: 'If I was applying for a job here today, I, with my actual college degree, would probably not have been employed by Nintendo!' That’s seriously what we talk about. That’s why I occasionally do the interviews with university students myself, and sometimes I do a very unusual thing. We have several steps to our recruiting tests, and, sometimes, even if someone fails to pass one of the steps, I might pick up on them, and try to find out something really different within them which you can’t judge just by a college degree. That’s one of the special little jobs I set myself."

As he states earlier in the interview, Miyamoto says he values the ability to work within teams when evaluating employees. "The fact of the matter is, when there are some people who really stand out amongst the crowd at the time of recruiting, we find that, most often, they end up becoming the kind of lone wolf type, and the truth is that, nowadays, to work in videogame development, you really have to be able to work in a team. That’s the key, really. You have to have the spirit to cherish teamwork. So, realistically, we want to create circumstances for individuals to grow together within our organisation. I really think that’s the most practical approach for our particular company to take with new people."

So if you ever interview at Nintendo and blow part of the interview, don't fret. Just talk up how much you like working with teams and you're golden. (Disclaimer: This may or may not be good advice.)