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[Duckhuntdog]

"I have no liking for lawyers." Yamauchi to future NOA CEO Howard Lincoln when they first meet.

The opening screen announced the game: "Donkey Kong."
...Arakawa worrieldy compalined to Yamauchi, who was thoroughly unsympathetic. He implored Yamauchi to atleast change the name, but Yamauchi refused. "It is a good game," he said.

Here is a little sample of the master in action:

Yamauchi entered the room abruptly and, without addressing anyone, stood at the of the table. He became, as one of those present put it,, "unglued."
He began with a breathy, high-pitched tirade in a Marlon Brando monotone and quckly became laud and abusive. Wtih a piercing cry, he swung his arms in an arc in front of him shooting his outstretched index finger towards Greenberg
Yamauchi's diatribe, all in Japanese, completely stunned everyone in the room, with the possible exception of the Arakawas. Howard Lincoln says, "It scared the hell out of me."...
... By the time Yamauchi wound down, no one in the room said a word. The translator began to speak. "Mr. Yamauchi is very upset."

"That is good." Yamauchi on being told Nintenod had beaten Atari in a court case.

 

[monkeyrun]

lol .... Yamauchi's god ..

 

[Baconäger]

Yeah what a total pimp.

 

[Mejilan]

Aren't all of those from Game Over by Sheff?

 

[Ford Prefect]

I need to read that book.

 

[SantaC]

Yamauchi will probably live forever :lol

 

[explodet]

Monkeys aren't Donkeys!
Quit messing with my head!

 

[GaimeGuy]

Whether you love the guy, or whether you hate the guy, it doesn't matter.

He may have been a bit too stubborn in his business decisions in the late 1990s, but you have to admit, the guy is a born leader, a great businessman, and the reason why Nintendo and the video game industry exist today.

The man truly is a legend.

And some of his actions are awesome to read about. :lol

 

[KiNeSiS]

I want to hear more about this guy.

 

[lexi]

He's like a Mafia Boss, Ninja and That guy with the long beard from Kill Bill 2 all rolled into one.

 

[radioheadrule83]

the man was a god. I hope Iwata follows in his stern yet hilarious words.

 

[cvxfreak]

I will never be scared of Yamauchi.

 

[belgurdo]

I will never be scared of Yamauchi.

I look upon him (and most businessmen) with a kind of sad curiosity. Money can make people strange

 

[GhaleonEB]

Didn't he fire his son from the company?

 

[Baconäger]

Didn't he fire his son from the company?

God I hope so.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

The Godfather of Nintendo.

 

[Mejilan]

Didn't he fire his son from the company?

Arakawa? The head of NoA? I'm pretty sure he retired of his own volition. And that was his son in law. In fact, I think Yamauchi only had daughters. I do believe, that when he agreed to take over NCL, he had his cousin or something fired, as a starting condition.

And I think, as he progressed, he pretty much got rid of all of his fathers' main men. I'm hazy on the details.

 

[tetsuoxb]

Aren't all of those from Game Over by Sheff?

Yes... I love it when someone reads that book and has this insatiable desire to quote it everywhere possible.

 

[cvxfreak]

Money can make people strange

Sorry I couldn't resist.

 

[Amir0x]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/CVXFREAK/psp_picture.jpg

Heh.

 

[mattiewheels]

That book was the best $1.99 I ever spent.

I think.

 

[DrGAKMAN]

Arakawa? The head of NoA? I'm pretty sure he retired of his own volition. And that was his son in law. In fact, I think Yamauchi only had daughters. I do believe, that when he agreed to take over NCL, he had his cousin or something fired, as a starting condition.

And I think, as he progressed, he pretty much got rid of all of his fathers' main men. I'm hazy on the details.

Mr. Yamauchi didn't get along with his father and originally did NOT want to take over the company. Someone "in the family" urged him to reconsider and he said he'd only become president if all other family members were fired! He wanted his rule to be absolute and without questioning.

Alot of people question why Mr. Yamauchi handed the (presidency of the) company over to Mr. Iwata, but I don't think we should question it. Mr. Iwata is young, actually designed games himself *and* is not as stubborn as Mr. Yamauchi was...I would say it was wise to give the company over to someone like Mr. Iwata for those reasons alone. Plus Mr. Iwata still respects Mr. Yamauchi to the point where he follows his "wishes" of going into the animation business and basically allowing him to shape the NDS into what it is. In recent years Namco & Bandai have also had their "old tired" presidents sorta replaced with younger more open-minded presidents in league with Mr. Iwata...I think they opened the doors for Nintendo to do so many collaborations with Namco (a company who, in the past, HATED Nintendo) and for Nintendo to actually buy stock in Bandai. I think Mr. Iwata heading Nintendo gives them that "new" feel which is why I think Square warmed up to them again too. We shouldn't question Mr. Yamauchi's wisdom. Nintendo isn't #1 anymore, but they're still #1 at making money!

