1 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: The Nintendo switch to is finally out. Came out last week. 2 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 2: The moment has arrived. 3 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: My switch to is here. 4 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 3: It's been eight long years. 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 4: Well, folks, it is currently one six in the morning, 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 4: and I just got home from the Best By midnight 7 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 4: launch for the Nintendo Switch Too. 8 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 2: And here is a close up look at those new 9 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 2: magnetic joy cons. It's bigger, it's more rigid, it feels 10 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 2: more premium. The buttons are bigger. Speaking of bigger, the 11 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 2: doc got a little redesigned not earlier. 12 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:43,879 Speaker 4: Did I manage to pick up the Nintendo switch too, 13 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,919 Speaker 4: But I also got as many accessories as humanly possible, and. 14 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 2: I've got the freaking switch to. 15 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 3: Are you ready to dive in? 16 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 4: Let me know the comment saw below how freaking cool 17 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 4: this is. 18 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: I do not have one yet, but I thought maybe 19 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: now it was a good time to talk about the 20 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: people who made the switch to Nintendo, because they're kind 21 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: of a weird company. 22 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 4: So I was invited to a event in New York 23 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 4: for media to come play the switch to early. And 24 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 4: I walk in and as I'm approaching, there are just 25 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 4: two long lines of Nintendo employees like awaiting me and 26 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 4: like the seven people who are like walking through and 27 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 4: they all just start clapping and hooting and hollering like yeah, 28 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,479 Speaker 4: you get to play Switch, dude, And I'm like ah, 29 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 4: and I walked through. 30 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: Wait, hold on, there's seven of you, and how many 31 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:43,480 Speaker 1: of the. 32 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 4: Employees triple that? Like like like wives, way more than that. 33 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: Petrick Clippik and I used to work together Vice back 34 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: in the day. He now runs a podcast at Remap 35 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: Radio with some other VICE friends, and he also writes 36 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: a substack called cross Play about playing video games with kids. 37 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: He got to play the Switch too early and later 38 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: on we'll get his thoughts about it. 39 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 4: Work got weird was there was sort of like a 40 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 4: media space and I would go over there kind of 41 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 4: collect my thoughts. What else do I need to go do? 42 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 4: I was like, all right, I'm gonna go back because 43 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 4: I didn't play this and and play that. And I 44 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 4: walk in again and those same people are there waiting, 45 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 4: like who's ready to play Switch too? And I'm like 46 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 4: I was, I was just I was just here, Like 47 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 4: I was just here, and then happen to be three 48 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 4: times over the course of the like six hours. So 49 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 4: it's a little it was a little culty, but it 50 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 4: was very funny. 51 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: So this episode isn't really about the as Patrick put it, 52 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: the slightly culty part of Nintendo's culture, which does exist. 53 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: But Nintendo is a unique video game company for another reason. 54 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 4: I think what's fascint about Nintendo is that they have 55 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 4: survived as long as they have. You know, my Microsoft 56 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 4: is a relative newcomer. Sega came into the hardware business 57 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 4: and last the hardware business. The thing about Nintendo is 58 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 4: that their kind of conservative nature has allowed them to 59 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 4: survive big ups and big downs. Like they were making 60 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 4: games that cost less required fewer people in an industry 61 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 4: in which games are becoming more expensive to make, requiring 62 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 4: more people. I think it's a corporate culture that goes 63 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 4: back to the origins of the company at the executive level. 64 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,839 Speaker 1: A lot of people compare Nintendo to Disney, and those 65 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: comparisons make a lot of sense. But when Patrick says 66 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: conservative here, it doesn't just mean being family friendly or 67 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: not taking risks. It can also mean thinking seriously about 68 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: what you've already got and what you can make with it. 69 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: And Patrick's right that culture does go back to the 70 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: origins of the company, at least the company as we 71 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: know it. Specifically, it goes back to one guy, someone 72 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: that even most hardcore video game fans have never heard of. 73 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: His name is Goompe Yokoi, and I would argue that 74 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:27,480 Speaker 1: he's the guy who made Nintendo. Nintendo, I'm Afraid from 75 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: Kaleidoscope and iHeart podcasts. This is kill Switch. 