Former Nintendo President Talks Success and Where He's Headed

Speaker 1: Hey everyone. We're here at PS west 2022, and I'm joined by former head of Nintendo, Reggie FEMA. Thank you so much for talking to me today. Speaker 2: Absolutely great to spend some time with you. This is my first day here at PS and I just came out of the panel that I did with rogue talking about indie development. So I haven't even set foot on the floor yet. So I'm looking forward to doing that. Uh, later on today, Speaker 1: Speaking of the panel, I would love to hear how you got connected with rogue. What made you want to talk to them about Indi games? Sure. Speaker 2: So I know [00:00:30] a number of the principles from rogue and I've known them just about from my entire career within the video game industry. It was through those personal relationships that as I retired from Nintendo, they reached out really asking me to get involved in helping them take Rob, helping them from a business management standpoint, thinking about the industry and where the industry's going, but also helping them think about their burgeoning relationships with a number of different platforms, whether [00:01:00] it's Netflix or other areas that they're looking to bring their, their progressive content. Speaker 1: Speaking of like emerging markets, is there any like new tech, maybe metaverse VR that has you Speaker 2: Interested? So metaverse, I, I, I find when we're talking about metaverse, we really need to be clear what it is that we're talking about because you know, I'm old enough to remember that people love to put.com on the end of a business, just to try and make it interesting and provocative 30 years ago. And so when I think about the metaverse for [00:01:30] me, it's an environment where you've got a range of different experiences. You've got a common currency, the environment is progressive in terms of what you can do and the things that you can participate in. As I think of the metaverse, there are early examples of it today, whether you look at Roblox, whether you look at the work that Fortnite and epic are doing, it's gonna continue to become more and more immersive. I do believe it's going to be gaming led. I [00:02:00] don't believe that it has to have an element of VR in order to be the metaverse. I actually believe that augmented reality is going to progress much further and much faster. Uh, I'm a much bigger proponent in part because I've seen great AR experiences brought to the consumer. I haven't yet seen that wonderful VR experience that, uh, that I find compelling Speaker 1: Along the same lines. What's your take on NFTs? Speaker 2: So I, I believe that blockchain [00:02:30] as a piece of technology can be interesting, uh, but it has to provide value to the player, right? It, it can't just be a, a new way of monetizing. There needs to be something inherently positive for the player for this as technology to take off. So I'm not for, or against, uh, NFTs. I wanna see an example that really adds value. And I, I have to say, I haven't yet seen that example, [00:03:00] looking Speaker 1: Back at Nintendo, do you have a specific accomplishment you're particularly proud of, Speaker 2: You know, I was there for 15 years and, uh, whether it was the launch and long term success of Nintendo DS, you know, 150 plus million devices sold, uh, almost a billion games published for that platform. Uh, the, we was another huge success over a hundred million, uh, devices sold, and I'm proud to have been there for the early years of the NTEN switch. [00:03:30] And I, I do believe the switch will be, uh, absolutely one of the best selling platforms for an Nintendo. I'm not sure if it'll beat the 152 million of the Nintendo DS. I, I would say those are the, the three things that I'm proud to say. I was part of during my time at Nintendo, Speaker 1: Kind of the flip of that. Was there a pie in the sky idea, or maybe something that didn't quite get off the ground that you still wish could have Speaker 2: Happened? You know, I, I thought, uh, Labo, uh, was going to be this fantastic idea and it [00:04:00] wasn't just the cardboard element, but the, the, the very innovative, uh, element of that platform and the ability for, you know, everyday players to, if you will tinker with it and go behind the scenes, I thought was gonna be much bigger than it ended Speaker 1: Up being. So Nintendo went from dedicated handheld and home console to the combination of the switch. Do you think they would ever separate them again? Speaker 2: I don't know. Right. So at this point, [00:04:30] I'm unlike any other passionate fan of the company, you know, wondering, trying to figure out where the company goes next. You know, I, I think that the company certainly has seen a lot of benefit from having all of their development activity focused on one platform versus having it support two different platforms. So I, I think that's going to be very difficult to walk away from, but Nintendo's a company that is always looking at the same marketplace that everyone else sees, [00:05:00] but is approaching it somewhat differently. And so I, I think you can never say never with that company in terms of what it is that they could do Speaker 1: You really embraced a public persona while there, how has it been stepping back from that a bit? Speaker 2: You know, the fact that I was, you know, one of at the time, really three key public faces for the company between URA WATO and myself, you know, that happened. Um, and it was unplanned. [00:05:30] It was an outcome of, I think my own personality and my passion for games. Speaker 3: My name is Reggie I'm about kicking ass. I'm about taking names and we're about making games, Speaker 2: But also the fact that it was really important