• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Nintendo Is The Only Major Gaming Company Without Layoffs In 2024

LectureMaster

LectureMaster

Gold Member
tech4gamers.com

Nintendo Is The Only Major Gaming Company Without Layoffs In 2024

Nintendo seems to have escaped the last two years without facing any major layoffs, putting it above most others in the industry.
tech4gamers.com tech4gamers.com

The gaming industry continues to navigate a challenging landscape as 2024 draws to a close. With nearly 25,000 layoffs over the last several months, developers and publishers have undergone multiple changes.

Gaming giants like EA, Ubisoft, PlayStation, and Xbox have also been impacted by the layoffs. However, one particular company seems to have weathered the storm spectacularly. Despite the prevalent threat of layoffs, Nintendo has escaped the last two years unscathed.

The likes of Embracer Group had it far worse than others, though job cuts were far too common. However, Nintendo is nowhere to be found on the list of giants impacted by job cuts. In fact, the company faced next to no layoffs in 2023 and 2024.

The following were the companies impacted most by this trend over the last two years:

  • Embracer Group (7,890 employees)
  • Unity Technologies (2,900 employees)
  • Microsoft Gaming (2,880 employees)
  • Sony (1,475 employees)
  • EA (1,470 employees)
  • Ubisoft (1,021 employees)
  • Epic Games (870 employees)
  • Take-Two Interactive (630 employees)
  • Riot Games (562 employees)
  • Sega (438 employees)
Nintendo of America did let go of 120 contractors earlier this year, with this move expected to enhance the company’s global development initiatives. Fortunately, this was the last time fans would hear about employees departing the Japanese gaming giant.

Since contractors are typically expected to leave a company at the end of their contractual period eventually, this situation is hardly comparable to the mass layoffs from other giants.

Perhaps the company avoided a similar fate as PlayStation or Xbox by following the late Satoru Iwata’s philosophy. For context, Iwata opted to cut his salary in half after the Wii U’s devastating failure in 2013 to avoid job cuts.
The former CEO was confident in his staff and believed in retaining talent over anything else. It seems his core ideas are still prevalent throughout the company, putting it above the competition when it comes to this subject.
It also helps that Nintendo has seen major successes like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. film recently. Elsewhere, the Switch continues to sell like hotcakes, ensuring a steady revenue stream for the company.

 
LectureMaster

LectureMaster

Gold Member
reKIb2e.jpeg
 
Shadowplay1979

Shadowplay1979

Member
lh032 said:
they cant lay off anyone? its japan law?
Click to expand...


This is correct. You cant fire someone in a japanese studio unless you do something extreme. What they WILL do is ask you to quit and help you do it. Or they will severely cut your pay to the lowest amount allowed and not give you any work to do or anyway to get ahead making you want to quit.

If a company is going through massive problems...they can not take everyone out back and shoot them like they do in the west.

I work at a japanese game studio
 
Last edited:
Alexios

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Japan is home to more major (and just as multinational as Nintendo) gaming companies, duh. Of course Nintendo does something different to have both the highest employee retention rate (98.8% vs 70% Japan average) & least lay offs, even if some weirdos pretend they're smart by pointing to an EU localization restructure (a decade ago, non developers & largely 3rd party agency temps affected) as proof they're as bad as any other, mostly proving the opposite if you have to dig that hard and stretch the definition of Nintendo employees that much to have anything to actually count, lol 🤷‍♂️
 
Last edited:
solecon64

solecon64

Member
Despite the negative comments from some people online, this is just another aspect that proves just how unique Nintendo is in the gaming industry. They've been doing this thing since 1977, come on.

We've had countless companies come and go, they tried and failed, absolute juggernauts like Google, Amazon and Microsoft, and they never truly make it. Look how much of a joke Xbox has become.

But we'll always have Nintendo. The fact that most of the people working on Super Mario Bros. back in 1985 also worked on Super Mario Wonder in 2023 is everything.

We'll always have Nintendo.
 
Last edited:
Hugare

Hugare

Member
Nintendo games are mostly cheap to make and sell like hotcakes due to Switch huge user base.

