Topic: Where Does Nintendo Go From Here?

My big concern is that the new yes man CEO would change direction and go mobile the wrong way.

I don't see Sakurai being able to do it, he's takes things on himself too much rather let his team do the grunt work which he would able impossible to do in such a large scale company plus he left HAL as it was too corporate for him so I can't see CEO being a good fit.

Seems like a very good list of possible candidates......even though most of them are unlikely.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/miyamoto-takeda-shibata-who-will-suc...

@Artwark: as I see it, only Shibata and Kimishima are good candidates on that list. Everyone else seems unlikely to want/fill the role properly.sakurai and Miyamoto especially seem like they'd be very unwilling to take the helm as They seem to prefer creation to administration.

Shibata has experience in administration.

The future will be interesting. I think Nintendo needs to focus on what it's good at - in the US that means as a "second" console for many folks for local multiplayer/party/great Nintendo exclusives. It'd be great to get a console with all the awesome third party games from the other guys, but that ship has probably sailed.

I do think they really need to get their mobile strategy right. Nintendo games on mobile should build the brand and entice people to buy dedicated gaming consoles - it's a fine line to walk, needing to create games that are good enough to leave people wanting more but not so good they're all you need. With mobile - they can hook kids really young, and the name recognition would be a big plus when mom and dad are deciding what games to download for their very young children - might not see instant payoff, but maybe in 5 years it could pay off big.

They may have a reputation of being "kiddie," but all the kids I know old enough for game consoles play Xbox and PS4. Nintendo has always been great as a console to play with friends, which is getting harder to do on the other systems, so I'd take advantage of that. Smash, Goldeneye, and Kart tournaments were some of the highlights of my high school days. Nintendo just needs a way to get the next generation to understand that kind of fun experience is out there. Hopefully, their mobile strategy can help get the word out!

I just worry the next CEO they elect will be too "American-styled" looking only at short term shareholder gains. I definitely worry about them "selling out" and launching tons of easy to make and monetize mobile/social games, making them an initial burst of $$$ but then completely running their brand into the ground.

Here's a question I haven't seen anyone ask. Who will fill the role as CEO of Nintendo of America. Iwata had previously held that role.

I think it would probably make the most sense if Reggie got promoted from NoA COO to CEO.

Reggie? The same man that damage controlled so much after the backlash of Nintendo's E3? No!!! "Iwata never really said sorry about the Digital Event" and "We know fans want a true Samus Aran Metroid game... But here's Metroid Prime: Federation Force anyway!" I don't wanna see his face for a while.

Wasn't he CEO in the past? I can't remember. But yeah, might as well make him CEO. I doubt it would change much since all of the power is in Japan anyhow.

"The western console market, which is really just the console market considering consoles are dead in Japan, wouldn't be who Nintendo's selling to, as they wouldn't be in that market anymore"

You know what I meant: The Nintendo followers who want Metroid, a GOOD Starfox, etc are real gamers (not the people who play free-to-play on phones). Those want a proper console with proper games, not just some mobile-phone. Yeah, they could abandon them if they want, but I hope they won't do that.

@kkslider5552000,

I f you read the rest of my comment I didn't bash girls, but the games they like (Farmville and all those other free-to-play/microtransaction nonsense on phones). I want real games.

"The top 10 selling games for 2014 in Japan were all on Wii U and 3DS"

So why do we hear all the time that the Wii u (the console) ALSO doesn't sell in Japan?

Well in theory they could make real games on mobile, there's nothing stopping them from doing so, but I don't want to see the market encourage those crap, bite size, F2P games. There is absolutely no benefit to the industry in making those sorts of games. There needs to be some form of a dedicated market in order for the industry to be sustainable.

@Bolt_Strike: Of course, but who knows how long the dedicated console market stays both Japanese and western. My comment to @Henmii was that if Nintendo did ditch the console market, then they couldn't technically alienate the west in the way he meant. I also said that the dedicated console market may become a purely western thing in the future. Nintendo and Square Enix are the last remaining major barriers from that happening.

@Henmii: You're wrong simply for the fact of assuming that all girls and only girls like mobile games. It's an extremely inaacurate idea, and your use of the term "real gamers" has been noted as decidedly toxic. Mobile gamers are just as much gamers as you or I, they just don't have the time or interest to sit down for hours at a time to play games.

Given Takeda's wording in the memorial address, it seems like Iwata's death was rather sudden.

People are assuming Iwata had bile duct cancer, so he had knowledge his life was at grave risk. While either may be true, it's a guess at best.

Iwata had a bile duct growth. That suggests a tumor, but given that Iwata stressed it was caught in early stages last year, it was probably in benign stages. So it likely wasn't yet cancerous (able to spread(

A benign tumor can still be dangerous if you're obstructs something important, and that's likely the case. Iwata may or may not have know what was wrong prior to his passing.

So if it was unexpected, that would be more reason for concern about the future.

Those aren't the most successful games on mobile. As I pointed out in Japan the most successful mobile games are RPGs and things like Puzzle and Dragons. Here it's stuff like Clash of Clans, Candy Crush and Sim City. The idea that these aren't "real games" and are "for girls" is a load of bull. Really.

An ironic statement considering nothing console-wise outsold it by a large margin. Xbox One flopped and the PS4 was on par with it.

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@UGXwolf,

I said real gamers, but I could also have used the term Hardcore gamers. Of course people who play mobile games are also gamers, just more of Casual gamers. And of course there are girls who play the more "Hardcore" stuff. But there are also many who play those free-to-play nonsense. Needless to say I am not interested in that free-to-play nonsense.

@Henmii: You have to watch yourself - you need to be very politically correct when you speak of mobile experiences these days; it's becoming accepted that we must acknowledge them as "full" game releases, or else you'll be accused of being close-minded and the forum justice league will be after you immediatley. Watch - after this, we'll be bombarded with a list of excellent mobile games. Just grin and bear it.

But yea I totally get what you are saying. MOST mobile games are free-to-play Snood and Farmville rehashes with free-to-play money sinks shackled onto them. There are, though, a few (and by "few" I literally mean few) that have some real content and good gameplay, so that should be acknowledged. And on that note, I have no doubt that Nintendo's mobile offerings will be of high quality.

I really want to see the new CEO and how the fans and fanboy's will react to him. I don't think whenever this CEO does show up,he will not be greeted with open arms.