that the company have a face in the Western markets that could communicate with the fan base, communicate with all of our different business partners. And because it was so ingrained in my personality, [00:06:00] you know, that element continues to this day. So, you know, having done a panel here at PAX and trying to get back for this interview, you know, walking through the crowds with all of the, uh, the, the fans, trying to say hello and trying to engage, I, I think that's something that's going to be always part of my life moving forward. And it's something that I certainly enjoy at least within, uh, within a range. Uh, but, uh, but I, I [00:06:30] continue to be an advocate for the industry. I continue to be an advocate for, uh, companies that are trying to do things new and different. Um, and so, you know, I, I think it's always going to be, uh, part of who I am. Speaker 1: I was reading your book. And one part that stuck out was business culture and emerging business trends. And it made me think about the rising number of like unions in the game industry. And I would love kind of your take on that. Speaker 2: Sure. Well, you know, I, I think it's important to, to step back and, and [00:07:00] really think about, uh, what does a worker need, um, in, in order for that part of their life to be fulfilled? Well, you know, the first thing they need is they need, uh, economic stability, right? They, they need to know that they have a job. They need to know that they're gonna have a paycheck. The second thing they need is they need economic mobility, meaning. So when as a worker, you're ready to grow and ready to take on that next big challenge, [00:07:30] the company needs to provide that. And then the third thing that workers need is that they need to be recognized, uh, at their workplace. There needs to be not only the basics of, of safety, but there needs to be emotional rewards provided by, by the job. And, and by the employer, I, I believe that when one of those three needs aren't being met, then you have a problem. Speaker 2: [00:08:00] And that is where we've seen unions step in, and, and not only in the gaming industry, but across all other, uh, uh, industries and situations, you know, specifically within gaming, you see that when you have a workforce, um, that doesn't have a stable, uh, work schedule, or they feel that, uh, they're not being paid, uh, adequately or they're being forced to relocate and their, their relocation expenses [00:08:30] aren't being, uh, reimbursed. I mean, these are the behaviors that have given rise to a push for unionization that at different developers and different situations. So, you know, for, from my perspective, as an employer, you need to satisfy those three base requirements of your workforce. And when you don't, then you run the risk of, of a number of different challenges, unionization being just one. You could also have situations where you have [00:09:00] a workforce that is completely demoralized, where you have a situation where you have a high level of churn in your workforce. These are all bad things as, uh, a leader thinks about their workforce. So I am neither or nor against immunization. I think unionization is an output, uh, that happens when those three core needs of a worker aren't being fulfilled Speaker 1: Over the last year or two. We've seen a lot of acquisitions in the game space, Microsoft with ion the [00:09:30] embracer group, is this good for the industry? Speaker 2: You can point to very specific mergers or acquisitions. And I do believe that there is something positive to come for the player. And the example that I would use is, uh, take two and Zenga coming together. I think in the end, that's going to have positive output for the player and for the consumer. And I say that because take two has all of these wonderful franchises, but they've really never been successful in mobile [00:10:00] space. And so now, you know, if you can imagine the best of their franchises now having a really strong mobile experience, I think that would be wonderful. And I, I think a number of their fans would really say that that is a positive outcome. The other piece that I would highlight, I do believe as these large acquisitions and mergers happen, I do believe that it's going to spur a Boone in the independent developer community. And, and I say that because [00:10:30] oftentimes these mergers are happening and, and the focus is going to be on those big franchises. Well, game developers love to create things that are new, that are different. And I'm convinced that a number of senior developers are going to end up leaving these, these mega industry players and going off and creating their own studios and, uh, you know, bringing to life that creative idea that's stuck in the back of their head. I think we're gonna see another Renaissance of this great independent [00:11:00] developer content. Speaker 1: Last question for you. What are you playing these days? Speaker 2: You know, so I continue to play on my switch. I've got a PS five in my house. I've got a, uh, Xbox series, uh, uh, X on the way. I play a lot of mobile content as well. I'm playing a lot of, uh, Diablo immortal right now. And, you know, I'm playing it not only because I love the franchise, but I, I really want to see what they're doing from a monetization standpoint. And there's, there's been a [00:11:30] lot of negative reaction to the monetization happening, but I, I want to see how they've approached it again from a, uh, from an industry perspective, how that's done, how it can be done well is something that, um, that's important for me to see. So yeah, I continue to play a lot of games. I was a gamer before I was an employee at Nintendo. So I, I enjoyed playing my game in content.