• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Hiroshi Yamauchi dies at 85 (Nikkei)

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Coolwhip

Banned
The thread title still bothers me. It should be something like: Former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi dies at 85.

Remove the Nikkei!

/ocd
 
D

DarthButcher

Member
Airplane-flying-in-sunset-006.jpg
 
J

javac

Member
JordanN said:
Doesn't his weird philosophies still exist in the company (and lead to its current downfall)? Nintendo being behind in online and their lack of third party support started because of him.
Click to expand...

Nintendo is not in a 'downfall' so no he didn't. And even if they are they wouldn't have been able to fall without actually climbing in the first place. Yamauchi is the man that got them to ANY relevancy in the first place. Without getting to the great heights we wouldn't even care if they crashed and burned. We care about the company, more strongly than others because of the risks he and his company took. From hanafuda cards to game consoles.
 
N

Nostremitus

Member
Yamauchi's leadership is the difference between the Nintendo we know today, and a random obscure playing card company that few of us would have ever known existed otherwise.

He was a visionary.

RIP, sir.
 
J

jbueno

Member
Weird there´s no mourning message on Nintendo´s websites. Something like Apple did when Jobs passed would be nice.
 
S

Sakujou

Banned
Yamauchi helped nintendo getting involved in video games but he was also the reason why nintendo got behind its competitors sony and sega.

It was good that iwata took his place to get nintendo into new hights with wii and the nintendo ds.

Still a shame... What a legend!
 
K

Kasumin

Member
Was pretty shocked to read this news when I woke up this morning. I'd always just kind of assumed that he was immortal, somehow. Rest in peace, Mr. Yamauchi :<
 
A

Alex Anderson

Member
Aww. :( He was one of those guys I just expected to live forever. At least we still got Abe Vigoda.

I thought this thread was gonna be like 100 pages when I clicked it. I know it was posted in the morning but.... *shrug*
 
D

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
So who gets his large stake of Nintendo? I always thought him controlling a large amount of the company helped buffer Nintendo's Executives from ignorant investors.
 
P

PlumCantaloupe

Member
javac said:
Nintendo is not in a 'downfall' so no he didn't. And even if they are they wouldn't have been able to fall without actually climbing in the first place. Yamauchi is the man that got them to ANY relevancy in the first place. Without getting to the great heights we wouldn't even care if they crashed and burned. We care about the company, more strongly than others because of the risks he and his company took. From hanafuda cards to game consoles.
Click to expand...

Very well said.
 
plank

plank

Member
To tell you the truth I actually thought he was already dead. Those immortal joke got the best of me I guess. RIP Yamauchi. ;_;
 
E

Easy_D

never left the stone age
Valjean Lafitte said:
I think a lot of people here would disagree with that quote, but you know what? He's right. And I'm going to log off of Facebook, NeoGAF, and everything else and player Super Mario Bros. today in memory of him. Bye ya'll.
Click to expand...

Wow. He pretty much nailed everything that is wrong with the industry today. Budgets are rising, studios are closing , etc.

Not that I necessarily agree with Nintendo making the Wii U as weak as it is. They could have chosen a middle ground imo. But what do I know? I'm just a consumer.
 
C

Conrad Link

Member
:( as odd as it might sounds hearing that news felt like an old relative had passed away. :(

I've 'known' of him for as long as I can remember, always reading articles or quotes and what-not from magazines in my younger years.

A huge part of gaming history, but also played an extremely important part in my own gaming history by being at the helm of Nintendo, the company that made me fall in love videogames with the NES. My childhood and now still adulthood would not have been the same without him I don't think.

And of course in true Yamauchi style he'll still be pulling the strings even from the beyond I'm sure heh.

RIP.
 
E

Elfteiroh

Member
Drkirby said:
So who gets his large stake of Nintendo? I always thought him controlling a large amount of the company helped buffer Nintendo's Executives from ignorant investors.
Click to expand...
He only had 10%. Seriously not enough to change anything in the company, unless the one getting them is as bold and ambitious as he was.

Broken Joystick said:
Some important/controversial quotes from the man:
Click to expand...
On Leaving Nintendo: "Coincidental to my leaving the company, I would like to make one request: that Nintendo give birth to wholly new ideas and create hardware which reflects that ideal. And make software that adheres to that same standard. Furthermore, this software should attract consumers as new and interesting. Lastly, and of equal importance, is completing these products quickly and at a cost comparable to today's current market. I imagine most people question the feasibility of my request, but Nintendo has always pursued those objectives. I'd ask that the company continue to follow this goal as my final and only request to the new management staff. I can't say what these new types of software will be, but I'm sure they'll release it during my lifetime."

"[RPG players] are depressed gamers who like to sit alone in their dark rooms and play slow games."

"I have been saying this for some time, but customers are not interested in grand games with higher-quality graphics and sound and epic stories. Only people who do not know the video game business would advocate the release of next-generation machines when people are not interested in cutting-edge technologies."

