Topic: Where Does Nintendo Go From Here?

During Hiroshi Yamauchi's retirement, he also came into assistance and suggested Iwata to make the Wii and DS the way they are now. So if the previous president himself felt that innovation was needed, then its clear that they need a CEO with that vision of innovation as well.

Also, the CEO isn't the one always the one who makes the next console or handheld as the one who actually made the Wii U is Katsuya Eguchi and not Iwata. Iwata's job is to make Nintendo profit by leading Nintendo to directions. I don't understand why people misunderstand that the CEO would be the one responsible for releasing such hardware and software.

I'm going to throw some ideas out for Iwata's successor.

1. Yoshiaki Koizumi- I firmly believe this guy is the most talented developer at Nintendo. Look at his page on Wikipedia. Almost everything he has done has been almost universally well received by the fan base. In terms of his abilities as an executive, he has run EAD Tokyo very smoothly since he was promoted to head the division after Super Mario Galaxy. He's maintained incredibly high quality with the group's games, and as a producer, has managed to get every game out at or ahead of time. He would be a risky choice, but I think his insight could really push Nintendo forward.

2. Satoshi Tajiri- creator of Pokemon and CEO of Game Freak. This is a safer choice, and I think it would work great. Tajiri has let Game Freak through astounding growth and success, expanding the studio's talents far beyond just Pokemon. From his experience with RBY and GSC, we know that he has an understanding of how to create kid-friendly games that are fun for adults.

@iKhan: Both these guys have talent in the creative department and not something in the level of Satoru Iwata. The thing that Hiroshi Yamauchi saw in Iwata was because seeing how he saved HAL under bankruptcy, he knew that he could do the same for Nintendo as well and it shows. The problem is that these two don't seem to like taking any risks in their development or financial process as they are just told what to do and that's that.

Also, I don't think Tajiri-San is capable as a CEO for Nintendo because he has some personal problems like the him being under autism. Not that I'm saying that he can't do it because of his disability but because this is also something that the board will observe in the long term.

@iKhan: good thinking.

I'm curious as to what nintendo ends up doing. We'll see of course, but still - iwata is a hard guy to replace. Yet I believe the transition nintendo is in is solid and well carried, so to me, there's not much uncertainty.

The next nintendo direct is going to feel strange.

Finding someone with Iwata's workhorse attitude, passion for the medium, fun personality, creativity, and intelligence will be nigh on impossible. I think in the short term they need to focus on getting someone who will keep up with Iwata's vision before he passed, then respond to the problems that arise moving forward with it.

Koizumi snuck the story into Mario Galaxy. He created Z-Targeting, wrote Majora's Mask's story, and wrote Link's Awakening's story. I'd say he takes plenty of risks.

First off, let me say RIP to Iwata-san. He is a legend in the game & will be sorely missed. I will say a prayer for he and his family.

As far as Nintendo's direction, I honestly feel that that always was, still is, an always will be, determined by the guys in the creative roles, i.e. the Miyamoto's, Aonuma's, etc. These guys truly are Nintendo to me. I knew Miyamoto's name before I knew any other name in gaming. I specifically remember being a young teen and going to n64.com every week, super excited to read every article and the mailbag done by either Peer Schneider or Matt Cassiminassa (bad spelling, and can't remember which did it, but I think MC). Even back then, they were doing features on his influence, upcoming projects, etc. So that name, to me, IS Nintendo.

I know Iwata was also a programmer and worked on games, but he took on a coroporate role for a long time, and while the corporate side always plays a big part in any company's decisions, I feel Nintendo is definitely one of those companies that just lets the creative guys create, doesn't get involved, and trusts to put out whatever the creative ones say to be out.

TL;DR They will be fine with Miyamoto, Aonuma, and I'm sure many other influential names that I don't know of. RIP Iwata-san

I think Koizumi understands how to modernize Nintendo's games more than the rest of Nintendo, but that really doesn't make him a good CEO. We don't know how he is with hardware or general business, just software. If anything, he should take Miyamoto's role when he retires. I think he could breathe new life into many of Nintendo's IPs, but I'm not sure about anything else.

I said that in regards to Artwark's assertion that he wouldn't be willing to take risk. I think he'd be a good CEO due to a combination of his ingenuity and his skills as a producer. I believe every Mario game he has produced has come out on time or early with a great deal of polish. That indicates a good ability to lead and organize people.

@Aromaiden,

I said that the situation suddenly changed, because everyone assumed (and hoped) he would be around for many more years. But that sadly wasn't to be. I guess that Mister Iwata already had chosen one (or a few) contenders to become the new president, that's how things go. Tezuka could also be a contender. Or Aonuma (though if that happens, we have to miss him on the Zelda series). Or maybe Morimori (or what was his name?). He did the last Direct, but maybe they think he's to young. Hopefully it won't be someone from DENA though.

Back to mister Iwata: Whatever you think of him or his leadership, you must admit that its very cool that he didn't hide in the closet like most Company presidents. He showed his face, he always brought the news "Directly" to us. That's what I appreciate about him. In that sense he was very different from Yamauchi, though those where different times. I still have some Iwata asks to read though. I always liked those. Also, I read he also saved HAL back in the day. I am very grateful for that. They mostly make Kirby's, but MAN are they good!

Ok more of a rant.....how is it that you guys now show some respect to Iwata when earlier, you wished that he leaved Nintendo because he didn't do much till now?

I wonder if they will appoint Isao Moriyasu from DeNa?

@Artwark: Cause the man died (why wouldn't anyone give respect to him?)no one here wanted him to die some people wanted him to leave Nintendo. Losing a job and losing a life are two different things for gods sake.

The sad thing is that some people probably did. But yeah, I think most of us agree that he didn't deserve to die the way he did.

@Bolt_Strike: He didn't deserve to die period.

I want a CEO that will wants JRPGS, 3rd party support, a good understanding of what other companies have that Nintendo doesn't, etc. I want a CEO that's passionate and determined and is almost always talking to hardcore Nintendo fans.

@TylerTheCreator: No one can live forever period.

@TwilightAngel: Well of course not, but you know what I'm saying.

@TwilightAngel: There's a huge difference between saying someone should live forever and saying someone doesn't deserve to die.

Those are usually the group of people who blame Iwata for everything with Nintendo.

No he didn't. He should've had at least 30-20 years left.

When he passed, his accomplishments came into the light. People stopped thinking of him as "the guy who made the consoles I dislike" and remembered him as "expert programmer of Balloon Fight and the guy who made Nintendo Directs fun"