Iwata on those who say Nintendo lacks innovation
Nintendo is sometimes called out for relying on past franchises and recycling IPs. President Satoru Iwata addressed this belief during a investor’s briefing Q&A last week, noting that with series such as Mario and Pokemon, “we are trying to push the boundaries every time we develop a series title.” He added that “those who assume that Nintendo lacks innovation might be making judgments by looking at our game titles without actually experiencing them.”
Here are Iwata’s thoughts in full:
“…One thing I would like to add, though, is that it might be true that Mario and Pokémon are franchises with long histories and tradition behind them, but we are trying to push the boundaries every time we develop a series title. In other words, the reason Pokémon has been continuously popular for about 15 years and Mario for almost 30 years now is that each sequel has something novel. So I frankly think that those who assume that Nintendo lacks innovation might be making judgments by looking at our game titles without actually experiencing them. Without ongoing innovation, even Mario and Pokémon would have lost their popularity long before.”
