Nintendo’s bold new era is full of safe bets

Nintendo is entering a new era. Although most everyone connects the company to video games, the brand behind Mario has been constantly spreading itself into something bigger than that.

“I think people see Nintendo as a gaming company, but we have always thought of ourselves as a entertainment company,” Nintendo’s senior managing executive officer, Shia Takahashi, 2023 I told me. Design legend Shigero Miamoto echoed the same idea At the opening of the first museum of Nintendo last year. “What I wanted to express with this museum is that we are the first and a entertainment company,” he said.

For this purpose, Nintendo has enrolled in new areas like theme Parks and Hollywood films. At the same time, now it is trying to keep its steps in sports The start of switch 2Follow up to its most successful home console. Each of these movements is a bold condition designed to expand the scope of Nintendo – but each one does this in a safe way.

Since Nintendo becomes more expensive, there is less risk.

Switch 2 is the most obvious example. This is exactly the name. Instead of changing things with left field ideas, like WiI’s motion controls, Nintendo is based on what works. Switch 2 maintains the form element like its predecessor, but with a large screen, more powerful internal, and re -designed controllers. Given that the switch has sold more than 150 million units in the last eight years, It makes sense to be a bit boring here for NintendoAnd just improve a concept that knows that works. Even it plays the same game mostly.

The first two larger party-party expenses for the console- Mario Cart World And Donkey kong banana – Feeding the idea, with new features that are largely made around the switches 2 better power. I Map of Mario It’s a big open world that connects its race tracks, while Donkey kong Opening new areas and paths allows you to break the world around you.

This safeness points to a major way of thinking inside Nintendo outside its next console. Each of the recent major duties in Nintendo had the same amount of risk. When the company finally decided to provoke the past Direct action Super Mario Bruce Movie since the 90sShe contributed with alumination, the existing studio behind the existing hit Minus And The secret life of a petWhich was previously trusted by Dr. Seas Adaptation Greenery And Lorex.

The result of this contribution, Super Mario Bruce MovieThere was a playful tribute that was closely trapped by the source content. These Earned more than $ 1 billion And is Getting a sequel next year. In the future direct action Signs of zelda Film There is a touch threat, but there Nintendo recruited Weissball, which is a relatively unoccupied director who successfully holds a track record like stewarding action franchises. The planet of monkeys And Maze Runner. In both cases, Miamoto – the boy who created both of them Super Mario And Signs of zelda – Includes, serving as a producer.

This involvement is an important part of this extension. Nintendo is trying to reduce the threat by being deeply involved in all these new projects. This is one way to avoid a movie where Bausar-Muttahida, King Copa-Dennis Hoper is playing some kind of evolutionary dinosaur, and Bob Ombus is roaming the Rabuk’s shoes. Miamoto has made a point to be part of these new steps, Dating its first appropriate mobile game when Nintendo issued his first appropriate mobile game Super Mario Run.

This includes Nintendo’s theme parks. Started with her Universal Studios in Osaka Superintendo World in JapanAnd then the company has expanded with a place in Los Angeles and Orlando, which has another plan in Singapore. Like the alumination (which is under the umbrella of Universal Pictures), Nintendo once again joined the forces with a well -known quantity, one of which is a track record of re -creating fictional worlds. Harry Potter to Jurassic Park.

“We had a common idea to try to create something new and inspiring, and the idea of ​​creating something that was really interactive,” Miamoto told me about cooperation between Nintendo and Universal in 2023. “In this sense, our involvement was not just about reviewing assets or reviewing designs. But we are really trying to go to how people are going to experience it, and their experiences are going to happen. And there are many meetings to discuss and nail what we want to get here.”

Similar morals pass through Official Nintendo Museum in Kyoto. It exists on a small scale compared to most other Nintendo’s other projects. There is only one place here, with no announcement of extension, and it is unlikely to bring significant income compared to a feature film or home console. But it has also been developed pure expression of its own vision that Nintendo wants to present to the world.

And this vision is fast. Although there are many interesting details about the history of Nintendo, including the existence of video games already, there is nothing new to know about any failure or conflict of the company in the museum. He did not even discover any of the people who worked in the company during the last century. Without any of these dirt, the museum is another safe condition.

So far, this approach is working. The success of the switch has allowed Nintendo to work with a power position, and has helped it in successful projects in other areas. Initial interest in switch 2 shows that it will not change at any time.

It is understandable that the company does not want a second flop like Wii U or Virtual Boy, but at the same time, some of its remarkable achievements came from zigging when others did. A piece of Nintendo Hardware that sold more units than the original switch is Nintendo DS, A strange handheld with two screens that promoted the famous game boys line. While the switch was once a trail biller, Now he is facing a growing competition as a rapid growing type of devices leader.

Here is a cautious balance process. If you play it safe all the time, you are at risk of boring. This is fine in small quantities, but for a company that largely succeeds in its creative instincts, Nintendo is about the worst possible future. The company may have been relying on its sports to exclude its Wilder, more inventive instincts, or small projects A charming alarm clock Or Diy cardboard accessories.

The bigger the Nintendo, the more it has to lose it – and now it seems that it is not intended to mess with it.