Nintendo big hitters this year:TLOZ: Echoes of Wisdom, Mario Party Jamboree and Princess Peach Showtime. They were all AA tier in terms of investment. Echoes of Wisdom sold almost 3M despite being a so-so spin off.

They live on a low risk/high reward way that no other publisher can in the industry.
 
Generic

Generic

Member
LectureMaster said:
tech4gamers.com

Nintendo Is The Only Major Gaming Company Without Layoffs In 2024

Nintendo seems to have escaped the last two years without facing any major layoffs, putting it above most others in the industry.
tech4gamers.com tech4gamers.com

The gaming industry continues to navigate a challenging landscape as 2024 draws to a close. With nearly 25,000 layoffs over the last several months, developers and publishers have undergone multiple changes.

Gaming giants like EA, Ubisoft, PlayStation, and Xbox have also been impacted by the layoffs. However, one particular company seems to have weathered the storm spectacularly. Despite the prevalent threat of layoffs, Nintendo has escaped the last two years unscathed.

The likes of Embracer Group had it far worse than others, though job cuts were far too common. However, Nintendo is nowhere to be found on the list of giants impacted by job cuts. In fact, the company faced next to no layoffs in 2023 and 2024.

The following were the companies impacted most by this trend over the last two years:

  • Embracer Group (7,890 employees)
  • Unity Technologies (2,900 employees)
  • Microsoft Gaming (2,880 employees)
  • Sony (1,475 employees)
  • EA (1,470 employees)
  • Ubisoft (1,021 employees)
  • Epic Games (870 employees)
  • Take-Two Interactive (630 employees)
  • Riot Games (562 employees)
  • Sega (438 employees)
Nintendo of America did let go of 120 contractors earlier this year, with this move expected to enhance the company’s global development initiatives. Fortunately, this was the last time fans would hear about employees departing the Japanese gaming giant.

Since contractors are typically expected to leave a company at the end of their contractual period eventually, this situation is hardly comparable to the mass layoffs from other giants.

Perhaps the company avoided a similar fate as PlayStation or Xbox by following the late Satoru Iwata’s philosophy. For context, Iwata opted to cut his salary in half after the Wii U’s devastating failure in 2013 to avoid job cuts.
The former CEO was confident in his staff and believed in retaining talent over anything else. It seems his core ideas are still prevalent throughout the company, putting it above the competition when it comes to this subject.
It also helps that Nintendo has seen major successes like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. film recently. Elsewhere, the Switch continues to sell like hotcakes, ensuring a steady revenue stream for the company.

Click to expand...
Nintendo sells overpriced hardware and games. Zelda Breath of the Wind is still being sold at full price after 8 years.
 
S

SHA

Member
The ones who do the heavy lifting are the ones who thinks long-term and there's nothing wrong with that. I don't think Nintendo's business is sustainable if both Sony and Microsoft aren't doing something.
 
D

DeltaPolarBear

Member
SHA said:
The ones who do the heavy lifting are the ones who thinks long-term and there's nothing wrong with that. I don't think Nintendo's business is sustainable if both Sony and Microsoft aren't doing something.
Click to expand...
Dude... Nintendo is literally the survivor that was there from the beginning. You can call them what you want, but Surviving is what they do. During bad times the CEO paid himself zero dollars in order to avoid doing layoffs. Because they know the bad times will end and they need these talents. That is why they managed to make consistent products. The people who made the Marios, the Zeldas, the Metroids... They are STILL THERE. The teams that made the old classics are still making the new games. And they do that because layoffs are avoided.

The people who made Bioware, the people who wrote TES lore, the people who created Mass Effect 1... They are all gone. The studios are still around but the talents have left. The studio barely matters if you no longer have the people. The entire Blizzard is basically Activision wearing Blizzard's skin.
 
Last edited:
protonion

protonion

Member
Yes, because:

- they keep doing what they do best
-they do not have idiots in upper management chasing gaas, pc revenue or other short term goals devaluing their product
-no woke shit

It's a pity they do not release high end consoles anymore. They have a chance to take a big chunk of the market now Ms is out and Sony has become shit.
 