 

[jett]

Yamauchi is the best video game celebrity ever. Iwata sucks. :\

 

[Kseutron]

He's like a Mafia Boss, Ninja and That guy with the long beard from Kill Bill 2 all rolled into one.

i heard that yamauchi is able to use kahe bunshin no jutsu and rasengan 3 times in a row

 

[SantaC]

Yamauchi is the best video game celebrity ever. Iwata sucks. :\

Iwata is probably Yamauchi's lapdog.

 

[norinrad21]

Iwata is probably Yamauchi's lapdog.

boring in all his posts :lol :lol :lol

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Arakawa? The head of NoA? I'm pretty sure he retired of his own volition. And that was his son in law. In fact, I think Yamauchi only had daughters. I do believe, that when he agreed to take over NCL, he had his cousin or something fired, as a starting condition.

And I think, as he progressed, he pretty much got rid of all of his fathers' main men. I'm hazy on the details.

I remember reading that Hiroshi had a son. Here's what I was able to dig up:

Katsuhito Yamauchi, the son of the NCL chairman, had entered Nintendo in Canada, but lasted only a year, mainly because of language barriers and limited experience in the business. When it didn't work out, Arakawa helped him form a company in Vancouver that would sell Nintendo products. He has since joined his father's company and recently worked on the Pokémon movies as an associate producer. Now in his early forties, Katsuhito Yamauchi should have the sufficient experience to assume his father's hot seat.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Holy shit this dude is gangsta as fuck :lol

 

[Guzim]

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Duckhuntdog]

The origins of a great man:

In 1927, Shikanojo and Kimi had a child, Hiroshi, the first Yamauchi male to be born in three generations. Hiroshi was five when Shikanojo ran away, abandoning his wife and son. The young boy was told that his father was worthless and deceitful.

The old man comes crawling back to the man:

Hiroshi Yamauchi never saw his father again. Shikanojo had brought shame and dishonor to the family, and when he returned, aged and ailing, despereate to see his only son, Hiroshi refused to speak to him.


That's hardcore!

 

[Mejilan]

Yamauchi actually came to regret letting his father die without a reconciliation.

 

[Justin Bailey]

The origins of a great man:

In 1927, Shikanojo and Kimi had a child, Hiroshi, the first Yamauchi male to be born in three generations. Hiroshi was five when Shikanojo ran away, abandoning his wife and son. The young boy was told that his father was worthless and deceitful.

The old man comes crawling back to the man:

Hiroshi Yamauchi never saw his father again. Shikanojo had brought shame and dishonor to the family, and when he returned, aged and ailing, despereate to see his only son, Hiroshi refused to speak to him.


That's hardcore!

It's hard to imagine without going through the same myself, but I probably wouldn't speak to the bastard either.

 

[monkeyrun]

Yamauchi actually came to regret letting his father die without a reconciliation.

you know ........ it's never easy to handle a situation like that ......

 

[neptunes]

I would see him (if I were him), but talking and engaging in any discussion would be difficult.

 

[soundwave05]

He came to regret his decision not to see his dying father.

Apparently he visits his father's grave on the day he passed away every year.

There's some other crazy stuff too like Yamauchi being a slacker when he was in the Japanese army.

I think the general consensus is that Yamauchi was bitterly dissapointed that his son never turned into a great businessman. He also reportedly dogged his son-in-law Minoru Arakawa a lot.

There is an epic, almost "Citizen Kane" like quality to his life.

 

[Duckhuntdog]

Growing up Yamauchi:

Tei (Hiroshi's grandmother) would not consider allowiong Hiroshi to enter the military. When the war began, he was too young to fight, and by the time he could have been called up,the tide had already turned and the Yamauchi's knew that Japan would lose. To keep him safely out of the war, Tei made Hiroshi stay in school, and he was given an assignment in a military factory.

Pimping comes early to Hiroshi:

Rice and other foods were scarce; most people in the aren survived on little but potatoes. Yamauchi however, carried a precious rice lunch to work each day, from the stockpile in Tei's pantry. During his lunch break, Hiroshi noticed that a supervisior was hungerly eyeing this rice. Hiroshi shared it with the man and was rewarded, that afternoon, with time off. Hiroshi went off into a field and took a nap. After that, Yamauchi brought TWO lunch boxes to work EACH day, one for himself and one for the supervisor and each day was excused from work.


