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[Cipherr]

Seriously, what has he done to piss guys off so much?

Failed to realize that the Wii was a lightning in a bottle, non-repeatable, lucky break... Instead he assumed they could repeat that nonsense.

So he put out a criminally underpowered console with horrific online systems that required massive updates day 1. It was a rushed console that should have had much more horsepower, a much better online infrastructure, and it shouldnt have launched until later this year giving them time to do it all right.

Sucks for them that the Wii was dead Q1 of 2012, but they should have coasted on the massive profit they made last gen until they could put some reasonable hardware out that developers would CONSIDER paying some attention too.

The 3DS recovered, but he fucked up that launch too. He seems like a nice guy, and he has done some decent stuff, but he has had two massive guffaws that cannot be tolerated.

 

[TreasureHunterG]

I'm guessing some people don't quite grasp how yen converts to dollars.

I do, thank you, and you're wrong if you believe I think the billions mentioned are dollars.

 

[Dysun]

Those rushed Nintendo games are still pretty damn good games IMO. If we get a Zelda of WW quality and a Mario of Sunshine quality, I'm OK with that.

To go from Galaxy 1/2 back to Sunshine would be a massive drop in quality. Terrible game

 

[Tookay]

It's just hard to think that one man, despite position has so much pull over what people perceive to be Nintendo's greatest failure, when in many cases seeds of these faults (relationship with third parties, lax attitude to hardware, non-conventional approaches) have been there long before Iwata took over.

I think whether Iwata goes or stays we'll see a very, very safe approach from Nintendo in the next few years.

No doubt Nintendo's corporate philosophy and failings have been molded a long time before Iwata as CEO.

But that doesn't mean he's any less to blame for not foreseeing how these shortcomings may damage the company or for failing to proactively prevent them from coming to fruition.

Hell, he might have even poisoned the well a little bit more than it already had been.

 

[DaBoss]

Damn, gonna be interesting to read about the investor's meeting.

Only way out of the building before Yamauchi gets there.

Da Pimp.

 

[Meier]

Eh...maybe? It's certainly not guaranteed, and I'm not sure how Animal Crossing still selling will affect it quite yet.

Tomodachi Collection on DS sold well over 3 million copies. There's no reason to think the 3DS version won't do similarly well especially given Animal Crossing's success. It builds well off it.

 

[Starfish Hero]

I do, thank you, and you're wrong if you believe I think the billions mentioned are dollars.

Not saying you do, but you implied that this loss was bigger than the last one. It isn't (well, it's projected not to be).

 

[Sulik2]

People were saying the same thing about Vita VS 3DS at this time in 2011. Not saying the turnaround will be the same at all, but, well, the future is far from predictable.

I have far more confidence in Sony and M$ to make a quality product with games in the home console market at launch than the way Sony has stumbled out the door with the Vita. Vita is a really slick piece of hardware that should have sold a lot more units, but was mismanaged by Sony to Nintendo's huge benefit.

 

[StreetsAhead]

that required massive updates day 1

A 1GB update is now 'massive'. Launch-day patches will probably happen with every console from now on.

I have far more confidence in Sony and M$ to make a quality product with games in the home console market at launch than the way Sony has stumbled out the door with the Vita. Vita is a really slick piece of hardware that should have sold a lot more units, but was mismanaged by Sony to Nintendo's huge benefit.

And at the moment neither look set to selling so well as to completely obliterate anything in sales. Between potential price, lack of BC, always-online, and (so far as we know) meh launch line-ups with a shrill of cross-gen games, nothing is screaming 'must have' for either system this holiday on a mass-market scale.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Sure. What does that have to do with my priorities ?

Because you care more about members of a message board being pissed than being able to continue to enjoy games and a company you allegedly enjoy.

Just seems odd.

 

[Risette]

A 1GB update is now 'massive'. Launch-day patches will probably happen with every console from now on.

It's pretty massive for a console OS. On day one.

 

[TreasureHunterG]

Not saying you do, but you implied that this loss was bigger than the last one. It isn't (well, it's projected not to be).

Yeah, I missed that, sorry. But still it's a loss, and a second in a row. This is unprecedent in Nintendo's story.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

No doubt Nintendo's corporate philosophy and failings have been molded a long time before Iwata as CEO.

But that doesn't mean he's any less to blame for not foreseeing how these shortcomings may damage the company.

Hell, he might have even poisoned the well a little bit more than it already had been.

Iwata is trying to bring down the company from the inside... it's hard to say how Iwata is behind closed doors. Obviously lots of people here see the Iwata Asks/Nintendo Direct side of him, and imagine that's it. That he's a cuddly character who walks around in a green hat...

We need a hard-hitting expose from inside the workings of Nintendo!

 

[Sulik2]

A 1GB update is now 'massive'. Launch-day patches will probably happen with every console from now on.

