Following Nintendo's 76th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, the company has now published official translations of the Q & A session that took place. Many of the details are largely as expected, though there are some small shifts in detail that don't match fully with translations that came before.
One interesting segment relates to Nintendo's plans to utilise its various intellectual properties, with a focus on video in particular. Shigeru Miyamoto gave a long answer on this, but notably stated that Nintendo isn't explicitly confirmed to be making a movie, contrary to previous reports. As you can see below, he emphasises that Nintendo has key strengths in its brands that can be utilised in years to come.
Video content is a really interesting area for us. Going forward, it is extremely important for Nintendo to move beyond the limits of game systems and make good use of its character resources in order for Nintendo not to be forgotten. Nintendo has a variety of characters. That one company has all the rights to so many characters is something that is recognized as unprecedented. To avoid any misunderstandings, we have never said that we will produce a movie. We have talked about our expansion into video and other areas, but we are not saying anything official about the details. What I can say is that video is one of the business areas where Nintendo is making good use of its IP. Three years ago I created an about 20-minute video content of Pikmin's short movie, and just recently I made a 15-minute PR movie for Star Fox Zero. These were made in association with video production companies. We can make video content by mostly leveraging the knowledge and capabilities of outside companies. For the production of those two short films, I was basically the only person from Nintendo involved. Nintendo needs to make a lot more products, but when a company gets too big, it faces continual problems nurturing its employees. Besides video content, we have begun to provide Nintendo characters for theme park attractions through a basic agreement with Universal Parks & Resorts. By working on development with others outside of Nintendo, I am working actively to expand the number of Nintendo products. These projects will take time to bear fruit, but they are something to look forward to.
It'll be interesting to see what moves Nintendo makes in this area - we've argued that the company shouldn't be fearful of shamelessly exploiting its IPs to the full, as it's worked well for plenty of other major entertainment businesses.
How do you want to see Nintendo utilise its brands and IPs in future, and do you want Nintendo to make a movie of its own in the future? Sound off in the comments.
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 42
Star Fox anime was pretty good I would love to see a Mario or Zelda anime movie.
Also First!!
animated movies please, they could get as big as Disney/Pixar if they really do good movies. I would be first in line to get tickets! ahah
Shrug Call it whatever you want, so long as I get to see more videos like the Star Fox one. Maybe a couple extra comics/manga, too, eh? I kinda miss those, though, I guess they still happen every once in a while.
The voice actor for English version must be from famous voice actor or actress like Cree Summer, Dee Bradley Baker, Tara Strong, Tom Kenny, Daran Norris, Candi Milo, Maurice LaMarche, Jeff Bennett, and many more.
Didn't they say they would do movies a while ago?
Erm, Pokemon, Kirby, Super mario bros, Inazuma Eleven, Monster hunter, The legend of Zelda. All have had or have animated video series made. So I dont see what miyamoto is getting at here when he says he wants nintendo to move towards video, they already have!
I'd imagine something along the lines of a Zelda animated movie with a decent budget would break even on the name alone.
Of course there'd be endless debates on implementation whichever route they took but, as for other IP, I don't know if they have the legs for a full movie success.
We've all chimed in on things like Metroid probably making a decent movie but I think anything outside Mario and Zelda would have to be really special to be of use to Nintendo in leveraging IP and bringing in new fans.
Edit: I'm referring to huge budget Hollywood level movies.
Internet generation will want everything NOW!
I wish that star fox short was episode one of an animated series. Was fantastic. I think I'll watch it for the 5th time.
This generation we've seen feature animations for Kid Icarus Uprising, Pikmin, Star Fox, and they've all been very enjoyable.
(I'm still waiting for the KI:U shorts on My Nintendo.)
I agree with Miyamoto on this issue.
"in order for Nintendo to not be forgotten"? Is he really worried about that?
@ALinkttPresent
I think.... It's so natural people have awareness of something. Just look at nowadays entertainment. Some people really wish can go back to 80's or 90's era. Because they are so sick with nowadays entertainment that far away from good quality.
I need more Pikmin Animated for my sanity. My children have watched those 3 hundreds of times and I have every minute memorized. The characters are a perfect fit for an animated show. Get with Netflix and make it happen Nintendo.
well i loved that starfox short, its from the studio behind attack on titan, ghost in the shell, kabaneri and owari no seraph and stuff
@Marshi
Most of those were complete failures. While it's true that they indeed tried to get into the movie/TV buisness, those were complete flops and we're very easily forgotten. I think miyamoto just means they want to get into a video market that's succesful.
Who needs movies and videos when they have the Yogurtland promotion?
I'd be fine not seeing anything besides the occasional animated short. Transitions from video game to movie rarely perform well.
Nintendo TV channel
Having Pikmin and Star Fox shorts are great and all, but that's not getting Nintendo the exposure they need. I doubt anyone who isn't already a dedicated Nintendo/Star Fox fan watched the animated video. And literally the ONLY way to (legally) watch the Pikmin shorts is if you have a Wii U or 3DS. That doesn't help Nintendo branch out their IP at all. Mobile games and theme parks are good ways to expand Nintendo's reach, but these online shorts... not so much. Full-fledged movies/animated series, however, would have a much broader reach and are exactly what Nintendo needs. I will always love Miyamoto, but his views on how Nintendo IP in the last several years should be handled have been... frustrating. (The Paper Mario series is a prime example.)
