Tatsumi Kimishima has been named president of Nintendo of Japan

[johnhoftb]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/09/...pany-president

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Fuck, I wrote down the wrong name, it's Tatsumi, not Tamashi...

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His credentials:

• Dec. 2000 Appointed as Representative Director of The Pokémon Company
• Jan. 2002 Appointed as Director of Nintendo of America Inc. (to present)
• Jun. 2002 Appointed as Director of the Company (to present)
• May 2006 Appointed as Director and Chairman (CEO) of Nintendo of America Inc.
• Jun. 2013 Appointed as Managing Director (to present)
• General Manager, Corporate Analysis & Administration Division (to present) and General Manager, General Affairs Division (to present)
• Jun. 2014 In charge of Human Resources Division (to present)

[Deleted]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/09/...pany-president

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Fuck, I wrote down the wrong name, it's Tatsumi, not Tamashi...

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His credentials:

Dude, that's so racist.

[Veluren]

Hm, not sure how I feel, mostly because unlike Miyamoto and Iwata he doesn't have any games to his name, just a bunch of executive experience.

Mostly my reasoning for that is that since he wasn't a designer he doesn't have the perspective of what it means to look at his presidency as someone who actually developed the stuff he's presiding over, the worst case scenario is that he winds up taking the company in a negative direction because what he wants clashes with what gamers want/need

That said, that's mostly hyperbole because he's done literally nothing in his new position yet, so hopefully my apprehension will be proven wrong.

[Edge-]

Not sure how I feel about him. He seems much more your cut and dried Japanese executive/salaryman. I mean, that's fine and all, but with all of the high profile Nintendo executives so far (Iwata, Miyamoto, Reggie) being less "traditional" executives and more engaged with fans, I'm wondering how the transition will be.

Curious to see the direction he takes Nintendo in, if he changes the direction or keeps on their current trajectory. Though I fear we won't get the fun "Iwata Asks" type things anymore. But hey, he may surprise us and be unconventional as hell!

[Austilias]

Having grown up with Nintendo, and looking back having appreciated the fact that they've been remarkably apolitical as a company, I don't mind that he's pretty 'neutral' as far as things go. Strikes me as someone who will get the job done, rather than getting too involved in publicity; which is always a gamble, especially if he does indeed lack the personality of his forbears.

[johnhoftb]

http://m.ign.com/articles/2015/09/14...to-1-year-term

Kimishima will only be president for a year.

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http://www.gamnesia.com/news/new-nintendo-president-tatsumi-kimishima-advised-against-wii-u-and-predicte

Kimishima predicted the Wii U woul fail and advised against launching it.

[GennGreymane]

Hes a smart guy. He said it was too similar to the Wii, and that was the Wii U's biggest issue. Hes has a good administrative background, so if hes just around 1 year, thats fine, he will manage things well

but we must know

will there be a muppet of him?

[johnhoftb]

http://www.gamnesia.com/news/iwata-w...intendo-lacked

Iwata wanted someone younger to replace him, but noone was qualified.

[Remilia]

Not sure how I feel about him. He seems much more your cut and dried Japanese executive/salaryman. I mean, that's fine and all, but with all of the high profile Nintendo executives so far (Iwata, Miyamoto, Reggie) being less "traditional" executives and more engaged with fans, I'm wondering how the transition will be.

Was the best about part about them.
Sony Shuuhei Yoshida was more open and such of the previous department head, but still not like Nintendo's.

Though it seems like it'll be only temporary but it's a wait and see right now.

It's really hard to match someone like Iwata. Business man, a great programmer, and most of all, a gamer.

[GennGreymane]

http://www.gamnesia.com/news/iwata-w...intendo-lacked

Iwata wanted someone younger to replace him, but noone was qualified.

Which is a fair statement, its not uncommon to hear that they want someone young with new ideas to take charge in the business world.

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I recently learned that he has done a lot of work outside of Japan, hes worked in the U.S and elsewhere. If anything this alone will help him the most. Nintendo, I have criticized before is very Japan focused.

1. There is nothing wrong with that
2. It makes sense that a Japanese company would be Japan focused

However Nintendo is also an international company. A new perspective on how to do business may be good for the company as a whole.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Part of me is concerned.

This feels like a stopgap measure. There's been a lot of talk that Nintendo's been bleeding money with the WiiU, and now they hire a 65-year-old financial man to be President.

My biggest worry is that Nintendo is going to start moving back toward the "mainstream" gaming ideas because they bring in the most money. Superpowered consoles that are basically mini PCs, yearly shovelware games like EA and Activision are famous for, and an emphasis on processing power and realistic (brown) graphics.






Of course the other part of me is encouraged by statements that nothing will change regarding the company's vision. And his experience with The Pokemon Company is intriguing to me considering Pokemon was one of Nintendo's biggest new franchises in the 90s. The focus on new leadership and new franchises also excites me, considering the massive success that was Splatoon.


