Satoru Iwata: No "Dark Future" for Nintendo

[StewShearerOld]

Satoru Iwata: No "Dark Future" for Nintendo

When questioned by investors about cutting costs, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata expressed his desire to keep the company strong for the future.

It could be easy to look at Nintendo and think that it's in dire straits. While the insane success of the Wii did a fair job of lining the company's coffers, the Wii U hasn't done quite as well. That in mind, inquiries during a recent <a href=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/131031qa/03.html>investor Q&A session questioned whether or not the company had any cost-cutting or workforce reduction plans in the works to shave off some of the expenses that currently have the company <a href=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304655104579166691934077798>operating at a loss.

"If you believe that there is no possibility of Nintendo's results improving, then you would be right about it being necessary to review the structure of the workforce and the company itself to match the scale of the business," replied Iwata. He then affirmed his belief that, despite recent setbacks, "Nintendo has the potential to be a large-scale business" and needs "a lot of muscle" to do that. He did agree that there should be efforts to excise "excess fat" but said that "restructuring the workforce is not the first option" the company wants to look into, even when its profits are one the decline. "I would like you to understand that this is because we do not see a dark future for Nintendo," he said.

This investor Q&A follows recent financial reports from Nintendo which noted that, though the Wii U was still something of a drag on the company's overall performance, its sales had improved. Likewise, with recent software releases like Pokemon X & Y further bolstering strong 3DS sales and the company <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125118-Nintendo-Hoping-for-Strong-Wii-U-Holiday-Sales>looking forward to an arguably strong lineup of future software releases, Iwata may be right not to overreact to the doom and gloom predictions some have for the house that Mario built.

Source: <a href=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/131031qa/03.html>Nintendo


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[RicoADF]

I must hand it to Mr Iwata, he seems to be a smart guy that understands that every company has it's ups and downs and the best thing to do is learn from it and improve back into profit, not to just fire people which then destroys the employees trust and moral making the situation worse. I tip my hat to you good sir *tips hat*

 

[hickwarrior]

I must hand it to Mr Iwata, he seems to be a smart guy that understands that every company has it's ups and downs and the best thing to do is learn from it and improve back into profit, not to just fire people which then destroys the employees trust and moral making the situation worse. I tip my hat to you good sir *tips hat*

On the other hand, they just didn't have games on the WiiU, which was a major problem for the 3DS back then. I'm not sure if they did learn what caused the 3DS to struggle at first.

Still, making your employees sacred cows is a good thing to do. Makes them keep working at their job instead of losing productivity, which is a plus.

EDIT: Meant to mention, it's considered a bad thing in japan to fire employees at all, so that might be another reason why he isn't doing it. That kind of bad PR is not something nintendo probably wants in their homeland.

 

[omega 616]

I'm not sure how Nintendo keep going to be honest, I've only ever wanted 2 Nintendo products. A Gameboy and a version of pokemon red/blue. They keep dragging out the same dead ponies, pokemon, Mario, metriod, zelda etc but the 80's and 90's kids go fucking wild for them every time... Will be a sad time for Nintendo when that generation dies off.

I just can't see them pulling in new audiences with games from there grandparents generation, today's kids aren't going mad for the modern version of pong aka tennis games. Infants might play Mario as babies first game but I doubt it will last, why play a 2D side scroller when the elder scrolls 10 is out?

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I think Nintendo needs to get rid of a large chunk of their executive branch both in America and Japan. Iwata's gotta go. Reggie's gotta go. Others gotta go. They may be the nicer people to be called corporate executives but Nintendo needs younger minds in charge or they'll be in a much worse position next generation than they are now when it comes to consoles.

 

[omega 616]

snip

Skyrim bored you so all elder scrolls will now bore you?

Anyway, that wasn't my point, my point was that Mario (3D or not) is still just a platformer with very basic game play. Elder scrolls games are huge living world's with shed loads going on, loads to immerse yourself in and be who you want... From looks to skills to personality. My point is elder scrolls offers such an open world, Mario hasn't really moved on since 64... You're still saving an Italian plumber saving an ungrateful Peach from a spiky tortoise by jumping on or over stuff.

