Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa On Innovation And Reducing Instability

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently had an interview with Nikkei, where he talked about Nintendo’s business, the risks and innovation involved, as well as how they are reducing instability. [Thanks, Nintendo Everything!]

Here are the highlights:

• Furukawa states that as Nintendo is working in the entertainment industry, risks are certain when putting out consoles and software. However, he doesn’t want the developers to think too much about those risks, and instead create an environment where they can demonstrate their abilities.

• Furukawa takes a semi-hands off approach by leaving game development to leaders who are more familiar, but not before making sure he and they have a mutual understanding. Regarding how Nintendo should proceed and how to improve technology, he bases the final decision on the development leaders’ way of thinking. That said, he strives for a balance between freedom and discipline.

• When asked about an “innovation dilemma” where past successes may make innovation impossible, Furukawa stated that Nintendo doesn’t fixate on their consoles, although the Switch how they deliver the “Nintendo experience” at the moment. As technology changes, Nintendo will be flexible about how that experience is delivered, and in the long-term, Nintendo could even shift away from home consoles.

• Furukawa would like to increase the number of smartphone games to help reduce instability thanks to fluctuations in business performance. He talks about Nintendo’s theme park and movie partnerships as another way to bring Nintendo characters to everyday life, and how they likely will have strong synergy.