76 00:04:34,240 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 5: I'm Dexter Thomas, I'm Char, I'm char. Good Bye. 77 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: Nintendo as a company goes back to eighteen eighty nine. 78 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: They were best known as a producer of playing cards, 79 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: specifically hanafuda, which are a kind of traditional Japanese card. 80 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: They're a little smaller than the western cards you might 81 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: be familiar with, and they have these images of flowers 82 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: or birds on the front. And people still play this 83 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: game today. But Nintendo didn't become a household name until 84 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: they pivoted to video games. And there's one specific person 85 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 1: that we should probably credit for making Nintendo what it 86 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,360 Speaker 1: is today. Now. When I say that, a lot of 87 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: people might think of Shagero Miyamoto, which is fair because 88 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: he's the guy who created Mario and Zelda. But the 89 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: guy that I'm talking about was there before Miyamoto even 90 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: joined the company. A young electrical engineer named Gumpe Yukoi. 91 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 2: He was kind of their original creative lead, if you will. 92 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,239 Speaker 2: The company kind of started their R and D division 93 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 2: for him. 94 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 1: To understand Yukoi's influence on Nintendo called the Jeremy Parrish. 95 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: He's been reporting on and researching game history for years now. 96 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,919 Speaker 1: He's even got an entire YouTube channel dedicated to it, 97 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: and Ucoy's name comes up a lot there. 98 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 2: He joined the company I think back in the nineteen 99 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,119 Speaker 2: sixties or so, when Nintendo was still trying to figure 100 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 2: out what it was. You know, that was the era 101 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 2: where they were licensing peanuts from the US Charlie Brown 102 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 2: and Snoopy and trying to create stuff around that. They 103 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 2: were selling Ramen like instant Ramen, basically like any trend 104 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,799 Speaker 2: that they could find, they would jump on it, hoping 105 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 2: for some sort of hit. They had their own lego 106 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,160 Speaker 2: knockoff called n Block, and the company really didn't have 107 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 2: a direction beyond we want to make money somehow. 108 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: Good direction? So why would they need an electrical engineer 109 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: like Ukoi. Let's back up, and I can tell you 110 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: the story that's in the closest thing to an autobiography 111 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: that Yukoi ever wrote, which is in an interview in 112 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 1: a book by a reporter named Makiino Takifumi. So the 113 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: kind of cards that Nintendo made weren't just for families 114 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: to gather around and pass the time. They were also 115 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: good for gambling, and part of Nintendo's early customer base 116 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: was illegal gambling houses. And if you've ever been to Vegas, 117 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: you know gamblers take the quality of the cards very seriously. 118 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: If there's a defect in the manufacturing, the players will 119 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: notice it a little mark on a card here, or 120 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: a divid in the surface there, and a player can 121 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: use that to figure out what card it is and 122 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: a cheat. And apparently Nintendo's cards weren't always perfect, and 123 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: occasionally some quote scary looking yakaza would show up directly 124 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: at Nintendo's office and well, they would voice their concerns 125 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: about the cards. So if the cards aren't being manufactured evenly, 126 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: one solution is to use a machine to put them together. 127 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: But the machine that Nintendo had bought wasn't working well. 128 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,239 Speaker 1: So when Gumpeykoi first got hired in Nintendo, the first 129 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: project they put him on was fixing the glue machine 130 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: for the cards. 131 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 2: Supposedly, legend has it that he was kind of assigned 132 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 2: to the night shift managing the factory and the assembly lines, 133 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 2: and it was a pretty boring task, so he would 134 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 2: just tinker and create things. And he created like an 135 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 2: accordion style device that you could open up and it 136 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 2: would contract, and then it had clamps on the end, 137 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 2: and if you closed it, you know, close the grips again, 138 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 2: then it would extend and close the grips on the 139 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 2: other end. And supposedly the company's president, Hiroshiyamauchi, who was always, 140 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 2: you know, always out looking for good ideas, saw this 141 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 2: thing that Yokoi had put together just to kill time, 142 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 2: and said, this is something that has play value. This 143 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 2: is something we could sell to people. So they created 144 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 2: the Ultra Hand and that was Nintendo's first hit toy 145 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 2: in the nineteen sixties. So, you know, Yokoi created this 146 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 2: hit and Nintendo basically said you're our guy, now do 147 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 2: this kind of thing again, and he did. 148 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: So gumpe Akoi kept cranking out these hit toy products, 149 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: but the toys he made were kind of weird. 