Nintendo Execs Share Their Love of Games

Nintendo, Japan’s world-famous video game company, started its business in 1889 with the production and sale of hanafuda playing cards.

In 1983, the company released its Family Computer (NES), a stationary game console that captivated a generation.

Since then, the company has continued to innovate, releasing well-known consoles such as their Game Boy, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64 in Japan and overseas, and continues to be loved by game fans around the world.

Their most recent release, Nintendo Switch, was in short supply across Japan in 2019, perhaps due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the fact that many people were stuck at home.

Against this backdrop, Nintendo’s business performance is said to be strong in recent years.

Q & A Session at Shareholders’ Meeting Attracting Attention

What’s so interesting about Nintendo’s June 29, 2021 meeting is a question from a shareholder regarding the candidates for the board of directors.<\p>

"We hope that those holding key positions at Nintendo are at least game enthusiasts, even if they don’t have skills in game production. In order for us to get to know the personalities of each director candidate, please tell us your favorite games."

"Please tell us your favorite games."

Not a question of their qualifications as managers, but to test their love of games.

Below are their answers, applauded across Twitter and other SNS.

President Shuntaro Furukawa:

When I was in junior high school, "Super Mario Brothers" was released, and I’m right in the middle of the NES generation. I still play a variety of games in my private life, regardless of which company I work for. Each candidate will respond to this question to this extent.

Senior Executive Officer Ko Shiota:

Like Furukawa, I am of the NES generation and grew up with the NES and Super NES. I'm still in charge of hardware, but since then I've been interested in the mechanics of things, such as tinkering with hardware. That's why I've been playing games such as "Mario Kart Live Home Circuit" with my children.

Senior Managing Exec Officer Shinya Takahashi:

I'm in charge of all our software, so it's difficult for me to pick a favorite because of my position, but the first game I was involved in after joining the company was "Famicom Fairytales: Yūyūki " for the Family Computer Disk System. It's not a very famous adventure game, but it left a strong impression on me as the first game I worked on.

Director Shigeru Miyamoto:

I basically played only my own games, and was not influenced much by the games of other companies. However, when I started working in game development, the first game that influenced me was "Pac-Man", and I think "TETRIS" is a great design. My dream of playing games with my whole family came true with this game, and for the past two years, I've been enjoying playing Pokémon GO with my wife and neighborhood friends. I think the average age of Pokémon GO players in Japan might be around 60 (laughs).

Senior Executive Officer Satoru Shibata:

I like adventure games, and I just recently completed the Nintendo Switch game "Famicom Detective Club: The Vanishing Successor/Ushironi Tachijo. In the past, I also really liked "Famicom Fairytales: New Island of Ogres" on the Family Computer Disk System. Also, I'm in charge of the Operations Division, which is the contact point for software makers, and there are many adventure games from software makers, and I enjoy those as well.

President Shuntaro Furukawa:

I play most of our own titles, but recently I've been playing a lot of hanafuda on "Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics".

It’s good to know that Nintendo’s top execs are all game lovers and they proved to play a variety of games, both old and new.

Both Mr. Takahashi and Mr. Shibata referred to the Family Computer Disk System, which was released in 1986.

It wasn’t the huge hit that the NES was and many Nintendo fans consider it as part of the company’s "black history," but it was in fact a revolutionary system that allowed gamers to save their progress in open world adventures like The Legend of Zelda and Metroid.

The candidates not only demonstrated their knowledge of Nintendo’s history, but also expressed their love of games in general.

Certainly they will all continue to develop new hardware and software to keep gamers entertained for generations to come!

By - Mujo.