Nintendo is keen to keep the Switch’s dual focus of being both a gaming handheld and home console “to carry over the experience we have already built” and reduce development costs in future, it’s said.
Speaking to investors, Nintendo exec Ko Shiota said the company’s current Switch hardware had benefited from the “merging” of software teams previously focused on developing for separate portable and home console platforms – such as in the era of 3DS and Wii U.
While still unannounced by Nintendo, it’s widely expected that Switch 2 will also be another hybrid console similar to the company’s current Switch hardware.
Discussing Nintendo’s development process in more detail, design legend Shigeru Miyamoto said that the Mario maker must focus on developing polished, original creative ideas that have “never existed before”, as its research and development costs increased each year.
Rising costs were “in some respects inevitable” as games became more complex and development teams grew in scale, Miyamoto said, but Nintendo was still focused on ensuring original ideas could germinate, with time to properly “nurture developers who take this unique concept to heart”.
“We continue refining our products until we are confident.”
“Our belief is that what we create is more important than the amount spent on development,” Miyamoto explained. “We continue refining our products until we are confident that we have created something that our consumers will be satisfied with.”
Nintendo must spend time finding the ideas that are worth honing, Miyamoto continued, saying this was a concept that had “not changed since the era of Nintendo Entertainment System”, 40 years ago.
“Everyone has different interests, so we cannot make sweeping statements about what ideas are worth pursuing,” Miyamoto continued. “However, one thing we are sure about is that it should be something which has not existed in the past.
“The more you polish something that has never existed before, the more value it brings. We believe that it is important to nurture developers who take this unique concept to heart, allocate funds to development if necessary, and release games only after we are confident in the product – and repeat this process over and over again.”
Not all gaming ideas needed big budgets, Miyamoto concluded, noting that simple yet intriguing ideas could still become projects with wide appeal “without incurring significant costs”.
“With the current technology it is possible to create fun games with a small number of developers in a short period of time,” Miyamoto concluded. “We believe it is important not to lose sight of this perspective.”
Nintendo’s continued silence on Switch 2 was broken – briefly – this week with confirmation that its Switch successor would indeed be backwards compatible. When might we hear more about Switch 2? This week, Eurogamer was told by an analyst that “the ship had sailed” on a 2024 reveal for Switch 2.