150 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 2: One of the toys is a race car called Lefty RX. 151 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,440 Speaker 2: And the reason it's called Lefty RX is because it's 152 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 2: a remote control car. That's the RX that can only 153 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,959 Speaker 2: turn left. It cannot turn. 154 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: Right, only left, only left. 155 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:39,959 Speaker 2: It goes in a straight line and you can turn left. 156 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 2: And that sounds like the worst toy imaginable. But the 157 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,079 Speaker 2: thing is, when it was created in the nineteen seventies, 158 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 2: remote control cars were very very expensive, and having that 159 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 2: full chassis on a remote control car that can go 160 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 2: in both directions, can reverse, and also having a remote 161 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 2: control that has steering wheel and all the necessary buttons 162 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 2: and everything, it made those very expensive. And Yokoi's idea 163 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 2: with left DRX was what if we stripped out all 164 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,680 Speaker 2: but the most basic functions to create an affordable remote 165 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,599 Speaker 2: control car that any kid can own. So, all of 166 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 2: a sudden, with the left RX, you didn't have to 167 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 2: be one of the rich kids to have a cool 168 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,240 Speaker 2: remote control car. You could have a slightly less cool 169 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 2: remote control car, but it was yours and it would 170 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 2: still race. It's just you know, you had to put 171 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 2: it on a race track. And it made sense because 172 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 2: you know, you look at enough one track, basic oval track, 173 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 2: it's just going to be your car is going to 174 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 2: be turning left. 175 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:38,439 Speaker 6: Yeah. 176 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: So that's all they I mean, not all they do, 177 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: you know, offence of the NASCAR fans out there. But yeah, 178 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:46,439 Speaker 1: essentially it is a sport in which you go straight 179 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:47,679 Speaker 1: and turn left. 180 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 2: Yes, so Yokoi tapped into that. It was vastly less expensive, 181 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 2: you know, like a quarter of the cost of a 182 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 2: remote control racing car that had the full set of features. 183 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 2: Koy sort of democratized this technology, but at the same 184 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:07,199 Speaker 2: time created something that was very profitable for Nintendo. So 185 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 2: it's not like he was, you know, some great man 186 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 2: of the people or something. He was a businessman. He 187 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 2: was making money for his employer, but doing it in 188 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 2: a way that opened up the field for the biggest 189 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 2: audience possible. And you know, using limited technology, using something 190 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 2: that seems underwhelming on the face of it, but still 191 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 2: ultimately it's functional and fun. 192 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: And this speaks to a philosophy that gumpe Ukoy had 193 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: which is still courts to Nintendo today. His phrase was 194 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:41,320 Speaker 1: kut atajijitsu no siejeskal, which if you translate it literally 195 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:46,559 Speaker 1: is something like lateral thinking with withered technology, or another 196 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:49,280 Speaker 1: way to put it might be something like taking mature 197 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: technology and thinking sideways. 198 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:56,199 Speaker 2: The idea is that you take something that is not 199 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 2: cutting edge tech that is not necessarily intuitive like the 200 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 2: new hot thing. It's been around for a while, and 201 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 2: that kind of works to its advantage. Find new applications 202 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,719 Speaker 2: for this old technology, this old gadget or gimmick or 203 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:19,200 Speaker 2: CPU or whatever, and create fun out of that, to 204 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:25,319 Speaker 2: create something that one kind of gives kids and consumers 205 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:27,680 Speaker 2: a fresh take on something that might be sort of 206 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 2: familiar and that they take for granted. But also because 207 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 2: this technology is old and well established, it's usually created 208 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 2: at scale, and so it's readily available as a component. 209 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 2: So you know, you can basically put together off the 210 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 2: shelf parts and very inexpensively come up with something that 211 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 2: can be created in mass manufacturing and distributed and be 212 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:59,320 Speaker 2: very profitable. So it's one part kind of pure mad 213 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 2: cap and vence and one part business practicality. And eventually, 214 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 2: once Nintendo kind of went all in on video games, 215 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,560 Speaker 2: they brought him in and said, please apply that creativity 216 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 2: to video games. And so you saw things like game 217 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 2: and Watch, and you saw things like game. 218 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: Boy, and this concept is still being referenced by Nintendo. 219 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: When one of the developers for the switch to was 220 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: asked about how the new JOYCN could be used as mice. 221 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: This is what he had to say, implementing mouse control 222 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 1: that's widely used nowadays in the Joycon controllers, isn't that costly? 223 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: And I think that's exactly what Lateral thinking of whither 224 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:44,160 Speaker 1: technology is all about. Nintendo is still citing this philosophy 225 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: decades after Goompey entered the company, but we still haven't 226 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 1: talked about the games. How did goompe Eucoi's philosophy lead 227 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:56,680 Speaker 1: to Nintendo's biggest early video game hits? That's after the 228 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: break felt the nineteen seventies, Goompey, a coy came up 229 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,839 Speaker 1: with tons of toys for Nintendo, and they were all 230 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: pretty quirky. There was a puzzle game, There was an 231 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: extendable periscope. He made this thing called the Love Tester, 232 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: which supposedly measure your compatibility with a romantic partner, but 233 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: really just boys would buy it so they could get 234 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 1: girls to hold their hands. Goope had even started making 235 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: games for arcades. But the thing that really brought Nintendo 236 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: into some serious cash was this right here. 237 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 3: Game, what game? What game? What game? 238 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: If you play Smash Brothers, you might have recognized the 239 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: name there game and watch the game and Watch came 240 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 1: out in Night and this was Nintendo and goompe Ucoy's 241 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: first real video game hit, so right. 