As part of a big interview with Famitsu Magazine, legendary creator Shigeru Miyamoto was asked a variety of questions about his lengthy career and the takeaways he has learned from the success of different consoles Nintendo has created. The biggest lesson? “Customers aren’t always looking for the best specs.”
As many industry pundits have been saying for years now, Miyamoto states that the success of something like the Nintendo Switch confirms that customers aren’t always in the market for the most expensive or highest-end piece of equipment. That mindset is what has allowed the original Switch to remain on sale for nearly a decade, of which Miyamoto is certainly pleased. “We were really pleased to see that the Switch was around for eight or nine years,” Miyamoto explains. “I think it’s because, nowadays, customers aren’t always looking for the best specs.”
What draws people to Nintendo consoles, then? Obviously, the unique games it creates. “At Nintendo we always offer ‘styles of play that only we can create,’ and this includes the [hardware] interface,” Miyamoto states. Comparing the Switch to smartphones, he elaborates, “Our console has the benefit of being faster and more flexible [to develop for] compared to smartphones. When creating for general-use platforms, the workload is higher as you have to ensure it is compatible with all versions [of smart device].”
Ultimately, Miyamoto is correct. Raw hardware grunt can be a nice asset, but it won’t matter much if the games being developed for the console are shades of the same thing. Not every Nintendo game is a grand slam home run, but the company offers experiences you simply cannot get on other devices. Considering how well something like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has sold, most people don’t seem to mind, either.
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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.
