Forums

Topic: Could Kimishima be Nintendo's Tim Cook?

Posts 1 to 15 of 15

iKhan

Say what you will about Apple, but Steve Jobs was a creative guy. Under his leadership, Apple defied expectations, but still succeeded due to Jobs's insight beyond "popular expectation". He was also stubborn. He didn't make the iPhone wider, He didn't make the iPad smaller, he didn't make netbooks, and he hated Flash. At the same time, we saw tons of cool new features like multitouch, integrated webcams, etc.

Tim Cook has done very much the opposite. These days, Apple pretty much does whatever the industry acumen says they should do. Cook is a good executor, and for that reason Apple has succeeded, but he creative innovation has slowed substantially.

I think Satoru Iwata's management was similar to that of Steve Jobs in regards to the focus on creativity and new ideas. Iwata was a gamer and a game developer, so he had a lot of insight into what consumers may enjoy.

But when I look at Kimishima's resume, I pretty much only see executive work. He's not a developer, and he's not a gamer. He's an executor like Tim Cook was. Given what that has turned Apple (A company I used to be a big fan of) into over the last few years, it honestly scares me as to what Nintendo could become. What if we begin to see Nintendo caving to industry pressure, making clones of SonySoft's consoles, porting their games to mobile, etc?

Now, I could be wrong. Yamauchi was also more of an executor, and Nintendo was plenty innovative in those days, but what do you think?

Currently Playing: Steamworld Heist, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Tales of Graces F

bro2dragons

It's far too early to tell and, having never met him, it's hard to make much of a prediction. It all comes down to the personality/philosophy of the guy in charge. As a first impression, he seems to have a genuine respect for what it is Nintendo does well and what its fans love about the company, and if the executive has that respect, they may leave creative decisions to the creators. But again, it's too soon to know if that's really the case or if he has big green dollar (or yen, maybe) signs in his eyes. I don't think we'll really know what kind of leader he's going to be until we get details on NX. If it turns out Nintendo is making an Xbox One clone, then yes, he's Japanese Tim Cook.

Also, this could make for a fun Tim-based game.
Could Miyamoto be Nintendo's Tim Gunn?
Could Sakurai be Nintendo's Tim Allen?
Could Tezuka be Nintendo's Tim Burton?

Edited on by bro2dragons

“I am a brother to dragons and a companion to owls." Job:30:29

Nintendo Network ID: bro2dragons

LaserdiscGal

What about Nintendo's Tim Curry?

LaserdiscGal

3DS Friend Code: 0688-5519-2711 | My Nintendo: pokefraker | Nintendo Network ID: pokefraker

bro2dragons

Santa wrote:

What about Nintendo's Tim Curry?

Tsubasa Sakaguchi, no doubt.

“I am a brother to dragons and a companion to owls." Job:30:29

Nintendo Network ID: bro2dragons

CaviarMeths

It may be years before we know what kind of president Kimishima will be. Iwata's plans and legacy will carry Nintendo for the next several years, with NX, mobile, restructuring of the company, and diversification of assets such as theme parks all being kickstarted under him. What we're seeing now and will be seeing probably into 2020 is still Iwata. Guy left behind a road map to the next decade.

And I think as an older man with a background in finance, Kimishima will be someone to defer to Iwata's road map while making sure the financial side of things stay on the conservative side. He'll respect that legacy, which we've already seen with the continuation of Directs, while not making any big decisions or announcements entirely from himself. What we saw in 2014/2015 was that Iwata's plans for cutting costs and returning to profitability were effective and efficient and there will be no reason for Kimishima to change course from that. Drive the train, so to speak, but stay on the rails.

I don't think there's reason to fear Nintendo making a SonyBox. Maybe gamers remember Iwata as the weirdo behind the Wii U/3DS. Kimishima will remember him as the weirdo behind Wii/DS, and whose cost-cutting tactics managed to turn declines around mid-gen twice with the Gamecube and the Wii U.

So Anakin kneels before Monster Mash and pledges his loyalty to the graveyard smash.

cookiex

One thing to note is that Kimishima is 65, way older than Iwata was when he died. He said before that his job was to carry out Iwata's wishes and groom someone younger for the future. Even if he stays on for more than this year he may not be inclined to keep going long enough to start forming long-term plans of his own, especially since Iwata has already laid out the framework for at least the next five years.

