I've said before and still proclaim that Nintendo is, at heart, a toy company. What makes Nintendo different, and I daresay special, is that they make their toys into video games. Oh, there are a ton of physical toys made from Nintendo properties and characters. Yet Nintendo's specialty is making video games that are built first as toys, as devices made more for the sake of being playful, as a first priority over narrative, graphics, or complexity. There are exceptions, but as a general principal Nintendo games are made first as a chase for that elusive 'fun for the sake of fun' ethos. This best explains Nintendo's decisions that baffle others in the video game industry.
