Nintendo is focused on internal development, won’t rule out future acquisitions

While Microsoft and Sony continue to make big moves and acquire large external studios, Nintendo has its eyes set on internal and organic development for the near future. 

This news comes alongside Nintendo’s latest financial and sales results, which saw the Switch officially breaking 100 million units sold globally. As of Dec. 31, 2021, the Switch has sold 103.54 million units, surpassing both the Wii and original PlayStation in terms of lifetime sales. 

With its continued success in hardware and software sales, Nintendo plans to focus on expanding internally rather than trying to acquire other studios or assets. This is in hopes of keeping the “Nintendo DNA” strong within all aspects of the company. 

“Our brand was built upon products crafted with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people who don’t posses Nintendo DNA in our group would not be a plus to the company,” Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said via Bloomberg. 

This isn’t anything new, though. The company announced in November that it planned to funnel roughly $880 million to expand its internal game development abilities following the continued success of the Switch and its first-party software. This includes Nintendo bringing on more resources internally to avoid the need for project outsourcing, which resulted in more office space being worked on in Kyoto. 

Nintendo also doesn’t have a history of acquiring external studios, preferring to partner and work with other companies on multiple projects over longer periods rather than trying to buy them out. The most recent example of a buyout from the big N is Next Level Games in January 2021, which came after the two companies had been almost exclusively working together for a decade. 

Related: The Switch is in the middle of its life cycle, according to Nintendo president

Even with Nintendo focusing internally, Furukawa did note that the company won’t dismiss the possibility of future acquisitions either. And considering the current state of the games industry, that is pretty obvious. 

With Microsoft’s deal to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion and Sony acquiring Bungie for $3.6 billion both coming to light in just the last month, Nintendo ruling out a potential acquisition to strengthen its own catalog could come back to bite it. Keeping the possibility open, while positioning itself in a way that shows it isn’t actively looking to make deals, leaves that door open for future negotiations.