Nintendo is not 'solely a company that makes video games,' Iwata says

"[Former Nintendo president Hiroshi] Yamauchi always said 'Nintendo is an entertainment company and should never be anything else', but he didn't necessarily think 'entertainment equals video games.'"

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In an interview with Diamond.jp, Iwata was asked to comment further on his statements in January that Nintendo would "expand into a new business area" and "extend the definition of entertainment" with its 10-year 'Quality of Life' platform.

"A lot of people around the world think Nintendo is solely a company that makes video games," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said. However, that shouldn't be the case, he emphasized. "[Former Nintendo president Hiroshi] Yamauchi always said 'Nintendo is an entertainment company and should never be anything else', but he didn't necessarily think 'entertainment equals video games.'"

The remarks come as Iwata explains the company's new "quality of life" initiative, one that will expand Nintendo's focus beyond traditional gaming into learning and lifestyle. "Entertainment is there to improve people's quality of life. After your basic needs, there's entertainment. However, when it came to improving people's quality of life, I didn't know the difference between us and household appliance makers," he told Diamond (translated by CVG).

With Nintendo's financials lagging ever since the Wii boom died down, the company has been struggling to reach profitability and keep investors happy. Clearly, this is a company open to experimentation. "Even though we won't change the fact that our focus is on video games, I felt the need to take that occasion to state that Nintendo is a company that can do whatever it wants," Iwata added.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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  • reply
    April 28, 2014 9:30 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Nintendo is not 'solely a company that makes video games,' Iwata says.

    "[Former Nintendo president Hiroshi] Yamauchi always said 'Nintendo is an entertainment company and should never be anything else', but he didn't necessarily think 'entertainment equals video games.'"

    • reply
      April 28, 2014 9:43 AM

      [deleted]

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        April 28, 2014 10:48 AM

        Only if it's entertaining. The psychonauts meat level was entertaining. Kinda.

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        April 28, 2014 10:58 AM

        Porntendo

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      April 28, 2014 9:49 AM

      uhh so what other entertainment products to they make then??

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        April 28, 2014 10:22 AM

        [deleted]

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          April 28, 2014 10:47 AM

          Yep! Remember how the NES hardware was... well, shoddy, in a word? That's because Nintendo wasn't rolling in dough when they broke into the arcade and console industries.

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        April 28, 2014 11:02 AM

        Pokemon company is 100% owned by Nintendo so pretty much anything Pokemon including cards, movies, TV shows

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          April 28, 2014 11:27 AM

          Toys, plush figures, etc. etc. etc.

          Pokemon is still a big cash cow and it'll remain so for a long time.

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        April 28, 2014 12:02 PM

        Wearables like power gloves.

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      April 28, 2014 9:53 AM

      They also make cereal!

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      April 28, 2014 10:19 AM

      It really is amazing how much they lost (markets they were involved in) over the past couple decades.

      I guess Apple comes kind of close. Would have needed a Steve Jobs cartoon in the style of Mega Man stealing ideas from other companies, making them better, and turning them against their original creators.

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        April 28, 2014 10:49 AM

        Why? Nothing is forever in business. And if it were we'd all be bored.

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          April 28, 2014 11:31 AM

          Consumer-wise it isn't horrible at all. It's just impressive considering the then and now situation Nintendo is in.

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        April 28, 2014 12:14 PM

        [deleted]

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      April 28, 2014 10:43 AM

      I love Nintendo but I hope they just fucking drown until they do the smart thing and get out of the console business and stick to just making great games.

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      April 28, 2014 11:07 AM

      It's the secret sauce that makes them good and different.

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      April 28, 2014 11:38 AM

      I have a soft spot for Nintendo even though I don't play any Nintendo games anymore.

      It's just such a charming company.

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      April 28, 2014 12:43 PM

      Because the sales performance of their playing cards division is what will appease stockholders.

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        April 28, 2014 12:45 PM

        Their playing card business probably doesn't have large expenses either

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        April 28, 2014 3:17 PM

        Pokemon cards make them a shitpile of money

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      April 28, 2014 4:15 PM

      JUST MAKE A NEW METROID DAMMIT and stop fucking around with health apps you bozos.

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        April 28, 2014 4:20 PM

        They're in a conference room brainstorming ideas about what they think goes on in women's heads so they can synergize with other m

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      April 28, 2014 8:20 PM

      Eh, we'll see if this secret project does any good. While I have a lot of confidence that Nintendo still knows how to make great games, my faith in them as a business that knows what they're doing is at an all time low. And this thing isn't a game.

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      April 29, 2014 3:22 AM

      [deleted]

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