Does Satoru Iwata Need to Step Down at Nintendo?

No. He's more of a figurehead. Those ass holes in the "motion gaming is a great idea" department need to step down!!

But in all seriousness. Maybe it's time a lot of higher level Nintendo execs got the boot.

As I mentioned in a previous thread:

I'll wait and see what changes Iwata has planned to recover from their console predicament. In the meantime, I will continue to join the dozens of millions of people throwing money at Nintendo for the 3DS and its games.

not yet... if he doesnt turn it around for wiiU and the next console fails ..then yes.

Does he "NEED" to, no. If he did it would either make things a lot worse if he suddenly just left without finding a suitable replacement. He seems to realize he has screwed up lately so lets just see if he can fix his mistakes.

Nope. As many kno, he is the face of Nintendo right now. Taking him out now would cause a more negative hit than him staying there. Let the man check himself and I'm sure he will turn around for the better.

Even if Iwata puts out a plan that makes complete sense as to where the market is and where it's going, planning for it and being able to take action to change are two completely different things. Iwata is admitting to things and says change is coming, that's great. He also has been saying each gen since the GCN how Nintendo failed to maintain momentum due to software droughts, apologized, that they've learnt their lesson, and that each new gen wouldn't suffer from exactly the same issue again and again.......and yet, they continue to happen after his "promises".....again and again. On what basis do people hold faith that this same man that has been unable to rectify this problem for generations now can recover Nintendo from the position it's currently in?

Iwata has a proven track record that he is either a) lying, or b) is incapable of doing what he says he will. Frankly, I don't want a CEO that does either.

On a more important note, I also want a CEO who is aggressive. Who doesn't hold such defeatist views as "we aren't good at competing", "we aim to be everyone's second console choice", and "no one wants online". It's like every word that comes out of his mouth is either some excuse, apology, or an observation of an area that Nintendo lacks in, yet nothing is ever seemingly done about it. Iwata does not have that aggressive, go-get 'em drive to lead Nintendo in this day and age. He's passive, there's no feeling of drive behind the company at all. Look no further than Steve Jobs to see how much attitude matters. That guy was apparently a serious asshole as CEO, but he was a hard-ass visionary. After he bought his way back into Apple and became CEO again, he took no time in cleaning up that company and saving it when it was mere months away from filing for bankruptcy and turned it into one of the most profitable companies on the planet. And it wasn't done by being a nice guy....

And that's Iwata's problem. He's too nice. And nice guys make terrible CEOs.

No. He's done really well. I look forward to his next strategy.

The thing is, Nintendo would have been screwed regardless. Hiroshi Yamauchi, former Nintendo CEO, picked Iwata because Iwata was the best man they had for the job. The best man for the job was not a business man, he was a video game developer, chosen by the CEO who made Nintendo a huge hit during the NES days. Let that sink in.

I admit that he's not the best CEO in the world. I also admit that he really doesn't know how to handle console launches, but I still give him credit for turning the tides and making the DS, Wii and 3DS into a success. Especially the 3DS considering how rough its first year was. We really have to wonder where Nintendo would be right now if Yamauchi chose the second best in the company. If Iwata were to drop his position, who will they choose as next CEO? Can they find an "ideal" CEO who's aggressive but gets stuff done? Would a new CEO be a repeat of Iwata?

He's had to pieces of hardware, the 3DS and the Wii U

Each one failed

Where has he done well?

if not enough sales then yes.

Man, I bet Yamauchi is looking down from above facepalming himself.

Yamauchi, the man that made Nintendo, was NOT a game developer. So I fail to see how that makes Iwata the right man. Yamauchi was a tough and respected businessman. He picked Iwata because of the relationship they had, and because he felt Iwata understood Nintendo and would make the right decisions to keep the company profitable.

Yamauchi released the NES, saw how to improve it with the SNES, decided to skip 32-bit and go straight to 64, created a powerful, easy to develop-for Gamecube, and took a risk on family friendly motion controls. Yamauchi took risks. Yamauchi tried to stay ahead of the curve and tried to keep Nintendo innovative. Iwata has not done any of that. He's played it safe, stayed behind the pack, and is still running the business like it was the Gamecube era.

