
Nintendo’s iconic logo escaped an “age-up” remake - vo2maxer
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/the-story-of-how-nintendos-iconic-logo-escaped-an-age-up-remake/
======
larrik
> During the recruiting process, Fils-Aimé asked to speak directly with
> Nintendo of Japan's Global president at the time, Satoru Iwata, before
> accepting any job. "It is not something they had planned to do," he told
> Present Value. "I learned later on, it caused quite a bit of issues within
> Nintendo. 'Who is this person asking to meet with our global president?'"
> This phone interview with Iwata-san was eventually scheduled and originally
> meant to last 30 minutes. It exceeded 90, Fils-Aimé said.

Nintendo Japan thought it was weird that a potential President of Nintendo of
America would want to speak to what sounds like would be his primary superior?
Am I reading that right?

~~~
NoodleIncident
Nintendo of America is sort of ignored by Nintendo of Japan. It's more
surprising to me that he was able to advocate for the Wii Sports bundle in
America and Europe, and even there, he emphasizes that it wasn't actually his
decision to make.

~~~
gibolt
I watched this 'documentavideo' a few months ago. Goes into a bit of detail of
the history of Nintendo of Europe and one guy who helped it spread. I'd assume
relations between the various branches have pretty strong interplay.

[https://youtu.be/SKgL8u4CPJ8](https://youtu.be/SKgL8u4CPJ8)

~~~
sli
The term you're probably looking for is "video essay."

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hnarn
Seems like a strange argument, to claim that Nintendo's logotype would even be
eligible for a "modernization". The vast majority of logos follow the same
mold when they are modernized: they are simplified, rendered in sharp vector
art, are made to look good even in monochrome, may use contemporary fonts
instead that match this style, and so on. Microsoft's window is an example of
this, Firefox is another. The thing about Nintendo's logo is that it already
looks like that. Like the logo of IBM, it's already modern, because it's
timeless.

~~~
city41
I generally agree, but despite this companies still do it sometimes. UPS is a
great example. Ditching Paul Rand's timeless logo for what they have today, a
real shame.

~~~
spectramax
The worst of all is American Airlines logo. The one designed by Vignelli was
far superior in every aspect, yet we have the one today which looks awful:
[https://www.dezeen.com/2013/01/21/american-airlines-
debuts-n...](https://www.dezeen.com/2013/01/21/american-airlines-debuts-new-
logo-and-livery/)

Another example is Library of Congress logo designed by C&G, timeless until it
lasted and Paula Sher(Pentagram) destroyed it.
[https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_log...](https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_and_identity_for_library_of_congress_by_pentagram.php)

~~~
stallmanite
These articles are lovely. I didn’t realize until this moment how much I
needed graphic design criticism in my life.

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Waterluvian
Like Sony, I find that Nintendo's logo is pretty much timeless.

I think that the very nature of being employed to do a job makes it harder
than not to resist doing anything. I mentioned this the other day with regards
to A B testing. It feels odd to do all that work and conclude with: do
nothing.

I think this is exactly why you need someone like Reggie at that level of the
process. As an executive he's more resilient to the sense of need to do
something, anything, given how much time and money you put into the project.
This is also why you need someone who lives and breathes your product. Not
just generic executive cog in a suit.

I had three arborists in my forest last year. They all had opinions on what to
do and they were all different. Probably because I'm paying them to have an
opinion and "don't do anything" feels like you're cheating someone of their
cash.

~~~
danbolt
I was a bit saddened when Sony showed off the PlayStation 4 (as well as later
slim versions of the PlayStation 3) and took out the little coloured logo. I
loved how it also could be rotated for the upright orientation too. It helped
instill a small feeling of magic with the product.

~~~
bitwize
Hey, I'm still sad about _Apple_ nixing colors from their logo. Rainbow Apple
is best Apple, the Apple of the Apple II and Woz.

