NeoGAF

Lease first party development rights to Sony developers and watch the internet burn

If he cares as much about the future of Nintendo as he claims he does, then he should resign.

No because I don't work for the company nor am an investor and he's as pure gaming as any head could be.

I'd give him a bit more time before they hire the head of McDonalds to run Nintendo.

Originally Posted by No-Ink

To be frank, no. He's done some great things for the company. They just need to market the WiiU better and improve their online.

They should have established a strong network for the Wii U launch last year. After years of Xbox Live and PSN you'd think they'd know what players expect when it comes to online networking.

If I was an investor I would be furious that Iwata is still there. As a gamer I am indifferent as Nintendo is still pumping out some quality games.

Originally Posted by "D"

As much as I like Mr. Iwata as he seems like a nice down to earth guy, every since he took Nintendo's reins around the time before Gamecube launched I believe, the main consoles NEVER got a strong foothold on third party support again and the primary focus was always its own IPs, plagued with delays and the like.

Iwata became the head of Nintendo after the release of the GameCube. Since then, we've had the release of the DS, Wii, 3DS, and Wii U. The former two were considered massive successes right out of the gate while the latter have struggled. While Iwata did manage to turn around the 3DS, the Wii U is still hanging in there.

Think about this: He oversaw the launches of the DS and Wii - two of the most successful consoles of all time. His only real failure was the Wii U. Does he really need to step down solely because of that?

No. But he should do less Iwata Asks and more meetings with the marketing department.
IA is a fan service and there clearly are no enough fans who'd even buy a fucking Wii U, so why make such a service just for them. Priorities, Iwata.

They need more than just offloading Iwata to fix their laundry list of problems. A lot of old blood needs to go.

Not only he should step down, Nintendo should also consult GAF on every important matter, as GAF is always right about everything, unless GAF is wrong.

Directly.

Originally Posted by Servbot24

If he does step down, I would bet his successor will be someone GAF dislikes more than Iwata. I.e. someone who does what the investors want them to do.

This is what will happen. We'll wax nostalgiac for the days when Iwata was doing Directs wearing a giant Luigi hat and the 3DS was flourishing with one of Nintendo's best lineups in years.

Yes, at the end of the fiscal year.

Of course he should. Iwata's responsibility is to his shareholders, and most of all he has failed them. If gamers like him, that's fine. But that's not his job. His job isn't to make Nintendo core fans on a forum happy or deliver the best first-party titles. It's to use accomplishments such as this, or others, to return value to shareholders. And after the amazing situation he inherited from the Wii, and their stubbornness with next-gen and one of the worst uses of the depreciating yen of any major Japanese company, there is no good reason for him to stay.

This isn't about whether games like him. It's whether he's been a good CEO at maximizing shareholder value, and he has not been. If Nintendo wants to not be held accountable for profits for the sake of tradition or whatever justifies their stubborn strategy, then they should go private. But as long as their public and owned by thousands of shareholders like myself, his only core job is to return value to shareholders. And he has not simply down a poor job, but he's fully squandered the amazing success of the Wii -- so it should not even be a quesiton whether or not he should step down. Of course he should.

Seems like it would take a lot of work, Nintendo's board of directors would have to leave along with Iwata for anything substantial to change within that company I feel.

Originally Posted by Servbot24

If he does step down, I would bet his successor will be someone GAF dislikes more than Iwata. I.e. someone who does what the investors want them to do.

Is that suppose to be a bad thing?

I thought the point of a company was to make money, not waste it on useless squandering.

Unless you're referring to the phone crap, I don't really care. Nintendo wouldn't stop making games for handhelds/consoles if that's what you're suggesting.

Yes. He has failed with the Wii U and instead of changing the company's tactics he has persisted with failed ideas.

Originally Posted by PetrCobra

No. But he should do less Iwata Asks and more meetings with the marketing department.
IA is a fan service and there clearly are no enough fans who'd even buy a fucking Wii U, so why make such a service just for them. Priorities, Iwata.

I don't think that taking at most an hour out of a week (maybe) is hurting anything...

I love Iwata as a personality, and I'm a huge Nintendo fan, but even I can't help wonder what someone new might be able to do with the company.

Originally Posted by Zalman

Think about this: He oversaw the launches of the DS and Wii - two of the most successful consoles of all time. His only real failure was the Wii U. Does he really need to step down solely because of that?

I think Boards at billion dollar multi-national companies are the "what have you done for me lately?" sort. Plus I think Iwata used up his "Wii/DS good will" the last two losing fiscal years.

It'll be interesting.

Originally Posted by Plinko

He did the Wii as well. He saved the 3DS.

I'm not a huge fan of his and would like to see him go in the near future, but to say he did "one thing right" is asinine.

He's fucked up the Wii U in every imaginable way possible. That's not how you remain the CEO of most companies. And when I said one thing, I meant between consoles and handhelds. He managed to salvage the 3DS because there's no direct competition other than another piece of hardware that was even more poorly conceived. In the console business where he has actual competition, he's fallen on his face repeatedly. The Wii, like it or not, was a fad. He failed with the GC and he's repeating that with the Wii U. How many chances do you give him?

Why haven't they fired him?

Yes. Reggie should step in. DO IT REGGIE

To what end?

Originally Posted by Servbot24

If he does step down, I would bet his successor will be someone GAF dislikes more than Iwata. I.e. someone who does what the investors want them to do.

It would probably be someone Iwata has been grooming.

