Hopefully this opens some eyes and minds at Nintendo HQ. Splatoon success is the best thing that could have happened for those who want some diversity and I would love to see it overshadow some Mario titles. Fans WILL try quality games even if they don't have a big franchise name on the box, as long as you let them know the game exists and that you have all the faith in the world in it.

Is anyone else concerned with the language always used???
I can't put my finger on it exactly, but there's something about what he said that I don't like...

Wouldn't this indicate the opposite, if he felt that way yet still okayed the risk of a large marketing campaign?

Maybe... but he still needs to be fired. 

i didn't expect 1 million in a month

I expected it to sell over a million in a month. The only thing I wasn't expecting was the price difference in regions. I didn't think that it would sell so well in Japan. That is really the pleasant surprise.

Nobody could have realistically expected a new IP to sell so well.

The Playstation team were shocked and unsure why PS4s were selling. Should they be fired too? x )

Really? He didn't expect Splatoon to sell well despite marketing it like a Mario Kart game?

Iwata is out of touch. But we already knew that. I wonder how many great games have been cancelled prior to release because senior management didn't 'get' them.