Nintendo prioritizes creativity over rising game costs

Nintendo: Creativity Trumps Costs

In a recent investor Q&A, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto emphasized the company’s focus on unique creativity over escalating development costs. While acknowledging rising expenses, Miyamoto stressed the importance of innovative ideas.

Prioritizing Originality

Miyamoto explained that Nintendo refines its products until consumer satisfaction is achieved. The key is finding worthwhile ideas – something novel and unique. He believes polishing something entirely new yields the most value. This approach, shared by other Nintendo board members, involves nurturing developers who embrace unique concepts, allocating resources accordingly, and releasing games only after achieving high confidence in the final product.

Efficient Development

Miyamoto highlighted the possibility of creating engaging games without significant costs, emphasizing that not all games require massive budgets. He believes that leveraging current technology enables fun games with smaller teams and shorter development times. Shinya Takahashi similarly noted the potential for smaller-scale but polished titles developed by expanding on the ideas of a few developers rather than investing heavily in every project.

Switch’s Synergistic Impact

Ko Shiota discussed how the Switch’s combined home and handheld capabilities streamlined development environments. This integration, expected to continue with the Switch 2, should reduce future research and development costs. This contrasts with recent high-profile game development failures like Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League and the cancelled Concord.

Looking Ahead

While the Switch 2 is anticipated to have impressive capabilities, Nintendo’s approach suggests a focus on innovation and efficiency, potentially resulting in a different development philosophy than some competitors.