242 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 2: From the gate when those debuted in nineteen eighty with Ball, 243 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 2: a very simple juggling game where you have a guy 244 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 2: with you know, arms, and you just have to like 245 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,920 Speaker 2: keep balls in the air. That's sold I want to 246 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 2: say half a million a million units. It became a 247 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 2: worldwide hit. 248 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: Ball is as simple as it sounds, and it was 249 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: the game that first came out with Game and Watch. 250 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: And again, if you play Smash Brothers, that's the character 251 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: you play as. And you could buy different Game and 252 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: Watch games and they were all equally simple. There was Ball, 253 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: there was a game where you dodge falling objects. There 254 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: was a really simple version of Whack a Mole. But 255 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: Game and Watch wasn't just a gaming console. It was 256 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: also a literal watch. 257 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 2: When it was in sort of a neutral mode, it 258 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,520 Speaker 2: would switch over to like a display clock. You could 259 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 2: set an alarm on it. The time piece element was 260 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 2: sort of built in from the start because the idea 261 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 2: behind Game and Watch was taking the fundamental technology the 262 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 2: powered the brand new LCD wristwatches that were kind of 263 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 2: making their rounds from Cassio and other companies and taking 264 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 2: that screen technology and approaching it a different way to 265 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 2: create entertainment out of it. 266 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: So how did Ukoy come up with this thing? This 267 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: is where we start getting into the era where Ukoy 268 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 1: was starting to become something of a legend. So there 269 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: are a few stories about this. The most popular one 270 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: is that he got the idea from seeing businessmen on 271 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: the train absent mindedly playing with their calculators, and he 272 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: decided to make a product out of this. Maybe there 273 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: is some truth to that, and it is a nice story, but. 274 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 2: I think that's probably somewhat apocryphal. Most likely what happened 275 00:16:55,960 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 2: was before Game and Watch came out. Milton Bradley created 276 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 2: a game system portable game system called Microvision that was 277 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 2: in nineteen seventy nine, and Nintendo's designers and developers have 278 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 2: referenced Microvision when talking about the Game Boy, and that 279 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 2: you know, game Boy was ten years after Microvision came out. 280 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 2: But that system was big and unwieldy and kind of 281 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 2: a weird piece of tech. It had like a bowling 282 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 2: game that barely resembles bowling. It had a casino game 283 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:31,400 Speaker 2: that barely resembles a slot machine, So that definitely caught 284 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 2: a Nintendo's eye, and I think what happened was, you know, 285 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 2: they said, we've got to do something like this, and 286 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 2: they looked at, you know, the technology that they saw 287 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 2: in LCD wristwatches and said, oh, okay, like we could 288 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 2: do something along those lines. We could take that technology 289 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:54,719 Speaker 2: and approach the idea of video game displays differently than 290 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 2: the standard pixel grit. What they did was they just 291 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 2: silk screened onto an old screen and created little characters, 292 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 2: very detailed characters and images that are pre built into 293 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 2: the screen light up. It was built around I believe 294 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 2: sharp LCD technology and they were mass manufacturing millions and 295 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 2: millions of these screens. So they took something that was 296 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:21,160 Speaker 2: a prevailing trend at the time but used in one way, 297 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 2: and said what if we use this a different way? 298 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,359 Speaker 2: And it was a huge hit, made them tons of money. 299 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:30,639 Speaker 2: These were hits in Japan, but also in the US, 300 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:32,720 Speaker 2: but also in Europe and also in the Middle East 301 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:37,000 Speaker 2: and you know, parts of East Asia and Africa, like anywhere, 302 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 2: you know, anywhere people bought consumer products and enjoyed entertainment. 303 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 2: They could buy a game. 304 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: And watch It makes sense because these were such simple 305 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 1: games that they didn't need translation or even a manual. 306 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 1: Just pick it up and you immediately know how to play. 307 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,119 Speaker 1: Just recently, the Video Game History Foundation found what is 308 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: probably Nintendo's first EVA commercial in the USA in nineteen eighty. 309 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: They weren't big enough to distribute their products internationally by 310 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: themselves yet, so some other company did it and called 311 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: it time Out. But other than that label, this is 312 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 1: definitely the game and watch. 