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[Team Top Hat]

Wake me when they have Iwatas head stuck on a pike and force every employee to walk past it.

What the hell??

 

[Cutebrute]

Iwata's approval rating among investors is 80%, up from last year:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=847130&highlight=iwata

I don't think investors would take kindly to this, even though the company isn't perform very well right now.

 

[Rich!]

Maybe he had a change of heart.

No, a meeting with Yamauchi from the afterlife would be far more terrifying than that. It'd be more like the equivalent scene with Ganon and Zant:

 

[Zombie James]

Good. Nintendo needs leadership that doesn't have it's head stuck in the sand.

 

[Two Words]

Putting Nintendo franchises on smartphones actually makes a lot of sense in Japan. That doesn't mean you put the best and greatest titles on there. But you have a lot of classic games to put on there or you can create a ton of free-to-play models to generate a lot of money. You can still have a traditional handheld market, but half of the money made on games in Japan are made on smartphones.

 

[Frolow]

First, check the source of the article, it leaks back to a gaf post in the Nintendo Financials thread. One of the best examples of a GAF-->Internet-->GAF posts we'll see.

Haha wow. Here's the original source if anyone wants to do an accurate translation.
http://biz-journal.jp/i/2014/08/post_5585.html

 

[Ryce]

There are few mental images more depressing than Nintendo EAD slaving away on an iPhone game. If Iwata is solely responsible for avoiding that reality, then I'd like him to remain president for the rest of his life.

 

[onilink88]

This comes off as total donkey twaddle. lol

 

[Godzilla's Left Toe]

That's not how it works. Significant shareholders and the board of directors scheme to get rid of CEOs, not the management. Top management has no say in it.

Who ever wrote the article is clearly clueless

 

[AniHawk]

katsuhito yamauchi becoming president is the really really odd point. like this guy seems to be only sorta related with nintendo and only because of dad. minoru arakawa would make more sense even though he hasn't worked with the company in 14 years.

 

[facelike]

If Iwata gets fired and mario starts showing up on smartphones, then it's the beginning of the end for nintendo.

Nintendo could make money off their vault of games at leat 10+ years and older. I'm sure the revenue for the first SMB on a smartphone would be huge compared to what they are making on that game today. Same could be said for the first Zelda. Plus, with the strong smartphone support in Japan, that's essentially money left on the table that could help pay for new games for the Wii U.

They should sell these classic games that people are constantly emulation. People will buy them for the right price.

 

[Shikamaru Ninja]

There is no way that management wants to get rid of Iwata. Investors yes, but no way would the executive directors be calling for his head. They are all FRIENDS.

Maybe the auditors.. or something. But they don't have adequate power.

 

[hwy_61]

There are few mental images more depressing than Nintendo EAD slaving away on an iPhone game. If Iwata is solely responsible for avoiding that reality, then I'd like him to remain president for the rest of his life.

Ehhh I disagree. Who's to say EAD wouldn't want to work on a mobile game? They all own smartphones, some of them probably even play a game here and there on said phones.

 

[2San]

Iwata obviously hasn't done well for the company the past ~5 years, but I still firmly believe that there are much better alternative business strategies than going mobile.

They could just be a 3rd party publisher/developer. Nintendo games sell, it's just their hardware that's a though sell. However Nintendo would be idiotic to ignore mobile (if they went full 3rd party), because part of their strength is in handheld devices.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I stand with Iwata. I think he's very important for Nintendo's image. And investors might have the bigger vote in this case.

 

[Aquamarine]

I thought that Yamauchi's son did not want to run the company, and he was not involved with Nintendo at all.

He worked at Nintendo...I think in the planning department...but he decided to fly under the radar.

 

[Rich!]

Nintendo could make money off their vault of games at leat 10+ years and older. I'm sure the revenue for the first SMB on a smartphone would be huge compared to what they are making on that game today. Same could be said for the first Zelda. Plus, with the strong smartphone support in Japan, that's essentially money left on the table that could help pay for new games for the Wii U.

They should sell these classic games that people are constantly emulation. People will buy them for the right price.

No. can you imagine playing a precision heavy game such as SMB 1 or 3 using a goddamn touchscreen? Actually, don't imagine. Get an emulator and see for yourself. It amazingly turns the game into a pile of frustrating, tedious shit.

Nintendo are absolutely right to keep them on consoles where they belong. A far better suggestion than smartphones would be PC and Steam.

 

[TheRealTalker]

using the term scheming just gives me a vivid image of Nintendo nobles plotting to overthrow a king

 

[RurouniZel]

What's wrong with Nintendo properties appearing on other platforms? I think it's entirely possible for games like that to coexist with Nintendo hardware offerings, maybe even in compliment to each other. If anything it will just allow more people to purchase and play Nintendo games that can't or won't be bothered with the hardware, which translates to more robust business for Nintendo.

Tell that to SNK.