What would it achieve? What's to say that the next man to walk into the job doesn't have the exact same philosophies that hold Nintendo back? Nintendo still operates like it's 1985. It's the same company that used Teddy Ruxpin as a Trojan horse to sneak its way into retail. It wants to be the Disney of video games (forgetting that even Disney was willing to put its stamp on something like Pirates of the Caribbean) and won't waver from that family-first approach in everything they do.

Unless they get someone in who is completely willing to revamp Nintendo philosophy from the ground up, there's not really anything to be achieved from firing Iwata.

Originally Posted by JordanN

Is that suppose to be a bad thing?

I thought the point of a company was to make money, not waste it on useless squandering.

Nintendo almost always makes money. If you're worried about companies losing money, look at Sony and Microsoft.

And sure, for investors, a quick buck is always appealing. But it's for the CEO to keep the long-term health of the company in mind. Otherwise they should just have investors rubberstamp all the decisions for companies and cut out the CEO middleman, right?

He should see the Wii U to the end, then step down if the result is still a clusterfuck.
But just getting rid of Iwata wouldn't change much, there's probably a bunch of people that would need to go before Nintendo's philosophies are totally gone, which is what most Gaffers want to see happen and for Nintendo to become a MS/Sony clone.

Same goes for Reggie, people hate him, I can see why, but he's just doing his job, and he's good at it. It's like people expect him to say "Yes, our system is selling like shit and it's not a worthy investment, so don't buy it. Oh, by the way, 3DS!"

Originally Posted by "D"

Nintendo's investors meeting is in January I believe and obviously things aren't looking good. I know we still have Smash U, Zelda, Mario Kart and DKC looming but what about the larger picture? Do you guys think Satoru Iwata's time should be over and another, more core player-minded prez should step in to fill his shoes?

No, they just need to give NOA their own independence and stop trying to control all rams...

Originally Posted by Poetic.Injustice

That's just how cruel the business world is. You fuck up once and you're out.

That's how things go in the Western world.
You fuck up once, you get a golden parachute and you move on to the next corporation/bank to tank.

In the Eastern world when you fuck up once, you get a green light to keep making awful Final Fantasy games.

I'm a big fan of Iwata. He seems like someone who loves games.

Would be a sad day to see him step down and have the new Nintendo pres. go all square Enix by making everything f2p or mobile.

Goodbye Iwata and then welcome to the iOS future :)
*just like Square-Enix*

Iwata pushed Nintendo to unforeseen heights. He was the President when the Wii became a hit and the DS sold 150 million. The 3DS is looking great, the Wii U has struggled.

Overall he has done an amazing job, I dont think one hiccup warrants a change.

Originally Posted by soxxx

Iwata pushed Nintendo to unforeseen heights. He was the President when the Wii became a hit and the DS sold 150 million. The 3DS is looking great, the Wii U has struggled.

Overall he has done an amazing job, I dont think one hiccup warrants a change.

This.

Originally Posted by Iacobellis

Yes.

And we're done.

Originally Posted by Stumpokapow

To what end?

balloon fight mmo

Yes in my opinion. There needs to be new leadership at Nintendo. I will always have a soft spot for them but I just can't see myself buying anything of theirs with their current strategies

Why hate?

Originally Posted by zomgbbqftw

Yes. He has failed with the Wii U and instead of changing the company's tactics he has persisted with failed ideas.

He has failed with the Wii U, true. But many of the "ideas" you vaguely refer to are not failed ideas, at all. They've been very successful for Nintendo. Iwata's execution this time around, unfortunately, has been way off the mark. You don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

Speaking as someone who loathes Nintendo's business practices, no, because I don't think he should be put on the chopping block for the company's mistakes.

Iwata isn't the only one responsible for the shitstorm the company is, it is their entire upper management in general.

Originally Posted by soxxx

Iwata pushed Nintendo to unforeseen heights. He was the President when the Wii became a hit and the DS sold 150 million. The 3DS is looking great, the Wii U has struggled.

Overall he has done an amazing job, I dont think one hiccup warrants a change.

Yeah. The 3DS will keep Nintendo (and hopefully Iwata) afloat.

Now if both 3DS and Wii U struggled, than it'd be a different story. But 3DS is going strong. So I'd say he'll be alright for now.

Would him stepping down satisfy Nintendo fans? It seems they want Nintendo to fire him instead.

I really like Iwata and I like the games Nintendo continues to make. I fear for the day that Nintendo becomes run by a more business-focused CEO. People want Nintendo to be like everyone else, I want them to stay unique. I can have more than one console.

I was in the "Iwata is a drain on the company!" camp for awhile, but then I actually saw the numbers, and looked up the Nintendo home console sales charts. Every single home console since the NES (30 years!) has sold worse than it's predecessor by a substantial amount. I thought the abandoning of the hardcore focus was a bad move, but after looking at the sales history of Nintendo home consoles, they were desperate after the Gamecube, and reasonably so. Things were looking horrible in the home console market, unless there was a serious philosophy change. Then Iwata comes along and upturns company focus and introduces the Wii, which shatters the downward spiral of Nintendo home consoles and puts Nintendo back on top. Iwata was somewhat of a hero.

Yes, the Wii U was a huge swing and a miss, and a disaster by any metric, but I don't think firing Iwata is likely yet. He still did make Nintendo home consoles relevant again. He will be given another chance, I believe. If the next home console is a failure on the scale of the Wii U, oh yea, he's a goner, but he still has one more shot, imo.

3ds should't have had the need to be turned around, it's two mistakes in a row.

Not for symbolism. If there is someone who can do the job better then you have to think about it. Wii U is one mistake but it is a big mistake.

Step aside, Iwata, there are new boys in town.

I'm....not sure.