Iwata, Miyamoto, and the Wii Wheel Prototypes

You might find the Wii Wheel, a steering wheel that uses the Wiimote, to be a bit silly. But Nintendo took its development very seriously.

In a lengthy conversation with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, the developers of Mario Kart Wii discuss bringing the classic go-kart racer into the next generation, and take a look at the 30 different prototypes they went through. Shigeru Miyamoto reveals his twin reasons why he wanted a steering wheel on Mario Kart:

A steering wheel is so easy to understand. Almost everyone has the experience of using some kind of steering wheel, from riding toy cars with pedals as children, to driving real go-karts at a theme park. Everyone knows how to turn the wheel right in order to go right. Besides, I kind of wanted to make a product that would come in a big box for a change! (laughs)

Image: Nintendo/Wired.com

Iwata Asks: Mario Kart Wii [Nintendo UK]