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[Oberstein]

Miyamoto: If we can have one big hit every three to five years, we'll be fine. In that sense, if all our employees think about "creating a big hit" every day, we'll be fine.

Itoi: Well, for Nintendo, 1 million units is not considered a huge hit.

Miyamoto: I agree.
Itoi: Oh, it only sold 1 million copies," (laughs). In that case, roughly how many titles do you consider to be big hits, Mr. Miyamoto?

Miyamoto: About 30 million.

Everyone: (Murmuring)

Miyamoto: Well, we're working to make it happen, so if it breaks even, we should consider it a failure, but it seems like everyone talks as if it's breaking even.

Itoi: Well, I wonder about that in today's society. I think there are a lot of places where people would say it was a break-even and a good experience.

Miyamoto: Is that so? But if there's no profit and we're just breaking even, then it's just tiring, right? I'm sure the people who worked with me would think that that's not what we worked for . So, the reason why I don't praise my co-workers half-heartedly along the way is because, anyway, the reason I think it was good to work with them is because "we sell a lot."

Miyamoto: I worked really hard, but I just got my money's worth. I don't make things or do things just to get my money's worth , I think everyone works hard every day to make something that sells, becomes a big hit, and makes people say, "I can't stop laughing."

Miyamoto: As we make various preparations, there are times when something catches our attention and we think, "Huh?" or "This might be something that will turn out well." We can sense such things from the very beginning. However, if we are only thinking about greed or wanting to stabilize our profits, we will overlook this.

Itoi: Yes, if you are only motivated by greed, you will think first about how to avoid losing money. You will inevitably think in terms of the break-even point.

Miyamoto: That's right. I think the most dangerous thing is to miss something that has the potential to grow. I think the good thing about our company is that we've been good at nurturing those seeds.

Only four titles have been awarded the Miyamoto seal of quality:

- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017) - 61.97 million
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) - 45.36 million
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) - 34.22 million
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) - 31.85 million

More informations: https://famiboards.com/threads/miya...years-well-be-fine-interview-with-itoi.10155/

Do you agree with Miyamoto's assessment?

 

[Deerock71]

TotK hasn't passed 30 million yet?

 

[Esppiral]

Greed? Out of the three, Nintendo is the greediest, how hypocrite.

 

[Woopah]

For a number you only think you can hit roughly 3-5 years, yeah that makes sense.

Even then, its very very difficult.

TotK hasn't passed 30 million yet?

20.61 million.

 

[SidViscous]

It’s legit depressing if that’s how the big wigs at Nintendo actually rate things. They’ve made some incredible games over the years that didn’t even get close to that.

 

[ZehDon]

Given Nintendo drives their platform adoption single handedly, these kinds of numbers make sense from their perspective. What’s really something is that they actually make a game that hits that number reliably when some franchises can’t achieve those numbers with multiple entries. Nintendo are just on another level.

 

[Gamerguy84]

30 mil? Tough crowd.

 

[DryvBy]

Why? I miss when a million was a huge number. This is why we don't get too many B tier games.

 

[IAmRei]

Machine translation, could be wrong tho

 

[jufonuk]

Greed? Out of the three, Nintendo is the greediest, how hypocrite.

Because MS and SONY are doing this out of the good of their own hearts?

 

[Hudo]

Greed? Out of the three, Nintendo is the greediest, how hypocrite.

Every corporation is greedy. Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Apple, etc. All of them. Yes, even Valve.

If you really think that there are corporations that are more greedy than others, then you were successfully bamboozled by marketing and PR.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

This is a rather extreme take from Miyamoto. I wonder if it has anything to do with the rise of development costs for Switch 2.

 

[Woopah]

It’s legit depressing if that’s how the big wigs at Nintendo actually rate things. They’ve made some incredible games over the years that didn’t even get close to that.

In a five year period, Nintendo will publish around 50 games. Miyamoto is saying only 1 or 2 of them need to hit 30 million, not all of them.

 

[Robb]

That’s a very narrow definition of a big hit, imo. Can’t say I agree personally.

Although 1 game in 5 years time selling 30M doesn’t sound unreasonable. Especially if it’s an approximate number, which would include anything above 25M.

 

[arkhamguy123]

TotK hasn't passed 30 million yet?

It will eventually. I believe it’s outpacing BOTW. It’s already cleared 20M.

 

[arkhamguy123]

High standards.

You can bet PlayStation has similar internal standards of what they consider to be mega hits.

 

[lh032]

i know Nintendo games sell alot, but how long will it continue to do so? seems very very risky here.

 

[Loomy]

It’s legit depressing if that’s how the big wigs at Nintendo actually rate things. They’ve made some incredible games over the years that didn’t even get close to that.