Edited on by cookiex

cookiex
Self-appointed NintendoLife Hyrule Warriors ambassador

CrazyOtto

Could Mario be Nintendo's Timmy Turner?

CrazyOtto

3DS Friend Code: 4511-0465-7453 | Nintendo Network ID: MrSRArter

Megas75

I'm on the "too early to tell boat", though there are some things worth noting

  • He was Chief Financial Adviser of The Pokemon Company and Pokemon USA in 2000-2001, which was around the time the franchise boomed, and is still going strong today, and helped with the marketing/release of Pokemon Gold/Silver in America
  • Speaking of which, he was the President of NoA from 2002-2006. You know, when NoA didn't suck tremendously
  • He thought the name Wii U was a poor name for the console and would hurt it's sales. May not sound like much considering plenty of people thought that, but at the very least it shows that he's capable business-wise
  • He says he'll follow with Iwata's ideals and plans. Of course the phrase "I'll believe it when I see it" applies here, but for the most part it seems he's sticking true to it's word(like with keeping the Directs and such)
  • He's likely just a place holder president for now, whether or not he'll remain president longer than a few years remains to be seen

Again, it's too early to tell, but at the very least, from what we've seen so far it looks like he's capable and has his head in the right place

Edited on by Megas75

Steam/NNID/Xbox Gamertag - Megas75

erv

Tim Cook is probably one of the best executives this world has ever known.

You do realise that most of the stuff you credit to steve jobs leadership that makes apple great was done and even created under tim cooks leadership because steve was on leave for his health for two extended periods of time?

Not dismissing jobs' great stuff, but he himself admitted he wasn't flawless with every product, just focused in terms of direction. A company wasn't run by a single guy then and isn't now.

If nintendo's tekken boss is half as creative and effective in his leadership as Tim Cook we're in for a treat.

Switch code: SW-0397-5211-6428
PlayStation: genetic-eternal

Nintendo Network ID: genet1c

kenzo

Nintendo have Professor Elvin Gadd as an employee.

If he can make a reality distortion device just as good as the one Steve Jobs used, then anything is possible.

Otherwise Nintendo is Dooooomed.

kenzo

iKhan

erv wrote:

Tim Cook is probably one of the best executives this world has ever known.

You do realise that most of the stuff you credit to steve jobs leadership that makes apple great was done and even created under tim cooks leadership because steve was on leave for his health for two extended periods of time?

Not dismissing jobs' great stuff, but he himself admitted he wasn't flawless with every product, just focused in terms of direction. A company wasn't run by a single guy then and isn't now.

If nintendo's tekken boss is half as creative and effective in his leadership as Tim Cook we're in for a treat.

I'm not saying he's a bad executive. Apple wouldn't have done so well as of late without Cook. What I'm saying is he's not really creative in terms of what is offered to consumers. He has creative guys that work for him, but unlike Jobs there isn't much of a feeling that there is a particular product vision independent from industry acumen.

Currently Playing: Steamworld Heist, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Tales of Graces F

Dezzy

erv wrote:

Tim Cook is probably one of the best executives this world has ever known.

The guy who demanded all confederate flags be removed from the apple store? Which included removing games based on the american civil war.
Yeah, that guy's a genius.
Also, hate to point it out but we have absolutely no idea how good an executive someone is. That's not something you can judge externally at all. That's like if a football team plays well, you concluding their manager is great. Well you don't have enough information to conclude that. The team could just be great and have played equally well with no manager.

It's dangerous to go alone! Stay at home.

AlliMeadow

@Dezzy: Not all. Apps serving strictly educational purposes are allowed to display the confederate flag. I still think it's silly that they removed a game for displaying the flag, but they are within their rights to do so.

And your last analogy is a little strange. Are you suggesting that a company the size of Apple would function well without a CEO?

AlliMeadow

Nintendo Network ID: Alli-V-Meadow

GamecubeMan

Considering that Apple's stock decreased significantly when the Tim Cook took over I really dont see why Tim Cook is so highly regarded. In my opinion ever since the iphone 4s was realized Apple has been going down hill. The products havent had the same impact of technology. A $100 stylus? Come on.

GCN 3.9
Gamecubeloggery
Forget the Nintendo seal of approval
My

3DS Friend Code: 1934-1104-3407 | Twitter:

  • Page 1 of 1

This topic has been archived, no further posts can be added.