So Kimishima is introducing some corporate restructuring at Nintendo. What are your thoughts? The Gamnesia article sums it up pretty well but here it is in a nutshell:
-EAD and SPD are being consolidated into Entertainment Planning and Development Division headed by Shinya Takahashi, former GM of SPD
-IRD and SDD are being consolidated into Platform Technology Development Division headed by Ko Shiota former deputy GM of IRD
-New Business Development division for "refining the business model for the dedicated video game system business" and handling smartphone apps and IP licensing
-Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda are no longer general managers. They are now Creative Fellow and Technology Fellow. Nintendo defines the roles as: An individual selected from among the Representative Directors who has advanced knowledge and extensive experience, and holds the role of providing advice and guidance regarding organizational operations in a specialized area.
I think the first 2 are great changes. The fact that EAD and SPD operated separately always seemed strange to me, so the consolidation just makes sense. Integrating the online services division with the hardware division is just what Nintendo needs to push their online services into this decade.
I'm mixed on the Business Development Division. I like that they are keeping smartphone development and IP licensing away from dedicated platform development. I also think it could be for the better for Nintendo to focus their goals with regards to dedicated platforms, but this also scares me. If Nintendo focuses their goals in a way that leads them to making something like "Nintendo's PS4", it would be the end of an era of creativity that I loved.
I'm incredibly worried about the last one. I always thought Miyamoto and Takeda would retire out of their positions, not be removed from them. The fact that they are essentially being turned into consultants with figurehead titles makes me wonder if they are trying to move the company away from their development philosophies.
@iKhan That's really interesting. While I don't know about Takeda, Miyamoto has honestly acted as a creative consultant a lot in recent years, attempting to make sure Nintendo's bigger franchises are in good hands and to encourage new ideas from fresh blood so that the company is ready for when does retire. The role of Creative Fellow isn't really that much different than what he's been doing, just without the managerial duties.
By "Nintendo's PS4", do you mean a system on par with it's specs?
Can't they be creative AND have a powerhouse? They've done it before...
No, I mean a system more or less identical to the PS4. A system with an X86 Processor that's easy to program for and has a "traditional" controller.
I'm all for a powerhouse, but I want new creative hardware too.
Well, being easy to develop for is a good thing, so having a X86 Processor or anything commonly used nowadays isn't bad. More then one system has touted allegedly powerful hardware, but they flopped, because it was a pain to develop for.
As for a less "traditional" controller... they are still extremely important. Not every game needs extra attachments. I daresay most fall under that. I actually wouldn't mind if the NX came with a standard controller in the box, unlike the past two systems. They can still innovate, but don't make us shell out money just to go back to ol' faithful.
First, I worded that really poorly. I absolutely want the NX to be easy to program for. My point is that nowadays, there if you want an easy to program for X86 machine, you more or less have to make a PS4 clone. And do you as a consumer really feel okay with buying essentially the same hardware multiple times because games are arbitrarily locked to the system (as in there is no technological barrier to porting them as there was between the N64 and PS1 or SNES and Genesis)? If you do that's cool, this is more about what I personally want from Nintendo.
If you aren't going to include a unique hardware feature in a console, it really shouldn't be made at all. Pretty much every separately sold gaming peripheral in history has failed. Even as recent as 7th gen, the Kinect, Move, Wii Remote Plus, PS Eye, and Wii Speak all failed. The reason is pretty simple, selling a peripheral separately means that the games that peripheral necessarily have a smaller install base. It also means that there is less value in supporting the separate peripheral. There is literally zero reason Uncharted and The Last of Us shouldn't support Move, aside from the fact that it would take extra work that ultimately wouldn't yield much additional profit.
Ultimately, I like unique hardware features that change the way I play games (I especially like motion control). That's why I want to see Nintendo do something else like the Wii Remote.
Currently Playing: Steamworld Heist, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Tales of Graces F
It's going to take years to see Iwata's restructuring plans come to full fruition, so it's hard to saw now what effect this will have.
The first thing I noticed is that Miyamoto is stepping down as manager and taking a more advisory role, probably prepping for retirement. Over the years though, he has successfully groomed both Koizumi and Aonuma, so that should go relatively smoothly as far as Mario and Zelda properties are concerned. They're in good hands.
Miyamoto and Takeda are both geniuses, but not infallible. In recent years, there didn't seem to be anyone there to challenge them on decisions, challenges that might have resulted in a better direction for software and hardware. Gunpei Yokoi was probably that person before, but after he left the company, there was no one. I think them stepping back into advisory roles is a good idea.
The merging of EAD and SPD is definitely something that has been long overdue. SPD is mostly a big team of managers and producers anyway, so the need for a separate department was never there. And with EAD and SPD seemingly being merged into one division called EPD under Iwata's own protege Takahashi, I think we're looking at our next Nintendo CEO. He's being groomed for it. 3 years, 5 at most, he will be the new head of the company.
No strong thoughts on the New Business Development division. It seems more like an expansion than a change in direction. Nintendo is growing bigger and entering a new market, not leaving the old one. They have ten billion dollars of Wii+DS money just laying around. Gotta do something with it.
It's going to take years to see Iwata's restructuring plans come to full fruition, so it's hard to saw now what effect this will have.
The first thing I noticed is that Miyamoto is stepping down as manager and taking a more advisory role, probably prepping for retirement. Over the years though, he has successfully groomed both Koizumi and Aonuma, so that should go relatively smoothly as far as Mario and Zelda properties are concerned. They're in good hands.
Miyamoto and Takeda are both geniuses, but not infallible. In recent years, there didn't seem to be anyone there to challenge them on decisions, challenges that might have resulted in a better direction for software and hardware. Gunpei Yokoi was probably that person before, but after he left the company, there was no one. I think them stepping back into advisory roles is a good idea.
The merging of EAD and SPD is definitely something that has been long overdue. SPD is mostly a big team of managers and producers anyway, so the need for a separate department was never there. And with EAD and SPD seemingly being merged into one division called EPD under Iwata's own protege Takahashi, I think we're looking at our next Nintendo CEO. He's being groomed for it. 3 years, 5 at most, he will be the new head of the company.
No strong thoughts on the New Business Development division. It seems more like an expansion than a change in direction. Nintendo is growing bigger and entering a new market, not leaving the old one. They have ten billion dollars of Wii+DS money just laying around. Gotta do something with it.
I don't think these are Iwata's plans. I believe that this new structure was probably built in the interim by Miyamoto, Takeda, Kimishima, and the rest of the BoD to create some "future proofing" of the company and to refine the focus of the business.
Do you have a source on Takahashi being Iwata's protege?
Anyway, if it were Koizumi taking over for Miyamoto, I would have zero qualms about Miyamoto taking a more advisory role. But Takahashi has mostly been in the role of producer for his whole life. He hasn't really done the nitty gritty game design.
Currently Playing: Steamworld Heist, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Tales of Graces F
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Topic: Thoughts on Nintendo's restructure (ASIDE FROM NEW PRESIDENT)
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