Nintendo Reconsidering Stance on Movie Adaptations

While Miyamoto was “quick to deny” rumors of a Netflix-produced live-action Zelda series, Nintendo is determinedly shifting direction as an entertainment company in order to keep up with changing audience demands. Miyamoto has waded in movie pitches over the years and turned them all down, so it’s fair to say that he knows what kind of movie Nintendo would want to make…and it likely won’t be anything like the abomination that was the Super Mario Bros. movie.

In an interview with Fortune, Miyamoto – who oversees Nintendo’s Software Planning & Development Division – stated that the company has received a lot of offers to pursue film opportunities in the past, but has been reluctant to pursue them due to inherent differences between movies and video games. The last Nintendo movie – 1993’s Super Mario Bros. – embarrassingly flopped, causing the video game maestros to shy away from film.

“Because games and movies seem like similar mediums, people’s natural expectation is we want to take our games and turn them into movies”. That sentiment has been echoed again now, as a close look at Nintendo’s upcoming plans reveals a vague idea for “visual content production”.

This statement comes from Nintendo’s not-so glorious history in Hollywood, which gives it more sense why the company is very careful in any possible partnership for a film adaptation. Both of these films took a notably meta approach to their respective subject matter – being more about video games than actually based upon them. But over the years, Nintendo has still made it to the big screen with Bowser in Wreck-It Ralph, Donkey Kong in Pixels (and nearly a Super Mario credits scene too) and more. Most notably, this could include more Nintendo MOVIES. The company has also strengthened its standing as one of the best video game companies in the world with the release of their Ninetendo Family Computer, the first home gaming console, and the Nintendo Entertainment System. If so, which franchises would you like to see adapted for the big screen?