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[Aquamarine]

To emphasise the fact that this voting occurs across all public Japanese corporations, I gathered a list of voting results from Japanese game industry public corporations that would probably be of interest to people here.

Accompanied are each of the CEOs and their 2014 approval rating...or their approval rating the last time they held elections.


岩田 聡 777,999 169,240 3,549 80.64 可決
Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Approve: 777,999
Oppose: 169,240
Approval Rating: 80.64%


平井一夫 5,773,774個 376,686個 263,308個 89％ 可　決
Kazuo Hirai, CEO of Sony Corporation
Approve: 5,773,774
Oppose: 376,686
Approval Rating: 89%


松田洋祐 847,423 54,534 0 可決（93.51％）
Yousuke Matsuda, CEO of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
Approve: 847,423
Oppose: 54,534
Approval Rating: 93.51%


石川　祝男 1,772,867個 17,737個 3,945個 95.8％ 可決
Shukuo Ishikawa, CEO of Bandai Namco Holdings, Inc.
Approve: 1,772,867
Oppose: 17,737
Approval Rating: 95.8%


上月　景正 977,035 80,007 0 91.89 可決
Kagesama Kozuki, CEO and Founder of Konami Corporation
Approve: 977,035
Oppose: 80,007
Approval Rating: 91.89%


Last election:
襟川　恵子 690,439個 73,444個 37個 89.97％ 可決
襟川　陽一 676,763個 87,120個 37個 88.19％ 可決
Keiko + Yoichi Erakawa, Chairman, President, and CEO of Tecmo Koei Holdings Co., Ltd.
Keiko, Approve: 690,439
Yoichi, Approve: 676,763
Keiko, Oppose: 73,444
Yoichi, Oppose: 87,120
Keiko, Approval Rating: 89.97%
Yoichi, Approval Rating: 88.19%


Last election:
辻 本 憲 三 424,132 2,678 340 97.28 可決
Kenzo Tsujimoto, CEO and Founder of Capcom Co., Ltd.
Approve: 424,132
Oppose: 2,678
Approval Rating: 97.28%


北角　浩一 38,317 155 ― 可決 99.60％
Koichi Kitazumi, CEO of Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Approve: 38,317
Oppose: 155
Approval Rating: 99.60%


中山　晴喜 361,918 3,496 40 可決（98.30）
Haruki Nakayama, CEO of Marvelous AQL, Inc.
Approve: 361,918
Oppose: 3,496
Approval Rating: 98.30%


森下　一喜 8,549,283 113,091 1,611 可決 95.96
Kazuki Morishita, CEO of Gungho Online Entertainment, Inc.
Approve: 113,091
Oppose: 1,661
Approval Rating: 95.96%


Last election:
近藤　季洋　74,629　240　0　可決 (98.96%)
Toshihiro Kondo, CEO of Nihon Falcom Corporation
Approve: 74,629
Oppose: 240
Approval Rating: 98.96%


An interesting trend you will pick up is that Mr. Iwata at 77% / 81% actually represents one of the lowest approval rates with CEOs across the industry.

 

[JoeM86]

That's exactly the problem here. Nintendo is in the red for three years in a row.

2012: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai...in-three-decades-over-500-million-in-the-red/
2013: http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/24/4260062/nintendo-2012-earnings
2014: http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/7/5689878/nintendo-earnings-fy-2013

From 2012 to 2013, Iwata took a huge shake in it's rating, from 90.60% to 77.26%. No need to guess the losses are the reason for shareholders's unhappiness. The rating drop was around the time Nintendo suffered the second loss.

This year was the third loss. Iwata admitted he misread the market and need to redefine what Nintendo need to do.

Makes difficult to believe profits are the reason for this rating boost.

Technically not. In 2013, they actually came to a net profit. They had a reduced operating loss, but still a loss there, but the entire company was at a profit. Yeah, you can peg it down to various reasons to try and diminish it, but it's not three straight years of losses as a company as a whole. And, as I have said, if it wasn't for the one time extra injection into R&D and Marketing this past January, they'd have had a net profit once again.

