Nintendo considering mergers and acquisitions ‘as an option’

Saturo Iwata has hinted that even greater reforms could be on the way for Nintendo than first thought.

Speaking to The Nikkei, the Nintendo president expanded on his guidance issued earlier this week, saying that the company would even consider mergers and acquisitions as a viable strategy to stabilise the company.

We should abandon old assumptions about our businesses. We are considering M&As as an option,” he stated. For this reason, we’ll step up share buybacks.

We’ll change the way we sell products, by managing customer information via the internet. We’ll offer discounts to steady, regular customers. We’ll cultivate emerging markets and launch new businesses in health and other areas. In an emerging country, you can expand the user base only after you offer a product line different from advanced economies in pricing.”

Iwata also touched upon Nintendo’s sizable cash reserves, saying that it’s a strategy based on the plans laid down by his predecessor Hiroshi Yamauchi.

Mr. Yamauchi often said ‘Shitsui-taizen, Tokui-reizen’ meaning that we should act regally when things are bad, and be calm when things are going well. Were he alive now, he would tell me to carry an air of confidence.

We built up cash reserves when earnings were strong. Because the entertainment industry ebbs and flows in wild swings, Mr Yamauchi insisted it is vital to have deep pockets. Without savings, we could not have recovered from a single failure in game systems. Even now, we can afford many options because of our robust financial standing.”