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Dan Houser Lauds Nintendo's 'Pure Gaming Experience'

11/7/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games, praised Nintendo's design on the Lex Fridman Podcast, calling it a "pure gaming experience."
He highlighted Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as examples of that approach.
Houser compared Zelda's design to Alfred Hitchcock's cinema, saying it expresses a distinct language of video games.
He has left Rockstar and is pursuing new intellectual properties through Absurd Ventures.

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Story summary

Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games, praised Nintendo's design on the Lex Fridman Podcast, calling it a "pure gaming experience."
He highlighted Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as examples of that approach.
Houser compared Zelda's design to Alfred Hitchcock's cinema, saying it expresses a distinct language of video games.
He has left Rockstar and is pursuing new intellectual properties through Absurd Ventures.