I know, still having an Operating Loss across the three years is a bad thing, but it is improving. Things can't turn around in a day.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

It's bizarre to see this stuff become a sort of ink blot test for various posters who've long since decided on their opinion of Nintendo's leadership. The worst of it borders on unintentional satire. Sympathy votes, really? It's also mildly disturbing the way some people seem to want to see Iwata's head on a platter, and now Miyamoto as well. They're obviously fallible, as evidenced by the Wii U's difficulties to present, but are the so terrible that they deserve to be casually dismissed or somehow reviled?

What if confidence was up a tick because Nintendo actually seems to have a cogent strategy for the Wii U after a floundering start? Is that harder to believe than investors feeling pity over a medical procedure? Mario Kart 8 seems to be an important step forward for the system, Smash Bros. is on the near horizon, Zelda has been officially unveiled, there's a new IP with a heavier online focus than most Nintendo games to date, and there's reasonably interesting supporting software outside of the standard flagship stuff. Their E3 showing got a positive reception in general, and the upcoming lineup seems like a tangible reflection of Nintendo's restructuring and further efforts to collaborate with outside devs in order to help fill at least a few of the gaps left by weak 3rd party support. Wii U hardware is no longer selling at a loss, the up front costs of Nintendo's new headquarters and staff increases can now potentially be defrayed by the actual results of those efforts, and the PS4's tepid performance in Japan has shown that not every hurdle Wii U faced has been purely a Nintendo thing.

None of which is to underplay the uphill battle the Wii U faces or the responsibility of the management for failing to anticipate shortcomings in marketing their system. Clearly the company has suffered the consequences of their lack of foresight. But Nintendo isn't just remaining static in the wake of these mistakes in spite of a pervasive narrative to the contrary. It's a lot easier to support the CEO who spearheaded the changes that made people who had written off the Wii U take a second look vs. the CEO who was better identified as the guy who begged understanding in the face of software droughts.

And although I've heard ideas floated on who might be technically in line if Iwata resigned his position, is it so certain that a successor waits in the wings who could solve Nintendo's woes with the wave of a magic wand? Righting a ship isn't like turning on a dime. Development takes time, and what we saw at E3 is a culmination of a lot of effort over a protracted period, not some last second saving grace from out of nowhere.

What sort of impact Nintendo's efforts ultimately have is up in the air, and there's no way to tell what clip they'll release software past this holiday at, or what titles are quietly being worked on and are waiting in the wings, but I would say there is are a number of reasons for investors to feel better about their prospects than they did this time last year. Is a relatively minor increase in Iwata's approval rating in lieu of the above so impossible to understand?

 

[Terrell]

Or... you know you can just... look at the numbers?

Not that hard. Waaaaay less opposition, only a little smidgen more for approval. Where is the discrepancy moved? Probably in the "Sold Shares" category.

The numbers, as they exist right now, don't conclusively say anything.

Then that means Yamauchi voted in opposition of Iwata. I don't believe that.

There are ~50,000 less shares being used in voting against Iwata. But only ~5000 more shares being used in voting for Iwata.

Yamauchi's shares being converted to treasury bonds doesn't indicate anything other than fewer shares in play.

I mean, the argument you're making is correlation without causation until more facts are presented.

No, I was talking in hypotheticals and "What if?" scenarios. I already deleted that one post about the possibility of a linear decline because some guy deemed it "too much of a layman" analysis. I talked about the "pro-Iwata" and "anti-Iwata" camps. That's still true today...Mr Iwata's 80% is definitely lower than his 96% from a few years ago. I have also made statements that I believed Mr. Iwata was definitely safe for the upcoming year.

But I also thought the well-reasoned arguments that Mr. Iwata's rating would stay the same / increase were definitely possibilities. Sorry if I didn't communicate that throughout the thread.

From a first glance it does look like some who were opposed to Iwata decided to sell off their shares. I need to do some research before coming to any conclusions, though.

Firm answers would be appreciated, so thank you. It would also be interesting to note if these sellers were a small stake shareholder who had their shares bought up by one of the larger players like JP Morgan, but that's probably too much to ask for.

He approved one of the worst misconceptions in console history. A product without a target group.

I didn't know Iwata made the Vita. Learn something new every day.

