My thing with Iwata is he needs to push the company in new directions.
The 90s saw Nintendo bring Star Fox (3D gaming), Mario 64 (real 3D gaming), Pokemon, GoldenEye (console multiplayer FPS), Super Mario Kart (mascot racing), Super Smash Bros., DKC, Pilotwings, F-Zero ... these all brought new things to the table and in many cases created new genres/subgenres.
The 2000s saw Pikmin, Perfect Dark, but then a move into things like Nintendogs, Brain Training, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc. which obviously were game changers for the industry.
So far this decade (2010 onwards) I'm not seeing the same inclination of new ideas coming from Nintendo any more, which is very dangerous IMO.
A Nintendo that just iterates on past ideas, even they do a great job of it, is going to run into a lot of trouble.
Iwata had tremendous success from 2004-2010 or so, I don't think anyone denies that, but as the electronics world has changed, it's clear Iwata and company haven't been able to keep pace.
When the DS launched Facebook was nothing, there was no iPhone, no iPad, no Android, most households didn't have an HDTV, there was no "casual gaming market" at all. Think of it as a tropical paradise with no one else on the island ... Nintendo was free to carve out their own space. But now the island is full of people that have pushed Nintendo out of their comfort zone, this is where Iwata has to show his chops as a leader. Because Nintendo right now desperately needs a new direction.