That's not being lazy, that's being smart.

 

[monkeyrun]

Growing up Yamauchi:

Tei (Hiroshi's grandmother) would not consider allowiong Hiroshi to enter the military. When the war began, he was too young to fight, and by the time he could have been called up,the tide had already turned and the Yamauchi's knew that Japan would lose. To keep him safely out of the war, Tei made Hiroshi stay in school, and he was given an assignment in a military factory.

Pimping comes early to Hiroshi:

Rice and other foods were scarce; most people in the aren survived on little but potatoes. Yamauchi however, carried a precious rice lunch to work each day, from the stockpile in Tei's pantry. During his lunch break, Hiroshi noticed that a supervisior was hungerly eyeing this rice. Hiroshi shared it with the man and was rewarded, that afternoon, with time off. Hiroshi went off into a field and took a nap. After that, Yamauchi brought TWO lunch boxes to work EACH day, one for himself and one for the supervisor and each day was excused from work.


That's not being lazy, that's being smart.

that's bribing .... :lol

 

[GaimeGuy]

We need a full biography of Yamauchi. :|

 

[lexi]

Someone needs to make a Citizen Kane-esque movie featuring Yamauchi.

 

[Laurent]

(Great picture)

 

[Duckhuntdog]

Yamauchi on the game industry in Japan:

"One strong company and the rest weak."

One Japanese company executive on Yamauchi:

"We all were intimidated. Like God, Yamauchi wielded power."

Yamauchi makes Namco his bitch:

A meeting was set up between the two bosses. Hiroshi formally greeeted Nakamura, and they agreed to work together. Nakamura would profit by selling Pc-Man to Nintendo players. At the same time, it was significant for Yamauchi to have as his first licensee the industry's dominate company. Nakamura expected, and receieved, favorable terms- certainly more favorable than later Nintendo licensees.

In 1989 Namco's original five-year contract expired. Feeling that he and Yamauchi were equal, Masaya Nakamura expected that the renewal of the contract would be a mere formality. Yamauchi, however, used the opportunity to humble Nakamura. Yamauchi decided that all the agreements iwth licensees were going to be identical and there was no exceptions.

When Nakamura heard this, he exploded. "All of a sudden Mr. Yamauchi was king," A Nakamura associtate says, "Mr. Nakamura did not want to observe the rule created by Yamauchi. It is a slap in the face. It was unpardonable.

Nakamura filed a lawsuit in Kyoto district court. Yamauchi dismissed the suit saying, "Fankly, Namco is envious of us...If they are not satisfied with Nintendo and the way we do buisness, they should create their own market. That is the advantage of the free market."

Nakamura withdrew his suit. "Mr. Nakamura suffered the anguish of the defeted king" saind an associate, "The biggest blow was to have to crawl back to Yamauchi-- the defeated king accepting that he must now be a courtier."

Ahhh, you can just picture the smile Yamauchi must have mustered that day.

 

[jorge13130]

Yamauchi rocks takes names and kicks asses

 

[missAran]

Yamauchi embodies what is wrong with CEOs and corporate presidents.

 

[Duckhuntdog]

Yamauchi embodies what is wrong with CEOs and corporate presidents.

Don't make Hiroshi make you his bitch like he did Nakamura. The old codger is still alive and listening. He's full on Tengu.

 

[GaimeGuy]

Yamauchi embodies what is wrong with CEOs and corporate presidents.

Yeah, he only led the resurrection of the video game industry by Nintendo, created one of the most stable companies in Japan that has many, many times been named the Nikkei's Company of the year.

What a shithead of a president.

Sure, he screwed up during his last five years as president (or so,) but, when he became president of Nintendo, he completely rehauled it and turned it into his image, and it worked very, very well.

The guy may be a stubborn asshole, but he knows how to run a business.

 

[Unison]

Yamauchi makes Namco his bitch:

 

[missAran]

Yeah, he only led the resurrection of the video game industry by Nintendo, created one of the most stable companies in Japan that has many, many times been named the Nikkei's Company of the year.

What a shithead of a president.

Sure, he screwed up during his last five years as president (or so,) but, when he became president of Nintendo, he completely rehauled it and turned it into his image, and it worked very, very well.

The guy may be a stubborn asshole, but he knows how to run a business.

Absolutely, I will never question his credentials, but he's still a pompous jerk. I don't think that's an honorable trait in a person and I think it's more common among CEOs and presidents.

I'll be honest though: Nintendo's amazing success and "comfortable profit margin" is what is killing it now. The greatest companies in the world have no reason to innovate or take risks.