I'll be honest - I'm not particularly bothered about them making videos. If they do it, and it works out well, then awesome.
If they lisense their IP to other studios like Legendary, or Sony Pictures or something, then I fear it will just end up sucking hard.
If they made some CGI thing in-house, then I'd have better hopes for it. But I can still see it not turning out great.
Perhaps having an anime made would probably be their best option...
Personally, I am happy for them to just carry on making the best games possible. I'm all about the games.
It's Nintendo, so...they aren't, until they are, it isn't, until it is.
Eventually they do the things everyone else is doing when they can't get the attention doing things their "unique" way
@Ezzzy I suppose so. But failures? Super mario super show, The legend of zelda and the many iterations of Pokemon cartoons and several movies were staples of many millions of childrens lives. I wouldnt call them failures.
With the Nintendo shorts being produced by outside companies, but still being supervised by Nintendo. That worked multiple times.
I would love to see an extension of the Subspace Emmisarry lore being as a movie or short series. That'll be awesome!
No thanks. Videogame movies are usually terrible.
Aw, I was hoping for a live action Metroid movie. But it makes since now. It didn't make since before so I should've known. >.<
TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID UP THERE! I NEED @Nintendude789 IDEA TO BE TRUE!
@Yalaa would love to see either Zelda or Fire Emblem by the guys that do Korra and voltron.
Wow, a Miyamoto thread where nobody's asked for him to step down yet! Am I on the right website?
A feature length Metroid would be great, something that captures the solitary nature...Just trying to picture the soundtrack to it - eery synth music and strings.
@Ezzzy @Marshi Only Zelda and Mario here are properties of Nintendo. You also forgot Donkey Kong.
For those who want a Zelda or Metroid film: they would either feel like total soulless duplicates of a generic medieval fantasy fiction and a mix between Alien and Aliens or would have to be action-centered movies with a basic but entertaining plot who gave up on the games identity (discovery) and alienate the players. The second option is the best one and could lure some kids and young people to turn to Nintendo games again. But... they would then knock themseles to the wall of Reality and understand the games have almost nothing in common with what they saw and liked.
Out-of-topic: I just discovered the Dragon Quest direct-to-video live movie. I had a big laugh.
The Pikmin shorts were great. Well worth the money. More of those would be welcome.
I also enjoyed the Star Fox Zero anime. In fact I preferred it to the game.... By a long shot!
Movies are outdated, but 'video' - or as I would call it, series or TV shows - would be a great idea.
Miyamoto should continue on what he started with the Starfox anime, that one worked really well.
I'm sure Netflix would jump at the opportunity of making shows with Nintendo content. Star Fox, Metroid, LoZ would be totally doable. And after seeing the coro coro Splatoon manga, I think they could also make a Splatoon animated series, similar to Captain Tsubasa etc.
Oh and Nintendo comics would be another great opportunity. They could team up with IDW, DC or Marvel.
"For the production of those two short films, I was basically the only person from Nintendo involved. Nintendo needs to make a lot more products, but when a company gets too big, it faces continual problems nurturing its employees."
Sage wisdom from Miyamoto here, and a warning as well. He's being relied on too much for too many things, and judging from the ending of Scott Moffitt's relationship with Nintendo, this seems to be a widespread issue. Let him focus on your core products, don't pull him away to do all these other things when someone else can be hired to handle that work and collaborate with Miyamoto.
@Rei Pokemon isnt a property of Nintendo...?
@Marshi
It's a shared property, with Nintendo being mostly in charge of publishing and localizing the games. Nintendo has very little to do with the anime's side of the franchise, so I personally wouldn't call the 19 Pokemon movies 'Nintendo' movies due to being more tied to the anime rather than the game's themselves.
Even calling Origin a Nintendo movie would be slightly stretching it, while it's a more accurate adaption to Pokemon Red than the first season of the original anime, it's still animated and distributed by the same teams.
@NinChocolate I would love this comment if it were possible. You just summed up their entire business strategy.
@Marshi Nope, Pokemon is jointly owned, primarily by The Pokemon Company, partially by Game Freak, and partially by Nintendo.
@DarkmarkUnited Yeah, it's pretty convoluted...
Idk how many people have seen the Pikmin short films.
I'm telling you, if Miamoto didnt make it as a game designer, he would've done just as well making Pixar-like films.
And this Star Fox film was good too. Just, not as good as the Pikmin films. They were a work of art.
Another plan that doesn't come to fruition, why am I not surprised?! As far as movie-plans go, this is the second time (in the past they also wanted to make a movie-studio)!
Movies, Cartoons and TV shows I'm up for all or any.
@Marshi Upps! I forgot to mention it. (I was thinking more about things who originate from Nintendo.)
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