In a recent survey by the Japanese employment agency Gakujo, the house that Mario built was ranked as the third-most sought-after employer for recent Japanese graduates. In a poll conducted with 5,476 university students from various institutions, Nintendo placed behind the trading company Itochu and the biotech corporation Ajinomoto. Competitors Konami, Bandai Namco, Sega, and Capcom had placed in the top 50 but were not close to Nintendo.
According to a rough translation from Automaton, participants were drawn to Nintendo for how big the company is on a global scale. The low turnover rate of Nintendo was also a big draw, with the Big N coming close to zero while the average Japanese company hovers around 30%. Nintendo also has a high base salary compared to its competitors, which is obviously important for people coming right from university.
It’s not hard to see the allure Nintendo holds, though the company is far from perfect. Putting aside how it seems to hate emulation and is very litigious when it comes to the distribution of ROMs, Nintendo does have a history of crunch culture. At one point in the past, unpaid overtime would be referred to as “Mario Time,” with employees being expected to work through the night. Thankfully, that has mostly changed, but the internal politics of any company rarely put employees first and foremost.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