S

SHA

Member
DeltaPolarBear said:
Dude... Nintendo is literally the survivor that was there from the beginning. You can call them what you want, but Surviving is what they do. During bad times the CEO paid himself zero dollars in order to avoid doing layoffs. Because they know the bad times will end and they need these talents. That is why they managed to make consistent products. The people who made the Marios, the Zeldas, the Metroids... They are STILL THERE. The teams that made the old classics are still making the new games. And they do that because layoffs are avoided.

The people who made Bioware, the people who wrote TES lore, the people who created Mass Effect 1... They are all gone. The studios are still around but the talents have left. The studio barely matters if you no longer have the people. The entire Blizzard is basically Activision wearing Blizzard's skin.
Click to expand...
But the consumers don't see that, they see choices and choices are important in business.
 
D

DeltaPolarBear

Member
SHA said:
But the consumers don't see that, they see choices and choices are important in business.
Click to expand...
The consumers FEEL the difference in their bones. No one is saying Nintendo are saints, they are monsters for trying to patent game mechanics wholesale. But none the less they are still the best makers of games in town no matter any other flaw. So if you want good games and want to buy one sign unseen, your best bet is still a Nintendo first party game.

Sale or no sale, people will pay for Nintendo games.
 
Last edited:
Woopah

Woopah

Member
SHA said:
The ones who do the heavy lifting are the ones who thinks long-term and there's nothing wrong with that. I don't think Nintendo's business is sustainable if both Sony and Microsoft aren't doing something.
Click to expand...
What do you think isn't sustainable about it?
 
Robb

Robb

Gold Member
Good on them. Although I’d be very surprised had they laid off a ton of people considering how incredibly well they’re doing.
 
Last edited:
T

Three

Gold Member
BennyBlanco said:
they have a ton of employees in Europe and the US too
Click to expand...
In dev? which is mostly what's being hit. Notice that Capcom hasn't had any layoffs either so the title and premise of this thread is incorrect from the getgo. Capcom increased salaries. The only Japanese company on the list is Sega and that was layoffs at Creative Assembly (UK) and Sega Europe.

Bamco is the only one who wants to cut its dev workforce in Japan but they have to do it through these expulsion rooms where they try to get them to leave voluntarily:

www.ign.com

Bandai Namco Reportedly Sending Staff to ‘Expulsion Rooms’ Where They Have Nothing to Do After Canceling Multiple Games, Including a Mystery Nintendo Project - IGN

Japanese game company Bandai Namco is reportedly sending staff to “expulsion rooms” where they have nothing to do after a number of projects were canceled, including one said to be for Nintendo.
www.ign.com www.ign.com
 
Last edited:
D

Dane

Member
Three said:
In dev? which is mostly what's being hit. Notice that Capcom hasn't had any layoffs either so the title and premise of this thread is incorrect from the getgo. Capcom increased salaries. The only Japanese company on the list is Sega and that was layoffs at Creative Assembly (UK) and Sega Europe.

Bamco is the only one who wants to cut its dev workforce in Japan but they have to do it through these expulsion rooms where they try to get them to leave voluntarily:

www.ign.com

Bandai Namco Reportedly Sending Staff to ‘Expulsion Rooms’ Where They Have Nothing to Do After Canceling Multiple Games, Including a Mystery Nintendo Project - IGN

Japanese game company Bandai Namco is reportedly sending staff to “expulsion rooms” where they have nothing to do after a number of projects were canceled, including one said to be for Nintendo.
www.ign.com www.ign.com
Click to expand...
Konami was reported to do the same back when they de facto fired Kojima, demote people so they quit. Speculation is that Microsoft decided it was better to shutdown - sell Tango because they didn't want to deal with this.
 
Last edited:
Woopah

Woopah

Member
Three said:
In dev? which is mostly what's being hit. Notice that Capcom hasn't had any layoffs either so the title and premise of this thread is incorrect from the getgo. Capcom increased salaries. The only Japanese company on the list is Sega and that was layoffs at Creative Assembly (UK) and Sega Europe.

