Iwata to become Nintendo of America CEO, NoA CEO promoted to NCL Managing Director

Status
Not open for further replies.
jcm said:
Can you think of an example of a CEO of a global company accepting a demotion to regional head, particularly head of a region that is a puppet?

If Iwata resigns, he's not going to stay with Nintendo in any real capacity. He's not going to go back to HAL, and he's not going to move to Seattle to run NOA.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. This is a guy who's spent his entire working career at Nintendo. He's been at Nintendo for MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS.

Maybe he has too much sentimental attachment to Nintendo to leave it entirely? Maybe it's his hobby? Maybe the shame of getting fired as CEO isn't enough to compel Iwata to leave management entirely? Maybe the concept of working anywhere else is unthinkable for him?

No one really knows what's going through Iwata's head as he made this decision. I have a feeling that its intent was more strategic for Iwata than actually helping the company out, but its all conjecture anyway.

faridmon said:
So no more Reggie?
Thats awesome to hear. Thank you based Nintendo!
Click to expand...

Reggie was NEVER CEO of Nintendo of America.
 
Nintendo is like those middle aged people who run their own store and are too afraid to fire people, so they bake cookies instead.
 
Important to remember the November 3DS sales. One of the biggest retail weeks of the US year and Reggie/NoA fucking blew it. The DS which Iwata has just commissioned outsold the 3DS.

In Europe NoE was holding a huge XL marketing deal. America? Fucking nothing.
It was utterly terrible and reflected very badly on them.

There is a reason NoE has obvious freedom to just do whatever the fuck they want within Nintendo; they do a good job.

Lets breakdown what they've done:
- All marketing is directed around software launches
- 3DS had the priority considering the software available over Christmas 2012
- Wii U put on the back burner until software arrives

NoE are far more efficient in their spending and marketing. NoA tried a massive push of the WiiU, deciding it seems independently that this was the companies future, not the 3DS which they left unsupported at market.

Truth is that ads haven't driven the WiiU. It has not sold much at all, pretty inefficient use of resources there. Whilst the 3DS in Europe succeeds, in the US is flounders with little support.

Iwata I suspect is a sign of Nintendo wanting a bigger understanding and hold of NoA.
If he finds them wanting - there will be changes. He'll be reporting to the rest of the board or if in a years time hes under 100bn, to his new boss on whether or not the market has changed so much that Nintendo needs to change. Or if NoA is incompetent.

This is the regional office afterall who have less offers, less colours and less sales on their lead hardware. Something is out of place there.
 
Aquamarine said:
Not necessarily. This is a guy who's spent his entire working career at Nintendo. He's been at Nintendo for MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS.

Maybe he has too much sentimental attachment to Nintendo to leave it entirely? Maybe it's his hobby? Maybe the shame of getting fired as CEO isn't enough to compel Iwata to leave management entirely? Maybe the concept of working anywhere else is unthinkable for him?

No one really knows what's going through Iwata's head as he made this decision. I have a feeling that its intent was more strategic for Iwata than actually helping the company out, but its all conjecture anyway.
Click to expand...

I guess the answer to my question "Can you think of an example of a CEO of a global company accepting a demotion to regional head, particularly head of a region that is a puppet?" is no then?
 
chaosblade said:
Iwata has already commented negatively regarding the WiiU marketing campaign in North America, IIRC.

I don't really think Reggie will be on the hot seat so much as the VP of sales and marketing - Scott Moffitt (the guy who replaced Cammie).
Click to expand...

Things do feel as if they've gotten worse since he came on board compared to when there was no one in the position for that short amount of time.
 
jcm said:
I guess the answer to my question "Can you think of an example of a CEO of a global company accepting a demotion to regional head, particularly head of a region that is a puppet?" is no then?
Click to expand...

No I can't, but my point is that Iwata's a quirky guy with a lot of attachment to Nintendo. He may go a completely different route than the status quo.
 
I really don't see what Iwata can do to change NoA.

If this allows them to make drastic marketing decisions without having to report to NCL, then I can see the benefit, but even then.

They need to foster more western 1st/2nd party studios.
 
faridmon said:
What position did he occupy? and who was the CEO of NoA?
and how will this impact NOE?
Click to expand...

Reggie has always been President and COO of Nintendo of America.
COO = Day-to-day operations.

