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Iwata implies he may resign over poor business performance

wsippel

Banned
...and crucially for the indie side of things, out of reach of all but the very well-connected, I'd imagine. If Nintendo's push to make that side of their console more appealing is going to bear fruit, it's going to be a bit further down the line I think.
GDC will be very interesting in that regard. That's where they'll apparently detail the Unity deal and demonstrate Wii U development tools based on web standards. All of that seems very much targeted at indies, and the interesting thing is that you don't even need a devkit at all to develop using tools like that.
 
Yamauchi's principles would destroy Nintendo today.

Not that i think the old bloke is coming back but you can't be serious. Iwata is basically running with the exact same ethos and sensibilities as Yamauchi. Hell they're still going through his bucket list of ideas for new consoles.
 
Iwata is clearly the reason for Nintendo's over conservative approach. The man has ignored the company's pedigree of pushing the boundaries of gaming, and fostered a company that relied far too much on previous successes. Throwbacks are cool from time to time, but that's about all I expect out of this company now. It feels like they are bankrupt on ideas, and suffering from sequelitis.

The Wii U could have really upset Microsoft and Sony if it had lived up to the technical prowess that was once mentioned. Instead, it is more or less the most conservative and cowardly designed machine in the modern era.
Lol.
ds_and_wii_joy_recap.jpg

wii-u-and-3ds.png
 
nintendo build a market just for himself (almost at least). they are the coke of the videogamebusiness and iwata did manifest that with the ds, 3ds and wii. the approach to get 3rd-party blockbuster is wrong, imo.

what i think is, that nintendo lacks innovative leads in their development teams. Miyamoto's magic is bland, Aunoma's wizzardcraft isn't any better and i think that both have too much to say.
 

Valnen

Member
The more interesting commonality in this thread is the general belief that Nintendo of America and/or Reggie Fils-Aime are problems that need addressing.

I think there's a split opinion as to Iwata's fate, but the prevailing opinion on NOA/Fils-Aime seems clearer.

I still want Reggie to do the E3 press conferences at least. Wouldn't be the same without him. He'll always have a place in the company, just perhaps not his current one.
 

scitek

Member
Nintendo needs to do something fundamentally different here in the west image-wise. Regardless of what people think, the fact is they're associated with family-friendly entertainment through and through, and that, coupled with the focus on less powerful hardware, has given them trouble. I know Nintendo games are fun, and I don't mind playing a game that a 10-year-old could also enjoy equally, but a lot of people don't think that way. They think there's something wrong with being past a certain age and playing Mario or Pokemon, and that it's like watching Nick Jr. or something. That thinking needs to be changed somehow because, even though those gamers are douchey, they're willing to fork over $60 for the games they like on a continual basis, unlike a lot of people that made the Wii such a success.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
I think the Wii-U's tablet controller is a pretty good hook based on its own merits, but they have fumbled the marketing really badly.

Their big mistake was identifying it too closely with the Wii, when it should have been pushed as its own thing. Selling people on the merits of the tablet controller was always going to require careful messaging, and by associating it with the Wii they have just muddied the waters.

Their launch-timing has also been poorly chosen; too late to get any real benefit from the Wii's momemtum, but early enough to get caught in the marketing slipstream for both of its competitors.

Their traditional, conservative, software strategy is also looking dangerously narrow in today's marketplace. Yes they have their evergreen legacy IP's, but they simply are no longer reflective of a mainstream taste epitomized by titles like GTA and CoD.
 
I still want Reggie to do the E3 press conferences at least. Wouldn't be the same without him. He'll always have a place in the company, just perhaps not his current one.

He was a breath of fresh air when he made his first appearance.
Since then... eh.
 
How about they just free up Nintendo of America. We might actually buy your products of you hired someone who gave a shit about a) releasing them and b) releasing them on time. NoA is a terrible company that deserves terrible sales.
 

