Nintendo has been on a hell of a run since the ’80s. And they’ve really done so with three franchises: Mario, Zelda, and Metroid.
That three-headed monster has carried the company, both in terms of quality and reputation. It’s actually pretty incredible that they’ve been able to do as well as they have with an established set of characters, with some additions in between, of course.
With that in mind, one former Nintendo vet explains their thinking.
Nintendo has “no real need” for new franchises
First reported by Bloomberg and spotted by IGN, former Nintendo programmer Ken Watanabe pointed out Nintendo’s seeming nonchalant attitude towards new franchises. When talking, he said that “New franchises haven’t come out simply because there’s no real need to make them. When Nintendo wants to do something new, it’s basically about the gameplay mechanics first, about creating a new way to play.”
We all know the reputation Nintendo has built for itself by creating new gameplay experiences and putting its franchise players in different scenarios. I don’t understand why a new IP can’t come out while doing that.
And I do get his assertion. Nintendo has done a commendable job of taking well-known characters and crafting new experiences. But they’re also so insanely creative over there that I’d want to see what they could do with other genres.
Nintendo doesn’t have to, of course, but I’m wondering what an actual FPS from them would look like. Splatoon feels like it’s as close as we’ll get to them stepping into the shooter world. But I remember The Conduit on the Wii. It was great. That could have been it.
Maybe they’ll find a way to drop off a Fire Flower Mario FPS. I might lock in for that now that I’ve said it. I wish they didn’t have such tunnel vision on their main characters. But at least we’re getting heat when they do.
The post Former Dev Says Nintendo Doesn’t Really Need New IPs—Are They Right? appeared first on VICE.