Comments on Microsoft:"There are many people in the industry that know nothing about games. In particular, a large American company is trying to do engulf software houses with money, but I don't believe that will go well. It looks like they'll sell their game system next year, but we'll see the answer to that the following year."
Click to expand...
Very interesting. Love these quotes.

Celine said:
[when Iwata succeeded him]
When somewhat bluntly asked why Iwata was chosen for the job Yamauchi, speaking as freely as ever, told all. &#8220;The reason for Iwata-san's selection comes down to his knowledge and understanding of Nintendo's hardware and software. An executive, regardless of his vast successes, is fundamentally an executive, who doesn't intimately understand our products.&#8221; Yamauchi continues, &#8220;Within our industry there are those who believe that they will succeed simply because of their successes in other ventures or their wealth, but that doesn't guarantee success. Looking at their experiences since entering the gaming world, it's apparent that our competitors have yielded far more failures than successes. It's been said that Sony is the current winner in the gaming world. However, when considering their &#8216;victory&#8217;, you should remember that their success is only a very recent development. Though Sony is widely held to be the strongest in the market, their fortunes may change. Tomorrow, they could lose that strength, as reversals of fortune are part of this business. Taking into account the things I've encountered in my experiences as Nintendo president, I have come to the conclusion that it requires a special talent to manage a company in this industry. I selected Iwata-san based on that criteria. Over the long-term I don't know whether Iwata-san will maintain Nintendo's position or lead the company to even greater heights of success. At the very least, I believe him to be the best person for the job.&#8221;


Originally Posted by Game Over:
In his late thirties, Yamauchi was suavely handsome, a cigarette always dangling from the corner of his mouth. Even after he sold his love hotel, he was a familiar face among the Kyoto demimonde. Michiko [his wife] said nothing, but the children resented him bitterly.

In 1970, on her twentieth birthday, Yamauchi shocked Yoko [his daughter] when he announced that she was going out on the town with him. She dressed up and accompanied him to a cabaret, a sikake, where five geishas attended them, serving drinks. The women obviously knew him very well. Hiroshi toasted Yoko's coming of age, but when it got late, he sent her home in a taxi. He didn't come home until dawn.

Originally Posted by Game Over:
Dressed in a conservative suit, [Minoru Arakawa] arrived at the Yamauchis'. After the introductions were made, he joined the family at the low dining table, where Michiko and Yoko served the meal. Hiroshi sat back in his chair and studied his daughter's suitor.

The evening wore on and Yamauchi fired questions at Minoru as if he were conducting a job interview. He had to be convinced that Minoru was not a heaver drinker or a playboy.

"You went to Harvard, eh?" Yamauchi asked. "That is a good school."

Mino politely explained that he had gone to MIT.

"I have never heard of it," Yamauchi said.

Yoko and Mino had to convince him that MIT was okay too.

After the meal, the family withdrew to the living room for tea. There, Yamauchi looked at Arakawa and said, without emotion, "If you are going to marry my daughter, you should marry quickly."

Yoko and Minoru exchanged glances, and the young man nodded politely. "Yes, sir," he said.

Hiroshi ribbed Arakawa, saying he was a good choice because a woman shouldn't marry a man who was too good-looking. "If you have a nice-looking man, the girls won't leave him alone," he told his daughter.

Originally Posted by Game Over:
Arakawa pleaded with Yamauchi until his father-in-law finally put someone on the project. The chairman told Gunpei Yokoi to oversee the work of the young apprentice he had asked to come up with something. "But he knows nothing about video games," Yokoi said.

Yamauchi responded that there was no one else available.

The young man Yamauchi had chosen wasn't from any of the engineering groups; in fact, he wasn't even an engineer, but he had enthusiasm and some interesting ideas about the ways video games should be designed.

When Yamauchi so informed Arakawa, his son-in-law fumed. He needed a superior game to save the business and Yamauchi had put an inexperienced apprentice on the job! Why had Yamauchi seduced him into going to America if he was going to sabotage the operation? But there was nothing Mino could do, and he weakly asked his father-in-law, "What is this apprentice's name?"

Yamauchi answred, "Shigeru Miyamoto."

Originally Posted by Game Over:
One day a courier delivered a package that had arrived by air from Kyoto. Don James signed for it and delivered the small box to Arakawa. He opened it and saw the board that contained the new game's program. As the service technician installed it in a console, Arakawa called in Judy and Stone. They watched as the power was turned on. The opening screen announced the game: "DONKEY KONG."

They looked at one another. Stone swore. He and Judy tried the game and concluded that it was a disaster. Two thousand "Donkey Kongs" were worse than two thousand "Radarscopes." Al Stone walked out. "It's over," he said.

Arakawa worriedly complained to Yamauchi, who was thoroughly unsympathetic. He implored Yamauchi to at least change the name, but Yamauchi refused. "It's a good game," he said.