313 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,200 Speaker 6: Jah Ying gave you falling notches, take time out. Tennis 314 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,960 Speaker 6: gave you tennis elbow, take time out. Then you electronic 315 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:25,919 Speaker 6: spot this timeout games called toss Up. It plays an 316 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,960 Speaker 6: easy game and a hard game. It recauds your highest 317 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,240 Speaker 6: score and even tells time plus. 318 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 2: Yeah again like using low power, inexpensive, easily accessible technology, 319 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,719 Speaker 2: and a really clever way to create great play value 320 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 2: and fun. 321 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: And this is where the directional pad came from. Also right, yes, 322 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,400 Speaker 1: the Donkey Kong game and Watch. When they sat down 323 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:55,919 Speaker 1: to adapt Donkey Kong into game and watch forum, they 324 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:59,879 Speaker 1: created the crosspad. The crosspad, also known as the direction 325 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: or the d pad, basically think of the part of 326 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 1: the controller that you use to make Mario walk left 327 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: or right crosspads are so ubiquitous now that it might 328 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: seem like they've been around forever, But back in the 329 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,400 Speaker 1: seventies and even into the eighties, arcade games or home 330 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:19,160 Speaker 1: console games would use joysticks or left or right buttons, 331 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:23,199 Speaker 1: or switches or even circular dials to move. Pretty often, 332 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 1: playing a new game also meant having to learn a 333 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: brand new interface just to make your character move left 334 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: or right. It was Nintendo's Game and Watch that first 335 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:34,360 Speaker 1: introduced the crosspad. 336 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,440 Speaker 2: That was this moment that changed everything for video games. 337 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 2: The crosspad came from Game and Watch and became an 338 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:45,120 Speaker 2: integral part of not only their system, but so many 339 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 2: other systems we have. 340 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 1: Basically every single system after that is used some version 341 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:55,440 Speaker 1: from I mean Super Nintendo, you know, PlayStation, all the segasystems, 342 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: all the Microsoft systems to Xbox, everything has used some 343 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: version of that an original directional crosspad. Video games were 344 00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:06,719 Speaker 1: starting to make serious money for Nintendo. Donkey Kong hit 345 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: arcades in nineteen eighty one and that was a massive hit, 346 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:12,639 Speaker 1: And in nineteen eighty three they put out their first 347 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: home console. In Japan, it was called the Famicom. Here 348 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: in the States it was the Nintendo Entertainment System, and 349 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: we got it in late eighty five early nineteen eighty six. 350 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: But this whole time they were still making and selling 351 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 1: game and watch units. Other companies were starting to copy 352 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 1: their designs, which Yukoi himself didn't really mind, but of course, 353 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,679 Speaker 1: the president of Nintendo needed another hit product. By this point, 354 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 1: Yukoi was the head of his own R and D 355 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,159 Speaker 1: department with a team of engineers working under him, and 356 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty nine, this department created a new handheld 357 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: gaming device, the game Boy, and this is probably the 358 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: most famous expression of goompey Ocoy's philosophy of sideways thinking 359 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 1: using old technology for a new purpose. 360 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 2: At the heart of the game Boy, you have a 361 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 2: Z eighty processor, and those have been around since the seventies. 362 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:11,360 Speaker 2: A lot of the early computers used those early game consoles, 363 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 2: like the Calico Vision SAG SG one thousand. But by 364 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 2: the time Game Boy came out, you know, the SG 365 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,880 Speaker 2: one thousand line Master system was on its way out 366 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 2: like that, that technology was being deprecated, and Nintendo went 367 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:29,119 Speaker 2: with that because there were hundreds of millions of Z 368 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 2: eighty's in the world, like they were cheapest chips. And 369 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,919 Speaker 2: it was functional. It was capable, not super powerful, not 370 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,879 Speaker 2: cutting edge in any way, but it did the job. 371 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:42,400 Speaker 2: It was a proven piece of technology for video games, 372 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 2: so it was very easy to make games for game Boy. 373 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:47,239 Speaker 2: But you know, the thing that people always go back 374 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 2: to with game Boy is that the screen was garbage. Yes, 375 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:51,880 Speaker 2: it really seems like they went out of their way 376 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 2: to find the worst screens possible, but they were cheap, 377 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 2: they were very inexpensive, and so game Boy worked out 378 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:00,920 Speaker 2: for them very popular. 379 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 1: Just to back up here, at the time, game Boy 380 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: on paper probably sounded like an incredibly bad idea. I mean, 381 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:14,440 Speaker 1: it's easy to look back now in hindsight and say, well, 382 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: hey man, that was back in nineteen eighty nine. Cut 383 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 1: them some slack. It was gonna be a little bit primitive. 384 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: But no, this thing was garbage even by nineteen eighty 385 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 1: nine standards. And when it was first being released, there 386 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: were reviewers who reviewed it very harshly, saying that the 387 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 1: hardware was primitive and the screen looked bad, and they 388 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,400 Speaker 1: were correct. But then the thing actually hits the market 389 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: and it turns out hardware specs don't actually matter. It's 390 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,399 Speaker 1: all about the games and how you put it together. 