 

[shinra-bansho]

does it really matter? i mean if yamauchi had voted before his death (if he knew he was seriously ill, or always supported iwata at the beginning of the fiscal year or whatever), then wouldn't that affect 2003-2013's view of him too? it's not like yamauchi was absent from voting in 2013 but would have been present in 2014 to offset anything.

don't mean to be antagonistic but i just don't know where you're going with this.

I wasn't really going anywhere, so your comment does seem unnecessarily antagonistic. :/

It's just a very large change in holding, so I'm wondering whether he regularly exercised his voting and whether that has or hasn't altered the level of support the Board enjoyed.

I.e. I don't know if he did or didn't exercise his voting in the last years AGM, or the year prior. He may have never exercised his voting rights.

Thus the question, that other people in the thread may know the answer to.

 

[AniHawk]

北角　浩一 38,317 155 ― 可決 99.60％
Koichi Kitazumi, CEO of Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Approve: 38,317
Oppose: 155
Approval Rating: 99.60%

i said god damn.

I wasn't really going anywhere, so your comment does seem unnecessarily antagonistic. :/

again, i'm sorry. i didn't see it as an innocent inquiry, but a reason to downplay whatever percentage gains were made over the previous year.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

I'm guessing there was some sympathy vote over Iwata's illness.

Well, that's a pretty awful thing to say. But seriously, it doesn't work like that.

 

[AniHawk]

I didn't know Iwata made the Vita. Learn something new every day.

the vita and the wii u are one and the same. you can't really say something about one without saying it about the other. it's not like one's selling far worse or better than the other, either.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

the vita and the wii u are one and the same. you can't really say something about one without saying it about the other. it's not like one's selling far worse or better than the other, either.

Well, Vita's doing slightly better than the Wii U in Japan. But yeah, they are brethren in relative failure.

 

[Lemmy]

Having trouble seeing what Iwata has done to have earned this. Nintendo are no better off now than they were a year ago... they're in worse shape if anything with the YoY declines in 3DS sales.

If it really is just a case of spreading the blame around though, then that's kind of shitty, as Iwata is the guy calling the shots, so responsibility for mistakes and missteps falls on his shoulders.

 

[tanooki27]

It's bizarre to see this stuff become a sort of ink blot test for various posters who've long since decided on their opinion of Nintendo's leadership. The worst of it borders on unintentional satire. Sympathy votes, really? It's also mildly disturbing the way some people seem to want to see Iwata's head on a platter, and now Miyamoto as well. They're obviously fallible, as evidenced by the Wii U's difficulties to present, but are the so terrible that they deserve to be casually dismissed or somehow reviled?

What if confidence was up a tick because Nintendo actually seems to have a cogent strategy for the Wii U after a floundering start? Is that harder to believe than investors feeling pity over a medical procedure? Mario Kart 8 seems to be an important step forward for the system, Smash Bros. is on the near horizon, Zelda has been officially unveiled, there's a new IP with a heavier online focus than most Nintendo games to date, and there's reasonably interesting supporting software outside of the standard flagship stuff. Their E3 showing got a positive reception in general, and the upcoming lineup seems like a tangible reflection of Nintendo's restructuring and further efforts to collaborate with outside devs in order to help fill at least a few of the gaps left by weak 3rd party support. Wii U hardware is no longer selling at a loss, the up front costs of Nintendo's new headquarters and staff increases can now potentially be defrayed by the actual results of those efforts, and the PS4's tepid performance in Japan has shown that not every hurdle Wii U faced has been purely a Nintendo thing.

None of which is to underplay the uphill battle the Wii U faces or the responsibility of the management for failing to anticipate shortcomings in marketing their system. Clearly the company has suffered the consequences of their lack of foresight. But Nintendo isn't just remaining static in the wake of these mistakes in spite of a pervasive narrative to the contrary. It's a lot easier to support the CEO who spearheaded the changes that made people who had written off the Wii U take a second look vs. the CEO who was better identified as the guy who begged understanding in the face of software droughts.

