Shigeru Miyamoto believed games chasing realism “were pretty much failures” 40 years ago, which is why Tom and Jerry’s cartoon reality was “vital fuel” for Nintendo’s early games

For about as long as video games have existed, developers have been chasing the dream of realism. And, for just as long, there have been those who believe that realism is overrated. You can count Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary Nintendo designer behind Mario and Zelda, among those who aren’t excited by the idea of games matching reality – even in the ’80s, he figured Tom and Jerry was a better model to aspire to.

In a 1989 interview for Japanese publication Gamer Handbook, recently translated by shmuplations, Miyamoto discussed how players often get frustrated by “animation-heavy games which prioritize visual smoothness over responsiveness.” He made a vague allusion to the popularity of “karate games” – likely referencing Jordan Mechner’s Karateka, the predecessor to Prince of Persia – and suggested that these titles offered “beautiful” movement, “but as games, they were pretty much failures.”