391 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: The obvious early highlight would be Tetris. This game was 392 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: pushing three million units sold within months, and it was 393 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 1: also one of the first things to help solidify video 394 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 1: games is not just for little kids, but something that 395 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: adults could also pick up and play. I could list 396 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,640 Speaker 1: other hits or high lights like Kirby or the game 397 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 1: Boy Camera or Pokemon definitely, But maybe the most impressive 398 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: thing here is that the game Boy came out again 399 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,639 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty nine, and Nintendo put out their final 400 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: game Boy game in nineteen ninety nine. But that's only 401 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,960 Speaker 1: if you only count the game Boy itself. If you're 402 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 1: also willing to count the game Boy Color, which is 403 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: mostly compatible with the original. The US got its final 404 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: game in late two thousand and two. That's thirteen years 405 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 1: of complete market domination in an era when game systems 406 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,240 Speaker 1: usually got replaced after just a few years. 407 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,280 Speaker 2: Game Boy was the best selling game system of the 408 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,159 Speaker 2: twentieth century. Like it outsold any acid outsold PlayStation, and 409 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 2: nothing came close to the numbers that game Boy did. 410 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 2: Game Boy was a solid platform that had technology that 411 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 2: was just fairly good enough. But again, you know, it 412 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 2: drew very little power. The Atari Links, the Sega game Gear, 413 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,879 Speaker 2: Turbo Express. We're all kind of competing at the same time, 414 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 2: and all of those had much greater power, full color screens, backlighting, 415 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,200 Speaker 2: and those things would chew through four to six double 416 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,040 Speaker 2: A batteries and like an hour and a half two hours. 417 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 2: Game Boy could run on four double a's for about 418 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,359 Speaker 2: twenty hours. Yeah, and it's got your favorite guys like 419 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:29,879 Speaker 2: Mario and Link and so on and so forth. 420 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,880 Speaker 1: Goombay Okoy left Nintendo in nineteen ninety six to start 421 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,879 Speaker 1: his own company. From now on, he'd be a competitor, 422 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:41,640 Speaker 1: which probably made Nintendo a little nervous. It definitely made 423 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: investors nervous because when word got out that goombay Okoy 424 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:49,239 Speaker 1: was leaving, Nintendo's stock fell so hard, so fast that 425 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: the Tokyo Stock Exchange had to stop trading for a while. 426 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:57,200 Speaker 1: But that situation didn't last long. The very next year, 427 00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:59,720 Speaker 1: Yukoi was riding as a passenger in a car with 428 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: a front The car we're ended someone and u Koi 429 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: got out to look at the damage. Just then another 430 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: car hit both of them. The friend was injured, but 431 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:16,120 Speaker 1: your Koi was killed. A lot of the higher ups 432 00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 1: in Nintendo now worked personally with Ukoi in the past. 433 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:23,080 Speaker 1: Shigero Miyamoto, who again is the guy who created Zelda 434 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,720 Speaker 1: and Mario, sometimes talks about him in interviews, but even 435 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:31,879 Speaker 1: if it's not being mentioned directly, Yukoi's philosophy is something 436 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 1: that Nintendo always comes back to, especially when things don't 437 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: go well. 438 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 3: Yeah. 439 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 1: I mean, they have had their moments where it has 440 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: felt like they have chased the powerhouse systems. You know, 441 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 1: I'd argue that maybe we you felt a little bit 442 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,240 Speaker 1: like that, although we was doing some interesting things as well, 443 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 1: but you know, GameCube maybe a little bit like that. 444 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:57,280 Speaker 1: It seemed like they kind of felt like, all right, 445 00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 1: this Xbox things on the market, we got to look 446 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:01,399 Speaker 1: like the Xbox, right. 447 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 3: Yeah. 448 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 2: I feel like when Nintendo has chased power and tried 449 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 2: to be at the cutting edge of the industry, they've 450 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,439 Speaker 2: they've found diminishing returns on that. The Super as was 451 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:16,000 Speaker 2: very powerful, and it sold nowhere near as well as 452 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 2: the NES. The N sixty four was cutting edge. They 453 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,160 Speaker 2: made a big deal about you know, real time toy 454 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 2: story and Jurassic Park graphics, and that sold even more poorly, 455 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 2: especially in Japan. GameCube really kind of bottomed out and 456 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 2: that was that was them trying to play in the 457 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:37,959 Speaker 2: same arena as Xbox and PlayStation two, and that was 458 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 2: you know, kind of their I think, come to Jesus moment. 