The Evolution of Nintendo's Development Strategy

Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata discuss changing the way their company makes games.

January 30, 2012

During a recent investor Q&A, legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto fielded questions regarding Nintendo's strategies for growing its internal development teams, and how he can effectively nurture his employees without taking away from his own work. In light of recent events, in which a comment to an online outlet lead to false reports of his retirement spreading like wildfire, Miyamoto answered the question carefully.

"The ideal situation is one in which I do not need to give any direction," Miyamoto said. "If we look at such a situation from one perspective, my giving directions may hold back my subordinates' independent and voluntary growth."

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata inserted that by reminding those who work under him that he will not always be around, Miyamoto hopes to encourage them to not rely on him quite so much. "The basic idea is, I'm reminding myself to exercise patience, so that I will not state my opinion nor get myself involved in their work," Miyamoto said. "I end up using less of my energy and, as a result, I am starting to have time that I can spend for myself."

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Miyamoto asserted that the result of fostering more independent internal development teams that can operate with little to no direct supervision is that he's able to focus on new frontiers, rather than perpetually looking after existing properties. "I am spending more time than before on finding new ideas for new developments rather than focusing my energy on work in my (development) teams in order to solidify the contents of (existing) franchise titles," he said. "After all, developing big hit titles must be the solution. I am acting with the understanding that one big hit title can change multiple phases of a situation in the entertainment business, and I feel that finding such one big hit is my basic job."

Such "hits" from Miyamoto's past include the creation of several of the company's keystone franchises, such as Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Miyamoto made it clear to investors that he feels the company is changing to allow for more independence and growth among its developers, which in turn allows him the creative freedom he seeks. "As a result, I feel confident that we are gradually making improvements, and we have already come to the stage where quality software titles with a high completion level have been developed without my active involvement," he said.

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On the flip side, when questioned about the prospects of working with outside developers to help supplement the company's internal resources, Iwata responded with confidence, though he didn't reveal any specific plans.

"It is obvious that Nintendo does not employ so many people internally," Iwata said. "If we look at the number of our own employees, we are not a so-called 'resource-rich' company. When we view our company from a different perspective, on the other hand, it is an advantage because Nintendo has more freedom and flexibility to be able to collaborate with outside resources as long as we can find good partners."

Iwata also noted that, as a result of development needs, the company has already started joining forces with outside partners. "Although many tasks used to be done only internally in the past, we are now working with people outside the company in several business fields," he said. As for what specific projects the company is partnering up for, the executive remained coy. "When we make any relevant announcements on such projects, we cannot just say we are working with this company on that project," he said. "Unless we can make more comprehensive announcements by discussing the details of the subject product, it may not make any sense to you."

While Iwata did not provide any specifics, he assured investors that several collaborations are, indeed, in the works. "There are several projects we will be able to talk about this year," he said. "I hope that I will be able to pick up examples which will show that Nintendo is taking care of the business fields in which it lacks internal resources."