In a recent interview, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa says that the company’s focus when it comes to researching new technology is ‘fun.’
2020 was a memorable year for a myriad of reasons, certainly for Nintendo. In the video game world, both Sony and Microsoft launched their next-generation consoles with the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X|S. Meanwhile, Nintendo had a record-breaking year, as the Switch had the best year ever compared to any other console ever save the Wii in 2008. A part of the reason for that huge success is that Nintendo tends to beat to its own drum, and that drum is one made of “fun.”
Recently President of Nintendo Shuntaro Furukawa interviewed with Nikkei to talk about the company and what some of its goals are moving forward. Among the talking points, one of the more interesting things that Mr. Furukawa revealed was the idea that whenever Nintendo looks into researching new technology, the main focus is around the idea that it needs to be “fun.”
For Furukawa and Nintendo, it is important to look at the rest of the technology (as advancements do affect gaming), but Nintendo likes to think outside of the box. When making something, Furukawa says that Nintendo always focuses on a starting point of fun. This becomes obvious when looking back on previous consoles, for example. Whether it be a touch-screen and a dual-screen on the DS, motion controls on the Wii, 3D gaming on the 3DS, or the revolution behind hybrid gaming and everything else on the successful Nintendo Switch, Nintendo’s technology is almost always creative, innovative, and fun.
It is very true that Nintendo has often been behind in its consoles when it comes to horsepower. With the release of the Nintendo Switch, the console was slightly behind the likes of the original PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but very much behind both of their Pro/X versions. And now that the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S have been released, the Nintendo Switch seems to be left in the dust. But where the console is behind in terms of power, it makes up for it in versatility and creativity, and that is what the focus is for Nintendo.
Fans are also still waiting on a Nintendo Switch Pro, but that does not seem like a necessity from the company. While it could certainly come eventually, the focus of Nintendo is more around fresh ideas than simple resolution upgrades. The good news is that Switch is likely here to stay for quite some time, so a Switch Pro would still seem like a good way to keep the creativity and fun of the hybrid console alive until Nintendo is ready to release the true new fun-filled piece of technology next.
