GoldenEye on N64: Miyamoto wanted to tone down the killing

At GameCity festival, GoldenEye game director Martin Hollis revealed Nintendo's unease with the James Bond game's gore

GoldenEye 007 was one of the greatest games of the 90s, and revolutionised the idea of the first-person shooter on consoles - but Nintendo was hugely concerned about its depiction of violence, game director Martin Hollis has revealed.

In a fascinating talk at the GameCity festival in Nottingham, the veteran designer explained how Twycross-based developer Rare was determined to forge a creative partnership with the Japanese company. After several approaches, the studio was finally visited by Genyo Takeda, the director behind the Punch-Out!! titles. "He went back to his hotel room, and when he came back for more meetings the next day, Rare had made a new version of Punch-Out!! over night, using their Silicon Graphics workstations and featuring huge rendered sprites. I imagine it impressed him a great deal." A development deal was duly offered.