Reminds me of an excerpt from the book Console Wars that shows Miyamoto (and several other Nintendo icons) being extremely cocky. The context is that Tony Harman took it upon himself to convince Nintendo to let a Western studio develop a game using one of their iconic characters. He wrote up a short manifesto (the required ingredients to make a great game) and sent it to Nintendo. The following is when he arrives at their offices in Japan.
He is pleased that you could fit in this visit on such short notice, Yoko Arakawa explained to Harman, translating for her father. Although Yamauchis office was small, it was as intimidating as one would expect from Nintendos quietly ruthless leader. It was really warm in there, somewhere around eighty degrees, and Yamauchi sat there in a white undershirt, his lower half hidden behind a large wooden desk. In front of him was a pristine coffee table, a small television, and a pair of couches on either side of the room. Some of the employees at NCL referred to his office as the realm of the Mother Brain, making a reference to the giant, cranium-shaped, energy-sucking villain who appears at the end of Metroid. Yamauchi often had guests in and out of his office, and today was no different. In addition to hosting his daughter, his son-in-law, and Tony Harman, there as well, on either side of the desk, were Miyamoto, Yokoi, Takeda, and Sakamoto (each nobly standing upright and reluctantly sweating due to the rooms toasty temperature).
I have read your report and found it interesting enough to pass along to Nintendos greatest experts, Yamauchi said, gesturing to the videogame legends surrounding Harman. It is their opinion that you are wrong, and that only the Japanese can make a great game.
With all due respect, Harman countered, with a noticeable amount of gall in his voice, your experts, these men here, account for most of the best developers in the world. Most, but not all, and I truly believe that with the right resources a great game could be made outside Japan.
After the words were translated, peals of laughter permeated the room. Harman continued to make his case, highlighting key points from his paper and trying to appeal to Mr. Y.s love of innovation, but ultimately it appeared to be no use. Face it, Yoko Arakawa finally said, youre not going to win.