 

[Shard]

Given what I have learned about Nintendo I find this report to be very dubious since the Nintendo Philosophy is kind of ingrained in all of upper management.

 

[Relix]

The moment Iwata is gone, is the moment the Nintendo whe knew will change. Maybe that's good for the business but not good for the gamers. At this point I've come to peace with Nintendo eventually stopping to be what they are now; the current position is unsustainable and the leaders don't know what to do regarding the situtation.

I for one would absolutely hate Nintendo games in smartphones... it would be a big kick in the nuts, but for a business sense it does make sense. Handheld gaming, Nintendo's cornerstone, is falling apart. I barely see kids with a 3DS these days, most kids just play in tablets or their smartphones. Its the reality and its a shift I see many hardcore gamers not wanting to understand. Yes, the games are generally atrocious and I can't play for shit in a touch screen, but the current generation of young gamers are moving there for handheld gaming. That's the truth. That's where the business will be. Unless Nintendo comes up with a whole new kind of handheld I doubt that's happening.

As for consoles.. well, I love the WiiU but most gamers are not embracing it. They cannot sustain the console division for too long. There are a LOT of things they can do to fix this one though, and I'd gladly take a new Nintendo console and smartphone gaming or perhaps a smartphone/handheld mix, or whatever.

Yes, you can read this as a Nintendo is doomed post, but this is how business and reality is. It sucks... it really fucking sucks but Nintendo cornered itself.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Nintendo's management, so not shareholders but guys like Miyamoto and the other top Nintendo devs?

 

[Cosmozone]

If they make smartphone games, they should be none of the existing game series, period. Those were made with buttons in mind. Perhaps some simple stuff specialized on touchscreen and gyro controls. Mustn't use that many resources, though.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

article sounds like tales from my arse.

if this was true, we wouldn't hear about it anyway, and if these are long time nintendo vets, they should know enough about the industry to know what a long-term killer going into the smartphone industry would be. If this was shareholders which could be focused on short term gain, it would be more credible, but management?

 

[sakipon]

"Native" Nintendo executives disliking someone who came from outside and now they want Yamauchi's son instead... that sounds like a terrible insider clique. I don't know anything about his son but the children of great leaders are not always great leaders themselves. That's why we have democracy and/or elected ministers.

 

[Trevelyon]

I, for one, hope to see his son, Beyond Yamauchi take the helm as president of the organisation.

 

[phanphare]

While there is a strong desire to bring games/franchises like Mario to smartphones, Iwata is strongly vetoing the idea. Iwata reiterates that “Nintendo’s strength is in unified development of game hardware and software”, stubbornly rejects the “net” (seems to reference how smartphones don’t use physical media since they download games), and fixates over “game consoles” – perhaps in light of his pride as a former developer.

this is kind of frightening..

hire the ninjas, Iwata. get rid of these fuckers.

 

[Deadstar]

I hope he gets replaced. They need to embrace the internet and the Wii U should have been as powerful as the xbox one and the ps4 or at least close to it. As it is now you can't port the games to the console because it's too weak.

 

[Zerokku]

Putting Nintendo franchises on smartphones actually makes a lot of sense in Japan. That doesn't mean you put the best and greatest titles on there. But you have a lot of classic games to put on there or you can create a ton of free-to-play models to generate a lot of money. You can still have a traditional handheld market, but half of the money made on games in Japan are made on smartphones.

Yeah. I mean this is just anecdotal and perhaps representative of my age group but 90% of the time I see someone with say a jailbroken iphone or the like... they're using it for stuff like emulators. I could see Nintendo doing quite well with focusing their traditional gaming elements in traditional consoles and handhelds, but moving their virtual console service to a mobile platform as well.

 

[MrBadger]

What's wrong with Nintendo properties appearing on other platforms? I think it's entirely possible for games like that to coexist with Nintendo hardware offerings, maybe even in compliment to each other. If anything it will just allow more people to purchase and play Nintendo games that can't or won't be bothered with the hardware, which translates to more robust business for Nintendo.

This information, if it's credible, is unsurprising.

I'm pretty sure the bulk of Nintendo's money comes from hardware, not software. If they start putting their games on other systems, people will just get into a habit of port begging every time they have exclusives instead of buying Nintendo consoles, because they expect Nintendo to put their games on other things. Plus this is stuff like Mario and Zelda we're talking about. Most people have played at least one and know what they're about.

 

[Chinpoko_Master]

He should've been gone last year after the failure of the Wii U.

 

[elohel]

That's not how it works. Significant shareholders and the board of directors scheme to get rid of CEOs, not the management. Top management has no say in it.

was gonna say lol it sounds like people not involved in the manner are trying to oust which doesn't make sense

 

[TheRealTalker]

I, for one, hope to see his son, Beyond Yamauchi take the helm as president of the organisation.

heh an invasion of the new worlds will begin soon

 

[hwy_61]

No. can you imagine playing a precision heavy game such as SMB 1 or 3 using a goddamn touchscreen? Actually, don't imagine. Get an emulator and see for yourself. It amazingly turns the game into a pile of frustrating, tedious shit.