Before, Nintendo of America's CEO and Director was Tatsumi Kimishima.
Now, Nintendo of America's CEO and Director is Satoru Iwata.
CEO = Grand strategy and vision, rubber stamp who approves everything major.
 
Flame Lord said:
Wait, Reggie wasn't the CEO of NoA or am I misreading? If he wasn't then why does he get so much shit?
Click to expand...

Because according to GAF, he's the reason the Wii was underpowered, the reason those dirty casuals ruined gaming, and the reason the Wii U doesn't have Halo 5 as an exclusive on launch.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I haven't thought through the actual consequences of this yet and whether it would be good or bad, but the mental image of the people that were already at the boiling point if Iwata did not resign just completely losing it is pretty damn great.
Click to expand...

There's always a chance that this is internal structuring for an eventual resignation from Iwata, but really, this is pretty much non-news.

I think it's more interesting that two top board members retired.
 
Iwata becoming the CEO of NoA can only yield good things.

Reggie was pretty awesome back in 2006, but since then he got worse and worse in both media presence and in advertising Nintendo as a company and its games.

Iwata on the other hand seems to be...better at these things.
He's representing Nintendo in a serious manner when it is needed (of course bordering on the funny times as well. Bananas come to mind), whereas Reggie always tried to maintain his badass image that has long since gone.

I just hope that Iwata gets shit done in America. Also I hope that this means better ties to 3rd parties in western countries.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I haven't thought through the actual consequences of this yet and whether it would be good or bad, but the mental image of the people that were already at the boiling point if Iwata did not resign just completely losing it is pretty damn great.
Click to expand...
No need to imagine, you can already see them losing it in various threads.
 
Damn we have been Iwatrolled, please understand.
What does this mean exactly for Iwata in terms of work and public appearances?
I'm sorry for his family, unless they're moving with him.
 
Lunar15 said:
There's always a chance that this is internal structuring for an eventual resignation from Iwata, but really, this is pretty much non-news.

I think it's more interesting that two top board members retired.
Click to expand...

Hierarchy of the board as of June 2012:

"Senior" board members:
1. Satoru Iwata
2. Yoshihiro Mori - Retiring this year
3. Shinji Hatano
4. Genyo Takeda
5. Shigeru Miyamoto


"Junior" board members:
6. Masaharu Matsumoto - Retiring this year
7. Eiichi Suzuki
8. Tatsumi Kimishima - Got a big promotion this year
9. Kaoru Takemura


It seems like they're maneuvering Kimishima into a senior board position just under Iwata in terms of overall influence. That's QUITE the set up, and it may be the first steps in a grand overhaul of Nintendo upper management.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I haven't thought through the actual consequences of this yet and whether it would be good or bad, but the mental image of the people that were already at the boiling point if Iwata did not resign just completely losing it is pretty damn great.
Click to expand...

i seriously think the only thing better than the salt around here is gonna be fake kaz's twitter later today
 
Ninja Scooter said:
lol what an incompetent company. Let your executives fail forward.
Click to expand...
How about competently understanding just what this could mean for NOA. NOA's current CEO (not Reggie) is obviously out of touch with how to run the company here. This was hopefully a good move for those if us who live here.
 
If Kimishima was doing such a lackluster job at NoA (he was), then why in the world is he being maneuvered into a position to take over post-Iwata?

Is it because he understand the Japanese market better than western ones? That's the only thing that makes sense to me.
 
GiantBreadbug said:
If Kimishima was doing such a lackluster job at NoA (he was), then why in the world is he being maneuvered into a position to take over post-Iwata?

Is it because he understand the Japanese market better than western ones? That's the only thing that makes sense to me.
Click to expand...

He might not actually be. Word is that he's 62 and might be close to retirement himself. It could just be Nintendo's way of letting him spend more time in Japan and move him into a position that he might be better at (instead of running an entire division) instead of firing him. Iwata has done wonders for NCL. NoE seems to be pulling their own weight or at the very least doing the right things to promote Nintendo's products. NoA is where the problem is located and it being in the biggest market makes things worse.

NoA for years has been unable to market Nintendo's products. The overwhelming success of the Wii just hid this fact or at least managed to overcome it. They've fail at the most basic task of marketing the Wii U and even the 3DS to a lesser degree earlier. Marketing is their only major function and they're horrible at it. The confusion about Wii U being a new console and not just a controller is completely on the heads of NoA I believe. That's why the shake up has to be taking place as the losses can not continue. NoA is where the drain is and you don't fire Iwata for that when it's clear the division he's most directly responsible for is doing extremely well. Instead putting him more directly in charge of NoA and removing the person that had the position previously seems like a good way of addressing the issue.
 
