In a move that could have major implications for the future of third party titles on Nintendo consoles, Nintendo of America's Senior Manager of Developer Relations Steve Okimoto has reportedly left the company. A veteran of NoA for 25 years, Okimoto made no official announcement about his departure, instead saying on LinkedIn that he took an "early out" and is currently pursuing a new career.
Over the years, Nintendo has gained a reputation for their reluctance to work with third party developers. The company demands strict oversight every major title that releases on their consoles, and as such, prefer to work on development in-house instead of relying heavily on outside sources. Whether or not this is a good strategy is up for debate: it ultimately led to the success of motion control on the Wii but also left the company on the outside looking in during the rise of the indie game scene, contributing to the waning popularity of their hardware. Nintendo now has a chance to pursue a new plan, and with the Nintendo NX on the horizon, the timing is perfect. Rumors suggest they are already heavily courting Ubisoft for launch titles and North America is the ideal market to test new features and products intended to "catch up" to the demands of Western audiences. Did Okimoto jump ship before major strategy changes were implemented at the company? Or was it just time to move on?
via GoNintendo
