Astro Bot “Almost” Beat Nintendo At Its Own Game, Says Former Boss

Summary

Astro Bot was one of 2024’s biggest successes, with its platforming prowess instantly being compared to Nintendo.
Just as that fire started to die down, it’s been restarted by former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé.
While present at the New York Game Awards, Fils-Aimé admitted that Astro nearly “outdid” Nintendo at its own game.

The beloved former president of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aimé, has spoken about Astro Bot’s massive success and admitted that it “almost” beat Nintendo at its own game.

Considering how many Game of the Year awards it won, I don’t think many gamers would disagree when I say that Astro Bot is platforming perfection and one of the best releases we’ve seen from PlayStation in some time. Astro Bot is so good in fact, that it instantly drew comparisons to the genre’s king over the past few console generations – Nintendo.

Astro Bot’s Worst Speed Run Level Ruined Christmas

I may never 100 percent Astro Bot now.

While Astro Bot’s endlessly inventive levels, tight controls, and charming presentation are of its own making, a lot of platforming fans quickly pointed out that those elements are reminiscent of Nintendo’s work with Mario. As you can imagine, that led to a lot of arguments about how original Astro Bot is and whether or not it’s deserving of its Game of the Year wins.

Former Nintendo Of America Boss Says Astro Bot Nearly Outdid Nintendo

As silly as it is to say that Astro Bot doesn’t deserve its moment in the spotlight because it has similar qualities to Mario and other Nintendo games, the comparisons are certainly there. That raging PlayStation vs. Nintendo fire had just started to die down after Astro’s win at The Game Awards, but it just got fired back up thanks to an unlikely source.

Earlier this week, former president of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aimé co-hosted the New York Game Awards (thanks GamesRadar+), which essentially forced his hand in talking about how great Astro Bot is. As highlighted by Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach, that’s exactly what he ended up doing.

While talking about one of the awards Astro Bot was up for that night, Fils-Aimé said that he “had to admit” that Astro Bot had almost managed to beat Nintendo at its own game, referring to the similarities between the two platformers. That nod earned a nice laugh from the crowd, who has surely been hearing all of the comparisons too.

I have to admit it, Astro Bot almost outdid Nintendo at its own game. – Reggie Fils-Aimé

Despite winning the Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year, the Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game, and the Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game (yes those are all real), it’s worth noting that Fils-Aimé said “almost”. Makes you wonder what Nintendo is cooking up that could possibly counter the Odyssey-rivalling Astro Bot.