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[Vital Tundra]

I hear Miyamoto has a garden. He plants his "seed" and grows what will eventually be the next generation of Nintendo developers. Retro for instance was used to cross breed Japanese video game design philosophy with western philosophy. Thats how we got Breath of the Wild.

 

[Skittzo0413]

I think it's the fundamental way the games are designed, right down to the very beginning of the design phase. Nintendo starts designing games almost exclusively by designing gameplay mechanics and concepts before anything else- story, visuals, characters, sometimes even franchise.

They usually perfect these mechanics and kind of let the game's story, setting, characters and the like stem directly from those mechanics. Splatoon is a perfect example of this design philosophy.

Add to that they have great developers, great leadership with more experience than anyone in the industry, and are willing to delay a game if necessary. It's a recipe for success. But I think it all stems from that gameplay first design philosophy.

 

[Velocity:Design:Comfort]

Honestly? Learning from iteration and failure, and as much as people say they don't listen, listening to their fans. (At least with BotW) They had quite a few attempts and experimenets since Skyward Sword, and they realized that they were what NOT to do. That is the only way they got to figuring out what actually works.

 

[Prisoner KSC2-303]

They empower and retain their key creative figures. Most other major development studios fragment at some point.

 

[Espada]

Honestly, I don't think there is a special ingredient in Nintendo's games. There's nothing unique to their games that isn't also seen in other games.

What we do see in excellent games is simply the result of a strong vision for the game, well executed gameplay ideas, and a development philosophy that's conducive to creating game after game at that same standard.

 

[entremet]

They empower and retain their key creative figures. Most other major development studios fragment at some point.

This is probably the answer.

That continuity helps tons. Imagine if the other greats had this support from their respective studios?

 

[Mihos]

So I guess we are just pretending Sticker Star and the last Star Fox don't exist

 

[Nibel]

Sugar

 

[Spieler Eins]

Whatever kind of talent it is, it's been bleeding away at a rapid rate ever since WiiU has been released. Zelda is the silver lining after an otherwise increasing amount of critical flops published by Nintendo. There's been maybe a handful of WiiU titles above an average 85.

 

[andytjm]

This video is good
https://t.co/QZCdGQTD9U

Anyone even remotely interested in game design should watch this series. It's fantastic.

To answer the OP, Nintendo prioritise gameplay before anything else. They build the world around the game rather than the game around the world.

 

[antonz]

I have to imagine the fact that Nintendo is not a company that bloats and cuts staff before and after each project helps a ton. Seems like once you are in the door you are there for as long as you can do the job and perform as expected.

So that allows development history to pass on among staff. The knowledge etc.

 

[Poppyseed]

To be fair, they apparently had a bunch of Monolithsoft devs help them - you know... the ones that made Xenoblade for the Wii. Which is, you know, one of the greatest open-world RPGs ever in my humble opinion.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Thousand island dressing.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

So I guess we are just pretending Sticker Star and the last Star Fox don't exist

While neither of those games are anywhere near perfect, I appreciate both trying to mix up their established formulas a bit.

 

[CharminUltra]

Talent.

Spoiler

It always wins.

 

[entremet]

To be fair, they apparently had a bunch of Monolithsoft devs help them - you know... the ones that made Xenoblade for the Wii. Which is, you know, one of the greatest open-world RPGs ever in my humble opinion.

That's Nintendo

 

[Flui111]

Stealth hurr durr "Nintendo is the only company that makes fun games"

Most other studios make games that tons of people enjoy, guess that if doesn't score 90+ on Metacritic or isn't made by Nintendo, it's not fun them.

 

[Drackhorn]

So I guess we are just pretending Sticker Star and the last Star Fox don't exist

Exactly what I was thinking.

Besides, 2017's review scores shows a lot of studios have found secret ingredients. A great time to be a gamer.

 

[Maintenance]

This isn't Powerpuff Girls, there's no special ingredient.

So I guess we are just pretending Sticker Star and the last Star Fox don't exist

And Amiibo Festival. And Mario Tennis Ultra Smash.

 

[MindGamingMantis]

Nostalgia

 

[LOLCats]

its clearly plastic.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Hah that's good.

 

[Zemm]

A business is only as good as its people and Nintendo have some of the best in the industry.

 

[RRockman]

I guess I get to post this again!


But I really second this idea.

They empower and retain their key creative figures. Most other major development studios fragment at some point.

 

[Totakeke]

Iwata deciding that it was important enough for the company to not have any layoffs but instead that the company should weather the storm and the executives should take pay cuts instead speak to some of that culture I bet. It's a deep commitment to their craft.

 

[entremet]

Stealth hurr durr "Nintendo is the only company that makes fun games"

Most other studios make games that tons of people enjoy, guess that if doesn't score 90+ on Metacritic or isn't made by Nintendo, it's not fun them.

I think the OP is talking about track record over many years.

It's hard to argue against it.

What are comparable studios? Capcom?

