Miyamoto’s Secret Hobby: Measuring Stuff

Shigeru Miyamoto and the Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata chat about Wii Fit Plus, and Miyamoto discusses an odd fixation he has – guessing the length and weight of certain things. It’s why he carries a tape measure. For real.

Says Miyamoto: “I’ve always enjoyed guessing the lengths of objects, which is why I carry a measuring tape around with me.” To which Iwata replies: “Really? That one’s new to me too!”

Continues Shiggy:

For instance, I might guess that the table in front of us is about 1.2 metres long. Then I’d actually measure it with the measuring tape to check. If I got it right, I’d think: “I’m on form today!” But if I missed the mark by a long way, I’d think: “I’ve been slipping a bit recently!” … And it’s not just length: I also really enjoy predicting the weight and other measurements of things. So for instance, I’d pick up a chair and think: “I wonder how many kilos this weighs.” Or I’d wonder how many grams a weekly manga magazine weighs.

Iwata says he’d need a set of scales to satisfy that curiosity, not as portable as a tape measure. Iwata agrees:

That’s why I’ve always thought that using the Wii Balance Board to play a weight-guessing game would be great. For instance, we could make it like a school sports day. Get ten people together and hand out cards to each person. Then for instance, Iwata-san, you might get a card that reads “12 kilos” and I might get a card that reads “3 kilos”. Then we’d all split up and go around the school …

Iwata: … And we’d each have to bring back something which weighed that much.

Miyamoto: We’d each put the object on the scales and the person who got closest to their target weight would be the winner! (laughs) Doing something like that would be great fun, wouldn’t it? You don’t think it would be fun?

Iwata: Um … Sure!

And thus, “while it’s not exactly the same,” that’s why a similar weight-guessing game is included in Wii Fit Plus, Miyamoto says.

Iwata Asks: Wii Fit Plus [Wii.com via CVG]