Ask Iwata

Ask Iwata
Author: Satoru Iwata
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2021-04-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1974726576

Satoru Iwata was the global president and CEO of Nintendo and a gifted programmer who played a key role in the creation of many of the world’s best-known games. He led the production of innovative platforms such as the Nintendo DS and the Wii, and laid the groundwork for the development of the wildly successful Pokémon Go game and the Nintendo Switch. Known for his analytical and imaginative mind, but even more for his humility and people-first approach to leadership, Satoru Iwata was beloved by game fans and developers worldwide. In this motivational collection, Satoru Iwata addresses diverse subjects such as locating bottlenecks, how success breeds resistance to change, and why programmers should never say no. Drawn from the “Iwata Asks” series of interviews with key contributors to Nintendo games and hardware, and featuring conversations with renowned Mario franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto and creator of EarthBound Shigesato Itoi, Ask Iwata offers game fans and business leaders an insight into the leadership, development, and design philosophies of one of the most beloved figures in gaming history. -- VIZ Media

Power-Up

Power-Up
Author: Chris Kohler
Publisher: Courier Dover Publications
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2016-10-10
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 0486816427

Enjoyable and informative examination of how Japanese video game developers raised the medium to an art form. Includes interviews, anecdotes, and accounts of industry giants behind Donkey Kong, Mario, Pokémon, and other games.

Disrupting the Game

Disrupting the Game
Author: Reggie Fils-Aimé
Publisher: HarperCollins Leadership
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2022-05-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1400226686

WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER LESSONS FROM A BOSS-LEVEL DISRUPTOR AND GAMING LEGEND Reggie Fils-Aimé, retired President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America Inc., shares leadership lessons and inspiring stories from his unlikely rise to the top. Although he’s best known as Nintendo's iconic President of the Americas-immortalized for opening Nintendo’s 2004 E3 presentation with, “My name is Reggie, I'm about kicking ass, I'm about taking names, and we're about making games”-Reggie Fils-Aimé’s story is the ultimate gameplan for anyone looking to beat the odds and achieve success. Learn from Reggie how to leverage disruptive thinking to pinpoint the life choices that will make you truly happy, conquer negative perceptions from those who underestimate or outright dismiss you, and master the grit, perseverance, and resilience it takes to dominate in the business world and to reach your professional dreams. As close to sitting one-on-one with the gaming legend as it gets, you will learn: About the challenges Reggie faced throughout his life and career-from his humble childhood as the son of Haitian immigrants, to becoming one of the most powerful names in the history of the gaming industry. What it takes to reach the top of your own industry, including being brave enough to stand up for your ideas, while also being open to alternative paths to success. How to create vibrant and believable visions for your team and company. How to maintain relentless curiosity and know when to ask questions to shatter the status quo.

Nintendo Magic: Winning the Videogame Wars

Nintendo Magic: Winning the Videogame Wars
Author: Osamu Inoue
Publisher: Vertical Inc
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2022-01-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1647291453

Back in the 80s, Nintendo ruled the home-entertainment market with the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). But then rival Sony introduced PlayStation, which featured advancements and cutting-edge technology that put Nintendo's Super-NES to shame. Nintendo quickly lost its dominant market share to Sony and found itself floundering. In 2006, Nintendo released Wii at the same time Sony introduced its highly-anticipated and much-vaunted PlayStation III and Microsoft's XBox 360. Wii's David defeated PlayStation's Goliath, inversely echoing the SNES/PlayStation outcome of a decade previous. Nintendo Magic: Winning the Videogame Wars is the story of what went right, discussing the business strategies and marketing savvy that took on the mighty Sony and won. Topics include: How where you put your company is just as important as how you run it: being in Kyoto From work force to policies, why Nintendo's "just enough" attitude succeeds Why the ability to read a balance sheet is overrated Respect seniority but approve huge R&D budgets for talented junior employees Allowing maximum communication between disparate divisions (hardware and software) Enlarging the pie: going after casual gamers (The art of mainstreaming) How the Wii will be the next major household appliance and the DSi will be the cell phone of the future. Nintendo Magic: Winning the Videogame Wars should serve as a warning to similar powerhouse industries never to understimate the modest competitor. It should occupy the bookshelf of any business person smart enough to know they don't need to be a giant to win.

Super Mario

Super Mario
Author: Jeff Ryan
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2012-09-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1591845637

The definitive story of the rise of Nintendo. In 1981, Nintendo of America was a one-year-old business already on the brink of failure. Its president, Mino Arakawa, was stuck with two thousand unsold arcade cabinets for a dud of a game (Radar Scope). So he hatched a plan. Back in Japan, a boyish, shaggy-haired staff artist named Shigeru Miyamoto designed a new game for the unsold cabinets featur­ing an angry gorilla and a small jumping man. Donkey Kong brought in $180 million in its first year alone and launched the career of a short, chubby plumber named Mario. Since then, Mario has starred in over two hundred games, gen­erating profits in the billions. He is more recognizable than Mickey Mouse, yet he’s little more than a mustache in bib overalls. How did a mere smear of pixels gain such huge popularity? Super Mario tells the story behind the Nintendo games millions of us grew up with, explaining how a Japanese trading card company rose to dominate the fiercely competitive video-game industry.

The Creative Gene

The Creative Gene
Author: Hideo Kojima
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2021-10-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1974729532

Ever since he was a child, Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima was a voracious consumer of movies, music, and books. They ignited his passion for stories and storytelling, and the results can be seen in his groundbreaking, iconic video games. Now the head of independent studio Kojima Productions, Kojima’s enthusiasm for entertainment media has never waned. This collection of essays explores some of the inspirations behind one of the titans of the video game industry, and offers an exclusive insight into one of the brightest minds in pop culture. -- VIZ Media

Game Over

Game Over
Author: David Sheff
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 558
Release: 2011-11-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0307800741

More American children recognize Super Mario, the hero of one of Nintendo’s video games, than Mickey Mouse. The Japanese company has come to earn more money than the big three computer giants or all Hollywood movie studios combined. Now Sheff tells of the Nintendo invasion–a tale of innovation and cutthroat tactics.

Significant Zero

Significant Zero
Author: Walt Williams
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2017-09-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1501129953

"An award-winning videogame writer offers a rare behind-the-scenes look inside the gaming industry, and expands on how games are transformed from mere toys into meaningful, artistic experiences"--

Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto
Author: Jennifer deWinter
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2015-05-21
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1628923873

Video games are considered by many to be just entertainment-essentially void of skillful, artistic intervention. But as any gamer knows, there's incredible technical and graphic talent behind even a flickering Gameboy screen. You may have never heard Shigeru Miyamoto's name, but you've probably spent many a lazy afternoon absorbed in his work. Joining Nintendo as a video game designer in the late 1970s, Miyamoto created the powerhouse franchises Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong-games so ubiquitous that Miyamoto was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2007. Combining critical essays with interviews, bibliographies, and striking visuals, Shigeru Miyamoto unveils the artist behind thousands of glowing gaming screens, tracing out his design decisions, aesthetic preferences, and the material conditions that shaped his work. With this incredible (and incredibly unknown) figure, series editors Jennifer DeWinter and Carly Kocurek launch the Influential Video Game Designers series, at last giving these artists the recognition they deserve.