When it doesn't include a modern digital account system its a pretty big whiff.

 

[CrazedProfessional]

A 1GB update is now 'massive'. Launch-day patches will probably happen with every console from now on.

I dunno man, That update made Nintendo look pretty unprepared.

 

[serplux]

Tomodachi Collection on DS sold well over 3 million copies. There's no reason to think the 3DS version won't do similarly well especially given Animal Crossing's success. It builds well off it.

I have my doubts, honestly. We'll see it's trajectory after a month or two.

 

[outlawedprod]

This is more important than what gets reported for this year's loss.

http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2013/04/02/satoru-iwata-hubris-versus-western-culture/

 

[Tookay]

A 1GB update is now 'massive'. Launch-day patches will probably happen with every console from now on.

To be fair, while the size wasn't ridiculous (and I fully expect Day 1 patches for PS4/Durango), the download/server speed was horrendous.

 

[grimshawish]

I don't think you can argue that the OS hasn't been a cock up.
Look at the performance difference they are about to provide. I think you could extrapolate from that that its not just development reality causing delays but some management/planning issues needing attention.

The OS is not a long term issue though. Just as the games situation isn't and am still annoyed that basically this holiday we'll get 'panic nintendo' posts despite them basically doing what was expected.

 

[Instro]

I dunno man, That update made Nintendo look pretty unprepared.

I'm curious to see how MS and Sony deal with this because they will want to patch stuff after the console has already gone into production. Although, they will likely be ready with background downloading for major patches so people can play their games and such off the bat.

 

[GetemMa]

Didn't Sony lose 6.4 billion USD last year?

34 times the amount Nintendo lost this year, which seems awfully quaint by comparison

I know Sony is a big company, but they are no where near 34 times the value of Nintendo according to their stock value/market cap.

 

[krypt0nian]

I don't think you can argue that the OS hasn't been a cock up.
Look at the performance difference they are about to provide. I think you could extrapolate from that that its not just development reality causing delays but some management/planning issues needing attention.

The OS is not a long term issue though. Just as the games situation isn't and am still annoyed that basically this holiday we'll get 'panic nintendo' posts despite them basically doing what was expected.

Totally agreed. The majority of the console owners will never experience the issues. In the long run, they won't have mattered.

 

[StreetsAhead]

It's pretty massive for a console OS. On day one.

And as I said, I expect Xbox and PS4 to have updates on day one too. It makes more sense to let your teams work right up to the last second on the OS than try and be ready months in advance for manufacturing.

When it doesn't include a modern digital account system its a pretty big whiff.

There's an account system, it's just (right now) locked to the hardware. It doesn't mean it will always be the case, especially if Miiverse is coming to phones, web, and 3DS.

I dunno man, That update made Nintendo look pretty unprepared.

They were unprepared, but the update's existence had nothing to do with it.

 

[Skyzard]

Are we just making shit up for fun in this thread?

I took you saying 'run Nintendo into the ground' as actually collapsing the company beyond recovery. Disney doesn't seem too ridiculous, guess MS (these days/kinect future) or a new platform developer would like it too.


Iwata re-gave Nintendo that taste of mass success but didn't follow-through with a long-term plan. Gamepad is the best thing they could have done with the Wii U but imo damage was done in the last 2ish years.

 

[Zoramon089]

Every single console OS starting from the 360 has gone through MASSIVE changes yet people in here are acting like Nintendo is alone with this...revisionist history much? The 360 OS looks completely different than it did at the start of the gen

 

[TreasureHunterG]

What can they do though really, their games have established designs that suit a cheaper console targeting a different demographic to the dudebro's main preference, even though he probably used to play Nintendo. There's just not much different they can do I think, not that they really need to target differently for reasons other than a little bit more stability...They should do alright like this anyway imo - will take longer to flourish though.

Tablet-ifying the wii was the best thing they could have done imo but to see a better start they needed the games right off the bat. Wasted opportunity (and loss of fans due to ps4 and economy) but not unsalvageable, at least they have more than last year!

They should expand their audience. Nintendo managed to do that with the Wii with the casual crowd, this time they should try the same but with the core. Try to bring new IPs targeting the core to not turn itself hostage of the "just give me Smash, Mario and Zelda" crowd like it became in the GameCube.

 

[serplux]

Didn't Sony lose 6.4 billion USD last year?

34 times the amount Nintendo lost this year, which seems awfully quaint by comparison

I know Sony is a big company, but they are no where near 34 times the value of Nintendo according to their stock value/market cap.

This doesn't really have anything to do with Nintendo...

Saying "oh hey, I lost less than you did" isn't very impressive.

 

[TheNatural]

Didn't Sony lose 6.4 billion USD last year?

34 times the amount Nintendo lost this year, which seems awfully quaint by comparison

I know Sony is a big company, but they are no where near 34 times the value of Nintendo according to their stock value/market cap.