Bamco is the only one who wants to cut its dev workforce in Japan but they have to do it through these expulsion rooms where they try to get them to leave voluntarily:

www.ign.com

Bandai Namco Reportedly Sending Staff to ‘Expulsion Rooms’ Where They Have Nothing to Do After Canceling Multiple Games, Including a Mystery Nintendo Project - IGN

Japanese game company Bandai Namco is reportedly sending staff to “expulsion rooms” where they have nothing to do after a number of projects were canceled, including one said to be for Nintendo.
www.ign.com www.ign.com
Click to expand...
The have three studios in North America and one in Europe. Retro Studios hasn't published a new game since 2014, so there could easily have been layoffs there if Nintendo wanted them.

Edit: Actually they now have four studios in North America. I forgot about Shiver.
 
Last edited:
Tams

Tams

Member
Kacho said:
Gotta respect Nintendo. They don’t reshape their entire business to chase industry trends. They just stay the course and make bank.
Click to expand...

There will always be kids and wanna-be kids (for which there is nothing to be ashamed of).

Well, unless the world goes all Children of Men.
 
EDMIX

EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
I mean...all that means is the are not listed, not that the didn't lay anyone off.

Using this really slow logic, a lot of developers didn't lay anyone off cause its not like this list is ever fucking developer lol ...that alone should be really questionable as clearly people come and go in companies every day.

Lets use some logic here folks lol
 
Last edited:
TexMex

TexMex

Gold Member
lh032 said:
they cant lay off anyone? its japan law?
Click to expand...

I always forget the origin of this misconception, but it isn't illegal to lay someone off in Japan. People in Japan, can, and do, get laid off. There is more legal red tape than somewhere like the US where you can pretty arbitrarily perform a layoff for any reason, but there is no "Japan law" that says you can't. They have more guidelines, and employees have more means of recourse if they feel it is unjust, but it isn't impossible.
 
Woopah

Woopah

Member
EDMIX said:
I mean...all that means is the are not listed, not that the didn't lay anyone off.

Using this really slow logic, a lot of developers didn't lay anyone off cause its not like this list is ever fucking developer lol ...that alone should be really questionable as clearly people come and go in companies every day.

Lets use some logic here folks lol
Click to expand...
People coming and going is normal. But normally when there are structural layoffs at major publishers this is reported (and layoffs at Nintendo have been reported in the past).

I agree that Nintendo is not the only publish company without layoffs this year. It was the only one of the Big 3 however
 
O

Ozzie666

Member
Anyone doubting Nintendo, consider this. The WIu was such an epic failure after the Wii. Many lesser companies would have closed up shop and gone third party, or killed the hardware much sooner.
Sega didn't survive similar scenarios, Vita backed off Sony from hand helds.

Nintendo has survived N64 (still made bank) , Gamecube, Virtual Boy and Wii-u for poor market performers. Sony was almost destroyed by the PS3 they had to sell buildings just stay afloat. Lucky they turned it around, with guess what? Great games ans bundles at the tail end.
 
EDMIX

EDMIX

Writes a lot, says very little
Woopah said:
People coming and going is normal. But normally when there are structural layoffs at major publishers this is reported (and layoffs at Nintendo have been reported in the past).

I agree that Nintendo is not the only publish company without layoffs this year. It was the only one of the Big 3 however
Click to expand...

There is so many ways to go around that, I don't think anyone would ever get some exact number regarding something like that.
 
Woopah

Woopah

Member
EDMIX said:
There is so many ways to go around that, I don't think anyone would ever get some exact number regarding something like that.
Click to expand...
We get numbers of layoffs all the time (not exact ones of course). This is about structural layoffs, not people being laid off for bad performance or things like that.

The OP contains several examples of us getting numbers. When Nintendo themselves did structural layoffs in 2014, we got numbers https://www.polygon.com/2014/8/29/6083203/nintendo-lay-offs
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Developer Deck Nine Announces Its Second Round of Layoffs in 2024
2
61
3K
SHA replied
CD-Action.pl: "Major layoffs at GOG. Employees shed light on company's internal problems"
2
78
5K
PeteBull replied
  • Locked
Inside Microsoft’s Xbox turmoil - The Verge
12
2K
Pelta88 replied
EA execs earned $60 million in 2024 despite layoffs and office closures
2
51
3K
THE DUCK replied
Paste Magazine's Best Games of 2024
Opinion
28
1K
tommib replied
Top Bottom