Nintendo President Indicates Focus On New Series For The Future
President of Nintendo Shuntaro Furukawa has made it clear that the future lies in the development of new series. Currently, Nintendo has a huge catalog of franchises under its belt, and new IPs continue to be developed for the latest consoles.
One of Nintendo's newer IPs, Splatoon, released on the Wii U, which wasn't one of Nintendo's most successful consoles. Despite the unpopularity of that device, though, the game was popular enough to warrant a sequel on the Switch, which is one of the more popular console's bestselling titles. The success of the franchise continues, because 2022 will see the release of Splatoon 3. Conversely, Arms, a launch title on the Nintendo Switch, wasn't as big a hit as Splatoon and hasn't seen any of the longevity that Splatoon has received, though it did add a character to the roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the form of Min-Min.
An interview with Nikkei.com has President Shuntaro Furukawa talking about the future of Nintendo. The translation via Nintendo Everything shows that although Nintendo is continuing to focus on "staple series" such as Mario and Zelda, the company will also continue working on new series for the future. There was no mention of Nintendo reviving some of its lesser known IPs in the quote; instead, Furukawa had this to say:
"We are constantly looking out for new ideas and researching what we can utilize next. In future, we want to not only work on our staple series like Mario and Zelda but also work on new games and new series."
Nintendo has seen a good deal of criticism for the way it has been handling its virtual console library. In past consoles such as the Wii and Wii U, Nintendo would offer catalogs of numerous older titles, from consoles such as the NES, the Nintendo 64, and even the Wii. The Switch, on the other hand, has had a drip-feed of virtual games presented through Nintendo Switch Online, and due to this, there are many Nintendo games from obscure IPs that remain trapped on the older systems they debuted on. There are also several series that haven't been acknowledged since the Wii or 3DS, which include the likes of the Wario Land titles, F-Zero, and Kid Icarus Uprising.
New series always breathe creativity and life into Nintendo. Even though Arms didn't reach the same level of success as Splatoon, experimentation breeds creativity, and there's always a chance for a new IP to have a success story just like that of Splatoon. At the same time, though, there are also many older series that deserve another chance in the spotlight, whether it be through a port, remaster, or sequel. There is value in both new and old, and Nintendo's staple series also continue to reach new advancements in creativity, as seen in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which changed the way the series has been structured for years. In spite of the criticisms in Nintendo's handling of its IPs, whichever path Nintendo will go, creativity is sure to follow.
Source: Nikkei, Nintendo Everything
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