okbuddyrosalyn

It would seem that most creative industries operate similarly, in that the artist must try to push their creative vision through the filter of the desires of the business or person funding them.

To give an example of this, Obsidian's team had to make New Vegas in 18 months, because their corporate and Bethesda's corporate agreed that was a reasonable amount of time. This was one of the factors that led to its buggy release and multiple areas that feel as though something was planned for them and not followed through. Still a great game, but definitely hindered by the needs of corporate.

You can find examples of this for as long as patronage has existed. Michelangelo famously fought with the Catholic Church over his depictions of nudity on the Sistine Chapel.

But Nintendo is a special case in that it seems the businessmen work for, or in tandem with, the artists. The businessmen at Nintendo believe in their artists and their products, and why shouldn't they? The creators at Nintendo make masterpieces far more often than not when they set out to make something new. So, when they make new games, especially when it's something big like Zelda or Mario, they let them cook for plenty of time, and the designers get to experiment with unique mechanics and twists on their franchises - for better or for worse.

So rather than seeing rushed 'AAAA' games and microtransactions due to focusing on the money, we see great games with insane price tags. Because the suits have let the creators do their thing and they will charge what they want to keep that going - through online service fees, $80 games or whatever else.