Though something tells me we won't be getting any more Banana-staring memes and Muppet Presentations with Kimishima-san in charge.

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http://www.gamnesia.com/news/iwata-w...intendo-lacked

Iwata wanted someone younger to replace him, but noone was qualified.

That explains the emphasis on bringing in young management under Kimishima.

[GennGreymane]

I would prefer a more main stream console. Lets face it. A gimmick is a gimmick and the lasting power of one is very limited. Motion controls pretty much fell out of favor this generation. Also Nintendo failed to make its pad controller actually work as a pad controller.

So now you can play off screen?... ooookkkaaaayyy? You can use it for some games in ways where a button is better, and so far its best use is an inventory screen. Not a single RTS game that uses the hell out of it, or any break out title that says THIS IS AWESOME.

I'd rather see a Nintendo console that sells not only its first party titles, but some great third party titles. Imagine seeing Zelda on the same shelf as Witcher. The third party titles could hold us over for the next big Nintendo exclusive.

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I hope he also cuts the Japan favoritism when it comes to events/games

[Rennadrel]

So, basically the guy they hired is another run of the mill Nintendo personality who has been with the company for some time. I don't know how well this will pan out, as his resume speaks more about financial and people assets rather than gaming as a whole.

I really think they need to look at how they are structured and have leaders for their divisions that represent and understand their markets. Let's face it, Reggie is not an ideal candidate for the North American job, and Shibata is no better for Europe, they are Japanese types and still haven't grasped the wants and needs of gamer's in those markets.

[Belize]

Rip Iwata

[GennGreymane]

Rip Iwata

;-; never forget

[GennGreymane]

http://www.gamnesia.com/articles/nin...heir-biggest-p


i like this guy a lot already

Nintendo was struck by tragedy in July when President Satoru Iwata passed away at the young age of 55. After two months of searching, Nintendo officially announced that Tatsumi Kimishima would be filling his shoes and taking over the company. Based on his moves so far in Japan, we think he's a great short term choice for candidate, but he also has the potential to fix one of Nintendo's biggest and longest-running problems.

Nintendo is an international video game company, but they are almost entirely centralized in Japan. The Western markets (and in particular the North American market) make up a larger portion of sales than the Japanese market, but Nintendo's non-Japanese branches have virtually no decision-making power. Dan Adelman served as Nintendo of America's Head of Digital Content and Development for nearly a decade, and he frequently found himself unable to push ahead with ideas that the North American market wanted (including an end to region-locking and more indie-friendly development rules), because he was vetoed by Nintendo of Japan. As he describes it, even Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime lacks the power to make actual changes, and can only make suggestions to the executives in Japan.

I’ve had many meetings with Reggie about topics like this. Unfortunately, there are limits around what Nintendo of America, as a subsidiary, can impact. Reggie and others at Nintendo of America may provide a list of changes they’d like to make, but all of the actual changes would need to be made in Japan. Nintendo Japan is very open to feedback, but ultimately that’s where the final decisions get made. — Dan Adelman
In Adelman's case, he was eventually forbidden from having public social media accounts or giving interviews because he publicly supported changes that Nintendo of Japan had turned down. Last year, he chose to leave the company and continue to do a similar job independently of Nintendo.

Nintendo of America's lack of real power is becoming a bigger issue over time, because the Japanese dedicated gaming device market is shrinking at a rapid rate. Mobile games sales in Japan have increased substantially every year since 2010 while sales on dedicated gaming platforms have steadily declined. Last year, Japan's mobile revenue was nearly double the revenue of its dedicated gaming platforms at $5.8 billion to $3.2 billion. The latter figure marks the lowest revenue from dedicated gaming platforms in Japan in a decade, and it's not likely to improve.

While the mobile game surge is felt everywhere, its impact is much weaker in the West. Home consoles are essentially a thing of the past in Japan (and handhelds are losing popularity as well), yet PlayStation 4 is breaking sales records. PlayStation 4 has sold over 25 million units worldwide in less than two years, but just 1.5 million of them have been in Japan. The message is clear: If you want successful consoles, you need to focus on North America and Europe, not Japan. With this in mind, there's good cause for optimism towards Tatsumi Kimishima.

Over the past couple of years, Kimishima has been serving as Managing Director of Nintendo Co. Ltd, putting into motion some changes within the company that came to fruition with the massive company restructure announced on his first day. Kimishima has been focused on making re-tooling the Japanese teams to improve efficiency (unlike Iwata, his background lies in business rather than game development), but most of his time at Nintendo has actually been spent in North America.

