I worked for Nintendo for 11 years. I can’t speak to how things worked before or after I was there, only during my time. But after getting a better view of the western game dev scene, I gotta say, they did so much right.
One of the best things they did was to understand that to build the Nintendo brand, they needed a LOT of games. They weren’t going to do well with just 1 great game a year, they needed a wide library of games. Some would be their key 1st party titles (Mario, Zelda, Pokemon). Some would be key 3rd party titles (Resident Evil, Monster Hunter). But even that wasn’t enough. So they had teams to work on other titles as well.
With these titles, the goal was never something insane like “Make a billion dollars” or “Sell 10 million consoles”. There was always generally “Try to be profitable” which was roughly equivalent of sell 1 million copies, but beyond that (and this is the important piece), it was Explore or support an experimental new concept that could push Nintendo forward.
Let me give some examples with titles I worked on. Aura-Aura Climber and Mini’s March Again were both made to support the Nintendo DSi shop so that it would have enough software of different price points. ($2, and $8). Minis on the Move was trying to show off the 3D screen and use the touch screen of the new 3DS hardware. Tipping Stars was an experiment around UGC (which the learnings were shared with what became the Mario Maker team). And Mini Mario & Friends was free software meant to make Amiibo users happier with their purchase.
All of these games were still challenging to make, and given a lot of pressure from the higher ups at NCL, but it was always pressure around QUALITY and EFFICIENCY so that we would make the best games possible without wasting time. They all had a purpose in the wider Nintendo eco-system, and they all gave us the opportunity to learn how to make games the Nintendo way.
None of these titles were massive successes, but none of them were colossal flops either. They were a steady stream of quality games that helped show Nintendo had a diverse library of games. No one threatened to shut us down because the game only broke even or lost a bit of money. In fact, things were run so efficiently, that one major success (Mini-Land Mayhem) could stabilize you for years.
I wish this style was wider spread in the industry, and I wish key leaders in the western companies would pick up on this for their own companies and portfolios. I’ve never worked on a game that took longer than 2 years to make, so the idea of a 4-8 year game is so foreign to me. That’s why working on both League and TFT have been right at home for me. Every project from Odyssey to loot orbs to TFT have been small 4 month to 1 year projects that deliver value to players.
Anyway, this is long enough and there’s so much more to talk about. But with how the industry is going right now, I really wish the business leaders would figure out how to do this right, or at least hire and listen to someone who does. Have a good Thursday, and take it easy 🙂
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