While he may not be as well known as, say, Jim Ryan, longtime PlayStation fans will no doubt recognize the name Gio Corsi. As PlayStation’s former senior director of third party production, Corsi spearheaded a lot of initiatives – he was particularly noted as a booster of the PS Vita and was responsible for bringing a lot of Japanese Vita titles to a worldwide audience. He also was responsible for jumpstarting interest in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise worldwide after the series initially kind of sputtered out in the West.
Corsi left PlayStation a few years ago and has worked at various studios, but he’s now essentially returned to his old role of managing third party relations for a major console-maker, only this time it’s Nintendo. Today Corsi announced he’s joined Nintendo’s “AAA third-party management crew,” where he says he’ll “help great teams bring their amazing games to this legendary platform.”
This week I began my new gig filled with fun & adventure! I’ve joined the @NintendoAmerica AAA 3rd Party Portfolio Mgmt crew to help great teams bring their amazing games to this legendary platform!
On a personal note, Papa Mario is very proud!
Here we go!!! pic.twitter.com/OnONcy33US
— GIO 🍜 (@giocorsi) April 12, 2024
Corsi joining Nintendo now feels meaningful, as the Japanese publisher is likely going to launch their successor to the Switch sometime in the next year or so. Due to its limited specs, the Switch didn’t have much of a AAA third-party market to manage, but the Switch 2 is rumored to have power somewhere in the PS4 Pro to Xbox Series S range and support NVIDIA DLSS 3. So, Nintendo may soon actually need a serious AAA third-party management team. Corsi joining Team Red is hopefully a sign ports won’t be such a rare thing on Switch 2 – maybe we’ll soon be playing Yazkua/Like a Dragon games on the go.
Of course, Nintendo has not actually officially announced the Switch 2, so this is all speculation at the moment. All we know for sure, is that Nintendo will share at least some information about future plans during their next financial briefing in May. Rumors are the full Switch 2 unveiling will take place during the traditional “E3” season in June.
What do you think? Is Gio Corsi a good get for Nintendo? Do you think the Switch 2 will have more robust third-party support or is the focus still going to be all on Nintendo’s own games?