Kimishima began his video game career as the Chief Financial Officer of The Pokémon Company in 2000 and then the President of Pokémon USA over the next two years. During his tenure, Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal were released, and his talents caught the eye of Nintendo, prompting them to hire him as President of Nintendo of America in 2002. Four years later, he was promoted again. Reggie Fils-Aime replaced him as President, and he became Reggie's boss, serving as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for Nintendo of America.

When Kimishima took over Nintendo of America they were firmly in third place in console sales, as GameCube was lagging slightly behind Xbox and massively behind PlayStation 2. However, under Kimishima's leadership as President and then CEO, they bounced back strong with incredible marketing campaigns for DS and Wii that were extremely successful in North America, pushing them both to the top of the charts.

One of the big success stories from this era was the development and launch of Twilight Princess, which only happened because Nintendo of Japan chose to listen to the wisdom of Nintendo of America. Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma had his team working on a sequel to Wind Waker, but after consulting with Nintendo of America, plans changed.

At one point, I had heard that even Wind Waker, which had reached the million mark in sales, had become sluggish in North America, where the market was much healthier than in Japan. I asked NOA why this was. What I was told was that the toon-shading technique was, in fact, giving the impression that this Zelda was for a younger audience and that, for this reason, it alienated the upper teen audience that had represented the typical Zelda player. Having heard that, I began to worry about whether Wind Waker 2, which used a similar presentation, was something that would actually sell. In addition, because we knew how difficult it would be to create an innovative way of playing using existing GameCube hardware, we knew what a challenge it would be to develop something that would do well in the Japanese market, where gamer drift was happening.

That’s when I decided that if we didn’t have an effective and immediate solution, the only thing we could do was to give the healthy North American market the Zelda that they wanted. So, at the end of 2003, I went to Miyamoto and said, “I want to make a realistic Zelda." — Eiji Aonuma
There are some fans who may have preferred a Wind Waker sequel, but from a sales perspective, this was an incredibly productive decision. Wind Waker originally sold less than 5 million copies (it has broken that mark with the HD remake on Wii U) and Twilight Princess sold close to 9 million copies. Only Ocarina of Time has sold more copies (due to multiple re-releases and a 3DS remake), and no Zelda game since has even come close. Both in North America and Europe, Twilight Princess sold around twice as many copies as Wind Waker, and (alongside Wii Sports), it was one of the titles that helped Wii get off to an almost unbelievably successful start just five years after GameCube failed to make a dent in the market.

While we don't know how involved Kimishima was in that decision (although as President he certainly had a say), we do know that he personally advised Nintendo of Japan against Wii U, warning them that it was too similar to Wii and would be a commercial failure. This time, Nintendo of Japan opted not to heed his words. Kimishima's predictions were accurate, and Wii U is unfortunately on pace to be Nintendo's least successful home console of all time, both in terms of console sales and software sales.

Tatsumi Kimishima has well over a decade of experience in overseeing the North American video game market, and along with Nintendo executive Genyo Takeda, he's aiming to make Nintendo's leadership future-proof. With the rapid decline of the Japanese console market, there's no better way to promote a good future for Nintendo than to give more power to the North American market. Kimishima is uniquely qualified to handle such a transition, as he spent a decade on the other side looking in.

This is an editorial written by a member of the Gamnesia staff. Do you agree? Disagree? If you have your own thoughts you'd like to share on the subject and would like to see them published here on Gamnesia, you can write your very own content
- See more at: http://www.gamnesia.com/articles/nin....XtT29HFc.dpuf

[Fawkess]

Hes a smart guy. He said it was too similar to the Wii, and that was the Wii U's biggest issue. Hes has a good administrative background, so if hes just around 1 year, thats fine, he will manage things well

but we must know

will there be a muppet of him?

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Rip Iwata

He will always be remembered by the company he helped to shape

[GennGreymane]

Never forget Mr. Iwata

[Discontinued]

Which is a fair statement, its not uncommon to hear that they want someone young with new ideas to take charge in the business world.

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I recently learned that he has done a lot of work outside of Japan, hes worked in the U.S and elsewhere. If anything this alone will help him the most. Nintendo, I have criticized before is very Japan focused.

1. There is nothing wrong with that
2. It makes sense that a Japanese company would be Japan focused

However Nintendo is also an international company. A new perspective on how to do business may be good for the company as a whole.

While I do understand what you mean, I also must point out that Japanese games tend to be very popular in the West as well, whether they are culturally Japanese games or not. I also love Japanese games too and find that there is definitely an advantage to being a strong contender for "best Japanese video game producer" here and there.

I think him not being directly involved in the creation of one particular game does merit some concern, but in all honesty who the person is will be far more important than what the person has done (unless they have an incredibly good or bad rap sheet).

[Edge-]

See, I see shit like this and go, "HOW CAN ANYONE SAY NINTENDO HAD A BAD E3?!" Seriously, they had a fantastically entertaining digital press conference thingy. This sequence made me squee so hard.