Miyamoto says Nintendo wants its games to "bring the family together in the living room"

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The gaming landscape has changed considerably since Nintendo entered the market with its 8-bit system, the NES, back in the 80s, not only in terms of the titles that we play but also how we play them. More and more, there's a push towards bigger, more realistic worlds that we experience with players online rather than virtual experiences that offer simplicity and fun for friends and families sitting together in the same room.

But Nintendo has never been one to follow trends. With consoles like the Wii and Nintendo Switch, as well as series such as Mario Kart and Smash Bros, the company has always been primarily focused on bringing families together and having fun.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary game designer behind Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and many more iconic franchises, reiterated the company's main aim in an interview with GameSpot. "For Nintendo, the idea of games is something that brings the family together in the living room and interact and [act], as mentioned, like a connective tissue. And when we're talking about games, it really just happens in the living room," Miyamoto said.

Elsewhere in the interview, Miyamoto was asked whether he has a new kind of technology in mind for creating experiences that families can have together in the future. "As a company, I think we're always looking for unique uses of technology," Miyamoto says. "We know a lot of different types of technology, but it's really in how we use that in a unique way and then distil that into a product is what I feel Nintendo is adept at. When Mario was created, it became popular and we thought that Mario became popular because it was a fun game."

Nintendo's approach appears to be paying off big time. Recently, the company revealed that the Switch has now reached 122.55 million lifetime sales, making it the third best-selling console of all time.

While you're here, why not take a look at our pick of the best Switch games you can play right now.

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Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.