So while there are many great developers and amazing new ones, how many have a 30 year track record sprinkled with consensus award winners?

 

[PastorOfMuppets]

Nintendo is like you said in your OP, the Pixar of game developers. They make games that universally appeal to all demographics, are mechanically pretty simply to understand and good.

Look at Microsoft's biggest franchise - Halo. It's good but might be a bit unapproachable for people who don't have experience playing FPS. It's also not age appropriate. I would definitely not introduce a child to video games with Halo.

Then you look at some PC franchises like Civilization. Certainly a great game and all ages appropriate but it's not a mechanically approachable game. I mean, I would be ecstatic if an 8 year olds started playing Civilization on their PCs but I don't expect them to be able to pick it up.

Nintendo has many franchises that hit on all three major qualities: All Ages Friendly, Mechanically Approachable and Good games. Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pokemon, Kirby. Metroid might be the only franchise they have that doesn't fall into this category. Anyone can pick up a Nintendo game, identify the characters and learn how to play within seconds.

I think a lot of modern video games have lost that.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Ohhh, okay, haha. Fair enough. I thought you were just shitposting

Edited for clarity. I don't want an inadvertent ban right before I get my Switch.

 

[Bishop89]

Their first party.

They are pretty incompetent in almost every other area besides their IP and mobile hardware.

This.

 

[spekkeh]

A bottom up approach instead of a top down approach.

Nintendo generally starts by creating prototypes of interesting gameplay. The game world then naturally evolves from the idiosyncrasies of the gameplay dynamics, as they tinker and iterate on the prototype. It's a toy developer approach.

Western devs start from the overarching structure. The story and all major elements. The game world and then gameplay are then inserted in to fill up this structure. It's a software engineering approach.

That's why Nintendo's stories suck but the gameplay is so rewarding, whereas other open world games have great stories but the moment to moment gameplay is so trite.

Painting with broad strokes here obviously.

 

[Jawmuncher]

They don't make big cinematic graphic heavy games so they gotta make sure that they got it on lock with the gameplay.

 

[Gitaroo]

Mostly fans nostalgia, like they get away with a lot of shit that other devs would get shit on.

The thing I like about the most is their games are usually polished..

 

[ThEoRy...]

Releasing games when they are finished

That's what I was thinking. It seems like they don't rush development just to get a game out there. I feel they respect their properties too much to do that. Nintendo fans hold their games in such high regard and they wouldn't want to tarnish their brand.

 

[Souzetsu]

Love.

 

[SuperCambot]

A staff that truly cares.

 

[digita1alchemy]

The company culture.

 

[Nanashrew]

The medium is interactive so their focus lies strongly in interaction and functions.

 

[momshotdad]

Charm, color, and attention to detail.

 

[JimJamJones]

Gameplay and the focus on fun over graphics and cinematics.

 

[LordKasual]

So I guess we are just pretending Sticker Star and the last Star Fox don't exist

Star Fox WiiU was supposed to be Miyamoto's child, too.

But this is Nintendo we're talking about, so reality is mostly subjective

 

[Data West]

The age group of journalists grew up with them

 

[vacantseas]

Whimsy

 

[Air]

There isn't one thing. It's their philosophy

 

[Usobuko]

Reputation to uphold.

 

[_SAKY_]

This video is good
https://t.co/QZCdGQTD9U

So good, thanks for sharing.

 

[jariw]

They empower and retain their key creative figures. Most other major development studios fragment at some point.

They keep all their staff until retirement, not just key creative figures.

 

[Dee Dah Dave]

Nearly all their game focus on great core gameplay mechanics and build out from there. The moment to moment experience has to be engaging, not just the overall idea.

 

[antonz]

Star Fox WiiU was supposed to be Miyamoto's child, too.

But this is Nintendo we're talking about, so reality is mostly subjective

Star Fox for good or ill was what Miyamoto wanted. Yes Gamers wanted better but Miyamoto was clearly stuck in a specific style for Star Fox. Its also no coincidence that Miyamoto has been moved almost completely away from Software now.

 

[VDenter]

I have to admit Nintendo did drop the ball plenty of times this gen tough.

Metroid Prime Federation Force
StarFox Zero
Paper Mario Sticker Star and Color Splash
Amiibo Festival
Yoshi New Island

All of these are complete trash. and yes Color Splash has charm but that is all it has. The Gameplay so shallow that the game has no point to it.

 

[DoubleYou]

A bottom up approach instead of a top down approach.

Nintendo generally starts by creating prototypes of interesting gameplay. The game world then naturally evolves from the idiosyncrasies of the gameplay dynamics, as they tinker and iterate on the prototype. It's a toy developer approach.

Western devs start from the overarching structure. The story and all major elements. The game world and then gameplay are then inserted in to fill up this structure. It's a software engineering approach.

That's why Nintendo's stories suck but the gameplay is so rewarding, whereas other open world games have great stories but the moment to moment gameplay is so trite.

Painting with broad strokes here obviously.

This pretty much sums it up.