Elder scrolls still has you saving the world constantly but the big bad is different, the main story is different, side quests are different... They all boil down to go here, kill and maybe bring back a trinket but the story drives it. Mario has save the princess that's in another castle, not this castle either.... Not this one either.

The scope of games has massively increased but Nintendo is making 64 bit games.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm not sure how Nintendo keep going to be honest, I've only ever wanted 2 Nintendo products. A Gameboy and a version of pokemon red/blue. They keep dragging out the same dead ponies, pokemon, Mario, metriod, zelda etc but the 80's and 90's kids go fucking wild for them every time... Will be a sad time for Nintendo when that generation dies off.

I just can't see them pulling in new audiences with games from there grandparents generation, today's kids aren't going mad for the modern version of pong aka tennis games. Infants might play Mario as babies first game but I doubt it will last, why play a 2D side scroller when the elder scrolls 10 is out?

It's a bit naive to think Nintendo's entire empire floats on the saliva of 80's and 90's gamers. There really aren't that many of them. Nintendo pulls in plenty of gamers of all ages with their handhelds, it just that the Wii-U isn't finding an audience at all.

And even if Nintendo only makes kids games, it's not like the world is ever going to run out of those.

 

[Atmos Duality]

As long as Nintendo is able to cater to kids, they will be just fine recycling the same three or four super-franchises, because kids don't have the years and years of experience with the same games. With the WiiU, they've definitely stopped trying to compete with mainstream gaming and mainstream gaming is just leaving them behind.

 

[Colt47]

I'm from the 90s and even I don't buy too many games from Nintendo anymore. However, the reason for that is they release exclusively on the 3ds and the Wii U. Also their games never have good discounts until ages later.

Then again, I pretty much migrated to PC gaming due to the much lower cost of titles. In the matter of maybe a year and a half I have almost twice the number of quality titles on my PC as compared to my now neglected Xbox 360, PS Vita, and 3ds. I mean, I own two games on the Vita after owning it for over a year, Three actual cartridge games for the 3ds after owning it for close to 3 years, and only bought one console game (dynasty Warriors 8) for the PS3.

Comparing that to purchasing probably over a dozen games for the PC in the stretch of two years... yeah.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

snip

Skyrim bored you so all elder scrolls will now bore you?

Anyway, that wasn't my point, my point was that Mario (3D or not) is still just a platformer with very basic game play. Elder scrolls games are huge living world's with shed loads going on, loads to immerse yourself in and be who you want... From looks to skills to personality. My point is elder scrolls offers such an open world, Mario hasn't really moved on since 64... You're still saving an Italian plumber saving an ungrateful Peach from a spiky tortoise by jumping on or over stuff.

Elder scrolls still has you saving the world constantly but the big bad is different, the main story is different, side quests are different... They all boil down to go here, kill and maybe bring back a trinket but the story drives it. Mario has save the princess that's in another castle, not this castle either.... Not this one either.

The scope of games has massively increased but Nintendo is making 64 bit games.

Elder Scrolls? You mean the game series that continues to make it's "ocean" shallower every iteration of it? I agree with you except it is a poor example. The game that has combat no matter what role you do, consist of whack a mole? While Mario shtick might be platforming, at least it is actually good at it. I would agree with you in that Nintendo does rely on it's staple IP's a little to much but what company doesn't when it still makes then money. It's not like we see the industry short of indie developers actually innovating.

 

[Dragonbums]

I'm not sure how Nintendo keep going to be honest, I've only ever wanted 2 Nintendo products. A Gameboy and a version of pokemon red/blue. They keep dragging out the same dead ponies, pokemon, Mario, metriod, zelda etc but the 80's and 90's kids go fucking wild for them every time... Will be a sad time for Nintendo when that generation dies off.

I just can't see them pulling in new audiences with games from there grandparents generation, today's kids aren't going mad for the modern version of pong aka tennis games. Infants might play Mario as babies first game but I doubt it will last, why play a 2D side scroller when the elder scrolls 10 is out?

The assumption that Nintendo's only fanbase are 30 year olds on nostalgia googles are baffling.

