Kimishima predicted Wii U failure, will not change Iwata plans

The new president of Nintendo expected the Wii U to fail – that’s one of many claims to be made in the Japanese press in the aftermath of the appointment of Nintendo’s new president.

Former Nintendo of America boss Tatsumi Kimishima was yesterday named as the successor to late boss Satoru Iwata. However, the change in leadership won’t bring about a change of strategy, it seems.

The Nikkei quotes new Nintendo boss Kimishima as saying there won’t be changes in the basic strategy set up by former president Iwata,” Japanese business analyst Serkan Toto said. Kimishima says the challenge is now to identify new projects [and] cultivate the right human resources to reach Nintendo-like profits again.

The Nikkei also quotes Nintendo’s Genyo Takeda as saying the aim is to establish a future-proof group leadership system inside Nintendo.”

It is also claimed that Kimishima doesn’t expect his appointment to be a long-term one.

Kimishima says Iwata didn’t give him instructions how to run the company,” Toto added. He says he is elected for one year and doesn’t know what will come next [and] he is not against company outsiders to lead Nintendo one day.

Kimishima also confirms that Nintendo’s smartphone and IP-related plans won’t change [and] the task is now to develop new businesses.”

Nikkei’s article also addressed the concerns that a perceived ‘numbers man’ has been put in charge of a creative company.

Kimishima predicted Wii U’s failure when it was introduced by warning it’s too similar to the original Wii,” Tot went on. Despite his business background, he is quoted as saying it’s wrong to lead a gaming company on numbers alone.

The Nikkei claims Kimishima wasn’t Iwata’s favourite choice. Nintendo was first looking for somebody younger but didn’t have the personnel. The article also suggests the [appointment] was a rushed decision because the holiday season, where Nintendo makes 50 per cent plus of sales, is near.”