While Nintendo seeks to cash in on existing fans with growing forays into cinema and theme parks, the rest of the industry is investing in new IP and luring consumers to subscription platforms that are fundamentally changing how gamers spend their time and money. “There’s an absolute oversupply of content, on every single platform,” Tokyo-based industry analyst Serkan Toto said. “You have the forever games, Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox. And things like Netflix and TikTok, these weren’t around 10 years ago.” Inside Nintendo, that’s seen as all the more reason to keep focusing on creativity over trends and technology. Former Wii engineer Tamaki says he still remembers Iwata emphasizing to him and other young developers the importance of doing things differently and taking on risks. “It’s usually the other way around: Young people are full of energy and ideas, and middle management or executives tend to shut them down,” he said. “But at Nintendo, when we’d look around and say things like, ‘Sony is doing this, maybe we should too?’ the vibe from executives would be, ‘let them do their thing — we’re doing ours.’”
while-nintendo-seeks-to-cash-in-on-existing-fans-with-growing-forays-into-cinema-and-theme-parks-the-rest-of-the-industry-is-investing-in-new-ip-and-luring-consumers-to-subscription-platforms-that-a-3

While Nintendo seeks to cash in on existing fans with growing forays into cinema and theme parks, the rest of the industry is investing in new IP and luring consumers to subscription platforms that are fundamentally changing how gamers spend their time and money.

“There’s an absolute oversupply of content, on every single platform,” Tokyo-based industry analyst Serkan Toto said. “You have the forever games, Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox. And things like Netflix and TikTok, these weren’t around 10 years ago.”

Inside Nintendo, that’s seen as all the more reason to keep focusing on creativity over trends and technology. Former Wii engineer Tamaki says he still remembers Iwata emphasizing to him and other young developers the importance of doing things differently and taking on risks.

“It’s usually the other way around: Young people are full of energy and ideas, and middle management or executives tend to shut them down,” he said. “But at Nintendo, when we’d look around and say things like, ‘Sony is doing this, maybe we should too?’ the vibe from executives would be, ‘let them do their thing — we’re doing ours.’”