Following the sudden passing of Satoru Iwata I followed the developments at Nintendo Japan with interest, wondering who would take over the reins as CEO. A tough job I’m sure, as Iwata was so loved by the fans and well respected within the company. For an interim period of time two men took on the job to lead the company, well known and well-loved Shigeru Miyamoto and the lesser known Genyo Takeda, who is with the company since 1971 and has had a hand in every console released since 1981. In fact, most analysts thought it would be Takeda who would be the likely successor.
Then, on September 14, Tatsumi Kimishima was appointed. Fairly unknown outside the company and a much more low profile personality. Mr. Kimishima is one of the few people to lead the company that has come from a purely business background, not from gaming development or other any other gaming background. That having been said, he has a great deal of experience across various aspects of Nintendo’s business, from working within the management of The Pokémon Company to also heading up Nintendo of America from 2002 to 2006 (he brought Reggie Fils-Aimée on board) Many people felt that Mr. Miyamoto should have been the new CEO, but he was promoted to Creative Fellow, which apparently means that Miyamoto has advanced specialized knowledge within his field and that he will guide as well as give advice to the company, in this case in a creative capacity. Takeda is promoted as Technology Fellow along the same lines as Miyamoto. Strange titles, don’t you think? Sounds like a children’s book! But I digress.
I think the choice for Kimishima with his business background is not a strange one. With the upcoming changes due to the partnership with DeNa it seems wise not to put all the cards on creativity, but make sure the business side and the financial health of the company are well managed. Add to that the fact that Mister Kimishima is knowledgeable about the American and European gaming market. Markets that seem to become more and more important as Japanese consumers seem to focus more on mobile gaming instead of console gaming.Console gaming has always been much more popular in the West. At first though it seemed that the stakeholders weren’t entirely pleased about these changes. Stock prices that had been soaring since the announcement of the partnership with DeNa, took a dive. Luckily two weeks later the upward trajectory was back. Could have been because a well respected analyst stated at the beginning of October that we should expect the unexpected of Nintendo’s first mobile game, and soon. But hey, who knows for real what the financial markets react to?
Meanwhile, Satoru Iwata is far from being forgotten. There was a petition for a Satoru Iwata Amiibo, and some fans have made their own since then. In this picture you see the Amiibo made by GandKris, who is selling it on eBay for charity: all the money will go the Child’s Play charity, which aims to support and help young children who are struggling with illness. At the time that I’m writing this, the bid is up to an astounding $ 1.825! Awesome!
How sad that Satoru passed away. Seems his death has caused a corporate shakeup, which happens. Hopefully all will transition smoothly. The titles are different.
Iwata was much loved by the gaming community for his willingness to be the face of Nintendo by his frequent Iwata asks interviews, and featuring in the Nintendo Direct broadcasts. I guess this new man will be very different, but maybe that’s what they need now.
Will he host Nintendo Direct? He doesn’t seem as friendly as the previous chap.
Somehow I doubt he will. He doesn’t seem to be the type, don’t you agree?