Nintendo CEO Taking Huge Pay Reduction Due to the Wii U

[VG_Addict]

An investors' briefing will happen tomorrow.

 

[Alex Co]

Didn't the same thing happen a few years ago?

The pay cut isn't a big deal to these fellow's who have already made a shit ton of money in the past. Their lifestyles are not going to change a bit :\

Which is exactly why it makes perfect sense to cut their pay. In America they would lay off 300 people and give the CEO a bonus.

Exactly And don't forget, Japanese CEOs don't earn anywhere near as much as their Western counterparts. I applaud Iwata and the board for doing this. He did this before with the 3DS and it turned out well in the long run. Hopefully, the Wii U or the company's next console will fare better.

If Nintendo can nail a good supply of third-party software, they'd be unstoppable.

 

[Adam Locking]

For me the most interesting detail is that the average WiiU owner has bought 6.6 games, I don't think I could even count that many worthwhile games for it just yet (says the person holding out for Bayonetta 2).

xbox is a trojan horse to peddle the rest of Microsoft's steaming turd pies hand made by Steve Ballmer.

Just wanted to say that's one of the funniest sentences I've seen in a long while.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Wow, those Nintendo execs are pretty cool. They're taking a hit instead of laying employees off/cutting employee wages. It's nice to see some decent people running a big business.

That's Japanese culture for you. Back in old timey times, they'd probably be expected to commit seppuku over something like this.

I can think of a few American CEOs who I wish would be forced to gut themselves on a katana.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Good on Iwata and those other execs for doing the right and noble thing for their company, rather than doing it the cruddy American way by firing those below you, killing the company but also taking that pay rise/cut.

And it seems yet again that this isn't a Nintendo article without those putting up points as to why Ninty should go 3rd party or only on PC =/, really wish those people would just accept that Nintendo would rather die than go third party or just PC, you don't don't want to buy their console, thems the breaks.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

What? I thought they were rolling in dough even IF the Wii U wasn't selling. I mean, you got it's massive hold on the handheld market and the past record-breaking sales of the Wii. You'd think after all that, they wouldn't have to cut anything. At least not yet anyway.

 

[Salad Is Murder]

Wow, those Nintendo execs are pretty cool. They're taking a hit instead of laying employees off/cutting employee wages. It's nice to see some decent people running a big business.

That's Japanese culture for you. Back in old timey times, they'd probably be expected to commit seppuku over something like this.

I can think of a few American CEOs who I wish would be forced to gut themselves on a katana.

I don't think this should necessarily be considered a good thing. If his leadership is consistently a problem in the company's ability to profit, then it doesn't really matter how much he cuts his salary (especially if, like some of you claim, is not as much as it could be); he could be working for free and still be running the company into the ground.

Also, some things to think about is that there are different laws for companies and corporations the world over. In the United States there are some instances where CEOs (and other corporate officers) are not legally allowed to take certain actions that may be beneficial because of said laws.

 

[MrMixelPixel]

I guess I'm just happy to hear that there aren't gonna be massive lay offs? That's nice?

As long as Nintendo stays in business long enough for Smash Bros to come out... I'll be satisfied.

(I know Nintendo is going out of business anytime soon. Stop yelling at me.)

NOPE; this news just show that Nintendo will survive, i love their strategy; instead of massive lay offs the directors are taking the blame, they are not being hypocritical like America companies would.
Also the money reserves they have are so big that they could resist 5 Wii U disasters. No kidding

Sir or Ma'am! I deserve to be quoted because I had silly typo. I meant to say (I know Nintendo isn't* going out of business)

Sorry for the confusion. Yeah, it's good to see they gonna be staying strong.

 

[Quantum Star]

Could someone please tell me exactly how Nintendo could make more money going third party than they can on first party?

The reasoning is that Nintendo makes great games but sadly you have to buy a whole new console just to play them. There are a lot of people out there who grew up playing Nintendo games on their SNES or NES or whatever who would love to be playing these new Nintendo titles but they aren't because the games don't justify buying an entire new console to play. If Nintendo made their games available on the PS4 and Xbox One then they would likely sell far and away more copies of their games. Likely enough to make up for whatever is being lost by no longer having money coming in from hardware sales.

Guess what? That's called exclusivity, and it's console manufacturers big pull to get you to choose their box over a competitors. It would be nice if every game we wanted to play was all in the same box, but that's just how business in this industry is.
Its funny though how this idea of going 3rd party only applies to Nintendo now. Have you ever seen a dedicated Microsoft fan say, "I wish Infamous would come to Xbox, since I can't play it because I don't want to buy a PS3. Sucker Punch should go 3rd party." or, "Why can't I play Halo on my PS3? It's not fair I have to buy an Xbox, Bungie would sell way more copies if it was on PS3."
Everyone seems to respect that Microsoft and Sony have their own exclusive franchises, but they don't have the same feeling for Nintendo. I'm reminded of the Bayonetta 2 reveal when everyone shat on Nintendo for having the gall to have an exclusive game that they wanted to play. Isn't that a big reason for why you buy a console? I guess not, unless it's Sony or Microsoft doing it.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Could someone please tell me exactly how Nintendo could make more money going third party than they can on first party?

