The media and Nintendo themselves cultivate an image of creative genius for the company. While not unwarranted, it conceals the fact that the company is run by a shrewd business team.
When the Liberation Day hit, Sony was caught flatfooted and scrambling to build up inventory and diversify the supply chain. In contrast, Nintendo began assembling Switch consoles in Vietnam since 2019 (by Hosiden), and Cambodia since 2020 (by MinebeaMitsumi) in anticipation of trade wars. And since COVID, they have doubled their cash holdings, and amassed 8x-10x of raw materials (see last post).
Nintendo’s said no to NFT, metaverse, and so far gen-AI. These decisions weren’t made because they were insular (okay, maybe a little). The company is perennially among the most desirable employers for Japanese college graduates, and they have their picks of the top talents in the country, including the business minds.
[Originally posted on 2026-02-09 Pacific Time]
