Would be bad since he has obviously no idea what he is doing.
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Iwata implies he may resign over poor business performance
- Thread starter Cheesemeister
- Start date
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Seems that people thought he was good enough in that role to make him president of the whole company. I doubt they've changed their minds in 10 months.
Napalm_Frank
Member
I agree but it wouldn't be surprising especially if Iwata basically put himself on the line. Getting a new head doesn't make Wii U situation any easier.
No, but Vita does. Both companies actually have two platforms in case you didn't notice.
While true, Nintendo is nothing if not conservative and tends to take the longer view. I don't think anyone would describe their corporate structure as reactionary.
People really have short term memory. It was Ken Kutaragi that was made the scapegoat for the PS3 debacle(and rightfully so). He was ousted from power pretty soon after it was released. And the PS3 was selling much better than the Wii U back in those early days.
Kaz Hirai has been Sony president for less than a year, and the PS3 has been selling well worldwide for a long while now. Your post really makes no sense.
I remember the 3DS. Iwata took a paycut and apologized to the shareholders for his failure. He then promised all would be fixed for the next launch, and laid out a strategy that has completely failed.
I remember the PS3. It cost Ken Kutaragi and ultimately Howard Stringer their jobs.
There's a lesson in the 3DS and PS3 all right, but it's not the one you think it is.
The Vita is so dead that you don't even remember it exists?
The annual losses is a fair point, but Nintendo's historical success has spoiled you. Iwata's performance is still pretty sterling, as Chief Officers go.
If they replace Iwata now, what happens? Do they pull the plug on Wii U? Probably not; you don't cut bait on product meant to be a core piece of your portfolio for the next 5 years. What would they replace it with? The massive write off for prematurely ending Wii U would cause another annual loss.
So do they bring in this mysterious replacement to implement a new strategy for Wii U? Why would they do that? The console has only been on the market for 3 months. Iwata implemented a strategy that brought the 3DS to profitability in less than a year. Why wouldn't they trust him to do it again?
The difference in that instance is that the PS3 was a financial albatross of massive proportions that wiped out all the profits they made during the PS1/PS2 generations. If we're talking in purely business terms, that's a little different than what is happening with Nintendo at the moment. Like how this whole thread is predicated on Iwata talking about whether they'll make a $1 billion USD net profit next fiscal year, not whether they'll make a profit at all.
Is there such a thing as a rightful scapegoat?
grimshawish
Banned
Am not sure how a different system would magically create software but sure.
The test is now that they've dealt with the development troubles how the releases this year affect the company.
How can Iwata leaving change the course?
People just want this to happen; that is all.
The test is now that they've dealt with the development troubles how the releases this year affect the company.
How can Iwata leaving change the course?
People just want this to happen; that is all.
Well the 3ds pricecut abd mk7 and mario3dl did revitalize 3ds. They have a problem in the west still but its looking better now
Well he means that kutaragi wasnt the only responsible person
metalslimer
Member
Exactly. Even still comparing the Wii U to 3DS is like comparing the Vita to PS3. Wii U is even doing WORSE than Vita is some territories. Like I said, people don't understand how histrorically atrocious Wii U sales are right now.
They had losses two years in a row, profit for this upcoming year is far from guaranteed.
And that's why it's about a year too early to discuss this topic.
Hah, I had actually forgot about it, but then again we are talking about consoles not handhelds.
metalslimer
Member
It's also cute to see appeal to authority fallacious arguments.
The Vita is not nearly as important to Sony as the WiiU is to Nintendo. The consoles are where it´s at for Sony.
The 3DS on the other hand has no real competition and pretty much sells itself because Nintendo has all the franchises that are relevant in this sector. Nonetheless Iwata managened to fuck up the launch with the ridiculous price and that joke of a launch lineup.
Do you think shareholders can if its a console or a handheld? It's a line item on a P&L statement.