The reasoning is that Nintendo makes great games but sadly you have to buy a whole new console just to play them. There are a lot of people out there who grew up playing Nintendo games on their SNES or NES or whatever who would love to be playing these new Nintendo titles but they aren't because the games don't justify buying an entire new console to play. If Nintendo made their games available on the PS4 and Xbox One then they would likely sell far and away more copies of their games. Likely enough to make up for whatever is being lost by no longer having money coming in from hardware sales.

Guess what? That's called exclusivity, and it's console manufacturers big pull to get you to choose their box over a competitors. It would be nice if every game we wanted to play was all in the same box, but that's just how business in this industry is.
Its funny though how this idea of going 3rd party only applies to Nintendo now. Have you ever seen a dedicated Microsoft fan say, "I wish Infamous would come to Xbox, since I can't play it because I don't want to buy a PS3. Sucker Punch should go 3rd party." or, "Why can't I play Halo on my PS3? It's not fair I have to buy an Xbox, Bungie would sell way more copies if it was on PS3."
Everyone seems to respect that Microsoft and Sony have their own exclusive franchises, but they don't have the same feeling for Nintendo. I'm reminded of the Bayonetta 2 reveal when everyone shat on Nintendo for having the gall to have an exclusive game that they wanted to play. Isn't that a big reason for why you buy a console? I guess not, unless it's Sony or Microsoft doing it.

It's because these people love to put themselves in that situation of "oh I have no money" or "why should I just for one game?", they can save up for it like normal people do for a start, the second is what I always see people pulling the first time, if it's truly just one game out of an entire collection then you're doing doing a good job at being interested in the first place to limit yourself to just one game.

Then there's those that are way to relaxed in an environment where they can make demands where they want things they want to come to them, thats not how this industry works or any other, mobile phones do different deals and the like, cars, other electronics etc, these people seem to think it's just the games industry that are special in the exclusive realm, as if the term "exclusivity" was born the moment gaming was, it wasn't and it's been around for such decades if not hundreds of years.

And I'd agree, I've been seeing Nintendo getting this treatment for a while, why not Sony and MS, even so why the hell not PC (not going into that PC doesn't have exclusives bullshit, just a heads up)?.

Fully agree with you on your end though and to be honest seeing Nintendo articles like this throughout the week and hearing some third party chants is getting rather stale and boring, not to mention annoying with a hint of begging behaviour.

 

[Ishal]

I almost feel sorry for Masahiro Sakurai and his team: Nintendo NEEDS Super Smash Bros. to come out asap to boost sales. They must almost literally be breathing down his neck at this point.

Is Super Smash Bros. really going to push sales though? See, I'd imagine all the hardcore Smash fans have already bought a Wii-U for the inevitable Smash entry. They're likely the same people who bought a Wii-U at launch for the next Mario and Zelda. This might be the reason why Super Mario 3D Land didn't push console sales; The people who wanted it (the life long fans) had already bought one in anticipation.

It's not going to push sales, not in any meaningful amount. All the people who are going to buy it already have their Wii U. This whole debacle is marketing's fault. Nintendo can't make a console, then release the next Mario and hope for the best. Those days seem to be over.

 

[O maestre]

Nobody can truly argue with a straight-face that the tech inside the Wii-U is comparable to Sony and Microsoft's offerings. I think dated technology in the machine is the true failing, since one of the main reasons the Wii-U isn't selling is because it has too few games. The reason for that, is because developers have stated that they don't want to develop for a console that is behind the times and making their latest games work on all 3 systems is almost impossible.

Sure you can blame Nintendo's marketing campaign and confusion over exactly what the console is, but without games, it'll never pick up sales. I know I'll probably be slammed for even suggesting this, but I really do think it's time for Nintendo to move away from the console market. Imagine Nintendo PC games and tell me how that would really be such a bad thing.

I can't help but feel that if they rush out another console to try and save face (and profits) and it misses the mark again, it could be the last nail in the coffin. Nobody wants to see that.

If Japan actually joined the club of PC gaming, Nintendo would just switch to that no problem. The PC gaming market would just explode with games, and pretty much gain such prominence that consoles might actually be in trouble.

