Hero-of-Time Posted April 26, 2018 Posted April 26, 2018 Well, he was always just filling in until Nintendo found the right person for the job. 2 1
MindFreak Posted April 26, 2018 Posted April 26, 2018 Well, I won't say he'll be missed. He was largely invisible to the public. Any picture of the Furukawa-guy? Also, Shibata steps down as president of Nintendo of Europe. No successor mentioned. 2
Hero-of-Time Posted April 26, 2018 Author Posted April 26, 2018 21 minutes ago, MindFreak said: Well, I won't say he'll be missed. He was largely invisible to the public. Any picture of the Furukawa-guy? Also, Shibata steps down as president of Nintendo of Europe. No successor mentioned. It seems Shibata is getting promoted and heading back to Japan. I'll certainly miss seeing him on the Directs. Now, if we could only get rid of Reggie.... 1
Julius Posted April 26, 2018 Posted April 26, 2018 (edited) I don’t think Kimishima gets enough praise for the great work he’s done in turning around Nintendo’s fortunes. Iwata laid a solid foundation - I don’t think that can be argued about - but Kimishima has been nothing but professional in executing the plans for Nintendo’s revitalisation. They needed an intelligent, hard-working, and quiet veteran to serve as the face of the company after Iwata’s passing - may he rest in peace - to offer them such much needed stability in a period which could have very easily become a turbulent one for Nintendo. Very interesting that Shibata is heading back to Japan, I’m curious to see who’ll be replacing him. It’s worth noting that, according to Nikkei, Kimishima is stepping into an advisory role, which I’m glad to see. They’re also reporting that 68-year-old Kimishima thought that Nintendo’s management needed to be younger to better understand its customers, and that Nintendo had been looking for a way to pass the baton to the next generation but decided to wait until sales had made a comeback to make the change. Seems a smart time and a smart move to make these changes considering that they only just started a new financial year earlier this month. Edited April 26, 2018 by Julius Caesar 6
Dcubed Posted April 26, 2018 Posted April 26, 2018 (edited) Surprised to see it happen so quickly; I know that Kimishima was always supposed to be president temporarily, but still! Furukawa seems like a good choice, considering Nintendo’s recent shift towards non-gaming entertainment and extensive merchandising. I’m gonna miss seeing Shibata in the NDs, but it’s great to see him moving up in the world. He’a done a great job in recent years (Fire Emblem Fates’ EU failure aside). Keen to see who succeeds him for NOE. Edited April 26, 2018 by Dcubed
RedShell Posted April 26, 2018 Posted April 26, 2018 13 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Surprised to see it happen so quickly; I know that Kimishima was always supposed to be president temporarily, but still! Same. But actually because I’d completely forgotten Kimishima was temporary! Oh well, here’s hoping the new guy is good. And I look forward to the new memes. 1 2
Hero-of-Time Posted April 26, 2018 Author Posted April 26, 2018 Here are a few bits about the new guy in charge. Quote “Furukawa comes across as thoughtful, very knowledgeable and quite well informed,” said Atul Goyal, an analyst at Jefferies Group, who has met him several times in person. “He is fluent in English. He may be the perfect person to fill the communication gap that exists between Nintendo and investors.” Quote Nikkei, according to Nintendo Life, also reports that Furukama was responsible for Sales and Marketing of the Switch. Quote Nintendo “should focus on things that only we can provide,” said Mr. Furukawa. “Otherwise Nintendo would lose a reason to exist.” “I have to ask him many numbers-related questions, but there have been so many times in the past when I ended up spending so much time chatting about games,” said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute. He also said he wanted to turn smartphone games into a revenue pillar for the company, a goal Mr. Kimishima said he wasn’t able to fully achieve during his time in office. 3
ArtMediocre Posted April 26, 2018 Posted April 26, 2018 10 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Nikkei, according to Nintendo Life, also reports that Furukama was responsible for Sales and Marketing of the Switch. Well now, this makes me pumped for the future! The Switch marketing has been fantastic so far, so this is really positive news to hear. No more marketing fails like the Wii U :P.
killthenet Posted April 26, 2018 Posted April 26, 2018 I forgot that Kimishima was just a temporary replacement so was a bit shocked at the news. He's done a great job though and hands the company over in a really strong position. Will have to read up on Furukawa but things bode well considering he played a big part in the Switch's marketing. 1
Dcubed Posted June 5, 2018 Posted June 5, 2018 (edited) We know where Satoru Shibata went to now! https://nintendosoup.com/satoru-shibata-promoted-to-the-pokemon-company-outside-director/ He's now the Outside Director of The Pokemon Company! (Shuntaro Furukawa's previous role before he became Nintendo's President and CEO) Congrats to him! Great to see him land a sweet gig! Edited June 5, 2018 by Dcubed 3
Ike Posted June 5, 2018 Posted June 5, 2018 19 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Conrats to him! Great to see him land a sweet gig! Hope it involves him dressing up as Pokemon. I miss him being in the Directs. 3
Hero-of-Time Posted June 28, 2018 Author Posted June 28, 2018 The torch has officially been passed. 4
Julius Posted June 28, 2018 Posted June 28, 2018 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: The torch has officially been passed. My favourite E3 photos are always of Nintendo’s presidents/key developers with a young fan... Best of luck to Furukawa, who I am sure will be great in the role! Edited June 28, 2018 by Julius Caesar 3
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