The reason they've been so successful is because they understand the business of it very well.

 

[ProtoByte]

Nintendo can set this benchmark because there's less crap competing for sales and attention on their platform.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

This is a rather extreme take from Miyamoto. I wonder if it has anything to do with the rise of development costs for Switch 2.

Maybe they're going to bring Zelda to Playstation.

 

[Woopah]

Nintendo can set this benchmark because there's less crap competing for sales and attention on their platform.

I don't think it really works that way. There's been a huge increase in third party software sales on Switch since 2017, but that didn't prevent first party sales from growing as well.

 

[Same ol G]

As a company that is able to push multiple 20+ mil games in a generation i understand were they're coming from.
These are numbers other company's could only dream of.

 

[Sakura]

Only four titles have been awarded the Miyamoto seal of quality:

- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017) - 61.97 million
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) - 45.36 million
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) - 34.22 million
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) - 31.85 million

More informations: https://famiboards.com/threads/miya...years-well-be-fine-interview-with-itoi.10155/

Do you agree with Miyamoto's assessment?

Only 4 titles on the Switch maybe.

In any case I generally agree with the interview. The 30 million is just a general number and shouldn't be taken too exactly.
He is more talking about mindset/motivation etc towards making games. Keep giving it your all trying to make games that are huge hits, keep your eyes open for things that could become huge successes instead of playing it safe or whatever, basically.

 

[SaturnSaturn]

Miyamoto went senile years ago, he should have retired after the gamecube, one horrible decision after another. he is a hindrance to nintendo at this point. the dude cant even navigate a 3d space. the most overrated hack in gaming, on par with kojima

 

[Esppiral]

Because MS and SONY are doing this out of the good of their own hearts?

Every corporation is greedy. Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Apple, etc. All of them. Yes, even Valve.

If you really think that there are corporations that are more greedy than others, then you were successfully bamboozled by marketing and PR.

Did I say Sony and MS aren't greedy? I said Nintendo is the greediest.

 

[Mownoc]

TotK hasn't passed 30 million yet?

ToTK was incredibly front loaded. 18.5m in less than 2 months and then just another 2.1m in the following 9 months. It'll take years for it to reach 30m without some switch 2 update or bundle.

Quarterly ToTK Shipments

Launch Quarter - 18.51m
Quarter 2 - 0.99m
Quarter 3 - 0.78m
Quarter 4 - 0.33m

In fact BoTW sold 0.24m last quarter so ToTK only closed the gap to BOTW by 90k units. Clearly ToTK isn't going to sell as well as BoTW.

 

[Hudo]

Did I say Sony and MS aren't greedy? I said Nintendo is the greediest.

I understand. My point is that it's pointless to try to introduce some sort of "greediness ranking", as if that somehow make some companies better than others. They are all out to try to screw the customers over. The difference is how skilled they are in bamboozling you and maybe even make you feel good about getting screwed over.

 

[GigaBowser]

low cheap shot MS and Sony harv zero 30 million sellers

 

[Hrk69]

Miyamoto went senile years ago, he should have retired after the gamecube, one horrible decision after another. he is a hindrance to nintendo at this point. the dude cant even navigate a 3d space. the most overrated hack in gaming, on par with kojima

 

[Hypereides]

Aside from Miyamoto's remark, its disstressing that this is where we're overall at. We've reached a point where a big game needs to move at least the 10 mil. units or so to be considered a "passable" success. Investors/moneymen at the top are getting way, way too pre-occupied with greed over the craft.

Its a fast lane to stifling and suffocate good imagination and authentic creativity in higher budget game development.

 

[Stefan.North]

Long time Nintendo fan here, from the NES days to early switch days.

I am now getting very bored and annoyed by Nintendo. Their games are overpriced, their output is dry while they are banking on 1st party games, and their spokepersons and their statements are just tedious and unumusing.

 

[Shut0wen]

There must be some translation issue, 30 million copies for a single game seems incredibly far fetched, maybe all games making 30 million within 5 years is more likely what he meant

 

[Shut0wen]

Not really considering hes the genius behind the ds and wii which took nintendo to the gold mines

 

[Hrk69]

Not really considering hes the genius behind the ds and wii which took nintendo to the gold mines

I fully agree. My reaction was supposed to be sarcastic but I obviously failed

 

[darrylgorn]

When you work for a company that makes a ton of money, and they pay you well, you become motivated to excel beyond normal expectations.

 

[BlackTron]

Why? I miss when a million was a huge number. This is why we don't get too many B tier games.

But Nintendo considering 30m a big hit is not preventing them from only making games they think can hit 30.

