When one thinks of video games, one thinks of the industry titan Nintendo. As of December 2021, the Nintendo Switch console has sold about 80 million units since its launch in 2017. Sales particularly spiked in 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw stock shortages as a result of an ever-increasing demand, as well as 31 million copies of Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold; bringing friends and families together in their own fantastical, virtual island getaways. It may be incredibly surprising, however, to learn that the corporation that’s home to Super Mario, possibly the most iconic gaming mascot to exist, has a long history of flops and failures that were crucial stepping stones to the success story Nintendo displays now.
Written and directed by Jeremy Snead (director of Video Games: The Movie), and narrated and produced by Sean Astin, Playing with Power: The Nintendo Story seeks to recount Nintendo’s entire history, from their humble beginnings making toys and Hanafuda playing cards in Kyoto under founder Fusajiro Yamauchi, to the games industry juggernaut we know today. Along the way, significant games industry figures, celebrities, and Nintendo alumni, like Ron Judy (Co-Founder of Nintendo of America), Nolan Bushnell (Co-Founder of Atari), Tom Kalinske (Former CEO of Sega of America), Wil Wheaton, Alison Haislip, and more share their own experiences and offer their own commentary through the different eras of Nintendo history.
From the vast selection of interviews alone, it’s striking how not only impactful, but emotionally resonant the firsthand experiences of Nintendo were to these figures. While impact is immediately felt on an industry and corporate level, especially in head of Xbox Phil Spencer’s gushing about his admiration for the company’s philosophies and push for innovation, what has always drawn me to Nintendo was its strong sense of community and nostalgia. In capturing what exactly growing up with Nintendo meant to these people, bonding with other kids through Donkey Kong high scores, spreading rumors about secrets in The Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart races and Mario Party rage, Playing with Power excels at being a celebration of those joyous moments of youth, something I found the most compellingly relatable about the docuseries. In the age of the internet, we might have lost the secrecy and archaisms of video games, but we have lost none of the curiosity and connection. So many things have changed since the ‘80s, but the core of Nintendo’s magic has stayed the same.
Where Playing With Power falters, however, is in critiquing Nintendo as a company on more than a superficial level. While the docuseries is refreshingly not afraid to openly discuss Nintendo’s own marketing failures, including the struggles on the 1980s Console Wars against the Sega Genesis vs. the Super Nintendo, and the flop of the Virtual Boy, GameCube, and the infamous Wii U, these sections of the documentary are often far too short and skimmed over, as opposed to the moments of triumph within the company. Industry leaders discuss the poor marketing and historical conditions that led to disinterest, but don’t go deeper into what’s lost in translation to core gameplay through Nintendo’s innovative, but sometimes wacky gimmicks. Snead discusses the rise of video game piracy and how Nintendo navigates around that issue, but ignores how the company’s anti-piracy practices are often anti-preservationist — many of the company’s beloved titles are only playable through their original systems which deteriorate as time goes on thanks to Nintendo’s use of cheaper, more accessible material.
For a docuseries on a Japanese-originated company, Playing With Power is ironically unable to transcend its Americanized gaze. The multiple eras of Nintendo painted in historical context through American pop-culture and political moments make this obvious. While it was pleasant to see that most of the first episode is very dedicated to Fusajiro Yamauchi’s history and what drove him to create Nintendo as an entertainment business, it was increasingly transparent that a majority of the people offering their own commentary on Yamauchi’s story were white Americans. The docuseries discusses events like the 9.0 earthquake that affected Japan in 2011, but neglects to discuss the wider impact it had on the employees or specific projects. It could be an issue of recency bias when it comes to coverage, but despite Nintendo being located in Kyoto, many employees were affected by the damage. Games like Super Mario 3D Land have fascinating stories of comradery and persistence through adversity to share — stories that fit the docuseries overall thesis of Nintendo’s success through failure — but are ultimately lost to the Americanized lens.
Longtime fans of Nintendo might have trouble finding information that feels new or unexplored, and those who are desiring a more critical look into Nintendo’s business practices might find themselves disappointed. After all, videogames are such a recent artistic medium and industry that a lot of what’s covered here is not at all that long ago. Despite the glaring moments of superficiality, Playing With Power: The Nintendo Story remains a flashy clip show of Nintendo through the ages that does an acceptable job recalling the company’s history, but a stellar job conveying what makes Nintendo products so personal to the player. Nonetheless, the wonder of undocking your Switch to play Animal Crossing in bed on a lazy Sunday would not be possible without the struggles and efforts of many before you, and Playing With Power provides that humbling perspective.