NeonZ

Member
In my opinion I think Nintendo made a mistake with Wii U when it comes to its 'hook'. Before Wii U was unveiled I was expecting some type a cool interface that would change gaming forever and would take the world by storm and sell like hotcakes. Then I saw the touchscreen controller and I was like meh. Iwata should have tried to make the Wii U as disruptive as the Wii was. Nintendo should have gone all out and made an innovative 'hook' for the Wii U that would wow the masses much like motion controls did.

I know it is much easier said than done to come out with something with such wow factor as motion controls. Perhaps Nintendo just ran out of ideas and a touchscreen controller was the best they can come up with at the time.

That's exactly the problem. They tried going for an "innovative hook to shake gaming", even when they had no ideas for one. This resulted in the WiiU's controller.

Really, if they had no ideas for a hook like that, they might as well not have bothered with one. As it is, the "hook" is just making the Wii U cost more and giving no sales boost at all. Even if they don't want to go in a tech race, "forcing" hooks isn't the answer and yet they insisted on that strategy even after the 3DS' 3d failed to help. They might as well admit that they'll try to go on a cheaper direction and have cheaper prices for their consoles since launch, rather than doing things like this that seems to have little appeal to most consumers.
 

MadOdorMachine

No additional functions
3DS? Whats that going to get? Anyway Nintendo has pretty much followed the line with generations with handhelds. Just Sony skipped ahead and have gained little from it.



What? Am talking price and size; how much would this handheld cost?
Only way the handheld/console system benefits is from being a handheld that happens to work on a TV. It should be affordable to purchase multiple consoles in one household.

Nintendo are behind in power on handhelds too. There are many solutions they could take with a hybrid system. Price is definitely a factor. I've already started another thread on the topic here:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509151&highlight=

Such a hybrid would be a lot less powerful than even the Wii U (because physics), so it definitely wouldn't help with Durorbis ports. At all.

Nintendo aren't going the power route with Wii U, so the hybrid's power wouldn't matter for those ports anyway. They could get ports of indie games though. Again, if they weren't going for power, given the situation they are in, a hybrid system would have alleviated a lot of problems. I'm not going to beat a dead horse though. What's done is done. We can argue about what Nintendo should have done differently until we're blue in the face.

I still think Iwata would be more useful in a different position like the head of software development and third party relations. Someone else should be CEO. For NoA, Reggie needs to go and someone with some background in the tech industry needs to replace him. At the same time, Nintendo needs to open up the communication more to NoA and NoE.
 

DaBoss

Member
I like Iwata. I don't know if he has the know how to dig Nintendo out of their current position without doing the things they most definitely do not want to do, but I'm not sure many/anybody does. But I like him. I like listening to him speak. I am convinced he comes from an honest, software quality first place. And I think he has a good head on his shoulders for keeping the games fun at Nintendo.

If he were to resign, it would be nice if he stayed on, at the very least to host Nintendo Direct. I like him as a face of Nintendo.

This. I'm not exactly sure if he is the one who is capable to help Nintendo, but I like him.
 
Please start. I worked at NOA at one point in time as well. So feel free.

What does Nintendo of America have to do with Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s decisions? It's not like people at NoA (even Reggie) see prototypes of models being worked out, provide input, see how Iwata does decision making, etc.
 

Valnen

Member
He was a breath of fresh air when he made his first appearance.
Since then... eh.

I don't practically fall asleep during conferences when he's around unlike the other 2 big companies. So that says something.

Nintendo aren't going the power route with Wii U, so the hybrid's power wouldn't matter for those ports anyway. They could get ports of indie games though. Again, if they weren't going for power, given the situation they are in, a hybrid system would have alleviated a lot of problems. I'm not going to beat a dead horse though. What's done is done. We can argue about what Nintendo should have done differently until we're blue in the face.
A "console" so weak that it could only accept indie games would be a joke because indie games are largely a joke outside a few success stories.
 

NotLiquid

Member
Which must be why Wii U has nothing remarkable available for download, and 360, PS3 and Steam continue to get more, quality games.

I believe the point was that Nintendo offers one of the best/easiest entry barriers for online publishers console-wise, which isn't a matter of "who wants to port what to which console"; something that the only real excuse behind not doing is that the console has a small install-base that wouldn't be worth the money.
 

