Looking at the companyās back catalogue, and the fact it had to get an American studio in to do a first-person Metroid series, itās clear Nintendo is not a big believer in the Westās genre of choice.
A point Nintendo president Satoru Iwata addressed during a recent investor Q&A session in Japan. While acknowledging that 80% of Nintendoās business now comes from outside Japan, he also has to acknowledge that the games people play outside Japan can be a little different.
āCurrently, in the western countries especially, war-themed gun-shooting games, which are not well-received in Japan, are very popularā, he said. āIt is a reality that some of these games sell 10 million units per year in those markets, and this is one valid type of video game genre. I would personally feel sad if all video games became something like that, but on the other hand, I do not think such games should disappear.ā
You wonāt find a more telling example of the gulf in difference between the two biggest companies in gaming than that. Too many shooters would make Nintendo sad. Too many shooters would make Activision, well, glad!
The 71st Annual General Meeting of Shareholders Q&A [Nintendo]
(Top photo by Kevork Djansezian | Getty)
