Iwata Re-Elected as Nintendo President

[Serebii]

Iwata got voted in again

Edited June 27, 2014 by Retro_Link

[Daft]

I wonder if there are actually any other viable candidates.

[Ronnie]

Iwata got voted in again

 

Great news

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

Iwata got voted in again

 

Any stats on the approval ratings? Though I love the guy, curious to know if perhaps pity played a part in the decision.

[Retro_Link]

Probably best to give this its own thread.

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/27/satoru-iwata-re-elected-as-nintendo-president-at-annual-shareholders-meeting

 

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has been re-elected to the board of directors at the company's Annual Shareholders Meeting.

 

The meeting, which took place today in Japan, saw Iwata safely retain his position in the company despite being absent due to recent surgery.

 

It'll come as a relief to Iwata, as his approval rating from investors has steadily been declining in recent years. It was riding high at 92.9 percent in 2011, but that dipped to 77.3 percent last year. His current approval rating hasn't been announced, but we're working to track it down.

 

There were serious concerns earlier this year that the Nintendo president could be voted out following a slump in his internal approval rating and another annual loss, but it seems investors are keen to see him remain at the helm, for another year at least.

[Serebii]

Any stats on the approval ratings? Though I love the guy, curious to know if perhaps pity played a part in the decision.

Dude, that's a bit cold...

 

And they should be posted within the week

[Pestneb]

approval ratings won't show motive. Mario kart has been as successful as it could be with the current number of Wii U's in circulation, 33% of Wii U owners have the game which is the usual attach rate for a home console Mario kart. Wii U has increased it's sales for 3 weeks, although that is returning close to pre mario kart levels... but for 3 weeks the Wii U has been increasing the sales gap between it and the x1. That's pretty impressive, considering the x1 is a significantly more powerful machine and is newer, bear in mind also that one of the biggest games of the year was released on the x1 at the same time as mk8. So Nintendo seem to be consolidating a second position in relation to their two main competitors. They need to build on that, retain a lead on the X1 and limit the lead PS4 has on the U for as long as they can.

I would say they are in a better position now, as it seemed initially that X1 would have surpassed U sales before summer 2014. I imagine that would have motivated a more positive approval rating.

 

It would be interesting to see if that approval rating has moved, and if so if it has altered direction. I don't see that as being particularly cold Serebii...

[Hero-of-Time]

Wii U has increased it's sales for 3 weeks, although that is returning close to pre mario kart levels... but for 3 weeks the Wii U has been increasing the sales gap between it and the x1. That's pretty impressive, considering the x1 is a significantly more powerful machine and is newer, bear in mind also that one of the biggest games of the year was released on the x1 at the same time as mk8. So Nintendo seem to be consolidating a second position in relation to their two main competitors. They need to build on that, retain a lead on the X1 and limit the lead PS4 has on the U for as long as they can.

 

 

Not really. The Wii U had a years head start. The fact that they are this close to each other, despite that head start says it all really. Not to mention that the Wii U has had many of the big franchises come and go already. The PS4 and X1 have essentially got this far on a couple of exclusives and a bunch of third party support. If they are doing these numbers without killer software....

[Sheikah]

The Wii U also has a lot of games out now, whereas X1's only really killer game so far is Titanfall. When you bear that in mind as well as the Wii U having been out an extra year, it's really not impressive at all.

[Hero-of-Time]

Bringing the thread back on topic, I dunno how I feel about this news.

 

A part of me wants him out because I don't think he's aggressive enough and quite frankly I hate his attitude towards online gaming.

 

A part of me wants him to stay because he had guided Nintendo to offer something different compared to the competitors.

[M_rock]

I personally love Iwata, and I'm very happy he got re-elected.

He might be a bit dense and conservative, but at least he has good honest intentions with the game industry.

[Pestneb]

Not really. The Wii U had a years head start. The fact that they are this close to each other, despite that head start says it all really. Not to mention that the Wii U has had many of the big franchises come and go already. The PS4 and X1 have essentially got this far on a couple of exclusives and a bunch of third party support. If they are doing these numbers without killer software....

 

Not really, it says nothing, in terms of the last years performance. The wasted head start was disapproved of by over 20% last time round. The rest agreed with Iwata on certain unforeseeable issues, and approved of his plan to turn things around. Change cannot be instantaneous.

 

What is important for this year is the momentum the U has. It is reducing the speed with which PS4 is outselling the U, and increasing the rate at which the U is outselling the X1. Maintain and increase the lead on the X1, Maintain or reduce the lead of the PS4 over the U.