And although I've heard ideas floated on who might be technically in line if Iwata resigned his position, is it so certain that a successor waits in the wings who could solve Nintendo's woes with the wave of a magic wand? Righting a ship isn't like turning on a dime. Development takes time, and what we saw at E3 is a culmination of a lot of effort over a protracted period, not some last second saving grace from out of nowhere.

What sort of impact Nintendo's efforts ultimately have is up in the air, and there's no way to tell what clip they'll release software past this holiday at, or what titles are quietly being worked on and are waiting in the wings, but I would say there is are a number of reasons for investors to feel better about their prospects than they did this time last year. Is a relatively minor increase in Iwata's approval rating in lieu of the above so impossible to understand?

this is a great post, as opposed to some posts around here which are baffling. like the ones implying that nintendo would be better off without miyamoto.

better off without miyamoto? The dude is equivalent to Walt Disney. even if every single one of his development skills crumbled to dust (they haven't) he would still be worth his weight in gold as a PR centerpiece. he created mario!

 

[Shion]

Having trouble seeing what Iwata has done to have earned this. Nintendo are no better off now than they were a year ago... they're in worse shape if anything with the YoY declines in 3DS sales.

If it really is just a case of spreading the blame around though, then that's kind of shitty, as Iwata is the guy calling the shots, so responsibility for mistakes and missteps falls on his shoulders.

Miyamoto and Takeda are equally responsible, if not more so.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Weird, wonder what brought Miyamoto's down? Was it all that weird talk of him stepping down that threw everyone off?

Maybe it's that he's not delivered a decent game in a number of years. Even the stuff he had on show at Treehouse seemed very conceptual and early in development, and unless I'm missing something Project Guard and Project Giant Robot are not going to be big sellers. It's great that he's making new stuff, but looking at his recent input he clearly doesn't have the golden touch like he once did.

I want a company that's more like Sony/MS in regards to keeping up with the times. I hope shareholders see this vision one day.

I think people have missed this key part of the comment. Jordan isn't asking for Ninty to make a war FPS or anything, but keep up with logical advancements made when it comes to hardware, software and firmware. They don't have to abandon their distinct identity to achieve this.

Adapting to the market and adopting what has been proven popular is better than difference for the sake of difference.

Do you think Mario would be a worse game if it had 2 analog sticks? Or if a console launched and had third party support not just at launch but for its whole life?

There's no danger in wanting your console to not be 10 years behind the competition.

Again, I agree with both of your comments. This isn't a slight against Nintendo's software, but I feel like they need to be a bit more modern and not try to be different just for the sake of it.

Also playable female characters.

That's not a criticism you can level at Sony though.

 

[D_prOdigy]

I do like the theory that shareholders voted Miyamoto down because they didn't like his E3 projects, like they too are a bunch of GAF gamers :lol

 

[Eolz]

Good news.
Miyamoto and Takeda deserved a lower rating, didn't expect Iwata to get a better rating (nor to get a way lower like some expected/wanted, rather to stay around 75-77%).

There shouldn't be any new Q&A before next quarter right?

 

[DrWong]

Let's do "MetaRating", where we report executives (gaming related) ratings so we can elaborate crazy hypothesis with a solid... base...

 

[DSN2K]

share holders likely didn't like the fact he was mucking about with tech demo's when the WiiU needs solid titles.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

It's bizarre to see this stuff become a sort of ink blot test for various posters who've long since decided on their opinion of Nintendo's leadership. The worst of it borders on unintentional satire. Sympathy votes, really? It's also mildly disturbing the way some people seem to want to see Iwata's head on a platter, and now Miyamoto as well. They're obviously fallible, as evidenced by the Wii U's difficulties to present, but are the so terrible that they deserve to be casually dismissed or somehow reviled?

What if confidence was up a tick because Nintendo actually seems to have a cogent strategy for the Wii U after a floundering start? Is that harder to believe than investors feeling pity over a medical procedure? Mario Kart 8 seems to be an important step forward for the system, Smash Bros. is on the near horizon, Zelda has been officially unveiled, there's a new IP with a heavier online focus than most Nintendo games to date, and there's reasonably interesting supporting software outside of the standard flagship stuff. Their E3 showing got a positive reception in general, and the upcoming lineup seems like a tangible reflection of Nintendo's restructuring and further efforts to collaborate with outside devs in order to help fill at least a few of the gaps left by weak 3rd party support. Wii U hardware is no longer selling at a loss, the up front costs of Nintendo's new headquarters and staff increases can now potentially be defrayed by the actual results of those efforts, and the PS4's tepid performance in Japan has shown that not every hurdle Wii U faced has been purely a Nintendo thing.

