Nintendo is a business, as we all know, which means it has plenty of meetings throughout the year. Its Financial Results Briefings, in particular, are intriguing because they offer a glimpse of what the big players at Nintendo are thinking. Earlier this week, Nintendo released its investor’s meeting transcript, during which Shigeru Miyamoto shared his thoughts about why he’s now keen on a potential Mario movie, and Nintendo films in general.
The question was brought up asking Miyamoto how he determines where to place Nintendo’s IPs. Specifically, what mediums they appear in, such as movies, smartphone apps, etc. Miyamoto’s response (the full translation can be seen below) touched on the Virtual Console, and its role in keeping games relevant. “The background behind this change is because Nintendo has re-released many games via Virtual Console,” he says, as “30 years on, they are still active [due to porting them over].”
Overall, it seems the Virtual Console allows the company to keep older software relevant, which is why Miyamoto thinks Nintendo can “…combine our long-beloved software with that of video assets.”
Of course, who knows when we’ll see more Nintendo or Mario movies, but rest assured Miyamoto is now onboard.
“We do not do something like separating our IP development strategy depending on the touchpoint. For example, regarding IP development into movies, I was originally against Nintendo expanding into video-making, but I am currently involved personally in using our company’s IP in film production; the background behind this change is because Nintendo has re-released many games via Virtual Console.
Our assets are our software, and even 30 years on, they are still active. However, unfortunately, when the original hardware compatible with the software is gone, we have no choice but to port it onto new hardware. After experiencing this process of bringing older software onto new hardware many times, I began to consider that our content business would be able to develop even further if we were able to combine our long-beloved software with that of video assets, and utilize them together for extended periods.”
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Written by Caleb Mina
A father, photographer, and husband, Caleb still finds time to create content about his favorite company Nintendo. You can still catch him riding a Tauros to hatch Shiny Pokémon eggs.