You don't think Vita's losses are important to Sony? That shareholders don't care about something in their portfolio losing money, because it's "not as important" as PS3? Stop thinking like a gamer.
rockman zx
Member
Even if they replace Iwata, whatever they do, it will take sometime to have an effect and by then, WiiU will be dead. Take one in the chin and keep Iwata, he is a good man and one of the reasons Nintendo is so healthy now.
Hero of Legend
Member
I'd only support a replacement if they really went kick-ass with the following:
Buy more studios: Get new exclusives with an iron fist by owning new studios, Platinum is a start.
Buy some franchises: Banjo and Sonic, if nothing else, it'd be big positive publicity but also give birth to new classics.
Form new studios: Give the Sonic trinity their own Nintendo studio, MAKE A EU STUDIO, round-up as many Rare folks as you can hold, Grant, Dave, and Seavor I'm pretty sure would be begging to come.
And of course go crazy with rounding up support from all over the world.
Also, ensure you get shit localized, yours and 3rd-parties.
In the next hardware cycle, try to focus on at least near parity hardware-wise but also keep costs down, don't put so much R&D and tech to a supporting device, most would've been satisfied with a beefy console with a newer Wiimote for this gen, and with a proper name.
All these together could really turn things around at least console-wise, in JP 3DS is a monster, but Wii U is sadly a disaster worldwide, Iwata would have to show us that supposed 3rd-party support fast and think about a high-risk, high-reward price cut.
Buy more studios: Get new exclusives with an iron fist by owning new studios, Platinum is a start.
Buy some franchises: Banjo and Sonic, if nothing else, it'd be big positive publicity but also give birth to new classics.
Form new studios: Give the Sonic trinity their own Nintendo studio, MAKE A EU STUDIO, round-up as many Rare folks as you can hold, Grant, Dave, and Seavor I'm pretty sure would be begging to come.
And of course go crazy with rounding up support from all over the world.
Also, ensure you get shit localized, yours and 3rd-parties.
In the next hardware cycle, try to focus on at least near parity hardware-wise but also keep costs down, don't put so much R&D and tech to a supporting device, most would've been satisfied with a beefy console with a newer Wiimote for this gen, and with a proper name.
All these together could really turn things around at least console-wise, in JP 3DS is a monster, but Wii U is sadly a disaster worldwide, Iwata would have to show us that supposed 3rd-party support fast and think about a high-risk, high-reward price cut.
Dedicated handhelds don't have competition now?
Except Nintendo is not healthy at all? 3DS is not doing good anywhere that isn't named Japan and WiiU is bombing worldwide.
Vitas predecessor psp was more succesful in japan than ps3
Steve Youngblood
Member
I understand that there's something to be said that the general observer is perhaps overly prone to knee jerk hyperbole, but I don't think your shallow deference to authority gives you any sort of high ground. Perhaps John Q. NeoGAF User would run Nintendo more poorly than Iwata, but it's hardly asinine to expect heads to roll when things get this bad. But by all means, continue carrying on as the one sane man in a sea of jackasses.
Differentiating between the two makes no sense in this discussions, unless you think the shareholders do. And I'm pretty sure they don't.
SlipperyFishes
Banned
Compared to the Vita Iwata has a wide lead with 3DS. It's not about pure numbers, it's about positioning. 3DS is the #1 handheld of it's generation (so far)
Don't forget about their billions in cash reserves. They are healthy.
They are not performing to expectations currently. But what would be more costly? Tearing the whole operation up by the roots, or trusting the man who fixed the 3DS to fix the Wii U?
Nintendo in it´s niche has barely any competition, they own the below 14 market in the west and the japanese market. They´ll probably lose some of the DS casuals but when all is said and done the 3DS will have sold 80-100 million units easily. Just like the GBA or Gameboy.
The Vita was dead on arrival so so wouldn´t count that as competition either.
metalslimer
Member
For people saying a new CEO wouldn't be able to implement changes for a few years, so what? You don't bring wait to change course when you on the verge of bankruptcy like THQ did. Not saying Nintendo is anywhere close to bankruptcy, but waiting to see just how bad things get is not a good idea.
