This was the first E3 since Bowser took over Nintendo of America. Although that might sound like the plot of a Mario game, Doug Bowser made a strong first impression as president of the company. From his humorous introduction in the Nintendo Direct to his calm demeanor in interviews on the floor, it seems that previous president Reggie Fils-Aimé left the company in good hands.
With the upcoming Animal Crossing: New Horizons delayed into next year, the topic of crunch was bound to come up. Crunch in the video game industry is a big problem, causing workers to clock in unhealthy hours in order to meet a deadline. IGN asked Doug Bowser about Nintendo’s perspective on crunch.
“The crunch point is an interesting one,” says Bowser. “For us, one of our key tenants is that we bring smiles to people’s faces, and we talk about that all the time… For us, that applies to our own employees.”
He continued to emphasize that Nintendo prioritizes having a good work-life balance for their employees, and part of that means not releasing a game until it’s ready. “It’s actually something we’re proud of,” says Bowser.
“One of our key tenants is that we bring smiles to people’s faces […] For us, that applies to our own employees.”
However, Bowser is aware of how fans react to such news. “To your point, the community obviously is passionate, is vocal,” he explained. “But we also need to make sure that, as an industry, we’re having those conversations.”
Striking that balance isn’t a new concept for Nintendo. Last year the previous president Reggie Fils-Aimé spoke with Waypoint on the same topic, and talked about how they worked with contractors and agency partners to expand the workforce, instead of putting undue pressure on their team. “We’re not asking people to go for a couple days without sleep,” says Fils-Aimé. “We’re not asking people to ignore their family and friends and their social life. We’re not asking people to do things that are unhealthy. That is not our approach.”
Although this means fans may have to wait longer for their favorite games, Nintendo’s stance against crunch-culture sets a good example for the industry. As Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto once said, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.”