None of which is to underplay the uphill battle the Wii U faces or the responsibility of the management for failing to anticipate shortcomings in marketing their system. Clearly the company has suffered the consequences of their lack of foresight. But Nintendo isn't just remaining static in the wake of these mistakes in spite of a pervasive narrative to the contrary. It's a lot easier to support the CEO who spearheaded the changes that made people who had written off the Wii U take a second look vs. the CEO who was better identified as the guy who begged understanding in the face of software droughts.

And although I've heard ideas floated on who might be technically in line if Iwata resigned his position, is it so certain that a successor waits in the wings who could solve Nintendo's woes with the wave of a magic wand? Righting a ship isn't like turning on a dime. Development takes time, and what we saw at E3 is a culmination of a lot of effort over a protracted period, not some last second saving grace from out of nowhere.

What sort of impact Nintendo's efforts ultimately have is up in the air, and there's no way to tell what clip they'll release software past this holiday at, or what titles are quietly being worked on and are waiting in the wings, but I would say there is are a number of reasons for investors to feel better about their prospects than they did this time last year. Is a relatively minor increase in Iwata's approval rating in lieu of the above so impossible to understand?

If I had this skill.. this good posting skill. I would abuse it lol

 

[Log4Girlz]

Good luck Iwata, I hope the pressure and stress from running this business doesn't affect you adversely.

 

[DragonSworne]

Seems like a bad sign when 50k of the people who voted against you last year aren't represented in the vote anymore. 5% of the people either didn't vote or sold their stock.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

and the positive momentum continues Congratulations Iwata

 

[Cosmonaut X]

Seems like a bad sign when 50k of the people who voted against you last year aren't represented in the vote anymore. 5% of the people either didn't vote or sold their stock.

Imagine my surprise.

 

[DragonSworne]

Imagine my surprise.

Give it a few more years and Iwata will be close to 100%.

2017:
Approve: 300000
Oppose: 10

 

[JoeM86]

Give it a few more years and Iwata will be close to 100%.

2017:
Approve: 300000
Oppose: 10

Let's hope so

 

[mclem]

Then that means Yamauchi voted in opposition of Iwata. I don't believe that.

There are ~50,000 less shares being used in voting against Iwata. But only ~5000 more shares being used in voting for Iwata.

Seems like a bad sign when 50k of the people who voted against you last year aren't represented in the vote anymore. 5% of the people either didn't vote or sold their stock.

It could - hypothetically - be the case that a lot of independent shares went from 'against' to 'for', but that was offset by the loss of Yamauchi's stock.

 

[Sesha]

Why is Capcom's CEO's approval rating so high?

Edit: Nvm, it was last election. Wonder if the approval has gone up or down since last. And by how much.

 

[Huff]

Crazy how such a terrible year led to an increase in approval. And it's not like they've shown anything that will lead to an increase in profit.

 

[maxcriden]

They know better than to downvote Iwata. He did program the fish in Balloon Fight, after all. Would you cross the guy who can make a fucking fish pop out of nowhere? I'd never take a shit sitting down...

Bwahaha. (And, I never knew that!)

 

[FTF]

Same question here. I would love to know the reason for who was opposed to him last year for changing their minds now when Nintendo is in the red and there's no consistent prospects in the future to reverse the situation.

I don't get the "placing the blame at the right directors" justification here. Every year there's a shareholder meeting, they know each director's role and their responsabilites. Why only now they would realize Miyamoto and Takeda blame? This would be naive, as Nintendo has been losing money for some years now. This doesn't isent Iwata of blame as he made many mistakes in his decisions which drove Nintendo to it's current situation.

See that's the weird part...approve votes only went up a few thousand, there's just like 45,000 less votes total is what I was getting at...where'd they go? :/

 

[watershed]

See that's the weird part...approve votes only went up a few thousand, there's just like 45,000 less votes total is what I was getting at...where'd they go? :/

Clearly Nintendo's infamous ninjas "had a word" with those folks.

