Probably no one was particularly surprised, but The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a phenomenal success, which of course means sequels, with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie premiering in theatres in April. And there are more projects in the works, not least a Zelda movie.
In a Japanese interview (translated by Bluesky user Erasu) about the Nintendo Museum with Shigeru Miyamoto himself, he talks a little about why these projects are so important and also gives an interesting insight into how he views games and their preservation for the future, where:
"Ultimately, what people remember are the IPs. Games become obsolete when new versions come out. But that's incredibly sad. We started video production partly because of that sadness—seeing our creations become playable only on Virtual Console.
"Even making them playable in a museum has its limits, but video content can endure forever."
He goes on to talk about Nintendo Museum and how important it is not to put all your eggs in one basket:
"But to help people understand Nintendo as a whole, we decided showing them the IPs was the best approach, so we created this space. Now we're operating it as a gateway to introduce these IPs and bring people back to Nintendo games, much like IPs, theme parks and movies do. Looking ahead, while games are obviously part of the larger Nintendo IP brand, we envision creating even more compelling things. We hope to think of it as a space where all sorts of things can be incorporated."
The relatively new Nintendo Museum (located in Kyoto) plays an important role alongside films and other media, helping to broaden Nintendo's appeal. Miyamoto concludes:
"I envision more and more of these things accumulating, making Nintendo itself a huge brand. I always say our theme is 'creating reasons for people to choose Nintendo.' I dream of a world where, when a child enters first grade, the conversation isn't 'What game should we buy?' but rather 'When you start first grade, we'll get you a Nintendo.'"
In short, it seems that we can look forward to a future where Nintendo slowly but surely expands into more areas to stay relevant and ensure that people have a relationship with their many characters. What do you think of Miyamoto's reasoning?
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