The Company I Want to Support: Nintendo
#CompanyISupport The first thing that came to mind when I saw this tag was 'Nintendo'.
Starting with the Family Computer, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, they have brought numerous game consoles into the world, created Mario, who has now become a global character, and their contribution to the world is immeasurable in terms of spreading game culture globally.
Original Landscape
When I was a child, over 30 years ago, it was an era where the Famicom, or Family Computer, was sweeping the world. I also touched upon Mario by playing Super Mario Bros. at a relative's house. I also played other companies' works like Xevious and TwinBee, but these are my original landscape. The soil that created that was undoubtedly Nintendo.
By the time I became an elementary school student, the Super Famicom had just been released, and playing with friends was synonymous with playing on the Super Famicom about half the time. And while visiting friends' houses, I also learned that there was a portable game console called the Game Boy. It was around that time that Pokémon, yes, Pokémon, was released. The element of trading and battling Pokémon with other people is still the foundation, but my house was strict and I couldn't easily get a game console, so I begged for this one with all my might. The Pokémon Blue and Game Boy Pocket, which were initially limited versions, were the first games I ever owned in my life.
Note that, strictly speaking, Pokémon was produced by Game Freak, not Nintendo. However, later on, Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures jointly invested to create The Pokémon Company, and it would become closely involved with Nintendo.
Although I am a person of the generation between the ice age generation and the yutori generation, I am truly grateful for my life in that I am of a generation that could feel the development of game culture led by Nintendo firsthand.
Reasons Why Nintendo Is Supported, Glimpsed Through the Shareholders' Meeting
While the fact that I have been taken care of by the games I love is a very big factor, I also had the opportunity to hear the top-level perspective of Nintendo directly, so I will mention that as well.
I recently decided to try stock trading, and there was a desire to buy Nintendo stock first if I were to do stocks. If I am going to invest, I think wanting to invest in what I love is one of the investment behaviors. The timing of when I started stocks was around March of this year, which was just right, and I was able to buy at a relatively good price and also participate in the shareholders' meeting, where I gained another great experience. As for the points I felt anew about the Q&A in a place where many people gather, it is as in the article I wrote before.
'The Power of Listening' and 'The Power of Communicating': Lessons Learned from Attending the Shareholders' Meeting | Tetsunotori (note.com)
There are various points for supporting Nintendo, and I felt that keenly again through the shareholders' meeting. I will quote the summary of the Q&A from this year's shareholders' meeting below regarding the strengths for which Nintendo is supported.
The Famicom celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Looking back, when the Famicom was released, I was in the 6th grade of elementary school. In the flow of such times, we have come to be able to see people of the parent generation and the grandparent generation enjoying themselves with our game consoles together with their children and grandchildren across three generations all over the world. I recognize that this has become a major strength for our company, which has continued the dedicated game console business for many years. And I believe that the fact that many customers have played our games for a long time and have nurtured Nintendo IP such as many characters has led to the current brand value of Nintendo. We will continue to strive to ensure that customers around the world can enjoy our game consoles for a long time to come by continuing to make unique proposals to our customers. (President Furukawa)
Furukawa: As one of the products that may have the potential to interest people in game development, we are developing 'Game Builder Garage', and we would like many people to continue to touch upon this title.
Director and Senior Executive Officer Shinya Takahashi: I have liked drawing since I was small, and I have continued to do so. Also, I liked math and science during my junior high and high school days. I encountered the Family Computer and 3DCG (three-dimensional computer graphics) when I was a university student, and I felt that 3DCG was a combination of drawing, math, and science. I thought that 3DCG and game development were closely related, so I applied for a job at Nintendo, and here I am today. The feeling of 'liking to make things' has continued ever since, and I think all of Nintendo's development team members feel the same way while working. I would like to continue to create new things, not limited to software, in the future.
Q13 Wii was also utilized in nursing care settings, providing fun times for the elderly. I think Nintendo's content could be utilized in fields such as medicine and rehabilitation, but do you have any plans to undertake such initiatives in the future?
A13 Furukawa: For those who do not usually play games, using a controller to play games is a high hurdle, but titles that can be played intuitively like 'Nintendo Switch Sports' are easier for a wide range of people to enjoy. We would like to continue to create titles that can be easily picked up by people of a wide range of ages, including not only those who usually play games but also those who are not very interested in games. Regarding the utilization of our games in fields such as medicine and rehabilitation, we will accept it as valuable feedback.
Reference Link: 83rd Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders qa2306.pdf (nintendo.co.jp)
Elements that should be supported can be seen everywhere.
The point that it is currently being enjoyed by at least two or three generations
The point that the know-how and soul of game development are passed down through the works
The point that it is applied and enjoyed in other fields such as medicine and nursing care through games
Summary
In an era filled with bleak prospects, 'things to support' have become essential for people living today—one could even call them a lifeline. While I believe there are as many 'things to support' as there are people, I want to advocate for Nintendo, a company that has built and continues to build the foundation for these important things.
I touched upon the idea of things being passed down in the previous quote, and the person who asked the question mentioned that someone who played with Family BASIC later went on to create Super Smash Bros. (commonly known as Smash Bros.). I am embarrassed to admit that this was news to me, and since there are stories that don't make it into the summary of the Q&A, I truly realized that one should attend the shareholders' meeting of the company they support.
And finally, I will conclude this humble piece with these words.
'Oshi' (things we support) are now social infrastructure.
#CompanyIWantToSupport #Nintendo #ShareholdersMeeting