They have other parts of their business. They're diversified. It's easier to cut things that aren't going well, like their television division or whatever else and focus in on what they do well.

Nintendo is gaming. If they lose money, that's the heart of their business. If things are going bad, they don't have some other thing to turn to.

 

[Hero]

Because you care more about members of a message board being pissed than being able to continue to enjoy games and a company you allegedly enjoy.

Just seems odd.

I don't believe that Iwata staying on as CEO means that Nintendo won't be around to make more games.

I took you saying 'run Nintendo into the ground' as actually collapsing the company beyond recovery. Disney doesn't seem too ridiculous, guess MS (these days/kinect future) or a new platform developer would like it too.

Ah, I see here. While Disney could, if Nintendo were to sell out it would most likely be to another Japanese company.

 

[metalslimer]

Every single console OS starting from the 360 has gone through MASSIVE changes yet people in here are acting like Nintendo is alone with this...revisionist history much? The 360 OS looks completely different than it did at the start of the gen

Who gives a shit? People judge what they have access to not some mythical updated version down the line. Just like people dont care if Windows 8 will get much better down the line. Stop pretending like people only criticize nintendo here

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

And as I said, I expect Xbox and PS4 to have updates on day one too. It makes more sense to let your teams work right up to the last second on the OS than try and be ready months in advance for it.

The problem isn't a 1GB update it's Nintendo's servers and how poor the Wii U is at downloading. Takes FOREVER to download anything on the Wii U. Shoot, to download a NES game took about 10 minutes, about 25-30mb!!! Wii U demos for a gig take more than an hour. This won't be an issue on the PS4/720.

I cam download a 5GB game on Steam in 30 minutes. Download a gig on PSN in about 10 minutes. Nintendo? Haha

 

[GetemMa]

This doesn't really have anything to do with Nintendo...

Saying "oh hey, I lost less than you did" isn't very impressive.

Of course it does. It is putting those losses in perspective.

These losses really aren't that bad compared to several of Nintendo's competitors.

Especially Sony and EA.

 

[Skyzard]

They should expand their audience. Nintendo managed to do that with the Wii with the casual crowd, this time they should try the same but with the core. Try to bring new IPs targeting the core to not turn itself hostage of the "just give me Smash, Mario and Zelda" crowd like it became in the GameCube.

I agree in that they should have catered way more to the hardcore from the get-go, I'm worried it's mostly too late for them now due to expenses these days and upcoming next-gen (+missing nintendo titles).

They can't put out Uncharted or Batman/CoD but they can at least put out their mario games when they're needed, and are being craved. Like, the worst planning imo.

Ah, I see here. While Disney could, if Nintendo were to sell out it would most likely be to another Japanese company.

Sony owning Nintendo would be OP, I bet MS would pay out the ass to prevent it. Probably not so much Disney hehe but maybe, mickey has been way less relevant for a while now. Not that I think it's likely Nintendo would go bust anytime soon, unless gaming dies down significantly overall, even then, I'm not too worried with Nintendo.

 

[Blood Diamonds]

My God! Does this increase the chances of Iwata leaving? If so take that fucking clown Reggie with you, his "Charm" is fucking gone now, if you're gonna use a puppet to blame all the decisions on then use one that's likeable at least.

 

[Pikma]

Sucks for them that the Wii was dead Q1 of 2012, but they should have coasted on the massive profit they made last gen until they could put some reasonable hardware out that developers would CONSIDER paying some attention too.

You were going kinda ok until that part, 3rd parties don't ignore Nintendo home consoles because of "graphics", for more info see: GameCube.

The problem isn't a 1GB update it's Nintendo's servers and how poor the Wii U is at downloading. Takes FOREVER to download anything on the Wii U. Shoot, to download a NES game took about 10 minutes, about 25-30mb!!! Wii U demos for a gig take more than an hour. This won't be an issue on the PS4/720.

I cam download a 5GB game on Steam in 30 minutes. Download a gig on PSN in about 10 minutes. Nintendo? Haha

You have PS++++ or what? PSN is the slowest piece of shit regarding download speeds, by far.

 

[Pappasman]

Some people have very little faith in Iwata to be able to meet his FY 2014 commitment thanks to Wii U's non-existent momentum and 3DS's struggling Western sales. 100 Billion Yen in Operating Income presumes a healthy Nintendo.....and we're not seeing a healthy Nintendo at the moment.

But for now, Iwata is safe. Nintendo will very likely meet their FY 2013 projections and everything will be all right for one more year. It's the future that's the issue.

Also, please note that Nintendo's current predictions for tomorrow's release have been modified SEVERAL TIMES, and have been altered dramatically (see the intense transition between operating profit -> operating loss).



