Dante Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 Siliconera.com = The last five years have been an explosive period of growth for Nintendo and their quest for expansion outside of the traditional game-playing audience. Under the leadership of president Satoru Iwata, the company that was once close to falling dangerously out of touch with the industry has been able to wrestle its leadership position back from Sony Computer Entertainment and help pave the way for the future of the business as a whole. However, the journey to the top, as one can guess, has been far from easy. A report at Japanese industry site Gamesbusiness.jp sourced from Nikkei’s print tabloid further reveals that Nintendo’s growth was almost too fast for the company’s understaffed management to be able to cope with. Part of the reason for this, the report states, is that the rapid spread of the Wii and DS globally and online expansion efforts resulted in a greatly increased workload for a number of Nintendo branches. The company’s network development department in particular voiced dissatisfactions with their workload. Furthermore, Nintendo’s software development teams were so busy creating sequels to existing popular I.P., they were unable find the time to dedicate themselves to the development of new franchises. At the start of 2009, Iwata compiled a list of Nintendo’s internal problems. The list, shockingly, amounted to nearly 700 items. There’s little doubt that Iwata’s concerns regarding third-party developer relations were a prominent part of it. Another significant problem reported was “unexpected accidents in communication between branches,†which also points to management issues. The solution to the company’s understaffed management problem was outsourcing. Rather than ramp up the size of Nintendo’s staff significantly — although, the company did expand by about 300 employees in 2009 — Iwata thought to entrust auxiliary and “low-priority†software development to external firms. The report concludes stating that the reforms introduced by Iwata and the improvements made to the company’s “lacking administration†have brought Nintendo to a new future, and suggests that perhaps Iwata can facilitate further growth while preserving the essence that is Nintendo.
david.dakota Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 Perhaps they could outsource the online solutions to a company that knows what they're doing in the online space?
darkjak Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 If Nintendo are understaffed, they could just hire my class. We're working on our final thesis right now, and at the moment only 9 out of the original 50 remain:wink: But as I've said for quite some time, Nintendo have some huge issues that they need to deal with.
D_prOdigy Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 Iwata is a hard-up man. He's a perfectionist when it comes to running a business efficiently. So when I read that he's drawn up 700 'problems' to address, it doesn't for one moment suggest to me that Nintendo are somehow in a seriously grim position compared to other companies of their size. Although it IS surprising that he clearly feels a need to take urgent action considering everything seems to shiny, shiny at Nintendo to outsiders. This: Iwata thought to entrust auxiliary and “low-priority” software development to external firms. has been evident lately when you think about it. Excite Truck, Mario Strikers, Zangeki no REGINLEIV, H.A.M.M.E.R., etc... Though this kind of approach to making software could also factor into the building better ties with third parties. Iwata is an ambitious man, and I'd be very surprised if he gets on top of all these 700 things and finds himself completely content with how Nintendo is doing business. But then, I very much doubt any of us would actually want that day to come :p But it's always been a bit crazy behind those doors, anyway.
tapedeck Posted April 12, 2010 Posted April 12, 2010 (edited) Siliconera: Furthermore, Nintendo’s software development teams were so busy creating sequels to existing popular I.P., they were unable find the time to dedicate themselves to the development of new franchises. Erm...I somehow doubt this. Miyamoto was probably dicking around waving a remote around every day whilst programmers made games and Shiggsy came in and upended the table to start them over again. (Think some mad Willy Wonka type figure.) FACT: Wii Music was actually finished in 2006 only for Shigsy to incorporate Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the balance board which took the title's production cycle into overdrive thus meaning they had to cancel the cyber-punk-esque Kid Icarus and instead produce a last minute SMG2 to appease a fanbase crying out for more. Maybe... Furthermore: In relation to Nintendo's 'growth problems' there are a ton of Japanese men working for them. I'm mulling over a letter of complaint to Siliconera.com. Edited April 12, 2010 by tapedeck
Debug Mode Posted April 13, 2010 Posted April 13, 2010 Furthermore: In relation to Nintendo's 'growth problems' there are a ton of Japanese men working for them. I'm mulling over a letter of complaint to Siliconera.com. ...My sarcasm detector has gone a bit defunct lately, this was sarcasm right?
Lens of Truth Posted April 13, 2010 Posted April 13, 2010 This makes a lot of sense. Nintendo have gone from zero to hero between last gen and now. It's all been rather abrupt, with the side effect of not being quite ready for their own success (or indeed the full potential of motion control) and, even more unfortunately, a lot of the gaming community becoming aggressively alienated. I don't think a consoles success has ever received such an embittered backlash. Good to hear they're beginning to sort themselves out.
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