Oddworld creator would work with Iwata “in a second”, positive Nintendo will still be around in 100 years
During an investor’s briefing Q&A several weeks ago, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made a few remarks stating that he wouldn’t lay off staff simply to improve the company’s financial situation. Instead, Iwata is interested in making great games. This is something that has resonated well with Lorne Lanning, creator of Oddworld.
Lanning, speaking with GamesBeat in a new interview, spoke highly of Iwata as a whole. He went as far as to say that he’d “work with him in a second.” And Nintendo overall? Lanning thinks that they’ll still be here in 100 years.
Lanning said:
Meanwhile, [Nintendo CEO] Satoru Iwata came out and said people were asking him, “When are you gonna lay off your development staff?”I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it was basically, “Laying off development is not going to solve our problems. Building great games is what we do and we’re going to continue doing it.” When he said that, in my opinion, he was immortalized in the creative community? I would work with him in a second. When a man in that type of position, in a world where the golden rule is the rule and that’s what’s expected at public companies, he stood up and said, “That’s not what we’re about. We’re about building great stuff. We have great people to build great stuff. We’re gonna do that.”
When I look at the history of Nintendo, I say, “Nintendo is gonna be here in 100 years.” I have no doubt. I doubt Microsoft will be here in 100 years. I know Zynga won’t be here in 100 years. I’ve been here longer than Zynga. [Laughs] We’re not making headlines in the Wall Street Journal, but we’re still building what we set out to build. Now we have to be clever and smaller in how we think, but we’re more self-empowered than we’ve ever been.
