| Soundwave said:
- Iwata after being groomed since about 1999/2000 takes over as Nintendo president officially in May 2002. |
http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=224 April 16, 2001
One year before the takeover Iwata was not talked about as a successor, in fact he was not talked about at all.
"While Yamauchi does not intend to announce his successor until next year at the earliest, there are a couple of possible contenders for his position. One of them is Atusho Asada, the former vice president of Sharp and now NCL's executive vice president. Another candidate is Yamauchi's right-hand man Hiroshi Imanishi, though Imanishi himself admits he is better to serve the president."
"Minoru Arakawa, the president of Nintendo of America, is another likely successor."
"Katsuhito Yamauchi, the son of the NCL chairman, had entered Nintendo in Canada, but lasted only a year, mainly because of language barriers and limited experience in the business. When it didn't work out, Arakawa helped him form a company in Vancouver that would sell Nintendo products. He has since joined his father's company and recently worked on the Pokmon movies as an associate producer. Now in his early forties, Katsuhito Yamauchi should have the sufficient experience to assume his father's hot seat."
EDIT: More historical sites - First DICE Summit February 28 - March 1, 2002. http://www.dicesummit.org/dice_summits/2002-dice-archive.asp
Speakers: Satoru Iwata (Director & General Manager of Corporate Planning), Shigeru Miyamoto (Did not even need a title), Jason Rubin, Larry Probst, Cliff Bleszinski, Mark Cerny.
