Kimishima, Miyamoto and Takeda on Nintendo’s development structure, expanding the company, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
At the Q&A session at Nintendo’s latest Corporate Management Policy Briefing, one of the questions was about Nintendo’s internal development structure, the development team that handles the smart device games and Nintendo’s hiring process. The question was answered by company president Tatsumi Kimishima, Shigeru Miyamoto (Director, Creative Fellow) and Genyo Takeda (Director, Technology Fellow).
Q: I would like to hear more about the current and future direction of your development structure, which is widely considered to be your greatest competitive strength. Do you plan to maintain the current scale for the mid- to long-term, or will you expand it? How will you expand the smart-device team within the larger development structure? My assumption is that there are currently fewer than 100 people on this team, do you think that is sufficient? Also, what sort of employees are needed to help Nintendo grow and evolve in the future, and how do you plan to develop these employees?
A: Kimishima:
Our overall development staff has increased over the past year, but that does not mean it will necessarily continue to increase. In the entertainment industry, it is very common to take the approach of hiring employees who already have experience and technical knowledge in needed areas, in addition to developing new technology and ideas within the company. Going forward, we would like to increase the number of employees who already have some technical ability and who have fun ideas that can inspire new game experiences. These are the kind of people we see as necessary in our field of development. For smart devices, we have been developing using one of our most important IPs, Mario, so instead of using a team that had no prior experience with Mario, we had developers who worked on past Mario games join the development of Super Mario Run. The scale of the team we currently have working on apps is not as large as you
surmise. In the future, while we will plan the course of development, we may not necessarily allocate exclusively internal development resources. We would like to continue cooperating with external partners who understand Nintendo well when the situation calls for it.
Head past the break for Miyamoto’s and Takeda’s take on the subject:
More: Genyo Takeda, Shigeru Miyamoto, Tatsumi Kimishima, top
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima on what sort of person would be suitable as his successor
Posted on 8 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
At the Q&A session at Nintendo’s recent Corporate Management Policy Briefing, president Tatsumi Kimishima was asked about his eventual successor as president of Nintendo.
Q: Mr. Kimishima, what do you feel is your goal as a manager in considering your successor? What sort of person do you think would be appropriate to lead the company in the future?
A: I believe that my personal role is to consider how to create an internal structure that will allow Nintendo to continue to release entertaining products in the future. When I took on the President position, it was still too early to reveal the full details of Nintendo
Switch, our smart-device business and our efforts to use Nintendo?s IP. I have been working with both Fellows since then to make sure that these business ventures could get off to a successful start.
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Nintendo gives terminally ill Zelda fan chance to play Breath of the Wild
Posted on 8 years ago by Zack in General Nintendo | 45 Comments
A heart-moving feature on a Zelda fan with a terminal heart condition who got the chance to play Breath of the Wild early is available to read on Waypoint. We’ve collected some quotes from the article and written up a quick synopsis to go with it. If you want to read the entire thing, check out the full article here.
Last July, Gabe Marcelo wasn’t sure he could attend PAX Prime. This wouldn’t normally be a big deal, but the 26-year-old’s lifelong heart condition had taken a turn for a worse, and he’d been stuck in the hospital for a while. The problem: PAX might be his one shot to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the newest game in his favorite series, before he died.
“Being home bound for the most part,” said his mother, Anita Marcelo, “these dates were really important. They were his calendar, just as birthdays and holidays were.”
He found the strength to attend PAX. Though the plan was to only show up for a single day, due to his condition, Gabe managed to surprise everyone. His family helped him around in a wheelchair all four days. Unfortunately, Nintendo didn’t bring Breath of the Wild to PAX, prompting Gabe to ask his mother if she’d ask Nintendo for a chance to play the game early.
Shinya Takahashi on his career at Nintendo, new role, and Switch
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Switch | 5 Comments
TIME has put up a pretty massive piece about Shinya Takahashi today. You may recognize him from his appearance during the Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017. He’s a director, board member, managing executive officer, and general manager of Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning and Development Division.
TIME’s piece delves into Takahashi’s history at Nintendo and new role at the company. He comments a bit on Switch and more as well. Shigeru Miyamoto also chimes in about wanting to use Switch as an opportunity “to hand over more to the younger generation.”
We have a summary of TIME’s article below. We do strongly encourage you to read the full thing right here.
Another look at the Zelda: Breath of the Wild Link figure, date moved forward on Best Buy
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Videos | 0 comments
First 4 Figures is just a few weeks away from bringing out its new figure for Link based on his appearance in Breath of the Wild. Thanks to Pixel Dan, we have another good look at it below:
Reader KobobKC has also informed us that Best Buy has changed the release date of the figure. It was previously listed for early March, but now has a release date of February 27. Hopefully that sticks.
Video: A look at all of the Mario toys from McDonald’s Happy Meals
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments
Last month, new Mario toys were distributed in McDonald’s Happy Meals in both the UK and Japan. Get a closer look at all of the new offerings below.
Nintendo Minute – Defenders of the Triforce
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 2 Comments
This week’s episode of Nintendo Minute has gone live. In today’s episode, Kit and Krysta share their experience at Defenders of the Triforce. Check it out below.
First 4 Figures teases more Zelda releases
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
The Legend of Zelda is a big part of First 4 Figures’ product lineup, so it’s no surprise that the company has more figures planned.
In an interview with Zelda Universe, the company teased more additions to the Twilight Princess line. Along with Trueform Midna, it sounds like we could be getting a 1:4-scale statue of Link.
The new Breath of the Wild Link statue due out within the next few weeks also comes with a leaflet teasing two figures. Silhouettes appear to show Link riding a horse and the Sheikah Slate.
Nintendo UK sends Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma on a quest
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Random, Videos | 8 Comments
As another way of promoting Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo UK sent series producer Eiji Aonuma “on a quest” to gain the Master Sword of Master Sword of Resurrection. Aonuma played around with battling a Guardian (in amiibo form), gathering food, and more before finally approaching the sword. Of course, this was all done in good fun.
We’ve shared the two brief clips from Nintendo UK below. Check out the full feature here.
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Fire Emblem Echoes amiibo pre-orders open at Best Buy (Alm & Celica)
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
Best Buy is now taking pre-orders for the recently-announced Fire Emblem Echoes amiibo. You can nab the Alm & Celica two-pack here. It arrives on May 19 alongside the game.
