Miyamoto discusses next Nintendo console, amiibo cards, Mario movie

Nintendo, riding high on an increasing strong Wii U slate, has a lot in the works including possible Amiibo cards, discussions of a Mario movie and, yes, a new console, according to Nintendo chief creative Shigeru Miyamoto.

Miyamoto recently sat down with the Associated Press to discuss the year ahead for the company in a wide-ranging interview.

Perhaps most interesting was Miyamoto's reaction to the Mario movie leak that came out of files stolen from Sony Pictures in the recent hack attack. Miyamoto brushed off speculation that a deal for a movie had been locked in, instead saying that companies are often coming to Nintendo to pitch another Mario movie.

"It's not very unusual, and it's something we've been doing for a very long time," Miyamoto said of any discussion about a film "I don't particularly have a vision that the next iteration of 'Mario' is going to be in film."

On the topic of the lifespan of particular Amiibo, Miyamoto said that it's true that some of the data-holding toys will be retired. When asked how that would impact future games and game makers and their willingness to include retired figures, Miyamoto had this to say:

"We're not making promises for certain figures, but the way 'amiibo' is designed is that certain games can have 'amiibo' specifically for that game," he told the AP. "Other games can take advantage of past 'amiibo' that developers want to make their game compatible with. In the future, we have the option, if certain 'amiibo' figures are no longer available in stores, to release an 'amiibo' in card form with the same functionality."

Finally, Miyamoto confirmed that while the company remains focused on making sure the Wii U continues to have a strong line up of games, there are certain people in the company working around with what will become the next console from Nintendo.

"While we're busy working on software for the Wii U," he said, "we have production lines that are working on ideas for what the next system might be."

Make sure to check out the full interview for more details on all of these topics as well as Miyamoto's thoughts on the next Zelda, Starfox and Mario games.