Miyamoto teases new Nintendo character

Nintendo senior managing director Shigeru Miyamoto has created some of the biggest characters in gaming, including Mario, Donkey Kong, and Link. In a Q&A session at Nintendo's general shareholders meeting this week, the designer told investors he is looking to add at least one more name to his considerable resume.

According to a GameSpot translation of Nintendo's transcript of the event, Miyamoto was asked to share details on new projects. He replied that he hasn't had much time to slow down and think about new projects with 3DS development ramping up. However, he has found that deadlines sometimes cause new ideas to "glitter," so conditions might be right at the moment for something new.

"It's been nearly 10 years since the creation of Pikmin," Miyamoto said. "I think this coming year, it's about time a new character be created."

Speaking of Pikmin, Miyamoto also addressed a new installment in that series, something he first acknowledged working on at Nintendo's E3 2008 developer roundtable event. He said that development on the project is proceeding well, but he added he needs to finish it soon. At an E3 2010 roundtable, he reassured reporters it remains in the works.

Pikmin featured a diminutive alien stranded on earth, marshalling the forces of sentient plants to help him repair his spaceship. It was famously inspired by Miyamoto's gardening hobby at the time. Perhaps giving some clue as to his next effort, the developer said at the shareholder's meeting that his current hobby is swimming, and it has him very active working with youth in the community.