| Mr Khan said: I have to go with Aye. Flawed though he may be, there's really no-one to replace him. As i've said again and again, you'd either get a developer who would pursue esoteric gaming projects at the expense of business sense, or a "suit" who would focus-test everything to death. |
I can't argue with that. Since Yoshida took over at World Wide Studios, they've had a herd of failures but have also had a great deal of critical and commercial success. That's a hell of a lot better than the corporate Sony of old.
I see this same kind of thing in sports a lot and it really puzzles me. Fans will yell and scream to get rid of a good-but-not-great player or coach, which is fine and dandy, but they usually fail to mention a way to get a better replacement. Do they really want the backup as the starter? Do they think an elite player is just hanging around waiting for a phone call? The question isn't just about Iwata, it's also about a superior alternative being ready to take over. Do we really know if that's the case? I certainly don't see Nintendo launching one of these big searches for the next rising-star CEO of the corporate world.
Now, that being said, there are a lot of problems that Iwata and Nintendo need to address. The Wii follow-up really, honestly should have done better than it has. Nintendo has made improvements in some areas but they still cling to out-dated policies and models in other areas. I think Iwata should probably be given a chance to fix the Wii U situation. However, if it looks like the next hardware cycle is going to follow the same path then he should probably be given a retirement party.
