Bloomberg published a long-form report on Nintendo. Since it’s paywalled, I’ll share only a few quotes.
Nintendo repeatedly pushed back plans for the Switch 2’s launch after its designers asked for more time to perfect the games […] according to people familiar with the matter.
Joost van Dreunen [said] “What Nintendo has never done is confuse itself for a tech company.”
[M]odesty is encouraged. […] Yamauchi was determined to have sufficient reserves to withstand the industry’s inevitable downturns — a policy that has endured long since he fully retired in 2005.
Nintendo’s cash pile, now about ¥1.5 trillion […] provided a safety cushion for creators to undertake long-term projects.
“Miyamoto refers to his team members as apprentices,” Hamamura said. “There’s a sense of craftsmanship […] skills and values are passed down through hands-on practice.”
“Critics often say that only Nintendo games sell well on its platforms,” said Naoko Kino […] “That’s natural, because Nintendo games are the best.”
A patent filing […] describes a fishing rod attachment in the works, showing Nintendo pursuing more ways to play [than] processing power.
Iwata [emphasized] the importance of doing things differently and taking on risks.
[Tamaki said] “at Nintendo, when [young people] look around and say things like, ‘Sony is doing this, maybe we should too?’ the vibe from executives would be, ‘let them do their thing — we’re doing ours.’”
[Originally posted on 2025-09-02 Pacific Time]
