Nintendo Not Opposed to Movie Adaptations

Nintendo is open to the idea of adapting its iconic gaming franchise to feature films, according to senior executive Shigeru Miyamoto. The Japanese company wasn't previously too keen on the idea because film and games are "quite different," but Miyamoto explained that times are changing.

"Because games and movies seem like similar mediums, people's natural expectation is we want to take our games and turn them into movies," Miyamoto told Fortune, noting that Nintendo has fielded numerous offers over the years. "I've always felt video games, being an interactive medium, and movies, being a passive medium, mean the two are quite different.

"As we look more broadly at what is Nintendo's role as an entertainment company, we're starting to think more and more about how movies can fit in with that," he added. "And we'll potentially be looking at things like movies in the future."

Following longtime Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's death last month, Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda have taken over as leaders of Nintendo on an interim basis.

The film business isn't entirely alien to Nintendo, as the company brought Mario to the big-screen in 1993 with the poorly received Super Mario Bros. live-action movie. Most recently, Nintendo's Donkey Kong appeared in last month's Adam Sandler movie, Pixels. Before that, leaked emails revealed that Sony Pictures was in deep negotiations with Nintendo to acquire the film rights to make an animated Mario movie.

In addition, there was a report of Nintendo producing a Legend of Zelda TV show for Netflix ("Game of Thrones for a family audience"), though Nintendo has since distanced itself from that speculation.

Movies wouldn't be the only new area of business for Nintendo. Earlier this year, Nintendo announced a major deal with Universal Parks to bring its characters to theme parks around the world.

If Nintendo does move into the film business, what franchises would you like to see adapted for the big screen? Share your thoughts in the comments below.