Nintendo has finally announced it’s next step in moving on from the shock of Satoru Iwata’s death earlier this year, with Tatsumi Kimishima named as the company’s new president.
Kimishima’s 15-year association with Nintendo has taken him from the Pokemon Company to Nintendo America, where he was CEO during the successful launch of the Wii in 2006.
After a shift away from that role towards a managing director position, helping to deal with investors and financial analysts, Kimishima now heads a company in a bit of bother.
Nintendo is lagging behind Sony and Microsoft when it comes to multi-player online communities, the lifeblood of modern gaming, with the latest console release – the Wii U – not a success.
Wii U ‘likely’ to fail
And the latter point, it seems, may have influenced the choice of Kimishima, who has since stated his belief that the console would likely fail.
Things at Nintendo may soon see some significant changes, though, with the company claiming a “large-scale revision” of its organisational structure is underway.
“We aim to strengthen and enhance the management structure of the company following President Satoru Iwata’s passing,” the company said in its announcement.
Of course, the summer actually brought good news for the company, as it raked in sales of US$727m and a profit of US$9.3m for Q1, its best financial quarter in years.
A shift in focus
There’s also the huge support for games like Dragon Quest, showcased a few weeks ago in a hugely followed live-stream announcement.
It has now, also, targeted the smartphone market, licensing its games over to a platform that it has little stake in so far.
The power and pull that Nintendo has should not be ignored, however, as in a battle with Sony and Microsoft there simply has to be a loser.
It’s up to Kimishima, now, to ensure Nintendo does not take that crown.
Main image via Shutterstock
