Oh, She's Bookish: Super Nintendo: How One Japanese Company Helped the World Have Fun
Super Nintendo, Book Cover Image
Completed: September 3rd, 2026
Oh, She’s Bookish: Super Nintendo: How One Japanese Company Helped the World Have Fun
To be honest, there’s not much to say about this one. If you are at all familiar with Nintendo then you know there isn’t going to be an investigative text that includes any negative imagery of the company. Of such litigious fame even Americans respect.
This book is exactly what you think it is, a sanitized chronological overview of Nintendo from their roots in Hana fuda into toy making and finally the digital era. You will get a piece of every big name who made the Nintendo of today and a glimpse into the 30-something’s who are stymying the feat of the passing of these greats.
You will get the one inch deep history of major games, consoles, and franchises. You will have scratched the surface of Nintendo. And that makes this a fun and easy read, but if you wanted something that wouldn’t appear in the already public interviews with these developers you will find the book very lacking.
So, is there any saving grace of this book? For me, there is one.
Iwata. I’ve been in the gaming news sphere long enough to remember the initial Nintendo directs. I always thought they were odd but not unwelcome. It was pretty incredible to see such a polished communication from a publisher and bask in a new franchise favorite.
I never gave much thought to the leadership of Nintendo and I did not know that Iwata, Nintendos previous CEO, passed away young. That he grew up in games, led a company making games on behalf of Nintendo - even having a hand in creating Kirby - before eventually joining Nintendo and being unanimously supported in taking the CEO role.
He’s a nerd and the number one fan of Miyamoto. He’s humble and awkward. He made a deep, positive impact as programmer and leader. I got emotional hearing stories about mundane rides to the airport where Miyamoto and Iwata would talk about their early days. One of these rides was the last moment between Miyamoto and Iwata.
I won’t forget that anytime soon. And for that, I’m grateful for having read the book.