Outside of Japan Iwata hasn't fixed anything. In fact their incompetence/arrogance with the 3DS caused them to completely fumble the last holiday in the west.
Outside of Japan Iwata hasn't fixed anything. In fact their incompetence/arrogance with the 3DS caused them to completely fumble the last holiday in the west.
Being #1 when your only competition is a complete failure doesn't mean you are doing good. 3DS has failed to meet every single sales target Nintendo has set for it.
And dead for years in the west.
It's still not doing as well as it should, mainly in the US. But it's also not doing absolutely terrible or bad, either.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Hirai's performance is going to be gauged on 4K TVs, their new Android smartphones, PS4, and the general turnaround of the massive Sony pirate ship. The failure of the Vita does not compromise his job anywhere near the failure of either Nintendo machine does for Iwata.
The man who basically made the whole motion gaming thing huge; who established a console described as "two Gamecubes duct-taped together" as the winner of a whole generation sales wise; who pushed the idea of having two screens on a handheld device; who brought the 3DS back from the death - has no idea what he is doing?
Their Europe/USA stuff needs to be fixed, but he is still one of the most capable CEOs out there, hands down - so many underestimate how much money has gone into Nintendo's wallets since Iwata took over, crazy
But again, who is "waiting to see how bad things get"? I would argue shareholders are thinking "When will Iwata turn this thing around like the 3DS"?
Why cause bring in someone new to implement a corrective strategy, when the current boss has proven he can turn around underperforming hardware?
metalslimer
Member
THe man who said "consumers don't want online" The man who let the Wii die a horrendous slow death without a successor on the market. The man who launched the 3DS into a bad scenario, said he learned from his mistakes, and then did even worse with Wii U.
If he is one of the best CEOs around, the business world must be in worse shape than I thought. Iwata's archaic ideas about how an online marketplace should work alone will damage Nintendo in the long run. And maybe I am being hyperbolic here, but I love Nintendo's 1st party games and think that Iwata will send them towards irrelevancy in the west.
The 3DS hasn't hit a single projection Nintendo has set. It is still underpeforming.
Even assuming they brought in a new CEO, I don't see what major changes they could make that are patently obvious. They're already streamlining their internal development resources to support multiple platforms more easily, which is an important step. Returning to hardware parity with Sony and Microsoft is just delusional forum cravings that would put them deeper in the red because they don't have the business that can support those types of machines.
If a CEO did come in and their remit was to make the company more profitable, it would involve shedding unprofitable parts of the business and start their transition out of the hardware sector, slowly getting more involved in releasing titles for other platforms.
This is silly talk man. Nintendo have been around since 1889 and they only lost some money now, I mean that kind of track record is always going to be broken. Its like a game of spin the bottle, or Russian roulette. Did you expect them to never EVER make a loss? Now you might say Iwata is the guy who caused this, since he was the head at the time of impact but he's also the guy who brought us some of Nintendo's most profitable years in their existence. By a huge, astronomical margin. I'm sure Apple have had some dog days, and hell Sony are in one right now.
There's actual discussion to be had, but saying he'll be out within weeks or that he is so "completely clueless" people here could do a better job is a bit more than hyperbolic.
Sales of 3DS are sluggish in Europe and OK in the US, but its profitable everywhere. You're the one in this thread using profitability as the reason to fire the man.
He bet on the right horse 1 or 2 times. That hardly makes him a capable CEO. The WiiU shows us what happens when Nintendo doesn´t catch lightning in a bottle with their gimmicks.
A poor console with a poor concept and a poor lineup getting smoked by hardware that is 7 years on the market. The state the WiiU launched in is unacceptable.
Yes, profitability is the reason he needs to be let go but it is not a true statement to say he fixed the 3DS. It has failed to meet every single one of it's sales targets. A system not selling as well as the company expects even after they slash their projections for it can't be considered a success by any indicaiton.
Napalm_Frank
Member
They totally should call Krazy Ken to fill in Iwatas place.
4DS believe!
4DS believe!
peanutbutterlatte
Member
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