Gamesindustry Japan published an article attributing some interesting words to Satoru Iwata, the late former president of Nintendo. A company executive reported them, and they say: “Things that are praised too much don’t sell, it’s the things that are criticized that sell. It’s better to look for a divisive response.”
The quote, dating back to 2018, was reported in the context of a discussion on how and to what extent criticism negatively affects the sales of a game or product. It seems that by saying these words, Iwata was talking about the Nintendo Labo failurea product that was very well received by critics, but did not sell according to the praise it received.
Criticism or not?
In short, it seems that Iwata wanted to instill in Nintendo a culture according to which what is positive for the sales of a product is not or cannot be only compliments, but also criticism. On the other hand, it should be remembered that many of the company’s best-selling games have been almost universally praised, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or Super Mario Galaxy. In short, the sentence should certainly be contextualized.
After all, Iwata is not wrong on this point, considering the reception the Nintendo Switch received at the time of the announcement or, to come to a more recent case, that of PlayStation Portal. The hybrid console has meanwhile become the best-selling in history, while the Sony controller is one of the most successful accessories of the last year.
There is also to consider how the internet has evolved in the space of a few years, becoming a tool of conformism and hammering against anything perceived as negative, with echo chambers that amplify positive and negative aspects of everything to the point of paroxysm. .
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