Nintendo is getting into the movie business. Following behind Sony and Ubisoft, the Big 'N' will release their first big picture sometime within the next two to three years, according to their new CEO Tatsumi Kimishima.
Gamespot picked up a few tweets from a certain Kyle McLain, who translated comments from Kimishima regarding Nintendo's plans to get a movie out within the next two to three years. The translation comes from an interview with Asahi Shinbun.
Gamespot points to a February interview conducted on Fortune with legendary game maker Shigeru Miyamoto, where Miyamoto expressed that Nintendo could be seriously looking into the movie business as times have changed, and that the difference between movies and games – while obviously apparent – still make both mediums viable for intersection.
According to Miyamoto, Nintendo is going through a shift in how its viewed as an “entertainment” company, and movies seems like a smart move given the value of their brands, which Miyamoto stating...
“As we look more broadly at what is Nintendo's role as an entertainment company, we're starting to think more and more about how movies can fit in with that," he added. "And we'll potentially be looking at things like movies in the future."
It appears the future is now, because Nintendo's CEO Tatsumi Kimishima has put a time frame on the release of their first movie.
The news has been received in the gaming community in an odd way. On one hand, a lot of gamers don't mind that Nintendo is getting into movies, so long as they keep a finger on the pulse of the movie's development, similar to how Ubisoft and Blizzard are being very “hands on” with the upcoming Assassin's Creed and Warcraft movies. On the other hand, a lot of gamers feel as if Nintendo needs to get their console department sorted out before diving into making movies.
A lot of Nintendo's worth in the gaming sector will be determined by how well they handle, market and release the Nintendo NX next year.
Given the way they (mis)handled the Wii U this past generation, it does raise doubts about their ability to stay competitive against Sony and Microsoft, but hopefully they pull through the way they've pulled through in the past. Additionally, their move into the movie business isn't too surprising given that they've had their hand in many cartoons and animes based around their properties from back in the 1990s, from Captain N, Pokemon and the Donkey Kong television series to the Super Mario Bros cartoon and the Legend of Zelda series; they're no strangers to moving pictures.
Previously there were reports about Nintendo looking into doing a Legend of Zelda Netflix show, so perhaps if things don't work out with the NX next year they can fall back on their TV shows and movies.