459 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 2: If it hadn't been for the game Boy line, they 460 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 2: would have been lost with the GameCube. So I think that, 461 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 2: you know, that was the moment where they stopped and said, 462 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,439 Speaker 2: we need to recalibrate and stop chasing power because we 463 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:55,119 Speaker 2: can't keep up with the competition. We can't stay at 464 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:57,479 Speaker 2: the cutting edge. It's just not going to work for us. 465 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 2: And so, you know, then you get the DS and 466 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:05,240 Speaker 2: you get the Wii, which took existing technologies and applied 467 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:10,920 Speaker 2: them in really novel, interesting and intuitive ways, and those 468 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,119 Speaker 2: were their best selling systems ever. And they kind of 469 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 2: touch it with that again with WEU trying to create 470 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 2: something that was you know, kind of on par with 471 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:22,919 Speaker 2: PS three, and it was a bad idea, so they 472 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 2: kind of reversed course and went back with Switch, and 473 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:31,040 Speaker 2: you know, unsurprisingly, it's been hugely successful because it really 474 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 2: played to Nintendo's poor competency, which is working with slightly 475 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,920 Speaker 2: less powerful technology but doing interesting and appealing things with it. 476 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 1: So it's kind of like every time they chase power, 477 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: you know, they kind of veer off course and really 478 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,239 Speaker 1: doesn't work well for them. When they come back and 479 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:52,840 Speaker 1: apply the kind of stuff that gumpe Yukoi was going for, 480 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: they started to get back on track in terms of 481 00:28:55,760 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: sales exactly. So how how exactly did goompe Accoy's influence 482 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: feed directly into the Switch and now the Switch too. 483 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: That's after the break. So we mentioned this before, but 484 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,440 Speaker 1: before the first Switch came out in twenty seventeen, Nintendo 485 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 1: had a big flop with the WIU. This was their 486 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 1: successor to the we It did not do well at all, 487 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: but they took some lessons from that to the Switch. 488 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,480 Speaker 4: The WUT conceptually was a bad idea. What also happened 489 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 4: Nintendo was, despite being technologically generation behind, their teams could 490 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 4: not support building parallel games, which is like they were 491 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 4: making games for the their handheld platforms and for their 492 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 4: console platforms. 493 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: That's because at the time they had their handheld successor 494 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: to the Game Boy, the three DS, and the WIU 495 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,120 Speaker 1: on the market at the same time. Again, my former 496 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: colleague Patrick Klippick. 497 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,840 Speaker 4: Part of what happens with the Switch is what if 498 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 4: everything we do we don't have a handheld track and 499 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 4: a console track. It's just one and that allows us 500 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 4: to consolidate our expertise, our engineering, our design. But it 501 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 4: also means like there's not something to save you, right, 502 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 4: like if the weu underperforms, if the game Uwan performs, well, 503 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 4: don't worry. The handheld business is picking up the slack. 504 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 4: If the switch didn't work out, there was nothing to 505 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:36,880 Speaker 4: pick up the slack. And there's every reason to wonder 506 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:41,040 Speaker 4: what would Nintendo be if the switch hadn't taken off 507 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,520 Speaker 4: for whatever reason. But obviously the sort of capture lightning 508 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 4: in a bottle that goes hand in hand with Breath 509 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,880 Speaker 4: of the Wild not just being like a good or 510 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:51,960 Speaker 4: a great game, but like a once in a lifetime, 511 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 4: like once in a generation style game that like really 512 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 4: hits the masses. 513 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:01,440 Speaker 1: And the switch is an another great example of your 514 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 1: COIs philosophy and influence. 515 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 4: The switch is just fascinating because the original switch is 516 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:11,760 Speaker 4: based on an Nvidia mobile phone chip from ten plus 517 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,280 Speaker 4: years ago, Like it's remarkable what Nintendo was able to 518 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:16,320 Speaker 4: get out of it. And then a couple of years 519 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 4: in COVID happens and the explosion and interest in video games. 520 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,360 Speaker 1: The Switch ended up being a smash hit and it 521 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,480 Speaker 1: really took off in twenty twenty during lockdown. 522 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 4: People finding stuff to do at home, the sort of 523 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 4: serendipitous launch of animal Crossing, which they couldn't have predicted, 524 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,880 Speaker 4: that just sort of happened alongside, you know, lockdowns and 525 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 4: people looking for stuff to do. And it's like they 526 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,800 Speaker 4: had a a platform that could be played like on 527 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 4: TV or around the house, and then launched a social 528 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 4: game at a time people were desperate for any sort 529 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 4: of social activity and then the Switch like just explodes 530 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 4: like during that period. It just makes for a very 531 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,440 Speaker 4: unique set of circumstances for the company. 532 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: You've played the switch to? What's it like? What do 533 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: you think? 534 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:04,120 Speaker 4: Have you played a switch? 535 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:05,600 Speaker 1: I have played the Switch? 536 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:12,160 Speaker 4: So you have played a switch to? Okay, which I think? 537 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:14,880 Speaker 4: You know, Wait, does that mean you're not impressed? I 538 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:19,000 Speaker 4: don't think they're trying to impress anybody. I think I 539 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 4: think the switch too is Nintendo. Do people really like 540 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,640 Speaker 4: the Switch? Do they really want us to reinvent the Wheel? 