I bet Yamauchi would have had an online infrastructure, and would have used the 3/DS as an extension to a more powerful Wii U, instead of developing the game pad. He did, after all have the GBA to GC link cable developed.

@Grieverr: you do realise many of the problems Nintendo still suffers from today stem from yamauchi right? Going with cartridges for the n64, alienating 3rd parties because they weren't "good enough", all this was taking place before Iwata even took office

He's done well with failing lol

I didn't say Yamauchi was a video game developer.

"The best man for the job [Iwata] was not a business man, he was a video game developer, chosen by the CEO who made Nintendo a huge hit during the NES days [Yamauchi]."

No

Here's the thing, Yamauchi knew trends, he knew how people thought and would react.

He also knew how to make Nintendo run while having those policies you spoke about.

It's easy to say that Nintendo has been backward for years, they have, but they were also giants while doing that under Yamauchi.

Under Iwata they're a mess. Iwata cannot navigate the company, he does not know what the public wants and worse yet he can't keep them interested in things they're already latched on to. Iwata was given the Wii signed, sealed, and delivered and drove it into the ground.

Iwata's got two pieces of hardware (3DS and Wii U) to his name and has failed with both.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0

He was a huge part of Hal Lab. which produced a number of classic titles. He was part of Nintendo's head on the upcoming Gamecube and GBA, and became president early on in the GCN era. He was a huge part of building the DS/Wii brand, and was the lead going in and during the entire generation.

The DS and Wii are huge successes.

The 3DS is also a success (despite how you personally want to interpret it), and had a huge turn around.

The only real failure is the Wii U (so far), and because of this history, I look forward to his next strategy.

No.

Give him another year and see what his plan is for 2014 and beyond. If nothing concrete is set in motion to re-think the way they operate (like he said the other day) then I'd say yeah, he needs to step down. He might even just be remaining for the time being and working towards shifting over to new leadership for all we know. With a company as big as Nintendo, stepping down right away isn't the best option.

Yamauchi was mistaken. The best man for the job was not a game developer, that much is painfully obvious now. I've never quite understood how people automatically equate being a great game developer into being a great CEO. Just because someone directs amazing films for 20th Century Fox does not automatically give them all the necessary business acumen to preside over a multi-billion dollar corporation. You ever see that show Restaurant Impossible? These fucking idiots begin business because they've come to believe that being able to cook a decent home meal suddenly gives them the necessary foundation to run a business, and then they are all completely bewildered when it starts crumbling around them. Business schools exists for a reason. In fact, the business and creative minded are oftentimes in HUGE conflict with one another.

And again, that does not even take into account attitude which I find hugely important to be successful in such a competitive environment. You just can't hold attitudes like, "we're not good at competing" and "we aim to be 2nd place" when you're a CEO. FFS, could you imagine Yamauchi ever saying such things? Is it any wonder Nintendo is in the place it's in with such outlooks?

Tbh, I really don't give much credit to Iwata for the handhelds (and I'm now 100% convinced the Wii was a fluke). That's been a market they've held a monopoly on long before Iwata came to power, much of their 3rd party relations have already been well established (and are there because many don't have a choice as there's really been no competition). And sure, Iwata turned the 3DS around. Who was the one that fumbled the launch in the first place? Oh, that's right......Iwata. And to get it back on track, he pulled all developmental resources off of Wii U games and allowed it to sit dead in the water for months and months and months, until here we sit a year later when Nintendo has to cut its forecasts by seventy percent and posted a loss of 200+ million along with a third year of consecutive losses. That's what sinks in to me. You cannot take the 3DS's recovery into account without also taking the hugely detrimental impact it had on the Wii U, and Nintendo as a whole, into account as well.

This is not to mention that, while the 3DS is now performing decent on its own (but still much worse than the DS), it is on the downswing. Mobile is encroaching further and further into this market, Iwata has done nothing to address this, simply taking a "wait and see" approach when he should have had the foresight years ago to see the threat this market would present and take actions. Now handhelds, one of Nintendo's guaranteed fallbacks, is on unsure ground and only is it just now that steps may be taken.

