During the tenure of the late Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo went from being a playing card manufacturer to one of the most recognisable companies in the world—yet, despite this amazing evolution, Yamauchi ensured that his firm never allowed its newfound fame to change the way it approached business.
Speaking to Japanese outlet 4Gamer (and translated by The Gamer), Takaya Imamura—one of the key creatives behind the likes of F-Zero and Star Fox—revealed that Nintendo was such a level-headed organisation under Yamauchi's command that it didn't even make a fuss when it turned 100:
I joined the company in the year of Nintendo's 100th anniversary. At that time, society as a whole was in a bubble, so companies would take students who had secured employment on trips and throw parties to keep them from losing out, but Nintendo did nothing (laughs). We didn't even celebrate our 100th anniversary, and it was a company that never got carried away.
Imamura adds that Yamauchi was at the core of this approach:
It was 'Keep calm when you're happy, keep calm when you're unhappy.' No matter how well the company was doing, Yamauchi would always speak harshly to employees. Of course, this was because Yamauchi had failed in many businesses, but toys and games are a business that is a liquid business, so it's right even if you think about it normally. Hearing Yamauchi's strong and persuasive words made me think, 'You have to make good, interesting things to sell, right?'
Yamauchi passed away on September 19th, 2013. As for Imamura, he worked at Nintendo between 1989 and 2021 and is now focused on his manga, Omega 6, and its video game adaption, Omega 6: The Triangle Stars.