BD1

Banned
I still want Reggie to do the E3 press conferences at least. Wouldn't be the same without him. He'll always have a place in the company, just perhaps not his current one.

Reggie is an American executive and a Chief Officer. People like that don't live in the video game bubble, or stick around as a mouth piece. If they remove him from his position at NoA, he'll go somewhere else.

Personally, I think Scott Moffitt has been a disaster and a horrible hire. Marketing of the 3DS and Wii U has sucked, they've fucked up relationships with major online e-tailors and they've completely dropped the ball with retail. Plus he comes across like he has no idea about the products he sells. Bad stuff.
 
In Japanese business culture, if you say what he said and you don't come through with that in the end, you either resign or kill yourself (I'm not kidding).

This guy gets it.

Iwata just shot himself in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about Japanese culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in America where you can become successful by being a liar. If you lie about something over in Japan, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is that if iwata fails to meet this profit target and stays on, the japanese public, after hearing about this, is not going to want to purchase any nintendo system, nor will they purchase any of Nintendo's games. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Iwata has alienated an entire market with this announcement.

Iwata, publicly apologize and step down if you fail or you can kiss your business goodbye.
 

wsippel

Banned
If anything, Iwata's statement cements that he'll continue as president of NCL for at least another ~18 months. That's what it boils down to. It's basically him telling doubters and naysayers to get off his back.
 
That's exactly the problem. They tried going for an "innovative hook to shake gaming", even when they had no ideas for one. This resulted in the WiiU's controller.

Really, if they had no ideas for a hook like that, they might as well not have bothered with one. As it is, the "hook" is just making the Wii U cost more and giving no sales boost at all. Even if they don't want to go in a tech race, "forcing" hooks isn't the answer. They might as well admit that they'll try to go on a cheaper direction, rather than doing things like this and the 3DS' "3d".
The gamble with the Wii U controller far outweighs having higher specs just to compare with 720/PS4. The GC still lacked support despite being more powerful than the PS2.

Two of the biggest problems with the Wii U launch is that there's a lack of a big system seller, neither a big catalog to choose from. NSMB and NL doesn't cut it. But its not always so easy to make a new break out IP even if you want to. Going the NSMB and Nintendo Land and a "gimmick" was probably the best thing they could do. But really, I doubt they really care about the Wii U right now, its got a whole year to itself. Once the other systems are out and Nintendo unleashes their big IPs, sales will pick up.

This Wii U dooomed shit is way exaggerated.
 
They haven't fumbled with the hardware or marketing of the Wii U, they've fumbled by not releasing any fucking games for it since launch. They learned nothing from the 3DS launch...we're not getting anything notable until like March at this point, all this time in between is just letting the console fester.
 

Mael

Member
The big mistake was showing WiiU in June of 2011 at E3 when Nintendo clearly wasn't ready. Despite readiness, that was more than 18 months ago-- and if Nintendo wasn't able to either create or facilitate software being ready once its hand was tipped, then there should be no sympathy nor free pass for the company here.

I guess that 01Net insider info really wasn't much fluff as in the thing was really wasn't ready at all when they first showed it.
Then again they always have weird priorities....like that singU software nobody asked for or that panorama app that's ever more useless.
Still it's nice to see a CEO accountable for it's company's situation.
What Iwata said is still true though, without control of the hardware they're doomed for sure.

And lol at Reggie being a puppet though, it's the guy that introduced them to Blue Ocean Strategy that lead to the Wii, he's useless now but that doesn't mean he always was.
 

Effect

Member
People really assume regional branches have more autonomy than they actually have.

Of course, people also assume presidents do things they don't like out of personal spite for them, so it's not hard to see the connection.

I assume the regional branches are simply tasked with distribution and advertisement of products. This is what hold NoA accountable for if they have any autonomy at all regarding that. They are horrible at advertisements and that in the end will push people over the edge to buy products and make them aware they even exist in the first place. If they don't and all decisions are coming down from NCL then that blame goes completely to Iwata and whoever at NCL that is overseeing that department. If NoA has any say in how they carry out their directive then Reggie needs to be let go.
 
