Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto has said there are “only so many people” that Nintendo can reach through games, so the company wants to expand its presence in other areas to help draw in more people. This is an approach best exemplified lately with Nintendo’s further expansion into the world of film with The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (out now).
Speaking to Polygon, Miyamoto said Mario as a character has “always evolved alongside the evolution of digital media,” and that’s no different today as Nintendo brings him to movies.
“As we approach Mario and developing Mario games, I start to feel like there’s only so many people that we can reach through Nintendo’s systems and consoles. And so now with things like digital streaming and the expanse and the reach of what the technology allows now, I feel like that’s a great way to get Mario involved too, and really be able to evolve alongside with digital media,” he said. “So going from being able to have a touchpoint with Nintendo only through Nintendo consoles, we want to expand.”
Miyamoto went on to say he wants to give fans an opportunity to reach Nintendo through “various media,” and not just video games alone.
“In that way, instead of people thinking, ‘What kind of game is Nintendo going to come up with now?’ I would love for them to think about, ‘What kind of world Nintendo will expand on now?’ he said. “That’s the kind of approach and thinking I have currently.”
Miyamoto’s comments fall in line with an approach that Nintendo has taken for quite some time. Former Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said a decade ago that the proportion of young people having their first Nintendo experience with a game was diminishing, even back then. That was why Nintendo was promoting Mario with branded merchandise like Mario toothbrushes. Also in 2016, Nintendo said it saw itself as an “entertainment” company, and not strictly a game company, so this expansion beyond games has been brewing for a long time.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is in theaters now, and it’s expected to make a boat-load of money. After that will be the live-action The Legend of Zelda movie in 2027. Nintendo’s movie plans may not stop there, as Nintendo has said it wants a steady cadence of movie releases going ahead. Don’t expect a Smash Bros. movie, however.
Beyond branded merch and movies, Nintendo is further expanding the Mushroom Kingdom with its theme park endeavors. Super Nintendo World is now open at Universal theme parks in Japan, Florida, and California, with plans for another destination in Singapore to come.
Nintendo’s expansion into non-gaming areas will seemingly be complementary to its games business. After all, the Switch 2 is selling exceptionally well, and there are reportedly a number of exciting, system-selling games in the works.
Nintendo is not the only gaming company pushing beyond games these days, as there are movies based on PlayStation and Xbox games in the works, too. Microsoft’s Minecraft series is also getting its own theme park attraction. The gaming business remains big and growing, but it also has numerous and significant issues, so it makes sense that companies would look to other areas for growth.