It's ALL about the future. That's what matters to investors at the moment.

I see. Thanks for explaining.

 

[Averon]

Didn't Sony lose 6.4 billion USD last year?

34 times the amount Nintendo lost this year, which seems awfully quaint by comparison

I know Sony is a big company, but they are no where near 34 times the value of Nintendo according to their stock value/market cap.

What does Sony has to do with this thread?

Using "Bu bu bu the the other guy is worse off" isn't a good defense.

 

[Tookay]

Every single console OS starting from the 360 has gone through MASSIVE changes yet people in here are acting like Nintendo is alone with this...revisionist history much? The 360 OS looks completely different than it did at the start of the gen

You're missing the point though.

People aren't complaining about an OS changing over time.

They're complaining about the size of the update, the speed of download, the fact that it was on Day 1, the slow applications/boot back to menu...

 

[serplux]

The problem isn't a 1GB update it's Nintendo's servers and how poor the Wii U is at downloading. Takes FOREVER to download anything on the Wii U. Shoot, to download a NES game took about 10 minutes, about 25-30mb!!! Wii U demos for a gig take more than an hour. This won't be an issue on the PS4/720.

I cam download a 5GB game on Steam in 30 minutes. Download a gig on PSN in about 10 minutes. Nintendo? Haha

Woah, woah, bud, it took me 30 seconds to download an NES game.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

I don't believe that Iwata staying on as CEO means that Nintendo won't be around to make more games.

Explain to me what this means

What priorities? I don't have any Nintendo stock, if Iwata runs Nintendo in the ground it doesn't effect me.

How would running Nintendo into the ground not imply they'd no longer be making games?

 

[Tookay]

Of course it does. It is putting those losses in perspective.

These losses really aren't that bad compared to several of Nintendo's competitors.

Especially Sony and EA.

Try telling that to investors.

 

[GetemMa]

They have other parts of their business. They're diversified. It's easier to cut things that aren't going well, like their television division or whatever else and focus in on what they do well.

Nintendo is gaming. If they lose money, that's the heart of their business. If things are going bad, they don't have some other thing to turn to.

Diversification is totally irrelevant when that diversified company is losing money on almost everything they do. And they haven't cut out their television division. In fact they just revealed their absurd $25,000 4K televisions.

In fact I think the only division they have that makes a profit is the camera division, which is small industry.

The gaming division makes money, sometimes.

 

[StreetsAhead]

People wanting Iwata to be fired should realise that his replacement would very likely be male, Japanese, 45-55, and from within NCL. They aren't necessarily going to be 'better' than Iwata simply by being a new face.

As it is, they have a new development facility underway in Kyoto, they've hired at least 700 brand new positions WW between April 2009 and September 2012, NST looks to be on track to be a real studio again, NoA is doing some basic development, they restructured Brownie Brown, they opened Kyoto Monolith. They're trying, the question is is there more and will it be enough.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

You were going kinda ok until that part, 3rd parties don't ignore Nintendo home consoles because of "graphics", for more info see: GameCube.



You have PS++++ or what? PSN is the slowest piece of shit regarding download speeds, by far.

I have PS+ and while the updates on the PS3 are terribly slow I am able to download Vita games/demos quite fast. When I had the PS3 it was slower. I get much better speed on my Vita than my 3DS and Wii U.

 

[thefro]

Not to downplay the shitty financial performance Nintendo is probably about to announce, but "according to the average of 15 estimates compiled by Bloomberg" is key here.

Yes... these are estimates from geniuses like Pachter, not the final numbers from Nintendo. They're probably not based on any insider info.

 

[grimshawish]

People wanting Iwata to be fired should realise that his replacement would very likely be male, Japanese, 45-55, and from within NCL. They aren't necessarily going to be 'better' than Iwata simply by being a new face.

He'll likely share at least three of the same letters as Iwata, possibly four.

 

[axisofweevils]

My God! Does this increase the chances of Iwata leaving? If so take that fucking clown Reggie with you, his "Charm" is fucking gone now, if you're gonna use a puppet to blame all the decisions on then use one that's likeable at least.

Nope. Read the posts. They expected a 20bn loss. If this forecast is true, this is some 2.3bn yen better than they predicted.

 

[metalslimer]

I cant believe some people are trying to spin these projected losses as not that bad. Hell before the last 2 years nintendo had never lost money at all. Investors arent going to compare them to Sony and think its ok.

 

[GetemMa]

Try telling that to investors.

I am sure the investors would look to other opportunities in the videogame industry and see nothing else worth investing in at the moment.

 

[Jonnyram]

Of course it does. It is putting those losses in perspective.

These losses really aren't that bad compared to several of Nintendo's competitors.

Especially Sony and EA.

Nintendo is a game making company, as is EA.
Sony's sector is not just games, as you are probably aware of. Their losses in the games sector were?