It would be an interesting development to say the least.

If the 360 and/or PS3 end up overtaking Wii sales, Nintendo wouldn't have won a home console generation since the SNES. That is a long, long time.
 

ToxicAdam

Member
This guy gets it.

Iwata just shot himself in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about Japanese culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in America where you can become successful by being a liar. If you lie about something over in Japan, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

Iwata, publicly apologize and step down if you fail or you can kiss your business goodbye.


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=11960243
 
If Iwata leaves my guess is the new CEO will be a yes man to the shareholders and will shift their portable strategy to iOS and Android and Nintendo will release a Android based gaming tablet.

This is ludicrous. Nintendo has got to have more staff completely aligned with their mission than almost any other company on earth. There'd probably be a mass exodus if what you said actually happened.

If someone takes over from Iwata they'd be saying the exact same things he does. I love it how some people here seem to think there's not a board of directors that completely agrees with and is likely significantly involved in the very decisions only Iwata takes the blame for.
 
N got caught duing multiple tech shifts: HD home entertainment, Tablets, new smartphones.

the original Wii was high risk, high reward in the short term but at a huge cost of scaring away core gamers who buy the most games. Casuals don't shell out as much money on software.

skepticism + looming new consoles from Sony and MS = core gamers holding off
 

NeonZ

Member
The gamble with the Wii U controller far outweighs having higher specs just to compare with 720/PS4. The GC still lacked support despite being more powerful than the PS2.

I said "cheaper direction", nothing about higher specs. They could just have kept the Wiimode and Classic Controllers and made the WiiU cheaper overall even while keeping its current hardware, if they don't want to go back to the tech race. As it is though, the controller is just making the console cost more and obviously isn't attracting a bigger audience to the system.

Lower price would mean that more people would be more likely to pick it up when software is actually there. They gain nothing by including a "hook" that most people don't seem to care about and just drives up the cost of the console.
 
I feel for the guy.

Even though I think he deserves flack for Nintendo's growing complacency during the Wii and DS heyday, there are a variety of factors that have hurt Nintendo that are mostly out of his control, notably the rise of the phone/tablet gaming market and the strong yen.

It's a really dark time for Japanese tech companies right now. Nintendo is one of many. Japan has got to get their currency situation figured out because it's killing their businesses.
 

Petrae

Member
Personally, I think Scott Moffitt has been a disaster and a horrible hire. Marketing of the 3DS and Wii U has sucked, they've fucked up relationships with major online e-tailors and they've completely dropped the ball with retail. Plus he comes across like he has no idea about the products he sells. Bad stuff.

Agreed 100%. At least Fils-Aime commands attention, even when he doesn't know what he's talking about. Moffitt is clueless. Hopelessly so. Worse, he's awful in the public eye. I couldn't help but to zone out when he spoke during Nintendo's E3 2012 presser.

Ideally, Nintendo needs to clean house at NoA and put knowledgeable, level people in there with a decent public image and without gimmicks.
 

Coolwhip

Banned
Iwata is a very sympathic man but I hope if he may resign, Nintendo will be more Core Gaming oriented like the previously Nintendo before Wii released. That means more hardware power, real Zeldas (SwS wasn't a real Zelda imo, too casual oriented), much better 3rd party support and new IPs.

Like on N64 or Gamecube? Copying Sony or MS is NOT the way to go. They are bleeding money, why would Nintendo want that? Give me one good reason.

The problem Nintendo might face is that kids these days grow up with Call of Duty and shitty smartphone games instead of Super Mario and Zelda. Gotta reach dem kids.
 
Personally, I think Scott Moffitt has been a disaster and a horrible hire. Marketing of the 3DS and Wii U has sucked, they've fucked up relationships with major online e-tailors and they've completely dropped the ball with retail. Plus he comes across like he has no idea about the products he sells. Bad stuff.

Did Reggie or Iwata hire Moffit?
 

eXistor

Member
As soon as the games come they will be fine. Same goes for anyone. That's the only problem and it's a big one. I hope the move to the new HQ means a higher output by Nintendo.
 
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