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"So you wanna work for Nintendo?" - A guide to Nintendo's recruitment system

G

guit3457

Member
One year ago we had a thread in Neogaf where someone posted images of one of the Nintendo's recruiment books. (I'm trying to find it because in those photos you can see how are Nintendo's Kyoto office)

You can see some photos here:

http://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-recruitment-book-will-turn-you-on-in-the-pants-163665.phtml

Today, looking at Kirai's twitter, a spanish blogger who lives sin Japan (he is a Twitter engineer in twitter Japan) I saw this:

http://www.bizjapanese.com/blog/7-s...endo-a-guide-to-nintendo-s-recruitment-system

It's a very interesting article about a guy who made the process to work for Nintendo Japan in 2010:

" Without a doubt, Nintendo’s process is the most unique experience I ever experienced out of all the companies"

I think this is a very interesting read about how Nintendo Japan choose their employees.
 
C

ColdBlooder

Banned
I read that a few days ago. Looks like its easier to get into the NASA space program than into NCL, lol. Pretty damn ridiculus process.
 
M

markot

Banned
Miyamoto said he wouldnt get hired in todays Nintendo... seems like a huge problem imo. Need to take more chances.
 
D

diamount

Banned
Sandfox said:
I wonder how many applications they get in and what percentage of those people get hired.
Click to expand...

If they get like a 1000 applicants at the recruitment events, they can afford to be picky so not many I imagine. Also considering the competitiveness of Japan's job market.
 
A

akachan ningen

Member
How silly. All those tests won't determine the applicant's ability to make a fun game. They should be trying to recruit competent indie developers. No wonder Nintendo is going to down the drain.
 
F

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
akachan ningen said:
How silly. All those tests won't determine the applicant's ability to make a fun game. They should be trying to recruit competent indie developers. No wonder Nintendo is going to down the drain.
Click to expand...

Generally indies are indies....because they want to be independent...
 
kingkaiser

kingkaiser

Member
markot said:
Miyamoto said he wouldnt get hired in todays Nintendo... seems like a huge problem imo. Need to take more chances.
Click to expand...

Of course he would, his father was a good friend of the former president Hiroshi Yamauchi, that's why he was hired.

Nepotism still is widespread .
 
W

w1gglyjones

Member
The guy is describing the hiring process for software and hardware engineers. It should be tough. There is a misconception that Nintendo is technically incompetent, but they really aren't. They've been understaffed for what's needed to compete at the level of platform holder and software developer, and are seriously lacking in artists, etc... (not talking business decisions)
 
W

watkinzez

Member
Holy crap at read ten page-long excerpts and answering multiple questions on each of them in twenty minutes. In Japanese and English, no less. Guess it weeds out the people who aren't as quick to identify important information.
 
C

Chainsawkitten

Member
akachan ningen said:
How silly. All those tests won't determine the applicant's ability to make a fun game. They should be trying to recruit competent indie developers. No wonder Nintendo is going to down the drain.
Click to expand...

Software and hardware engineers aren't supposed to make fun games. They're supposed to make robust, unfun systems/engines.
 
2

2MF

Member
kingkaiser said:
Of course he would, his father was a good friend of the former president Hiroshi Yamauchi, that's why he was hired.

Nepotism still is widespread .
Click to expand...

I didn't know that, but I was going to say something similar: just because most applicants go through a standardized and very tough process doesn't mean others can't be recruited by other means. To give two examples, referrals and people getting "headhunted" by doing something remarkable and getting noticed. In both those cases, depending on the company, you may jump immediately into interviews rather than the cookie-cutter tests.

As for the tough process in the second article, maybe they need something like that simply because they get so many applicants. But yeah, some stuff there seems unnecessarily complicated.
 
S

Sushigod7

Member
Interesting to know, I got hired at EA for a game tester much simpler process. lol Should be tough as was mentioned before, for as much crap as Nintendo gets they do generally put out technically sound 1st party games. Not much patching etc involved.
 
A

alan666

Banned
wsippel said:
How could any of that be a reason for any of those issues? It's not like Nintendo doesn't have enough engineers, which is exactly why they can afford to be so picky.
Click to expand...

why is the WiiU under-performing,
why are there very few games,
why is the OS so slow,
why is there not a proper account system with games tied to it & also the 3DS,

it seems a case of too many cooks.
 
