Former Nintendo of America President & COO Reggie Fils-Aimé gave an interview with The Game Business yesterday, discussing his former employer and the future of the Nintendo Switch 2.
Fils-Aimé said that during his more than 15-year tenure at Nintendo, he witnessed the launch of multiple hardware products. He remarked:
“I’m now watching the Switch 2 as an ordinary fan—I bought it with my own money, Nintendo didn’t give it to me. Of course, I sometimes take a critical view of how they approach their different business opportunities.”
In recent years, one of the biggest topics surrounding the Switch 2 has been whether this console can become a viable platform for third-party AAA games. For reference: Nintendo’s own games have always sold best on its platforms; while the original Switch did see some third‑party hits, most were light‑weight titles like Lego, Minecraft, or Stardew Valley. Although the original Switch also received AAA games like Assassin’s Creed, truly high-budget third-party titles often underperformed on Nintendo hardware. During the Wii/DS era, Nintendo hardware was even colloquially referred to as the “third‑party graveyard.”
But the Switch 2, at launch, already welcomed some heavy‑hitter third‑party titles (for example, Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, and Final Fantasy VII Remake).
Fils‑Aimé said:
“I believe that as long as those games run well on the Switch 2 and look great, there will be players willing to buy them. But one thing I’m sure of: Nintendo will never define its product as a direct competitor to Sony’s PlayStation. That’s not in their DNA, and it’s not how they view business.”
He added:
“When Nintendo designs hardware, they often don’t chase the most powerful graphics card or the latest CPU — that’s not how they operate. They aim for a balance of performance and efficiency. The chip in the Switch 2 is actually quite strong, but third‑party developers will face challenges in middleware and support when adapting their games.”
Fils‑Aimé went on to explain his point:
“Look, Nintendo’s developers are excellent — they can reduce the file size of a game like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to half that of comparable games. If Nintendo shares that optimisation know‑how with third parties, then even on less powerful hardware, they can still succeed in bringing excellent titles to the Switch 2.”
When asked about the so‑called “console war”, Fils‑Aimé said:
“I think Microsoft’s move to bring its Halo series to the PS5 was a good publicity stunt, but it also shows that the days of the ‘big three warring’ are over. Today, Xbox’s core business is game publishing — at root, they’re just a hardware‑maker and game publisher.”
The above content is compiled by ModeZone, a fashion and entertainment magazine.