I'm sorry, but Iwata has to go and the management needs a MASSIVE shake-up and infusion of fresh blood. I don't know who would replace him, but just because I can't name someone doesn't mean someone doesn't exist and that it'd be wrong to give them a shot. I really feel each day Iwata remains as CEO he is damaging Nintendo further. I just hope something is done before it's too late.

A week ago, I would've said yes. Nintendo needs a new perspective.

But if Iwata can bring that new perspective himself, than as a Nintendo fan, I'd rather it be him. He's such a fun, vocal, public CEO who's impossible to dislike.

It's true that he's admitted mistakes before and failed to prove that he learned from them, but none of those mistakes have been at this scale. He's never admitted that he has no compass outside of Japan, and it must be a huge deal to him personally for him to speak about it publicly.

If Iwata is smart, and I think he is, he'll surround himself with people who can fill in the gaps of his vision. And if that doesn't work, then he has to go.

@MirkoS77: Exactly. If Nintendo and Yamauchi thought the best person for the job was Iwata despite the fact he was only a game developer, then they would have been in this situation regardless. I do agree that there's bound to be someone that can manage Nintendo better than Iwata, but Nintendo is a very stubborn, traditional Japanese company that tends to have difficulties reaching out for foreign help or thinking ahead in the market. Maybe that's why Yamauchi chose someone he was close with for his position as CEO instead of an outsider with a business degree who could have made better marketing decisions. Now that basically everyone is aware of Nintendo's predicament, I would really like to see how they will start fixing their image, strategy and decisions in the upcoming months (especially in E3). Maybe finally start thinking long-term instead of what works at the moment. If they fail to fix their mess by January 2015, I will pick up my pitchfork and torch and start demanding a massive change in their administration. Until then, I'll be playing my games.

This.

@Shinobishyguy, yes, I am well aware that Yamauchi stuck to cartridges and the GC small disks, as well as alienate 3rd parties. But he was still riding high from the NES and SNES. I'm sure by now, he would've changed tune.

And Jaysonguy explained my point further. Yamauchi was either ahead of the industry (Gameboy, for example), or doing something bold thinking he was (cartridges to reduce load times). He never laid down and said "we can't compete". He never said Nintendo is ok with being a secondary or tertiary console.

Seriously. Attitude makes a world of difference in any leadership position. If I were an investor, the things Iwata comes out and says would make me livid. No CEO should even be thinking such things.

Iwata should stay and prove himself because it's a terrible idea to get rid of him now unless someone can do his job better than him. They can not also disrupt nintendo's business activites.

Well if I were an investor I'd be furious with Iwata.

Just look at the mess he's made since 2012; Little to no marketing for the Wii U, the latter has a name that confuses everyone, it had only 2 launch titles worth playing, third parties have been alienated to the point of almost no return, and now Nintendo is having it's third annual loss.

I lack sufficient knowledge to say for sure. BUT I will say this: a lot of investors / the press are putting pressure on Nintendo to start developing for phones. Do any of us really want that? Others believe Nintendo should go software only ... which sounds good but if you understand how Nintendo functions, then it's clear that this would inevitably affect the quality of their games. At the VERY least, Iwata should get points from us fans for not caving into these pressures. This guy has been a part of Nintendo as a developer for many years. He *clearly* loves the company and understands what it's about.

Iwata was one of those ass holes in "motion gaming is a great" idea department. Truthfully I loved the Wii, I had so much fun playing it, and my two favourite games of gen 7 are Wii exclusives. I think it's time for some fresh blood at Nintendo, but I don't think the old guard should leave. I want Iwata to go back to full-time game design. Miyamoto is already planning his retirement and is starting to drop his work load, instead concentrating on teaching new talent (and seriously, who's better than Miyamoto as a teacher?). Mario is in new hands, and Eiji Aonuma still has some time left in him. I think what Nintendo need now is an experienced CEO, one who has proven himself in the position before. I highly doubt anybody at Nintendo currently fits the bill, but there's nothing wrong with getting outside help. The only thing stopping that at the moment is Nintendo's pride.

