What lasts

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Built to last

Games come and go. A studio that lasts decides what it keeps, and lets everything else change.

True story: from playing cards to consoles

Nintendo's own history begins in 1889: "Fusajiro Yamauchi began manufacturing and selling Japanese playing cards, Hanafuda, in Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan." In 1902 it "Started manufacturing and selling the first western playing cards in Japan."

In 1977, it "Launched Nintendo's first home video game machines, TV Game 15 and TV Game 6", and in 1980 it started selling GAME & WATCH.

Source: Nintendo: Company History, nintendo.co.jp

Quick check

What did Nintendo make first?

  1. Hanafuda playing cards
  2. Video game consoles
  3. Arcade machines
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Hanafuda playing cards

Nintendo's history begins with Hanafuda cards in Kyoto, in 1889.

Keep the why

What Nintendo made changed completely between 1889 and 1980. Shard Garden's games will change too. What stays is one line on the board: gardens that make players smile, made fairly.

Pick what stays

In 20 years, Shard Garden's games will be different. What do Kai and Remy want to stay the same?

  1. How it treats players and its team
  2. Its first game's code
  3. Its first office
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How it treats players and its team

Code and offices change. How a studio treats people is what it chooses to keep.

Decisions that last

The studio board holds every decision from Course 2: kill rules, error budgets, privacy, AI budgets and safety rules. Each new person reads it on their first day.

Hand it on

Founders don't stay forever, Kai and Remy included. A studio that lasts grows new leaders, writes down why things are done, and lets the next team change them for good reasons.

Quick check

A studio lasts by never changing anything.

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False

Nintendo changed what it made many times. A studio chooses what to keep; the rest can change.

The whole studio

From a plan on a page to a studio of 60, with a board of decisions behind every game.

Bolt says: Next: the studio at scale boss.

Fact-checked 12 October 2026