541 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,560 Speaker 4: And I think what they have said is like their 542 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:33,959 Speaker 4: bet is that people would just like a nicer switch, 543 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 4: and that's what the Switch to is it is a 544 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:42,720 Speaker 4: nicer switch, better graphics, more capable, nicer joy cons a 545 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 4: better kind of fit and finish. And then I think 546 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 4: from a Nintendo's perspective, like, why did they do the 547 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 4: Wii well, the GameCube felt like they ran into a 548 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,160 Speaker 4: wall and had to do something different. Why did they 549 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,000 Speaker 4: do the switch well, the we you ran into a 550 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 4: wall and they had to do something different. There's really 551 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:02,080 Speaker 4: no indications from the runaway success of the switch that 552 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 4: they should do something fundamentally different. So I think from 553 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,600 Speaker 4: their perspective, a switch like a more powerful switch, like 554 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,800 Speaker 4: we see this with phones with tablets. Is the switch 555 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:15,000 Speaker 4: now just a ubiquitous device in a lot of people's 556 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 4: lives where hey, like every five ten years or whenever 557 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 4: it breaks or I hand, I hand one off to 558 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,720 Speaker 4: my kid, I go get the new one, And is 559 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:26,680 Speaker 4: the switch going to be like that device like that 560 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,840 Speaker 4: for people? The switch to is kind of the real 561 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,200 Speaker 4: test of where does it fit in people's lives? 562 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 1: Do you see personally any connection between say, the switch 563 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: to and goompe Ocoid's philosophy or legacy. 564 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 2: I mean in the sense that switch to is the 565 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:51,920 Speaker 2: successor to switch and really doesn't change much about the 566 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:54,520 Speaker 2: way the switch is built, where you've got the kind 567 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 2: of self contained device that is a screen and a 568 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 2: processor and RAM and a cartlot and then you have 569 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 2: the controllers that can be removed and swapped around, and 570 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,960 Speaker 2: it plugs into a port to a DOC to connect 571 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,719 Speaker 2: to a TV. I think Yokoya would look at the 572 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:15,640 Speaker 2: switch and say, you know, this is this is it? 573 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,200 Speaker 2: Like this is great stuff right here. I do think 574 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:22,680 Speaker 2: it is very true to Gunpay yokoy Is design concepts 575 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 2: and the thinking that he brought to Nintendo's products, not 576 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,480 Speaker 2: just their games, but many of their products. It does 577 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,759 Speaker 2: make me happy to see his kind of spirit live 578 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 2: on and continue through this. 579 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 1: I want to give a big shout out to our 580 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:49,000 Speaker 1: first guest, Patrick Klippik. He's got a right up on 581 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 1: crossplay dot substack dot com where he's laying out all 582 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:54,799 Speaker 1: the games he's looking forward to on the switch too. 583 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: So if you're thinking about getting one, and you know, 584 00:34:57,120 --> 00:34:59,640 Speaker 1: if the player two or player three in your life 585 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:01,799 Speaker 1: just so happens to be a kid, that might be 586 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:04,399 Speaker 1: something you want to check out. And also big shout 587 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,960 Speaker 1: out to Jeremy Perish if you're interested at all in 588 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:11,560 Speaker 1: video game and history seriously, his YouTube channel is mandatory watching. 589 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 1: And also, speaking of videos, right as we were putting 590 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,480 Speaker 1: this together, the YouTube channel did you know Gaming dropped 591 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:23,040 Speaker 1: almost an hour long episode on Goompayakoy. What can I say? 592 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,239 Speaker 1: Great minds think alike. So if you're interested in knowing 593 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:30,000 Speaker 1: more specifically just about goompay Acoy's life story, because honestly, 594 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 1: there isn't a whole lot of info about him in English, 595 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:35,760 Speaker 1: that's a great video to check out. Also, and once again, 596 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,360 Speaker 1: all those links are in the show notes. Lastly, also 597 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:42,840 Speaker 1: a big shout out to you the listener for indulging 598 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:46,719 Speaker 1: me as I basically just go full fanboy about Nintendo, 599 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,880 Speaker 1: so I appreciate that also. But anyway, let me know 600 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:51,799 Speaker 1: what you think. You can hit us up at kill 601 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:55,520 Speaker 1: Switch at Kaleidoscope dot NYC with any thoughts. You could 602 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,920 Speaker 1: also hit me directly at dex digi that's d e 603 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:02,080 Speaker 1: x d I g I, either on Instagram or Blue 604 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:04,360 Speaker 1: Sky if that's more your thing. And if you like 605 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:07,280 Speaker 1: this episode, leave us a review because it really helps 606 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:09,960 Speaker 1: people find the show and that in turn helps us 607 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,160 Speaker 1: keep doing our thing. Kill Switch is hosted by me 608 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:17,480 Speaker 1: Dexter Thomas. It's produced by Shena Ozaki, darl Of Potts 609 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:20,680 Speaker 1: and Kate Osborne. The theme song is written by me 610 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:25,200 Speaker 1: and Kyle Murdoch, and Kyle also mixes a show from Kaleidoscope. 611 00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Ozwa Washin, Mangesh Hotigadur and Kate Osborne. 612 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:34,400 Speaker 1: From iHeart, our executive producers are Katrina Norvil and Nikki E. 613 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:34,719 Speaker 5: Tour. 614 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:37,719 Speaker 1: If you've got any game recommendations, send it to me, 615 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:47,239 Speaker 1: but until then we'll catch you on the next one.