Zelda Producer Explains Why He’d Rather Hire Someone With Interests Outside Of Gaming

Nintendo is working on a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and series producer Eiji Aonuma talked about what kind of people he wants working with him on the Zelda team in an interview with IGN Japan.

IGN Japan: We heard Miyamoto-san say in recent interview that he’d “rather hire someone with various interests and skills instead of someone who really loves video games.” What kind of people are you looking for to join the Zelda development team? What should people do if they want to get hired to join the Zelda team?

Eiji Aonuma, series producer: “I’m the same as Miyamoto, and I don’t think about working with video game specialists. Instead of thinking about working together with someone who is a video game specialist, someone that goes mountain climbing or diving, er, those examples might not make much sense [laughs]. What I’m trying to say is that I’d rather work together with someone who likes things unrelated to video games and has deep knowledge so that we can see how we can put that to use in games.”

When I read Miyamoto-san’s interview, I felt that it must be important to have people from various backgrounds. At E3  you see female developers and companies that put the spotlight on developers from all kinds of different countries. It feels that part of what makes Zelda fun is because it was made from people of different backgrounds, would you say so, too?

Eiji Aonuma: “Of course it matters not where one was born or where one might live, but if we can make someone’s individuality shine and do something fun for a game, then I’d like to work with that person. However, if they can’t speak Japanese then it’d be difficult to communicate (So I hope they speak Japanese, too).”

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available for Nintendo Switch. Its sequel is currently in development.