...

Sixty thousand more "Donkey Kongs" were sold, and Nintendo of America's second year ended with more than $100 million in sales.

Donkey Kong appears on the Adam Computer without Nintendo's say:
Originally Posted by Game Over:
Yamauchi entered the room abruptly and, without addressing anyone, stood at the end 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 quickly became loud and abusive. with a piercing cry, he swung his arm in an arc in front of him, shooting his outstretched index finger toward Greenberg.

Yamauchi's diatribe, all in Japanese, completely stunned everyone in the room with the possible exception of the Arakawas. Howard Lincoln said, "It scared the hell out of me."

The Coleco people weren't aware that they had messed up Nintendo's lucrative Atari deal- millions of dollars were in the balance- but they could see that they had somehow incurred Yamauchi's unfathomable wrath. When Greenberg tuned to Arakawa for help, he was met with a cold stare. By the time Yamauchi wound down, no one in the room said a word.

The translator finally began to speak. "Mr. Yamauchi is very upset," the man said.

...

Yamauchi spoke again, never wavering. He made it clear that there was nothing else to be said. No excuses would be listened to. Coleco had to refrain from selling "Donkey Kong" on Adam and announce the mistake, or there would be a lawsuit that would leave nothing of the company. There was no doubt that he meant it.

Greenberg and his colleagues retreated from the suite, shaken. Afterward, at dinner in the hotel's Japanese restaurant, Yamauchi, his tie loosened, turned to Howard Lincoln, who was still in a state of shock and said, "Sometimes this is the way you have to handle people, Mr. Lincoln. What did you think about that performance?"
Click to expand...
Probably the best parts of the book...

I have some very twisted views on death, but I still want to share my thought. I will hide them behind spoiler, so I won't bother anyone with them.

I'm so happy for him to finally have died. I really hope he finds there what he hoped to find. He made that industry what it is today with sheer tenacity and ruthlessness. He never played a game, but understood the industry WAY more than anyone else, and from all the good that have came out of him, we can only respect this man and be happy that he will finally rest in peace. He really deserved this gift. I will forever be in his debt, and will always look up to him as a role model.

Condolence to his family.
 
1

10k

Banned
A legend. Rest in peace. You built a company that I would grow to love and was a big part of my youth and current life. So many fond memories and fun times thanks to your company.
 
O

OminousShadow

Member
RIP Mr. Yamauchi.

The industry would not be what it is today without your leadership. You transformed Nintendo into the gaming giant it is today.
Thank you for all the awesome childhood memories and for getting me into gaming in the first place.
 
L

Lord_Byron28

Member
Rip. Not much else to say that hasn't been said but he was pivotal to the game industry and helped facilitate some of the best games of all time.

I'm curious what this means for Nintendo. Didnt he own a significant amount of Nintendo shares?
 
K

Kandinsky

Member
We used to hate this guy when he was in charge, but so much love now, I like it, also what's with the "legend" posts?, it's not like this is about Cerny you know.

He'll have a nice chat with my boy Yokoi up there, if he ever lands there that is.

RIP.
 
m.i.s.

m.i.s.

Banned
Valjean Lafitte said:
I think a lot of people here would disagree with that quote, but you know what? He's right.
Click to expand...

No disagreements here. He was absolutely correct. Whilst his competitors sank dollars to the tune of billions and yet another wiped out profits from the previous two videogame endeavours, Nintendo remained financially solvent whilst still producing power-house consoles under his reign.
 
N

Nekofrog

Banned
Nintendo could really use someone like him again. Even though he didn't play videogames, and didn't really understand them on a level like a lot of other executives during that era, he knew how to spot talent. He also was NOT afraid to throw down the gauntlet and say "it's going to be like this or get fucked" -- probably in a way that was less nice than that.
 
F

frankie_baby

Member
Kandinsky said:
We used to hate this guy when he was in charge, but so much love now, I like it, also what's with the "legend" posts?, it's not like this is about Cerny you know.

He'll have a nice chat with my boy Yokoi up there, if he ever lands there that is.

RIP.
Click to expand...

While I'm sure your post was meant in jest, by the time he goes cerny will likely be long forgotten, if it wasnt for yamauchi i seriously doubt games consoles in any form like we know them would even exist any more
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Microsoft Publishes 1999 Letter From Failed Attempt To Buy Nintendo
Business Retro Game Dev
33
3K
MrFunSocks replied
Hiroshi Yamauchi to be inducted into the Consumer Technology Association Hall of Fame
10
3K
entremet replied
New York Times cleans up their mess after publishing blemish in Yamauchi obituary
11
3K
Lumyst replied
A Look Back at Nintendo's Board of Directors (Research Topic)
2
93
34K
Eric_Gilmore replied
A lot has happened since last E3...
2
53
6K
Llyrwenne replied
Top Bottom