Iwata: Nintendo magic comes from integrating hardware and software
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says the company's chief differentiator is its invention and introduction of hardware and software, and how having those different teams under the same umbrella.
"What I believe is that Nintendo is a very unique company, because it does its business by designing and introducing people to hardware and software – by integrating them, we can be unique. And because we have hardware and software developers in the same building, they stimulate each other," Iwata tells CVG.
This approach, Iwata says, has cemented fandom in Nintendo's lineup of franchises. And why not offer Nintendo games on competing platforms? With such a stable of system sellers at its disposal, Iwata thinks it'd be short-sighted for Nintendo to offer its games elsewhere.
If he wasn't "concerned about the long-term future of Nintendo at all," Iwata says putting Nintendo games on other systems may lead to "some short-term profit." Ultimately, it's Iwata's responsibility for the long-term that prevents him from ever "providing our precious resources for other platforms at all."
Iwata, who this year took on the role of Nintendo of America CEO in addition to his duties as company president, got his start at Nintendo as a programmer for HAL Laboratory, the outfit responsible for creating Kirby, the Mother series (Earthbound) and the Super Smash Bros. franchise. He has served as president of Nintendo since 2002.