I'm typically the end all be all Nintendo supporter, but even I'm thinking it's time for some management shake up. If you spend enough time reading into it, Iwata makes it pretty clear he's more concerned with keeping the internals of Nintendo happy and layoff-free, and it's costing the consumer, which is not the kind of business tactics that make people happy. I love my Wii U, and I've had plenty to play on it this year; if it was up to me, specifically, I wouldn't change a thing at Nintendo. For me, as a gamer, everything they're doing is exactly what I want.

The problem with this is that I'm clearly in a minority here, as the Wii U isn't reaching enough people to make it successful, and as someone who wants to see Nintendo releasing the games that I love for a long, long time, my continued happiness is reliant on Nintendo finding a way to reach more gamers. And that's something they aren't finding a way to do.

Iwata's stated himself that he hasn't been able to see what gamers want outside of Japan, and he's shown in the past he's not exactly willing, nor is his team, to look outward from their own creative minds. The reason that worked so well for them in the past is because gaming is just now coming into it's own. Nintendo always found a way to expand the gaming experience beyond what anybody had seen, and we're unfortunately now reaching a point where we've seen just about everything done that's going to be done. And it's time Nintendo started paying attention to what the people are asking for, instead of just making what they're going to make and saying, "take it over leave it." I'll gladly bite on anything Nintendo-developed, but most gamers are choosing to leave it alone. And there's the problem.

There's a pretty simple solution that would turn the Wii U into an insta-hit:

Create a great effing Pokemon game on it, and market it like crazy. It doesn't even need to be an RPG, as the higher ups at Game Freak have no intention of releasing a non-handheld main entry in the series. Just find a way to turn all of those Pokemon fanatics on the 3DS into Wii U fanatics with something from the Pokemon franchise that would bring them in droves. It's not the complete solution, but I definitely think that's where turning this thing around would need to start.

Right. Iwata just cam out and said that he "misread the Western market".

When it takes the loss of $230 million dollars on top of three consecutive annual losses for a CEO to come to realize basic realities that everyone and their mother have been shouting from the rooftops for over a decade, that CEO has concretely demonstrated that he has absolutely no business running a company. It would have cost him nothing if he simply opened his eyes and looked around at the proper time.

Man, I hope he gets eviscerated in the next investor's meeting. If I held a decent stake in the company I'd be at that meeting, on my feet, yelling and demanding answers from the guy.

@realjaysonguy: I don't think they have the resources to make a hypothetical pokemon stadium 3. That, and gamefreak seems to think there's no point in console pokemon games anymore period, not just main pokemon games.

But who knows?

@Chozofication:Well, Nintendo's got the resources to make anything they want. They're in such a position of financial strength, they could continue these losses for decades and not go bankrupt. A new Pokemon Stadium would be cool, at the same time, though, I don't think a simple HD 3D battle simulator would be something gamers would want to pay $60 for. Something like that would need to have a single player component like Pokemon XD on the Gamecube. The thing is, I'm not sure how much money those games actually brought in. Sticking the Pokemon name on anything will boost sales, but they would need to figure out the kind of game that would bring enough gamers in to make a boatload of profits.

Everyone agrees an RPG on consoles would be a dream come true, but I understand the logic of Game Freak here. They would either need to create a new type of RPG, or completely split the series, seeing that one of the big draws to the series is catching them all, and without direct interaction to all the handheld games, it would be a challenge to make it work properly alongside the handheld series.

^^ The Pokemon Bank could possibly eliminate that problem, and I'm sure that discussion has come up in more than one meeting, but we still don't know how well that's going to work, how reliable it's going to be over the long run, and most of all -- how many people are going to spend money on it.

@realjaysonguy: Well, I actually meant developers, people to make the game, not money. Y'know because they're scrambling to get used to HD devlopment and all.

But then again, colosseum through BR weren't made in house, so idk. I really think ninty simply doesn't care about console pokemon right now.

I liked XD and colosseum btw, I would much rather see a sequel to those games than a battle revolution 2. I think those games sold at least a million easy, and they did get players choice and best seller labels. They didn't come close to handheld sales ofc.

^^^ That pretty much exactly. It's time Nintendo started caring. I'm perfectly fine with the bigger development studios (Nintendo Japan, Retro) basically doing whatever the hell they want. They're the one constant that always delivers, but I think it's time for Nintendo to start putting more time and effort into finding studios to develop their other IP and turn this freaking console around.