Nintendo boss admits ‘there’s only so many people’ they can reach through video games

Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto insists the company can only reach “so many people” through video games.

Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto insists the company can only reach “so many people” through video games.

The gaming giant has continued to expand into the world of film in recent years, with 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the new Super Mario Galaxy Movie, as the company looks to have more of presence in other areas of entertainment.

Speaking to Polygon, Miyamoto noted that the character of Mario has “always evolved alongside the evolution of digital media”.

He added: “As we approach Mario and developing Mario games, I start to feel like there’s only so many people that we can reach through Nintendo’s systems and consoles.

“And so now with things like digital streaming and the expanse and the reach of what the technology allows now, I feel like that’s a great way to get Mario involved too, and really be able to evolve alongside with digital media.

“So going from being able to have a touchpoint with Nintendo only through Nintendo consoles, we want to expand.”

Miyamoto insisted fans should be able to reach Nintendo through “various media”, which should increase excitement around future projects.

He added: “In that way, instead of people thinking, ‘What kind of game is Nintendo going to come up with now?’, I would love for them to think about, ‘What kind of world Nintendo will expand on now?’

“That’s the kind of approach and thinking I have currently.”

As far back as 2016, Miyamoto made it clear Nintendo was keen to embrace its position as an “entertainment company”.

He told Fortune at the time: “Because games and movies seem like similar mediums, people’s natural expectation is we want to take our games and turn them into movies.

“I’ve always felt video games, being an interactive medium, and movies, being a passive medium, mean the two are quite different.

“As we look more broadly at what is Nintendo’s role as an entertainment company, we’re starting to think more and more about how movies can fit in with that.”