Watch and the Game Boy – and, as a company that embodies failing and taking risks, he also launched the disastrous, nausea-inducing Virtual Boy. To be clear, withered didn’t mean old or obsolete, it meant using existing technology in new ways. The genesis of new ways to play, of accessible pricing.
And so, unlocking the mass market, globally. Genius really. Bold in a very Nintendo, very under-stated
way. A century long strategy spanning its entire 135 year history. Now that is what you call long-term strategic thinking and disruptive innovation flowing through a company. Zigging when others zag. Daring to be different. Iwata and Miyamoto absolutely stayed true to these principles.
So while Switch 2 will be iterative, I really hope there
are some surprises in store. Some delightful experiments. Some risks. I’d even love to see a new IP or existing franchises doing really bonkers things – anyone remember the utter madness of Wario Ware Touched on the Nintendo DS? Almost smashing the screen tapping at flies buzzing around you!
A NEW BUZZ
One of my favourite quotes from Iwata-san which he used to say to us all the time was “Our biggest threat isn’t a competitor, it’s consumer apathy”.
Because after all, it’s the games that Nintendo shines with. Games and franchises that pervade our consciousness, our childhoods and our adult lives – much like Marvel and DC comics have traversed popular culture for decades, Nintendo has done exactly the same. Understanding the power of character, gameplay and storytelling better than anyone else in the industry. Bringing families, friends, young and old together as only Nintendo can – especially in the rather scary world we live in. We need that. That Nintendo ability to provide the unfettered joy of surprising and delighting us. As it has for 135 years. Let’s see how Switch 2 will write its own chapter in that neverending story. I can’t wait.
Dawn Paine is the CEO of global creative experience company Aurora – an agency which catapults brands to growth through culture, connection and society level
thinking. She was Vice President Marketing at Universal Pictures and prior to this, UK Marketing Director at Nintendo UK
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