Iwata Asks - The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Aonuma on Majora’s Mask:

Aonuma: And we were supposed to make its sequel in a year… At first, we had absolutely no idea what sort of thing we were supposed to make, and we just kept expanding our plans… At that point, the “Three-Day System”—the idea of a compact world to be played over and over again—came down from Miyamoto-san and one other director, (Yoshiaki) Koizumi-san. We added that to the mix, and then, finally, we saw the full substance of a The Legend of Zelda game we could make in one year.

Iwata: Actually, I feel as though, back then, we were given a glimpse of the concept that “Deep, compact play is one form of the games of the future”. I think in that sense, as a product, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was a big turning point for Nintendo. That said, I had no idea it was the result of an argument. (laughs)

These interviews are all gold. I can’t believe Nintendo is the only one doing something like this.

日本語が読める方、これも読んでね。 (From everybody’s fave Shigesato Itoi and Hobo Mainichi.)