Aquamarine said:
No I can't, but my point is that Iwata's a quirky guy with a lot of attachment to Nintendo. He may go a completely different route than the status quo.
Click to expand...

Well, maybe he'll be the first, but in the meantime your #6 doesn't merit being listed with the other 5 facts.
 
Ninja Scooter said:
And their Japanese CEO isn't out if touch?
Click to expand...
If you're just looking at the Wii u you're being short sighted and ignoring that the 3DS is killing it right now. Obviously there are missteps with the Wii at the moment but if they can turn it around like the 3DS iwata and Nintendo will be just fine. Anti-consumer mistakes aside Nintendo will be fine and that's all this conversation is about.
 
Moonlight said:
NoA's seen as lethargic and unwilling to take risks of Japanese software, so people are assuming that with Iwata's finger directly on the pulse, Nintendo will be that much more proactive in pushing software and localizing Japanese content in a timely manner. I'm not sure how much of that will prove true, but it's an interesting experiment, and Nintendo really doesn't have much to lose from the prospect. Reggie's days of being a scapegoat for NoA's failings are over, though. It'll be all be on Iwata and the upper management in Japan if things stay south.
Click to expand...

I don't have anything to add except, "I don't know where they're going with this." This is a scary time for video games, but this at least appears to be motion.
 
Effect said:
He might not actually be. Word is that he's 62 and might be close to retirement himself. It could just be Nintendo's way of letting him spend more time in Japan and move him into a position that he might be better at (instead of running an entire division) instead of firing him. Iwata has done wonders for NCL. NoE seems to be pulling their own weight or at the very least doing the right things to promote Nintendo's products. NoA is where the problem is located and it being in the biggest market makes things worse.

NoA for years has been unable to market Nintendo's products. They've fail at the most basic task of marketing the Wii U and even the 3DS to a lesser degree earlier. Marketing is their only major function and they're horrible at it. The confusion about Wii U being a new console and not just a controller is completely on the heads of NoA I believe. That's why the shake up has to be taking place as the losses can not continue. NoA is where the drain is and you don't fire Iwata for that when it's clear the division he's most directly responsible for is doing extremely well. Instead putting him more directly in charge of NoA and removing the person that had the position previously seems like a good way of addressing the issue.
Click to expand...

That actually makes a lot more sense, thank you.

Good luck Iwata, you've got a mess on your hands with NoA.
 
Effect said:
He might not actually be. Word is that he's 62 and might be close to retirement himself. It could just be Nintendo's way of letting him spend more time in Japan and move him into a position that he might be better at (instead of running an entire division) instead of firing him. Iwata has done wonders for NCL. NoE seems to be pulling their own weight or at the very least doing the right things to promote Nintendo's products. NoA is where the problem is located and it being in the biggest market makes things worse.

NoA for years has been unable to market Nintendo's products. They've fail at the most basic task of marketing the Wii U and even the 3DS to a lesser degree earlier. Marketing is their only major function and they're horrible at it. The confusion about Wii U being a new console and not just a controller is completely on the heads of NoA I believe. That's why the shake up has to be taking place as the losses can not continue. NoA is where the drain is and you don't fire Iwata for that when it's clear the division he's most directly responsible for is doing extremely well. Instead putting him more directly in charge of NoA and removing the person that had the position previously seems like a good way of addressing the issue.
Click to expand...

I wonder if Kimishima would be an interim CEO while the board finds a younger replacement for Iwata.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Poll
Your new CEO of Nintendo. What would you do to fix Nintendo? (If anything)
2
72
2K
AJUMP23 replied
CEO of Discord steps down, appoints ex Chief Strategy Officer of Activision as new CEO
20
421
xrnzaaas replied
MindsEye Developer CEO Says People Were Paid To Be Negative Towards The Game
34
245
xrnzaaas replied
Sony Shake Up: Hiroki Totoki Named Corporate CEO, Hideaki Nishino Elevated to SIE Solo-CEO, Herman Hulst Reports To Nishino Now
4 5 6 7 8
389
23K
nial replied
Ted Price (CEO) is leaving Insomniac
2 3 4
163
8K
saintjules replied
Top Bottom