Ever since the beginning of its life, Nintendo has tried to reach its consumer base beyond just making video games. Yes, the video game market is their bread and butter, but they weren’t above doing other things to try and appeal to more customers and bring more people to their IPs. In recent years, they’ve been trying harder than ever to reach more people via their “mobile initiative” and projects like Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios. But easily, their biggest success in expanding their reach is making the Super Mario Bros Movie, a film that shocked the world by making over a billion dollars at the box office and stands as one of the highest-grossing animated films ever.
Naturally, fans and shareholders want to know what Nintendo plans to do with its momentum in this market. At their latest shareholders meeting, Nintendo’s own Shigeru Miyamoto had plenty to say on this matter:
“I sense that our initiatives with mobile applications and movie production have increased the number of people worldwide who are aware of our IP. We intend to work on multiple visual content projects. Through these kinds of efforts, we hope to make our IP known to people of all generations all around the world and create a brand that families can enjoy with peace of mind.”
That last line is something that Miyamoto has touched on in the past. He enjoys that Nintendo is seen as a “family system” and brand and that players of all ages can find titles that suit their desires, and it’s clear he wants that to continue with their future media appearances.
But let’s get to the heart of the matter. What is next for Nintendo in the movie/TV space? A sequel to the Super Mario Bros Movie is the obvious bet because why not try to make a sequel to the billion-dollar film?
However, fans want to see more. They’d love to see not just movies with their favorite characters but TV series. The Legend of Zelda has been rumored for a Netflix animation for some time, and many are secretly hoping that Nintendo goes the path of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and creates a bunch of series and movies that eventually lead to a Super Smash Bros-style crossover project.
No matter what they do, the most important thing for Nintendo is maintaining the projects’ quality. Because the moment that the quality drops, people are likely to bow out.