Especially when a large number of critics against Nintendo are in that very age group.

There is also a pretty good chance that a good chunk of children do not know what the Elder Scrolls is. The most they probably know about it is Skyrim.

 

[Colt47]

snip

Skyrim bored you so all elder scrolls will now bore you?

Anyway, that wasn't my point, my point was that Mario (3D or not) is still just a platformer with very basic game play. Elder scrolls games are huge living world's with shed loads going on, loads to immerse yourself in and be who you want... From looks to skills to personality. My point is elder scrolls offers such an open world, Mario hasn't really moved on since 64... You're still saving an Italian plumber saving an ungrateful Peach from a spiky tortoise by jumping on or over stuff.

Elder scrolls still has you saving the world constantly but the big bad is different, the main story is different, side quests are different... They all boil down to go here, kill and maybe bring back a trinket but the story drives it. Mario has save the princess that's in another castle, not this castle either.... Not this one either.

The scope of games has massively increased but Nintendo is making 64 bit games.

Elder Scrolls? You mean the game series that continues to make it's "ocean" shallower every iteration of it? I agree with you except it is a poor example. The game that has combat no matter what role you do, consist of whack a mole? While Mario shtick might be platforming, at least it is actually good at it. I would agree with you in that Nintendo does rely on it's staple IP's a little to much but what company doesn't when it still makes then money. It's not like we see the industry short of indie developers actually innovating.

Elder Scrolls is a Fantasy Adventure game so complaining about combat being existent no matter what role one does is sort of like spiting the sky for being blue. The only true fact in your statement is that they had to make the game simpler in order for it to work well with a console controller, as they have only 12 or 13 input buttons compared to 87 - 104 inputs on a keyboard. Unless a game is more like an old fashion turn based game, or has the ability to pause to access a menu of options (Damn, I miss Hybrid Haven on N64), they have to simplify the game systems in order to incorporate a controller interface. Also, I did go back and play the previous elder scrolls games and Skyrim still handles the best out of the box.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

Elder Scrolls is a Fantasy Adventure game so complaining about combat being existent no matter what role one does is sort of like spiting the sky for being blue. The only true fact in your statement is that they had to make the game simpler in order for it to work well with a console controller, as they have only 12 or 13 input buttons compared to 87 - 104 inputs on a keyboard. Unless a game is more like an old fashion turn based game, or has the ability to pause to access a menu of options (Damn, I miss Hybrid Haven on N64), they have to simplify the game systems in order to incorporate a controller interface. Also, I did go back and play the previous elder scrolls games and Skyrim still handles the best out of the box.

It's not the problem of it having combat, if anything, that is a good thing, I just mean the fact the the combat hasn't gotten any deeper since Daggerfall(except even worse cause of less options) in that you run up to enemies and mash the attack button. It's not like it doesn't happen to have many games it could rip off, Chivalry, Mount and Blade, War of Roses. Considering that most quests lead you to collect something which leads to battles or it outright asks you to kill something, I would consider that a problem.

I just think it is silly that looking new is more important than playing new, that new ip's that play exactly the same as old ones is considered in higher regard than games that actually play new. Mario is still king in his genre taking it to new places. Using Elder Scrolls as a sign of Nintendo's stagnation is outright silly.

And dear god, I thought I was the only one who cared about Hybrid Heaven for the 64! XD

 

[Colt47]

Elder Scrolls is a Fantasy Adventure game so complaining about combat being existent no matter what role one does is sort of like spiting the sky for being blue. The only true fact in your statement is that they had to make the game simpler in order for it to work well with a console controller, as they have only 12 or 13 input buttons compared to 87 - 104 inputs on a keyboard. Unless a game is more like an old fashion turn based game, or has the ability to pause to access a menu of options (Damn, I miss Hybrid Haven on N64), they have to simplify the game systems in order to incorporate a controller interface. Also, I did go back and play the previous elder scrolls games and Skyrim still handles the best out of the box.