 

[Oof85]

In a five year period, Nintendo will publish around 50 games. Miyamoto is saying only 1 or 2 of them need to hit 30 million, not all of them.

You're the only one not foaming at the mouth while misconstruing the sentiment of the interview.

Congrats.

He's not saying all titles have to hit 30 million sold he's saying they need to want to make huge hits and then foster an environment where titles can grow, if given time and the creativity to expand.

Also, do the math.

If they need 1-2 titles to hit 30 million in five years, they're fine with 3-4 hitting 10-15 million sold in 2-3 years.

As you said, they publish by far more than their contemporaries. If ten percent of those titles land very well, it covers the cost of the numerous other titles that don't reach as far.

 

[KungFucius]

There must be some translation issue, 30 million copies for a single game seems incredibly far fetched, maybe all games making 30 million within 5 years is more likely what he meant

That isn't what this is. Translation said "big hit every 3 to 5 years", as in one that comes relatively rarely. Basically they need one or 2 of these huge sellers a generation.

It's pretty ridiculous because this obviously requires hardware that reaches a pretty high level too. So even if it is 3 to 5 years it will take a platform that long to have moved enough units to sell that many copies. If Switch 2 is a runaway success it will still take ~3 years to move 60 million units. Not many games can even sell at 50% attach rate. These big hits need to stay relevant and continue to sell for years to hit that mark. Nintendo managed this with Switch, a few times, but it is such a moonshot that it is kind of defeating. If we assume that this number scales with addressable market, then that means an attach rate of ~20%. That is still nuts.

 

[Mr Moose]

30M at full price.

 

[Little Mac]

I mean .... it's Miyamoto. If the man says it takes 30 million copies sold for it to be considered worth his (and his team's) time than that's the bar set at Nintendo.

Having said that, Metroid Prime is arguably the best game Nintendo has ever made and it didn't come close to that ... in fact the entire Metroid franchise combined hasn't even hit the 30 million copies sold according to vgsales.com

There might be something lost in translation?

 

[Mister Wolf]

I appreciate that they still fund games like Xenoblade and Metroid knowing they will never come close to that. Sony killed the Day's Gone IP.

 

[StereoVsn]

Maybe they're going to bring Zelda to Playstation.

Yes, but Zelda Gatcha!

 

[diffusionx]

Makes sense when you look at the way Nintendo operates and their place in their own ecosystem. Like, remember it’s also actual sales, because their stuff never ever goes on sale or clearance.

I also think it’s interesting that this doesn’t really seem to change games thwy releases. We haven’t gotten Mario Kart 9 or SSBU Tournament Edition or whatever. They support the games to make sure they keep selling. And they also do release games that are not as popular. Like every gen we get a Mario Golf and Tennis.

High standards.

You can bet PlayStation has similar internal standards of what they consider to be mega hits.

Well unlike PlayStation, Nintendo doesn’t pretend one of their franchises is a major hit.

 

[dreamstation]

Nah that's a load of shit.

 

[Shut0wen]

I fully agree. My reaction was supposed to be sarcastic but I obviously failed

Nah im retarded

 

[Shut0wen]

That isn't what this is. Translation said "big hit every 3 to 5 years", as in one that comes relatively rarely. Basically they need one or 2 of these huge sellers a generation.

It's pretty ridiculous because this obviously requires hardware that reaches a pretty high level too. So even if it is 3 to 5 years it will take a platform that long to have moved enough units to sell that many copies. If Switch 2 is a runaway success it will still take ~3 years to move 60 million units. Not many games can even sell at 50% attach rate. These big hits need to stay relevant and continue to sell for years to hit that mark. Nintendo managed this with Switch, a few times, but it is such a moonshot that it is kind of defeating. If we assume that this number scales with addressable market, then that means an attach rate of ~20%. That is still nuts.

Only game i can think of that can achieve it is pokemon or mario kart, lets be honest animal crossing only made it because of covid

 

[Big Baller]

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

They should cancel all Zelda titles then since they're obviously struggling to be hits or are straight up failures by that metric. Maybe they're just fine with selling failures? Wonder how much they pay for the development of these titles. I've heard some studios love to make horror movies which can't hope to compete with the revenue numbers of other films, but are so dirt cheap to produce that the profits look really nice.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Only game i can think of that can achieve it is pokemon or mario kart, lets be honest animal crossing only made it because of covid

Splatoon and Ring Fit show Nintendo are still capable of creating new IP from scratch with massive selling potential, it's not just established franchises. I think this is what Miyamoto means.

 

[nosoynadie22]

low cheap shot MS and Sony harv zero 30 million sellers