Bing Gordon: Nintendo is on track to become a software-only developer

Bing Gordon is a legend of the video game industry. He worked at EA for 26 years, guiding the marketing department and later making the transition to Chief Creative Officer in 1998. After a decade of service in that position, he left the company to pursue other opportunities and received the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. When he has something to say about the gaming industry, people listen.

The key players in the gaming industry have wildly different takes on the Wii U, and in an interview with gamesindustry.biz, Gordon offered his thoughts on Nintendo's new console. When asked about the competition the system will face from tablet computers, he had this to say:

"I think Nintendo's already on track to become primarily a software company. We saw that with Sega back in the day; Sega made some missteps and became primarily a software company. Nintendo hasn't really made missteps, Nintendo probably has better creative talent and better leadership now than Sega did."

Although he didn't mention it by name, he was clearly alluding to the Dreamcast, implying that the big N's current situation mirrors that of Sega in 1999, the year they launched their innovative, but ill-fated console. The controversial Michael Pachter recently made the same comparison, but the game industry analyst is frequently wrong and is mocked relentlessly. Gordon, on the other hand, is an industry veteran, and he knows a thing or two about the way the business works.

Before you get too worked up, listen to what Gordon had to say about Nintendo's current business plan.

"It's [Nintendo] got the most robust business model, the best creative talent; Miyamoto's still the best in the business. Apple's most directly competitive with Nintendo. So far, when Miyamoto makes a perfect game, in his career he makes games worth $200 - it's worth buying a system for."

That is definitely reassuring to Nintendo fanboys, but he added "I think if you're Nintendo, as long as Miyamoto's coming to work, you can sustain a proprietary platform. He's that good."


Miyamoto is getting up there in years, and if Gordon's statements are taken at face value, he might not see Nintendo as being viable as a hardware manufacturer after Miyamoto retires. Interesting perspective from an industry giant.