Iwata:All right, thank you. Nintendo asked Grezzo to take care of the production of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. When we thought about releasing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 3DS system, it was like fate how all the conditions pointed toward Grezzo, so I spoke directly with Ishii-san. Ishii-san, could I ask you to start by telling me how the plan for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D began?

Ishii:Yes. At first, I didn’t know anything when you called me in.

Iwata:Right. I said, “I need to talk with you, so please come to Kyoto,” like I was giving you a summons. (laughs) That wasn’t how I intended it, though. Sorry if I made you nervous.

Ishii:No, not at all. (laughs) But I hadn’t heard anything beforehand, and the atmosphere suggested it was something top secret. To be honest, I had a hunch it might be about new hardware.

Iwata:You have good instincts then. One reason I did need to have you come to Kyoto was so you could see the Nintendo 3DS, which was still under development.

Ishii:When I saw the Nintendo 3DS in Kyoto and heard about The Legend of Zelda, it was like a bolt from the blue!

Iwata:We revealed the Nintendo 3DS and brought up the new Zelda idea to you at the same time.

Ishii:Yeah. To be honest, when I heard that, I thought, “This is a great opportunity!” and “Uh-oh…” at the same time. Fans the world over love Ocarina of Time and it is one of Nintendo’s foremost titles, so one false step could damage the brand. And lots of people have their own idea of what the game was like.

Iwata:Lots of people talk about their memories of it.

Ishii:Yeah. I often compare making video games to cooking. If game developers are like cooks, then the games they make are like food. Just as the techniques of the cooks influence the way their food tastes, the techniques and experience of game developers appear in the games.