Nintendohas always been known as one of the more innovative game developers. From its consoles to the way it creates its games,Nintendostands out from the crowd. While fans certainly love the company for the nostalgia it provides through game series such asThe Legend of ZeldaandSuper Mario, Nintendo also wants to provide new experiences, and it reiterated that in a recent interview.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawasat down with the Japanese publication Nikkei to discuss the company’s current focus and some future ideas. Furukawa made it clear Nintendo would continue to lean on the core franchises people know and love, but also that it wants to look at new ideas and series as well.
RELATED:Nintendo Explains What Makes a Game Developer Worth Acquiring
Furukawa knows Nintendo can count on franchises likeZeldaandMario,but while fans certainly want to see those games, Furukawa wants new series too. He said that Nintendo is working on fresh franchises now, so while fans canlook forward toThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, they can also look forward to entirely new ideas.
This makes sense and falls in line with what Nintendo has been doing over the past few decades.Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas sold over 30 million copies, and while the franchise is not brand new, it certainly is newer than the likes ofMarioorZelda. Animal CrossingandPikminare series that came out two decades ago and grew over time. Meanwhile, franchises likeARMSandRing Fit Adventurehave come alongside the Nintendo Switch generation just in the past few years.
Nintendo has created some very successful franchises in the last couple of years.Splatoon 3was just announced, for example, as a part of one of Nintendo’s most popular new series. Nintendo and Furukawa would likely be happy to see new franchises take off likeSplatoonhas. The company has never relied solely onMarioandZelda,and it continually creates new IPs in hopes of creating successful long-term franchises.
In the past,Furukawa has said the focus is always on fun with Nintendo, whether that be developing new hardware or software, as well as innovation. Nintendo has utilized the “blue ocean” strategy, in which it tackles a market that no one else is really after. With the Wii, for example, the PS3 and Xbox 360 were vying for the most powerful consoles and hardcore audiences, while Nintendo was attempting to broaden its audience with motion controls. The Nintendo DS did this with a dual-screen and touch screen, and the Switch does with its hybrid approach. Of course, all of that is just from a hardware perspective, the gameplay ofNintendoproperties is often innovative as well.
