With the Nintendo Switch entering its twilight years and the end of a gaming era on the horizon, iGamesNews reached out to former Nintendo of America employees Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang to get their views on Nintendo's future, while asking them some fun questions along the way.
The duo, who rose to fame as part of Nintendo's official YouTube series Nintendo Minute, left the company after the San Francisco office closed in 2021. They now host their own podcast called Kit & Krysta where they react to gaming news, look back at their time at Nintendo and answer fan questions on a variety of topics. Watch the full interview below:
Thanks for joining us! Let's get started. What's one advantage of working for Nintendo that you miss?
We both worked on the communications team, which gave us a front row seat to Nintendo history as it happened. Our team usually learned about new products and initiatives relatively early on and was able to participate in conversations about how to introduce them to the public. There's always so much interesting work going on behind the scenes that leads to what's finally presented to the public, whether it's a Nintendo Direct, an event, or something else. Speaking of events, they were often a great opportunity to be among Nintendo's game developers from Japan. Of course, we were able to get a deeper insight into the games they were making, but we also got to know them as people, which was really helpful. Now that we're content creators, we're still at a lot of these kinds of events where things like this happen—for example, we attended the Super Mario Bros premiere last year and got to congratulate Mr. Miyamoto—but our perspective on it is different.
So it seems like you two were privy to some pretty cool behind-the-scenes stuff related to game development and production. We have to ask: If Nintendo gave you the resources to develop a game based on any of its IPs, which series would you pick and what kind of game would it be?
Of course, we're not game developers ourselves, but we always felt that there was a lot of untapped potential in the Star Fox series. We were both quite disappointed with Star Fox Zero and feel that the classic Star Fox gameplay is a bit at odds with what many people expect from modern games. The premise of Fox and the team going on adventures in space can be explored in many different ways – the idea of Star Fox Assault could be a good starting point for that, where you have some missions in space and some missions on foot with different vehicles. in. Something like a combination of that game and a more compact No Man's Sky where you have some freedom to fly around and take the experience at your own pace and direction could be really interesting. We hope to see a new take on Star Fox on Switch 2.
In 2024, Big N partnered with Kraft Mac & Cheese, Capri Sun and Boston Pizza (among others) in the US. What's a restaurant chain or food brand you'd like to see partnered with Nintendo?
Interesting question! We think Nintendo's efforts here were successful. The Pikmin/Kura Sushi collaboration was creative and really well done, but we're a bit tired of things like branded Lunchables where there's just a logo or sign on the box. We both really like Wario and think he's an underutilized character for Nintendo. Maybe he can partner with a restaurant like Wingstop or Buffalo Wild Wings and introduce the new Extreme Garlic for their chicken wings. This would be natural for the character and you could playfully pose the challenge through Wario's voice and ask if the customers are willing to try his new recipe. Negotiations over the fart theme could be a deal breaker, but we'll leave that to Nintendo to iron out the details.
Real talk: Which Pokémon do you see yourself as?
We are very vocal about our favorite Pokémon [Machamp for Kit and Togepi for Krysta]but i feel like a cop just with them. To spice things up, we'll pick each other's Pokémon!
Set: I'll go with Mankey to get Krysta. They are both smaller in size, but they are really lively and can get angry easily! She also seems to like the name “Mankey” but I can't blame her because it's fun to say. Monkey!!
Krysta: I won't mince words – it's Mr. Mime. I guess Kit has done a good job of expressing himself through podcasts over the past few years, but can he cut it as a mime? There's only one way to find out! Mimes also tend not to speak, so that would be a welcome break for me.
It was a long day. You've finished all your work and want to relax: What game do you play to relax?
Set: I tend to gravitate towards older games when I'm in that mood. Super Mario Bros. 3 is one of my favorite games and I'm always happy to pick it up and play through a few levels. There's something magical about how the levels are so compact, but always have some kind of fun or surprise waiting for you that keeps you playing again after all these years.
Krysta: It's December and I have to admit I'm a lover of a good in-game holiday event. I recently returned to Pokemon Unite and they always do a great job with their holiday event. It's really nice to be able to play the game and stay in the holiday spirit!
Over the past few years, the gaming industry has grown in many ways and has seen changes in the way companies market their games. Is there a key demographic or market that you think Nintendo missed?
Nintendo prides itself on creating games and experiences that can be enjoyable for everyone, and for the most part, they meet that goal. In the mid-2010s, there was a realization that kids approach games differently and that you shouldn't assume that kids will naturally gravitate to Nintendo because there are so many other games for kids. Our teams observed how intuitively young children can play games on a tablet and realized that things are changing fast. Growing up, consoles and dedicated handheld gaming devices were our only options, but many kids today seem to have their first gaming experiences on the iPad, and those games are sticky by design and hard to put down. Since that moment of realization, Nintendo has made renewed efforts to ensure that kids know and want to play their games – the Play Nintendo YouTube channel, which is entirely dedicated to exposing kids to Nintendo's games and IP, is a good example of that effort. We think they've done a solid job in this area, but it's something that requires constant focus and resources, so it's a constant challenge for them to make sure these new players grow into lifelong fans.
Let's address the elephant in the room (not Mario, not you), the Nintendo Switch 2 is on everyone's mind. What's the one thing Nintendo needs to do to make its 2025 a success?
A lot of things were going right for Nintendo when the Switch first launched in 2017. One of their biggest successes that year was an absolutely stacked release schedule – it's amazing to look back and see how Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 came out one after the other. That's a remarkable achievement and will be hard to repeat, but having a similarly strong first year for the Switch 2 will go a long way in giving people a reason to upgrade to the new system right away. On the Switch, we've gotten used to a new game being released for the first party every month or so. The Switch 2 games will undoubtedly be bigger and more demanding to make, but actually building that line and showing that there's a strong library of games available in the first year will be key for them to make 2025 a great year for both the company and the fan.
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