It's not the problem of it having combat, if anything, that is a good thing, I just mean the fact the the combat hasn't gotten any deeper since Daggerfall(except even worse cause of less options) in that you run up to enemies and mash the attack button. It's not like it doesn't happen to have many games it could rip off, Chivalry, Mount and Blade, War of Roses. Considering that most quests lead you to collect something which leads to battles or it outright asks you to kill something, I would consider that a problem.

I just think it is silly that looking new is more important than playing new, that new ip's that play exactly the same as old ones is considered in higher regard than games that actually play new. Mario is still king in his genre taking it to new places. Using Elder Scrolls as a sign of Nintendo's stagnation is outright silly.

And dear god, I thought I was the only one who cared about Hybrid Heaven for the 64! XD

I know, Hybrid Heaven seems to have gone to the same place that Beyond Good and Evil did... only without the HD remake to keep it going. =(

 

[Saelune]

I have no doubts Nintendo will be around for a long time to come. Ofcourse I also acknowledge that Nintendo is a GAMING company who actually cares vs Sony or Microsoft who second as gaming companies. Plus Japan. People who discredit Nintendo only think State side usually, and forget Nintendo is stronger on the east side.

Another strength of Nintendo is their ability to not flip out. They have issues or bad idea, they recover, partially due to not acting like its the end of the world (as opposed to Microsoft's butthurt response to Xbox One hate prior to their change)

People need to realize that not making jillions of dollars doesn't mean you are failing. People need to stop thinking like Activision.

 

[Lunar Templar]

I'm not sure how Nintendo keep going to be honest, I've only ever wanted 2 Nintendo products. A Gameboy and a version of pokemon red/blue. They keep dragging out the same dead ponies, pokemon, Mario, metriod, zelda etc but the 80's and 90's kids go fucking wild for them every time... Will be a sad time for Nintendo when that generation dies off.

I just can't see them pulling in new audiences with games from there grandparents generation, today's kids aren't going mad for the modern version of pong aka tennis games. Infants might play Mario as babies first game but I doubt it will last, why play a 2D side scroller when the elder scrolls 10 is out?

1) 2D side scrollers are better then any TSE game.

2) TSE only continues to matter because of the mod community, NOT the vanilla game

3) Nintendo's fan base is a lot wider then JUST 'generation NES'

4) Had to laugh when you brought up Metroid. Since I'm pretty sure we won't be seeing another one for a long time considering the massive backlash against Other M, I'd wager at least 6+ years before the next one. IF we get one at all :/

5) I kinda hate the 3D LoZ games just sayin (The fact it's basically just been LttP over an over again doesn't help ether)

6) Mario is kinda boring to

7) Pokemon is still fun though

semi silly list a side, yeah, Nintendo's got more then just 'Gen NES' lining their pockets, actual kids play the systems, and well, every age group from what I understand. Why do you think the Wii sold like it did? you really think that was JUST the 30 somethings like me? MAYBE if it had the same fail rate the 360 had/has/??, but then it would have exploded sales wise like it did, and would have gotten a hell of a lot more back lash and a fix a fuck of a lot sooner then the 360 crowd did. Assuming they actually DID get a fix >.> I'm kind a fuzzy on that.

 

[omega 616]

snip

It's not about tes, it's about the scale of what games can be... Would you rather me say planet side 2? Infamous? Prototype? Gta? Far cry? My point is games are able to be huge world's with shit loads in them and loads to do.

The only games I see that have that ability in Nintendo's house are pokemon and zelda but they keep pumping out hand held versions of pokemon and zelda. Imagine a pokemon game like far cry 3... Long grass and caves all over a huge open island, little settlements dotted around for poke-centre's and shops. How cool would that be on a console like the ps4 or even better pc? I think that would be a wicked game! Instead they release a game with content cut out of it so they can make two versions of the same game and they do it on a handheld.

They stick to this jrpg style of turn based combat taking place in instances... A trainer spots you, waddles over, the screen fades to an mmo style instance, spouts some trash talk, a duel takes place, more chatting, pop out of the instance and off you go. BORING!

I can't really comment on zelda as I have never really played it but I think if was a little more like diablo or torchlight it could be an awesome game as well.

Nice declaration though, all 2D side scrollers are better than tes! FACT! Keep telling yourself that....