2/3 of the big 3 are Japanese. If Japan goes PC gaming, so does every japanese company because Japan is all they really care about. Microsoft won't have the xbox and its entire product strategy would be deemed worthless. Nintendo and SOny would take their fanbase to the PC, and destroy the xbox at every turn. Xbox can't compete with both Sony and Nintendo exclusives on a single platform.

xbox is a trojan horse to peddle the rest of Microsoft's steaming turd pies hand made by Steve Ballmer. In fact, they wanted to use the xbox to push the under performing WIndows 8 on people. If xbox can't gain a foothold to peddle the other stuff, then Microsoft's long term investment over the last 20 years would be meaningless. Microsoft would be the laughing stock of the corporate world.

You seem to forget that Microsoft is the main factor in PC gaming, so they win OEM or not. Their lucrative hardware partnerships, like the 20+ years "alliance" with Intel, only recently has Intel been "allowed" to drop some of the exclusive support to Microsoft, which honestly seems more like long term strategy. Then there are the driver royalties that basically every hardware manufacturer is bound to.

point is M$ is an evil that is not going anywhere any time soon

PC gaming is moving to Linux, and gamers won't use windows past windows 7.

So an outdated windows or Linux. The prospects are not good for microsoft. Even Direct X is starting to get replaced by openGL, and knowing Sony and Nintendo they will push for openGL.

Their philosophy is all about ONE OS for all devices. Its a marketing push that PC gaming doesn't want to be a part of. In fact, no one wants to be in Microsoft's walled garden. All windows 8 did was slaughter PC sales, phone saes, and xbox sales. Windows 8 kills everything it touches, and Microsoft aint abandoning Windows 8.

I'll say the move to Linux is at a slow and careful speed, baby steps even. Knowing Microsoft I wouldn't put it past them to trip up a baby and beat it to death with royalties.

Speaking of which, you neglected to address what I wrote about hardware. Intel may have begun to do a little side work in 2013 but they know that M$ is their pimp. Likewise many hardware manufacturer are chained to them.

Unless we get to a point where we are all streaming content and hardware is irrelevant for gaming and otherwise, Microsoft arguably the oldest, mos powerful, most evil and most useful tech company is not going away.

Also windows nine is already gearing up for release for late 2014 or early 2015 to coincide with their new surface line and the Intel tick(tick-tock release schedule).
Windows 8 is like vista, and they dropped that pretty fast after it bombed we can only hope the same will happen with 8.

And walled garden is a stretch to far don't you think? Given the alternatives(apple,Google) windows has broad comparability and coerced cooperation with the major manufacturers. Those anti trust law suits were not for nothing, they really had everyone by the balls.

 

[BeeGeenie]

They're not taking pay cuts "due to the Wii U." They're taking pay cuts because they're class acts with some F-ing integrity... unlike American executives... and politicians for that matter.

Grant them US citizenship and make them eligible to run for elected office. I want Satoru Itawa/Shigeru Miyamoto 2016 to become a thing.

I would vote the heck out of that ticket.

 

[KazeAizen]

I guess I'm just happy to hear that there aren't gonna be massive lay offs? That's nice?

As long as Nintendo stays in business long enough for Smash Bros to come out... I'll be satisfied.

(I know Nintendo is going out of business anytime soon. Stop yelling at me.)

NOPE; this news just show that Nintendo will survive, i love their strategy; instead of massive lay offs the directors are taking the blame, they are not being hypocritical like America companies would.
Also the money reserves they have are so big that they could resist 5 Wii U disasters. No kidding

I believe also when the 3DS was doing bad at first they were faced with laying off employees. Nintendo said no. They didn't want to lay off employees as they saw that could affect team moral. Taking short term losses for long term gain and the respect of their employees. I gained a little faith in humanity back when I saw that. It really hurts me to say this but yeah chances are Microsoft or EA would've just laid off 300 workers before taking pay cuts.

 

[144_v1legacy]

If nothing else, Iwata is a symbol for ethics in business leadership.

I would want this story to reach more media outlets than those it has.

...

EDIT: also, guys, this isn't just because Nintendo is based in Japan. I don't see Sony in this light.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Nintendo should just dump home consoles and focus on their actual strength in making handhelds.

Could then make the same money off their popular franchises re-sold as third party titles for the other consoles.

I mean honestly, if the only reason anyone is buying your consoles is for Super Smash Bro's, Zelda, Mario games etc. then there's seriously no point to even bother making a console.

I wouldn't say selling off their franchises would be a good idea, cause as we all know, we'll just get annual releases of shitty sequel after shitty sequel until the franchise is dead. Nintendo at least has SOME self control. But I kinda agree that they have great strength in their handhelds. Improve on those a bit and we'd see something sweet. Maybe a more powerful 3DS? Or a different handheld in the future that can compete with the Vita in terms of raw power? That'd be fun. Still love the less powerful bugger though. And god dammit, I enjoy the 3D >.>