Nintendo are absolutely right to keep them on consoles where they belong. A far better suggestion than smartphones would be PC and Steam.

For some people that's good enough. I'm with you, but we wouldn't be the Target audience for those games. If porting old Nintendo games to mobile translates to profit, why the hell not do it?

 

[Zeyphersan]

Literally nothing about this "report" makes sense

 

[Fox318]

In any corporation with negative numbers like this, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see people wanting to move on.

Pretty much.

If he was a company based in any other nation on the planet he would have lost his job a long time ago.

 

[Tripon]

katsuhito yamauchi becoming president is the really really odd point. like this guy seems to be only sorta related with nintendo and only because of dad. minoru arakawa would make more sense even though he hasn't worked with the company in 14 years.

Arakawa chose the easy money running the Tetris company until he retired recently in March 2013. He's also 67 and I doubt he would want to come run a company as large as Nintendo just to be a caretaker of the company for the next person.

Anyway, the article reminds me a lot of how Sony's execs were looking to stab each other in the back, especially during the Howard Stringer era, and we know that was a toxic environment to work in. I can't see how Nintendo's executive climate can be similar to how Sony's turned out during one of its worst periods.

 

[EdwardTeach]

Putting their iP on smartphones would be the death knell of Nintendo.
I hope iwata stays.

 

[JoeM86]

What's wrong with Nintendo properties appearing on other platforms? I think it's entirely possible for games like that to coexist with Nintendo hardware offerings, maybe even in compliment to each other. If anything it will just allow more people to purchase and play Nintendo games that can't or won't be bothered with the hardware, which translates to more robust business for Nintendo.

This information, if it's credible, is unsurprising.

It'll stop people buying Nintendo's hardware. People won't bother if they can buy Mario or Zelda on their phones.

Also, someone break out that infographic showing how bad mobile platforms actually are for making money, unless you're in the 1%

 

[Aquamarine]

Pretty much.

If he was a company based in any other nation on the planet he would have lost his job a long time ago.

Yeah if Iwata worked at an American corporation he would have been fired last year.

 

[Darksol]

Obviously not scheming well enough if it's public knowledge

 

[CTLance]

What the hell??

Ah, got my ancient punishments mixed up. Nokogiribiki was the one where passersby sawed off the head of a person. Sorry, my fault.

 

[Somnid]

Nintendo upper management as well as the board (who it's mostly made up of) are all with Iwata. His approval rating went up. The only one who could be plotting is a few larger shareholders. This report doesn't really go along with other well-known data.

 

[King Boo]

nintendo and phones? might as well buy out capcom

iwata 4 lyfe

edit
or was it square enix that really likes putting money into the mobile stuff?

 

[Rich!]

For some people that's good enough. I'm with you, but we wouldn't be the Target audience for those games. If porting old Nintendo games to mobile translates to profit, why the hell not do it?

Because it would be shit. The games fall apart without a controller. Nintendo take huge pride in presenting the games as they were in terms of controls - why fuck up classics with ass-tier control setups?

Why do games like Angry Birds and Flappy Bird perform so well? Because they're damn simple to play. SMB on a touch screen is absolutely not.

I would not be opposed to Nintendo making little side-projects using their characters that are purely catering for mobile devices. Stuff like a new Pikmin or Wario Ware. That would work. Their legacy titles though? Not a chance in hell. Ever.

 

[JazzmanZ]

He should've been gone last year after the failure of the Wii U.

Sounds like you'd fit in with Nintendo shareholders just fine.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

What's wrong with Nintendo properties appearing on other platforms? I think it's entirely possible for games like that to coexist with Nintendo hardware offerings, maybe even in compliment to each other. If anything it will just allow more people to purchase and play Nintendo games that can't or won't be bothered with the hardware, which translates to more robust business for Nintendo.

This information, if it's credible, is unsurprising.

The moment you can get the new pokemon and Mario on mobile platforms is the day nintendos time in the hardware business ends.

And then it's only a matter of time until they become another Sega.

 

[postcyberpunk]

If Iwata gets fired and mario starts showing up on smartphones, then it's the beginning of the end for nintendo.

It's already the beginning of the end for Nintendo as the company currently stands: they hold on to the current model and become irrelevant as a hardware maker, they make their games for smartphones or other systems and become irrelevant as a hardware maker but see some uptick as a software company. Irrelevant is probably too strong, but the record profits and midshare of the Wii has gone.

T

And then it's only a matter of time until they become another Sega.

I wouldn't go that far.

 

[outunderthestars]

I really don't see why Nintendo IP has to be connected to Nintendo hardware. They continue to make amazing games and then leave them locked to terrible hardware.

 

[rjc571]

Nintendo is never going to return to the heights of the Wii and DS by following what others are doing. They need a product that can break new ground and cause the market to expand. I feel like VR was a big missed opportunity for them.