 

Nothing Iwata does today can fix the mistakes he made yesterday, he is just a man like any of us, by holding on to him they are basically giving him the opportunity of atonement. In the case of the U that is to increase the U userbase as far as possible, make the U a profitable venture, increase the companies financial stability and prepare it for future ventures.

 

Having said that, I will be interested to see how many feel he is the best man to achieve that.

[Serebii]

To be fair, Iwata not getting elected wouldn't have had him fired, as the position of CEO isn't voted. However, it would probably cause him to choose to step down

[Goron_3]

Iwata has had 2 good years (07-09). Hopefully he'll improve on his track record and fix the situation they've put themselves in.

[Debug Mode]

And Iwata sits at home, kackling under the kotatsu as he takes another 10000 Yen note from the battle chest to roll another joint

[Sheikah]

It's a real shame I think. Nintendo need someone less conservative, somebody actually capable of hauling Nintendo into the 21st century and giving the core gamers more of what they want.

[Serebii]

It's a real shame I think. Nintendo need someone less conservative, somebody actually capable of hauling Nintendo into the 21st century and giving the core gamers more of what they want.

When have core gamers ever been Nintendo's market?

[Sheikah]

When have core gamers ever been Nintendo's market?

 

Since/before any console but the Wii.

[david.dakota]

A part of me wants him out because I don't think he's aggressive enough and quite frankly I hate his attitude towards online gaming.

 

I don't think it's quite as simple as blaming Iwata, I think its cultural. Japanese gamers do seem to be less interested in online gaming, I think that's reflected within Nintendo. For a multinational, it's an absurdly Japanese-centric company with very little understanding of western (gaming) attitudes. Any leader after Iwata would have difficulty in shifting the company to embrace online.

 

I'm happy to see Iwata keep his position. If he had lost the presidency, I think it would have proved to be demotivating across the company, illustrating that those short term profiteering investors hopping on the Wii bandwagon run the show. Iwata is a great leader and clearly well respected across the organisation but he needs to ensure he and the top ranks really learn from the failings of Wii U and 3DS.

[Hero-of-Time]

I don't think it's quite as simple as blaming Iwata, I think its cultural. Japanese gamers do seem to be less interested in online gaming, I think that's reflected within Nintendo. For a multinational, it's an absurdly Japanese-centric company with very little understanding of western (gaming) attitudes. Any leader after Iwata would have difficulty in shifting the company to embrace online.

 

I'm happy to see Iwata keep his position. If he had lost the presidency, I think it would have proved to be demotivating across the company, illustrating that those short term profiteering investors hopping on the Wii bandwagon run the show. Iwata is a great leader and clearly well respected across the organisation but he needs to ensure he and the top ranks really learn from the failings of Wii U and 3DS.

 

That top paragraph highlights the issues I have with him. As a leader, surely it's his duty to make sure his product is successful on a global scale? He should be looking at what works not only in Japan but the western world. This is a problem many on here have mentioned in the past.

 

I agree with some of your second paragraph. My only worry is that they won't learn from these mistakes and rather than face them head on, will retreat further into the little bubble that they live in.

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

Dude, that's a bit cold...

 

And they should be posted within the week

 

Sadly, business is cold.

[Retro_Link]

I don't think it's quite as simple as blaming Iwata, I think its cultural. Japanese gamers do seem to be less interested in online gaming, I think that's reflected within Nintendo. For a multinational, it's an absurdly Japanese-centric company with very little understanding of western (gaming) attitudes. Any leader after Iwata would have difficulty in shifting the company to embrace online.

But then PlayStation is a Japanese brand, and everyone within their company gets the importance of it.

[Serebii]

But then PlayStation is a Japanese brand, and everyone within their company gets the importance of it.

Despite the fact it haemorrhages money?

[Hero-of-Time]

But then PlayStation is a Japanese brand, and everyone within their company gets the importance of it.

 

Very true.

 

Although they are Japanese they have a very open and western style. This was evident even from the original Playstation. In fact you could argue the western side of the PS teams are now far superior to the Japanese ones.

[James McGeachie]

I'm glad Iwata got voted back in.

 

I have issues with how the company is being run, but there's much more to that culture of sticking to their guns than just Iwata. It's not like if you take him away that all the other directors start instructing developers to make hardcore games and commission powerful hardware. It's also not like Miyamoto suddenly drops his toy experiments and works on a new Mario or Zelda revolution.

 

I like Iwata because I like the current Nintendo set up, with the comedy between Iwata and Reggie, the Iwata asks interviews, the Nintendo Directs, etc. I'd rather not lose all that, I enjoy it and kicking Iwata wouldn't magically save Nintendo.

 

I really hope though that he realises just how crucial this time is to go forward. They've gained a bit of momentum just now from Mario Kart 8 sales, I hope he takes that forward.