As usual following a new Nintendo quarterly report, President Shuntaro Furukawa and 'Fellow' Shigeru Miyamoto (the man behind Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, and other Nintendo classics) answered a series of questions fielded in Japanese by investors.
When asked about the company's growing efforts in film and visual media, Shuntaro Furukawa said that movies are 'very well-suited' to Nintendo games.
Following the success of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," I feel that film and visual media are a form of entertainment very well-suited to our games, and we can make unique proposals in this area as Nintendo. As stated in the earlier presentation, this is a field we aim to actively pursue. Through movies and videos, we want to increase our fanbase, spark renewed interest in our games, and build multigenerational support for Nintendo.
Honestly, movies are about story and characters, and the Big N has never really managed to shine as much as Sony in these areas. That said, despite his lack of depth, Mario is still arguably the most popular game character, which paid dividends for 2023's record-breaking The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Its follow-up, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, is slated to air in theaters on April 3, 2026, but the most interesting test will be the upcoming Legend of Zelda live action film, starring Bo Bragason as Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link. While still very popular among gamers, the franchise lacks the same level of mainstream recognition as Mario, and how well it can capture an audience remains to be seen.
Miyamoto-san had a much longer response to the same question, pointing out that this is a 'logical next step' for the game developer, and the new internal movie division is focused on experimentation.
Nintendo, as an entertainment company, has created a variety of games, IP, and characters. Thinking about entertainment experiences we can maintain long-term, film production became a logical next step. We used to focus on interactivity, but now aim to extend into more passive experiences like film. Film requires people. But we don’t want Nintendo to become a company that just balloons in headcount. Our strategy was to find partners worldwide for joint projects. Content that resonates globally can be made anywhere and speak to anyone—we are investing accordingly. Today, we talk directly and equally with diverse international production teams and creators, and Nintendo’s own developers are involved as well. On the business side, film operates under established structures. If productions are handled well, they generate profit.
Nintendo Pictures is less about making movies like "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and more about experimenting with new challenges—making short films, running our own research, and tackling less commercially clear areas. Our short film "Close to you" featuring Pikmin is an example. If these pieces become valuable assets for Nintendo’s content library, we will have succeeded.
Earlier today, the Japanese game studio and console manufacturer also confirmed its goal to invest in studio acquisitions.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