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excalibur
Nintendo's corporate logo has been consistent and predates the company's pivot
to video games. But each console they've released has had its _own_ logo, many
of which have incorporated the word "Nintendo". So while this is accurate from
a corporate standpoint, Nintendo fans have seen the company rebranded in a
variety of fonts over the years. To many gamers' sensibilities, the official
logo is actually retro, and reminiscent of the NES era.

~~~
aphextim
Fun Fact: The N64 Logo has exactly 64 faces and 64 vertices

~~~
excalibur
Not sure what you mean by "faces", but I count 24: 4 outside "N"s, 4 inside
faces, 4 upper corners, 4 lower corners, 4 slant tops, 4 slant bottoms

~~~
finger
He’s just reciting this post [0] or any similar. See the top comment in that
post for further information.

0:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/77bodv/the_n64_logo...](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/77bodv/the_n64_logo_has_exactly_64_faces_and_64_vertices/)

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danbolt
A quote from Steve Jobs on the design of the NeXT logo:

"Most companies have their logo as just a logotype. And every once in a while
a company has a logo that's sort of a little jewel, a symbol, that can be used
independently of the logotype." [1]

Personally, I think Nintendo's logo is somewhat the Mickey Mouse symbol of
video games. I'm glad they didn't change it, because when I see it I associate
it with the quality and holistic design they're known for.

[1] [https://youtu.be/qw7VrZSAUEU?t=41](https://youtu.be/qw7VrZSAUEU?t=41)

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bitwize
As silly as graffiti Nintendo logos seem to us now, when the brand is nearly
as stable in the West as IBM or Chevrolet, back in the 90s Sega was eating
Nintendo's lunch with its focus on being edgy and extreme and lax attitudes to
violent and other content. Nintendo capitulated on the content standards, and
for a time it would have been canny business strategy to add edge to the brand
also. The 90s were very, very weird. A timeless brand turned out perhaps to
have been the wiser decision after all, as Sega left the console market and
became part of a pachinko conglomerate. And they _still_ can't get Sonic
exactly right.

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jihadjihad
This guy has an amazing last name. Fils-Aimé is French for beloved son.

~~~
robotmachine
The new CEO's last name is Bowser which is less amazing, but more amazingly
apropos.

~~~
bitwize
They even play on it in Nintendo Direct, having the King of the Koopas appear
in a tie to discuss strategy for the upcoming year, only to be upstaged by the
real Doug Bowser.

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Grue3
Japanese logos tend to be quite "timeless", mostly because they're so
minimalist (think Mitsubishi logo). Even towns and prefectures have very
simple emblems instead of a complicated coat of arms.

[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emblem_of_Fukushima_...](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emblem_of_Fukushima_Prefecture.svg)

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agumonkey
in this day and age of constant reinvention, I find that stability is of
utmost value

~~~
marketingfool
Nintendo is known to be quite behind on innovation since the n64.

I think most gamers would consider any innovation since a gimmick or a
terrible executed idea.

I don't think Nintendo could invent a new logo or new game. They seem like an
antiquated company with a big marketing budget and high margin products.

~~~
killface
they hit that sweet spot of folks who like to play games but aren't into the
graphics as much as spec-heads. you can argue all you want about frame rates
and resolutions and shaders, but at the end of the day, smash brothers is
consistently more -fun- than any other game. that's why nintendo is basically
able to keep selling us the same games over and over with each generation:
they're all -fun- to play.

plus, my switch can play skyrim, so...

~~~
seventhtiger
Also pretty much the last refuge of video games as a social activity offline.
Everyone on the couch playing together.

For PS4, Xbox, and PC I never find someone with enough controllers for 4+
players. Even if indie developers make these games people don't buy the gear
to play them. They're almost designed for single player and only online
multiplayer.

On the other hand almost every Nintendo console will always have many
controllers. They company produces high quality party games, and in the case
of the switch they're literally selling joycons two at a time which means
indie developers can rely on players having 4 or 6 or even 8 controllers.

I honestly think the revival of board games is because of this gap that video
games created when this type of play was abandoned in favor of online
experiences and graphics.

~~~
agumonkey
I've heard that some major titles don't even have local multiplayer mode.

~~~
seventhtiger
This has become the norm now. High quality local multiplayer is the exception.
Split screen was more common on the 30" CRT than the 60" flat screen.

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rplst8
Man the writing really sucks at Ars Technica these days. Thanks for reminding
me why I quit reading after Condé Nast took over.

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JohnFen
TIL I learned that the oval in the Nintendo logo was supposed to be a
racetrack. I never realized that before.

~~~
Wowfunhappy
I'm not sure that it is? The article uses the word "racetrack" but I assumed
that was the author's term. Has it ever been defined as a racetrack by
Nintendo?

~~~
vitaflo
It actually used to be an elongated hexagon[1] before the rounded rectangle
design. Whether it's called a "racetrack" now, the rounded rectangle is a
simple evolution of the original hexagon.

[1][https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/logopedia/images/f/f5/Ni...](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/logopedia/images/f/f5/Nintendo_1970s.svg)

~~~
JohnFen
Ah, so it's isn't, then. Or at least not originally...

