Ahead of the opening of the Nintendo Museum next month, Shigeru Miyamoto has reaffirmed the goal the company has always aimed for (and will always aim for): to remain unique and not rush to follow industry trends.
According to a recent interview with Famitsu Magazinewhere the legendary game designer outlined his hopes for the Nintendo Museum. By showcasing the company’s history, Miyamoto hopes visitors will see how Nintendo marches to the beat of its own drum—and how truly great that can be.
Miyamoto told the Japanese newspaper that rather than always trying to do better than everyone else in the industry or bowing to demands, Nintendo sticks to its guns and releases products it believes in. This may mean the company isn’t really invested in the console wars narrative, but it’s a sign that you can always count on the Big N to create something special.
Miyamoto’s full answer can be found below. Please note that the following content was taken from Famitsu via Google Translate, so the meaning may be slightly different than what can be found in the official translation (we will update this translation as it becomes available).
It would be a waste to leave it dormant in a warehouse, so the main purpose is to put it in a place where everyone, including employees, can see it and it has nothing to do with medium- to long-term strategies. However, I think the most important thing is for people from three generations to come to this museum and think, “Nintendo is a company that is not related to the rival game makers that are often talked about, or the new cutting-edge technology.” Of course, we also research technology. So far, analysts and other places have said various things like “Why don’t you guys do networking?”, “What about mobile?” and “Why don’t you guys use cutting-edge chips?”, but if you calmly look at the exhibits, you will see that we are doing the right thing. However, I think people can see that now is not the time to sell, and Nintendo’s history is to commercialize its products when the most appropriate time to sell comes. When you see that, people can trust Nintendo. I think this is a medium to long-term prospect in the sense that shareholders and IR can trust Nintendo and let us decide.
Anyone who has played a Wii, DS, Switch, or any other Nintendo console (which we assume is most of you reading this) will definitely see this approach in action. Nintendo To be tends to go its own way and usually leads to something wonderful — weird and unexpected, but still wonderful.
It will be interesting to see how well the Nintendo Museum conveys this approach to development. This new attraction will open in October 2offers an in-depth tour of the company’s history and a series of interactive exhibits to keep things interesting along the way. Of course, exclusive goods looks pretty sweet too.