L

Louis Cyphre

Banned
I imagine you could just use the handbook from 1983 and be good to go.

TypicalRedPhone.jpg


They probably still have this sitting in the boardroom.
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
Or you could just post "yeah, Nintendo should do this and whatnot" on GAF.
 
H

Hedja

Member
That is pretty damn crazy. Insane almost. Kind of heartbreaking but I realised a long time ago that Nintendo isn't as great a company to work for as you'd think; especially in the programming department. It looks soul draining and they clearly aim to hire particular types of people rather than trying to diversify and open their minds a bit.
 
R

razoftblend

Member
alan666 said:
why is the WiiU under-performing,
why are there very few games,
why is the OS so slow,
why is there not a proper account system with games tied to it & also the 3DS,

it seems a case of too many cooks.
Click to expand...

notsureifserious.gif

Cosmozone said:
Actually nice, that the president is personally greeting the applicants. But it could be common in Japan.
Click to expand...

I don't know how similar it is, but in the anime Genshiken from a few years back, Madarame and Sasahara start kooking for a job in the second season. They explain that they get interviewed by lower departments and all the way up to the president of the company. Basically, the president will greet them if they pass the other interviews. It sounds like a Japan thing.
 
Z

Zornica

Banned
Hedja said:
That is pretty damn crazy. Insane almost. Kind of heartbreaking but I realised a long time ago that Nintendo isn't as great a company to work for as you'd think; especially in the programming department. It looks soul draining and they clearly aim to hire particular types of people rather than trying to diversify and open their minds a bit.
Click to expand...

And you base that assumption on what exactly?
nintendo is still one of the most prestigious companies to work for in japan. there was even a survey a few years back. Ofc it's hard to get in, that's kinda the point
 
D

Dascu

Member
alan666 said:
why is the WiiU under-performing,
why are there very few games,
why is the OS so slow,
why is there not a proper account system with games tied to it & also the 3DS,

it seems a case of too many cooks.
Click to expand...

You're not making any sense.

First of all, how are any of the issues you mentioned a result of "too many cooks? Second, how does this rigorous selection process lead to such a situation? And third, how do you explain the vast successes Nintendo has had in the past? This isn't a new application procedure.

I can't believe people are trying to spin this into a reason for whatever failings Nintendo might have. What did people expect, you walk in the office and tell Iwata your grand ideas for the next blockbuster? Boom, you're hired? As any top company, you want to hire top men with top skills and qualifications. This screening procedure is a good way to select those people that aren't simply "idea-men". You need hard-working, dedicated, versatile and thorough developers.
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
Zornica said:
And you base that assumption on what exactly?
nintendo is still one of the most prestigious companies to work for in japan. there was even a survey a few years back. Ofc it's hard to get in, that's kinda the point
Click to expand...

I think he means that in general the work is pretty tough and the the rules rigid, unlike say...Valve?
 
D

DrWong

Member
NEO0MJ said:
I think he means that in general the work is pretty tough and the the rules rigid, unlike say...Valve?
Click to expand...

Yep! Agree. Just need to look at the number of games produced by each company in the same time frame to see the difference.
 
O

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
Hedja said:
That is pretty damn crazy. Insane almost. Kind of heartbreaking but I realised a long time ago that Nintendo isn't as great a company to work for as you'd think; especially in the programming department. It looks soul draining and they clearly aim to hire particular types of people rather than trying to diversify and open their minds a bit.
Click to expand...

I remember reading a story that said the NCL offices are pretty drab and many rooms lack windows. Thought that was kinda disappointing hearing that. Having a nice working environment is an important thing imo. I used to work at Sorny Santa Monica and their studio was pretty fucking rad.
 
kyoya

kyoya

Member
Look up the name Jessica Zenner, a former Nintendo of America contract recruiter - read how she blogged about her co-worker/s and how it got her fired.

What isn't being reported is how (before her firing) she offered one hopeful Nintendo applicant a job interview, then never called them back, which pretty much crushed that applicant's soul, because he would never hear from Nintendo again no matter how many times he applied for a job there. That applicant suspects his applicant file was tainted, because Ms. Zenner would state in an interview that she still remains friends with some people at Nintendo of America.

It's pretty sad how heartless recruiters can be.
 
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