Nintendo will increase the number of games in new universes in addition to Mario and Zelda

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said the company would invest in more original games in the future and support its core franchises. He spoke about this in an interview with Nikkei.

Nintendo owns one of the richest gaming franchises’ portfolios, but most of its intellectual property was created in the 1980s and 1990s. And in recent decades, the company has been mainly focused on expanding these series rather than producing entirely new ones.

Over the past 20 years, the most significant new franchises have been Splatoon (2015), Wii Sports (2006), and Pikmin (2001). Speaking with the Nikkei, Furukawa stressed that Nintendo needs to continue to innovate to stay relevant in the increasingly competitive home entertainment market.

“As the time spent at home increases, the range of ‘entertainment’ as a commodity expands,” the president said. – Games are not a vital necessity. For customers to choose games in their limited time, they must be fun. The competition is fierce, and I’m not optimistic. I myself watch and study various types of entertainment. In the future, we will focus on creating new game franchises and long-selling titles like Mario and Zelda. “

Furukawa later reiterated in an interview that Nintendo constantly thinks about the next console: “We are constantly developing ideas for new consoles that the market is expecting, but there are some things that we cannot do right now due to technological and financial constraints. “