When questioned as to how he will look to help the Japanese economy grow, prime minister Shinzo Abe turned to Nintendo for inspiration.
The reason for his choice, is that when they discovered their hanafuda card business was declining, they turned to another industry to turn a profit whilst continuing to manufacture them. A case of adapting for the future, but also honouring your past.
“Well, for example, there’s a company called Nintendo,” Abe had responded. “Over there, they made hanafuda cards, but gradually the people playing hanafuda decreased. However, that company called Nintendo makes hanafuda cards and whatnot, and I believe that only by doing that, it wasn’t able to protect hanafuda”.
Nintendo soon used their technical expertise to take their first steps into helping to establish the game industry. “And at the same time, it is keeping the traditional hanafuda cards. For sure, I think this is something that we can learn from.”
[Thanks Kotaku]
Japan “can learn from” Nintendo, claims prime minister Shinzo Abe