 

[BlackJace]

Crazy how such a terrible year led to an increase in approval. And it's not like they've shown anything that will lead to an increase in profit.

Only someone who hasn't been paying attention would say that.

 

[Deku Tree]

I keep thinking Iwata is doing a terrible job. But I don't know who could do a better job than him.

 

[JoeM86]

See that's the weird part...approve votes only went up a few thousand, there's just like 45,000 less votes total is what I was getting at...where'd they go? :/

A lot of the Yamauchi shares were absorbed into Nintendo and thus had no vote.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

Crazy how such a terrible year led to an increase in approval. And it's not like they've shown anything that will lead to an increase in profit.

They've shown that they are expanding licensing (increased revenue stream) and that they are going to introduce Amiibo (new revenue stream), neither of which are particularly high-risk (at least not in terms of, say, a new hardware launch, or massively expanded internal development, or acquisitions of studios). They're just off the back of a successful E3 that showcased a range of key software for the next year-plus, and they've had a successful launch for Mario Kart 8 that has put some small wind in the sails. There's also the expectation that they will be setting forth their plans for QoL and a mobile strategy soon.

If I was investing, I'd say that had bought some time and goodwill for the board, and for Iwata. If Amiibo flops and their mobile/QoL plans look ill-conceived or are poorly executed then they're cooked, but for now they are making the right noises and - apparently - some sensible and reassuring moves.

 

[gogogow]

Very happy for Iwata, not only staying as CEO, but also for the higher rating. I wish him all the best, health-wise and business-wise.

 

[Rocky]

this is a great post, as opposed to some posts around here which are baffling. like the ones implying that nintendo would be better off without miyamoto.

better off without miyamoto? The dude is equivalent to Walt Disney. even if every single one of his development skills crumbled to dust (they haven't) he would still be worth his weight in gold as a PR centerpiece. he created mario!

Not even close. Miyamoto is a great designer and all, but he hasn't done a fraction of the things Walt Disney has done. Miyamoto is pretty much just an icon among gamers. Walt Disney is an icon to almost everyone.

 

[Ironjam]

Having trouble seeing what Iwata has done to have earned this. Nintendo are no better off now than they were a year ago... they're in worse shape if anything with the YoY declines in 3DS sales.

If it really is just a case of spreading the blame around though, then that's kind of shitty, as Iwata is the guy calling the shots, so responsibility for mistakes and missteps falls on his shoulders.

Maybe they see potential in what he is planning in the future.
They are planning to launch their QoL plans soon and their new console/handheld are right around the corner (as in within 2-3 years). Iwata seem to have a strategy for launching those platforms (same architectures/shared games etc.) so investors might be taking a wait and see approach instead.
He is likely getting the boot if those bomb though.

 

[FTF]

A lot of the Yamauchi shares were absorbed into Nintendo and thus had no vote.

Ah, ok thanks.

 

[Father_Brain]

It's bizarre to see this stuff become a sort of ink blot test for various posters who've long since decided on their opinion of Nintendo's leadership. The worst of it borders on unintentional satire. Sympathy votes, really? It's also mildly disturbing the way some people seem to want to see Iwata's head on a platter, and now Miyamoto as well. They're obviously fallible, as evidenced by the Wii U's difficulties to present, but are the so terrible that they deserve to be casually dismissed or somehow reviled?

What if confidence was up a tick because Nintendo actually seems to have a cogent strategy for the Wii U after a floundering start? Is that harder to believe than investors feeling pity over a medical procedure? Mario Kart 8 seems to be an important step forward for the system, Smash Bros. is on the near horizon, Zelda has been officially unveiled, there's a new IP with a heavier online focus than most Nintendo games to date, and there's reasonably interesting supporting software outside of the standard flagship stuff. Their E3 showing got a positive reception in general, and the upcoming lineup seems like a tangible reflection of Nintendo's restructuring and further efforts to collaborate with outside devs in order to help fill at least a few of the gaps left by weak 3rd party support. Wii U hardware is no longer selling at a loss, the up front costs of Nintendo's new headquarters and staff increases can now potentially be defrayed by the actual results of those efforts, and the PS4's tepid performance in Japan has shown that not every hurdle Wii U faced has been purely a Nintendo thing.

