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I worked at Nintendo as a Product Manager from 2010 to 2014. I loved my time there to bits - the people, the culture, the products, and the business were great.

I worked at Nintendo as a Product Manager from 2010 to 2014. I loved my time there to bits - the people, the culture, the products, and the business were great. They make the only games I still play occasionally. I frequently get asked: "Why did you leave"? The main reason is I saw the writings on the wall. The industry was turning to pay-to-win garbage, and although I had already seen a similar pattern with arcades as a kid, that's not what I had signed up for. > The email said that while E3 "remains a beloved event and brand" that the 2023 version "simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry." The size, strength and impact of the industry is measured in billions of dollars and eye-watering margins, much larger than when I left, but... As it turns out, an annual event for neuropsychologically optimized, dopamine-exploiting, cash-harvesting, artistically low-effort mobile games, with the occasional worthy AAA or indie game sparkled in, doesn't pan out. Color me surprised. And thankful, that while these games make billions - like gambling - no one gathers 'round to celebrate.

Wowfunhappy 4y ago
> The main reason is I saw the writings on the wall. The industry was turning to pay-to-win garbage, and although I had already seen a similar pattern with arcades as a kid, that's not what I had signed up for. I don't really think Nintendo has though? (Outside of a few of their mobile games, but that never seemed to be a significant part of their business.)
- aerhardt 4y ago
  > I really don't think Nintendo has though? No, not in my opinion. Even what they've done with mobile games (ex: Fire Emblem) has been tasteful. Nintendo is obsessed with family values, in an honest way that comes from a place of genuine good. If you want to work for one of the very last beacons of hope in the industry, go work there.
  - hedora 4y ago
    Yeah, my only complaint with nintendo is that they need to either allow returns on their online store, or ban ubisoft. They sold me one hot garbage title (the demo was fine; can’t get past the load screen of the paid version). I’m never paying ubisoft again.
  - falcolas 4y ago
    Nintendo just camouflages their MTX as Amiibos and Season Passes. And to me, their Mario Kart mobile game was blatantly greedy.
  - Wowfunhappy 4y ago
    If you don't mind my asking then, I'm confused about why industry changes still caused you to leave.
    - aerhardt 4y ago
      I felt like it was the only company I would work for in the industry, and didn’t feel comfortable with that.
esperent 4y ago
There's still so many good games without any of that crap though. Two I've played recently (the only two games I've played in the last year, actually): Stray: it's simple, peaceful. Not groundbreaking except that you're a cat, but playing it makes me feel relaxed and I can play 30 minutes at a time. Tunic: I kinda rushed through this unfortunately because I'm an adult and I don't have weeks to sink into a game. But... this is one of the best games I've ever played. It's deceptive. You're a little fox running around a cartoony world. But then it just gets so much deeper, and deeper, and deeper. I wish I could play it again and spend a year figuring it all out by myself. Both of these games are clearly made with genuine passion for gaming as a medium. Stray's graphics are not far off a AAA game from a few years ago (except smaller in scope of course). Tunics graphics are actually incredibly too, the simplicity plays so much into how the game draws you in, deceptively.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- aerhardt 4y ago
  > I'm an adult and I don't have weeks to sink into a game I play about a game a year on average, and I still follow the industry out of the corner of my eye. I most recently played Hades and it blew my mind, stylistically and gameplay-wise. It's like someone threw into a blender some of the best game concepts in the last four decades, a few books on Greek mythology, a dash of ingenuity and creativity, and a game came out - in what looks to be a fairly economical product, too. There are probably hundreds of thousands of professionals trying to make honest-to-god works of interactive entertainment. And I wouldn't begrudge anyone trying their best to make a career work, anyway. But: > There's still so many good games without any of that crap though Well, not enough to sustain an event of games that don't suck, apparently! E3 marked a video games summer solstice of sorts when I was a little kid, a feeling which permeated into my first job out of college. But you're right, and I'm just being nostalgic: the art in its purest form will probably never die.

Wowfunhappy 4y ago

> The main reason is I saw the writings on the wall. The industry was turning to pay-to-win garbage, and although I had already seen a similar pattern with arcades as a kid, that's not what I had signed up for. I don't really think Nintendo has though? (Outside of a few of their mobile games, but that never seemed to be a significant part of their business.)

aerhardt 4y ago
> I really don't think Nintendo has though? No, not in my opinion. Even what they've done with mobile games (ex: Fire Emblem) has been tasteful. Nintendo is obsessed with family values, in an honest way that comes from a place of genuine good. If you want to work for one of the very last beacons of hope in the industry, go work there.
- hedora 4y ago
  Yeah, my only complaint with nintendo is that they need to either allow returns on their online store, or ban ubisoft. They sold me one hot garbage title (the demo was fine; can’t get past the load screen of the paid version). I’m never paying ubisoft again.
- falcolas 4y ago
  Nintendo just camouflages their MTX as Amiibos and Season Passes. And to me, their Mario Kart mobile game was blatantly greedy.
- Wowfunhappy 4y ago
  If you don't mind my asking then, I'm confused about why industry changes still caused you to leave.
  - aerhardt 4y ago
    I felt like it was the only company I would work for in the industry, and didn’t feel comfortable with that.

esperent 4y ago

There's still so many good games without any of that crap though. Two I've played recently (the only two games I've played in the last year, actually): Stray: it's simple, peaceful. Not groundbreaking except that you're a cat, but playing it makes me feel relaxed and I can play 30 minutes at a time. Tunic: I kinda rushed through this unfortunately because I'm an adult and I don't have weeks to sink into a game. But... this is one of the best games I've ever played. It's deceptive. You're a little fox running around a cartoony world. But then it just gets so much deeper, and deeper, and deeper. I wish I could play it again and spend a year figuring it all out by myself. Both of these games are clearly made with genuine passion for gaming as a medium. Stray's graphics are not far off a AAA game from a few years ago (except smaller in scope of course). Tunics graphics are actually incredibly too, the simplicity plays so much into how the game draws you in, deceptively.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
aerhardt 4y ago
> I'm an adult and I don't have weeks to sink into a game I play about a game a year on average, and I still follow the industry out of the corner of my eye. I most recently played Hades and it blew my mind, stylistically and gameplay-wise. It's like someone threw into a blender some of the best game concepts in the last four decades, a few books on Greek mythology, a dash of ingenuity and creativity, and a game came out - in what looks to be a fairly economical product, too. There are probably hundreds of thousands of professionals trying to make honest-to-god works of interactive entertainment. And I wouldn't begrudge anyone trying their best to make a career work, anyway. But: > There's still so many good games without any of that crap though Well, not enough to sustain an event of games that don't suck, apparently! E3 marked a video games summer solstice of sorts when I was a little kid, a feeling which permeated into my first job out of college. But you're right, and I'm just being nostalgic: the art in its purest form will probably never die.