Rank the Presidents of Nintendo

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TheMisterManGuy said:

curl-6 said:

That's the thing though, Yamauchi failed to adapt to changing circumstances, and as a result his performance suffered with the N64 and Gamecube.

Going from market leader by a mile in the 3rd gen to third place in the 6th gen isn't consistent.

I think Iwata's problem though was his lack of long-term planning, especially noticeable during the later Wii/early Wii U days. He was very much an "in-the-moment" kind of leader, thinking about what Nintendo as a company needs here and now, and less on what it needs in the future.

That kind of leadership is risky because while that leads to bold, on-the-spot products and successes like the DS, Wii, and Switch. A lack of a future-planning can lead to stagnation and aimlessness, as was seen with the last half of the Wii's life and the early days of the 3DS and Wii U. I think what he needed, was somebody to help him create a corporate strategy for the long-term future. For example, those Wii/DS profits should've gone to significantly boosting the resources of EAD and SPD as early as 2007, not 2012 or later.

For what it's worth, Furukawa so far has seemed keen on making sure the company is future proof, something that Iwata kind of struggled with. Utilizing the Nintendo Account for the next system, massive expansions to EPD, focus on small, strategic acquisitions, expansions into multi-media like film and such.

When Iwata came to the company, it was at a time Nintendo needed to react to the existing situation. Gamecube was for survival to stay relevant in the business and with PSP on the way, Nintendo needed to react to the threat it posed to Gameboy line. It might be that 3DS and Wii U were just using the existing strong brands to play time before the next move. 3DS was able to play Vita out of the market, so why not Wii U could do the same in home consoles.