Xbox Co-Creator Says Sony And Microsoft Shouldn’t Copy Nintendo

Ed Fries, one of the inventors of the very first Xbox video game console, recently spoke to Geekwire to share his thoughts on the video game industry.

In his interview, Fries, who has moved on from Microsoft, believes Sony and Microsoft should find something that they are good at doing rather than “copying from Nintendo” all the time.

Fries went on to pour praises on Nintendo’s innovation, such as the company’s upcoming product, Nintendo Labo. Fries mentioned when he first saw the Switch, he thought it was creative and a “cool machine”.

Check out Fries’ full comments below.

When I first saw it, I thought it was creative, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to be successful. Some of the ideas we had actually talked about at Xbox, like having controllers you could separate and hold in each hand. I first played Zelda on the Wii U and enjoyed the game, and thought, maybe I don’t need a Switch. Eventually I buckled and got a Switch to play Mario, and I was really surprised how many different and creative ways they use the controllers, how they can be joined onto different supports, or you can separate them and hand them to another player and turn them sideways. It’s something that’s really won me over as a cool machine.

I love how creative Nintendo is. Now they have this Nintendo Labo with the cardboard. When I saw that I thought, good for you Nintendo, I just love how they’re always thinking outside the box. This cardboard thing ties into the whole maker movement, and it’s great to have kids building something physical.

I don’t think the right thing for Microsoft or Sony to do is imitate Nintendo or try to be Nintendo. I don’t think they’ll succeed by being Nintendo. I think they’ve gotta figure out what it is that they do well and continue to do that well.