Nintendo Bosses' Favorite Games May Surprise You
During a question and answer session at Nintendo's 81st annual general meeting of shareholders, fans got to learn a few surprising things about some of Nintendo's biggest names. Instead of pestering them about upcoming games or new Nintendo Switch models, someone asked the panel what everybody's favorite games are.
As reported by Kotaku, president Shuntaro Furukawa, senior executive officer Ko Shiota, senior managing executive officer Shinya Takahashi, senior executive officer Satoru Shibata, and designer Shigeru Miyamoto all answered the question, and their responses might not be what you'd expect.
The majority of the answers were focused on Nintendo titles, which shouldn't come as much of a shock, but it is interesting to hear what some of the executives at Nintendo play in their free time. Nintendo's executives aren't tweeting out what they are currently playing in the same way Xbox boss Phil Spencer typically does, so these answers are a rare insight into the recreational habits of one of the oldest gaming companies around.
What games are Nintendo executives playing?
Furukawa immediately brought up "Super Mario Bros.," then transition into talking about his recent love affair with the Hanafuda card game in "Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics." Furukawa did mention that he plays games from other companies, but did not specify which ones.
Shiota said he is always interested in hardware, which is why he plays "Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit" with his kids. Meanwhile, Takahashi said his favorite game is "Yuyuki" for the Famicom Disk System.
Shibata said he misses adventure games, and that he recently completed "Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir" and "Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind" on the Nintendo Switch. Back in the day, he enjoyed "Shin Onigashima" on the Famicom Disk System.
Miyamoto might have given the most interesting answer of the bunch. He started by saying he tends to only play games he created himself, so he doesn't feel like he is influenced by other games very much. He gave props to "Pac-Man" and "Tetris" for influencing him early in his career. As for a modern game, Miyamoto said he has been playing "Pokemon Go" with his wife and some neighborhood friends for the last two years. He laughed as he told the crowd that the average person playing the game in Japan is probably around 60 years old.
While none of these answers were particularly mind-blowing, it's always interesting to hear what the minds behind some of the greatest games of all time do when they want to unwind.