Nintendo’s Leaders Share About Their Favorite Video Games

Ever wondered what the big names at Nintendo Co. Ltd. enjoy playing the most in their spare time? Well, now we know!

During Nintendo’s 81st annual general meeting of shareholders, the company’s leadership addressed an casual question about what their favorite games were. In response, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa and his fellow directors shared the following:

Shuntaro Furukawa (President):
Super Mario Bros. was released when I was in junior high school, so I was right in the middle of the Famicom (NES) generation. Even today, in my private time, I play various games, both from Nintendo and from other companies. I play most of our own first-party titles, but recently I’ve been playing a lot of the Hanafuda card game in Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics.

Ko Shiota (Senior Executive Officer): Like Mr. Furukawa, I was part of the Famicom generation and grew up with the NES and SNES. I’m in charge of hardware now, but I’ve tinkered with hardware and been interested in how things work ever since. That probably explains why I gravitate to games like our recent product Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, which I play with my kids.

Shinya Takahashi (Senior Managing Executive Officer):
I’m in charge of all our first-party software, so it’s hard to choose one game over another. But the first game I was involved with when I joined Nintendo was Yuyuki for the Family Computer Disk System. It’s a lesser-known adventure game, but it left an impression on me as the first title I was involved with.

Satoru Shibata (Senior Executive Officer):
I like adventure games, and I just recently cleared Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind for Nintendo Switch. Back in the day, I really loved playing Shin Onigashima for the Family Computer Disk System. I’m in charge of the Licensing Division, which serves as a contact point for software publishers, and they also have many adventure games that I enjoy.

Shigeru Miyamoto (Fellow):
I basically tend to play the games I created myself, so I haven’t been influenced much by the games of other companies. That said, the first game that influenced me when I started the job of game development was Pac-Man, and from a design perspective, I think TETRIS is wonderful. I’m currently hooked on Pokémon GO. This game, which I’m playing with my wife, is a dream come true of playing a game with my whole family. I’ve been enjoying Pokémon GO with my wife and neighborhood friends for some two years now. The average person playing Pokémon GO in Japan is probably around 60 years old (laughs).

What do you think? Do you enjoy some of the same game’s as Nintendo’s leaders? Feel free to share below!