None of which is to underplay the uphill battle the Wii U faces or the responsibility of the management for failing to anticipate shortcomings in marketing their system. Clearly the company has suffered the consequences of their lack of foresight. But Nintendo isn't just remaining static in the wake of these mistakes in spite of a pervasive narrative to the contrary. It's a lot easier to support the CEO who spearheaded the changes that made people who had written off the Wii U take a second look vs. the CEO who was better identified as the guy who begged understanding in the face of software droughts.

And although I've heard ideas floated on who might be technically in line if Iwata resigned his position, is it so certain that a successor waits in the wings who could solve Nintendo's woes with the wave of a magic wand? Righting a ship isn't like turning on a dime. Development takes time, and what we saw at E3 is a culmination of a lot of effort over a protracted period, not some last second saving grace from out of nowhere.

What sort of impact Nintendo's efforts ultimately have is up in the air, and there's no way to tell what clip they'll release software past this holiday at, or what titles are quietly being worked on and are waiting in the wings, but I would say there is are a number of reasons for investors to feel better about their prospects than they did this time last year. Is a relatively minor increase in Iwata's approval rating in lieu of the above so impossible to understand?

Wii U hardware is still selling at a loss.

 

[Heyt]

Glad Miyamoto¡s rating is down. The man is a dinosaur creativity wise now and he has never been a good manager. Let him kill the Starfox brand for good and then let him go next year, please.

 

[OverturePT]

Wii U hardware is still selling at a loss.

Source?

Btw: https://twitter.com/gibbogame/status/464217206100738048

 

[gogogow]

Glad Miyamoto¡s rating is down. The man is a dinosaur creativity wise now and he has never been a good manager. Let him kill the Starfox brand for good and then let him go next year, please.

Yes, let Miyamoto go and hire you!

 

[Heyt]

Yes, let Miyamoto go and hire you!

I rather have someone more up to the task. It's baffling how sensible people is to irrelevant opinions on the internet.

 

[Father_Brain]

Source?

Btw: https://twitter.com/gibbogame/status/464217206100738048

Yes, that was a mistranslation/misinterpretation of what Iwata actually said, and since Gibson got such a significant fact wrong, it's going to be repeated until the end of time. Sigh.

What Iwata actually said is that Nintendo's losses on Wii U hardware will be minimal this FY... but only because those losses were already factored in last FY, when they were projecting to ship over three times as many loss-leading hardware units as they actually did.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140508qa/index.html

 

[munchie64]

Miyamoto hate now? Damn guys. I can't help but love that man.

 

[MisterGrey3000]

Not even close. Miyamoto is a great designer and all, but he hasn't done a fraction of the things Walt Disney has done. Miyamoto is pretty much just an icon among gamers. Walt Disney is an icon to almost everyone.

I wouldn't compare Miyamoto to Walt either. Miyamoto can actually be credited for his ideas, and he isn't a paranoid racist antisemitic jerk face.

Lighten up, the Disney/Miyamoto comparison isn't that big of a deal. There are some similarities to be had.

 

[KingSnake]

A lot of the Yamauchi shares were absorbed into Nintendo and thus had no vote.

This seems the most (only?) reasonable explanation for the decrease of total number of votes.

 

[Kageshinzo]

Glad Miyamoto¡s rating is down. The man is a dinosaur creativity wise now and he has never been a good manager. Let him kill the Starfox brand for good and then let him go next year, please.

Yesss, heyt more. It nourishes Miyamoto and keeps him young.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Glad Miyamoto¡s rating is down. The man is a dinosaur creativity wise now and he has never been a good manager. Let him kill the Starfox brand for good and then let him go next year, please.

Let him kill starfox? Clown talk going on now

 

[Paz]

Glad Miyamoto¡s rating is down. The man is a dinosaur creativity wise now and he has never been a good manager. Let him kill the Starfox brand for good and then let him go next year, please.

Hahahahahahaha.

Oh my this is gold.