"Every generation"

"Every single generation"

Disregarding the fact that Iwata has only been President for the launch of two generations, the only time this has ever been an issue was the most recent gen. So in no way has it been "every single generation." Only "this generation."

Anyway, I would much rather have Iwata, a former developer who actually knows games, in charge than some bigwig corporate executive who doesn't know anything about his own company's product.

Nintendo pushing western development is what gave us Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong Countrey, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Metroid Prime, etc.

I like what Mr Khan said about Nintendo´s apparent lack of desire to really build their capacity.

I don´t think it´s unreasonable to say that, while Bayonetta 2 and Fire Emblem X SMT are something, soooooo much more could have been done while they could/can take advantage of the huge war chest the Wii and DS gave them.

Another thing that truly gets in the way is they often have to focus on one platform at the expense of the other, especially nowadays with 3DS games that are far more complex and time consuming than DS and Gameboy games ever were.

So, a hybrid home console/handheld might be the best thing they´ll have to fight the dreaded droughts we´ve been seeing since the N64.

Yes, but the industry was incredibly different back then. Companies spent less money developing the games and things tended to be more about the experience rather than retina burning graphics. It was a lower risk situation overall. With the way development costs have skyrocketed and gamers have become more complaicent and fickle, going for large budget western titles isn't that viable of a plan. Kingdoms of Amalur went for a western RPG route, had a large budget and there seemed to be fairly decent hype for it.....but the game bombed, causing the development studio to shut down.

Whatever Retro is working on now will most certainly be "western" (and it is rumored to be stunning), but that doesn't mean Nintendo is going to have their studios pump out games to compete along side CoD, Uncharted, Halo, inFamous etc. That isn't where their strength lies and it's the same reason we don't see Sony make "Nintendo-style" games that much anymore. When they do, they don't advertise them hardly at all and the games don't sell as well as they'd hope. The risk is too high considering the ridiculous amount of competition there is for those types of games now.

Instead of blaming Iwata though, we have to look at NoA. Before there was Reggie,  there was Howard Lincoln. The man was a tough s.o.b. who really pushed with western developers to get them on Nintendo's platforms...and he was only the Chairman of NoA. Same author as the OP: http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2013/03/14/howard-lincoln-kicking-ass-before-reggie-came-along/

Reggie is a great guy and everything, but one has to wonder what he has actually done.  At E3 '04 he said, "My name is Reggie. I'm about kickin' ass, I'm about takin' names, and we're about makin' games." But since he took over in '06....what exactly has he brought to the table on the western front? Gamers had to BEG NoA to release Pandora's Tower, The Last Story, and Xenoblade Chronicles in NA. NoJ published those games in Japan, but under Reggie....there had to be a protest to even get a separate publisher. 

Other than that, I really just don't know what Reggie has done for Nintendo and the industry. I'm not saying he should be fired, but it definitely bears looking into rather than Iwata, seeing as Japan is still Nintendo's bread and butter.

The industry might be different, but not the needs of people that buy Nintendo platforms. Sony's investments are another thing. According to Glass Door, company culture and management seems pretty poor in those studios. Nintendo would of course want to build studios from the ground up, and make sure they have good work ethics and structure.

Also, since they would fill a void on Nintendo platfors, there would be less risk.

How on Earth could he be blamed for the GameCube? He only became president halfway through its life cycle, at which point it was pretty much too late for anyone to turn it around. You could certainly make the case that he flubbed the Wii U launch and the back end of the Wii's lifecycle, but GameCube cannot be blamed on Iwata whatsoever.

First of all, I agree wholeheartedly about Nintendo needing to "colonize" more in western game development. Second, I read that article on Lincoln, and boy did I learn something today. Lincoln has more asswhipping ability in his toenail shavings than Reggie's entire body.

There is nothing wrong with Iwata as being president and CEO of Nintendo. He managed the DS/Wii very well and the GameCube was never something he started, he just came into position when it was already out. The 3DS has recovered immensely and the Wii U's problems have only be around for mere months, despite them being quite large problems.

The Wii U can be turned around and it can be turned around without anyone new in Iwata's seat. Nintendo, as a company, need to take this upon themselves. You can not just blame Iwata, who is one man. You must blame the structure of Nintendo as a whole. (Which all they really need to do is hire more. Doing this would increase the output rate, which is where the problem lies.)

This is untrue, he officially became president in 2002, which was the first full year of the GameCube on the market, but he was already working heavily on the console before that. Yamauchi honestly started to step back by about 2000. 

I don't think Iwata should be fired. But there needs to be big changes and Nintendo needs to understand they are on a slippery slope that's going to lead them to a really, really bad spot if they do not start making changes now. 

The buck stops at Iwata's desk and the fact is he and his board of directors have grossly mismanaged both the 3DS and Wii U launches, destroyed almost all of their brand momenteum from 3-4 years ago, lead Nintendo to its first fiscal loss in history, and have absolutely tanked the company's stock price from a high of about $78/share to $13/share today in like 4 years time. 

They got lazy and complacent with the success of the Wii and DS and now are getting their clock cleaned as the casual demographic has abandoned them. Thankfully for the 3DS they have managed to regain a position of strength in Japan, but the platform is not really putting up big numbers in the West, which is troublesome as well. Wii U is simply a disaster in every market right now. 

What I suggest: Iwata stays on. But the board of directors should be shaken up. Too many old fart Japanese suits on the board trying to dictate to a youth driven market is a big problem. Almost everyone on Nintendo's board is like in their late 50s/early 60s. They are out of touch, there is simply no question about it. 

Iwata and his board of directors also made a mistake of neutering Nintendo of America so that they have no real power. Yamauchi was smart enough to delegate to Howard Lincoln and Minoru Arakawa because he knew the Western market was different. That led to Nintendo's investments in Rare, Factor 5, Silicon Knights, the founding of Retro Studios, etc. etc. which led to games like GoldenEye, Donkey Kong Country, Eternal Darkness, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, etc. 

It's time for Nintendo to hire someone who is smart, savvy, and understands the Western market and isn't a product of the Japanese side's group think. And Iwata needs to delegate and give that person (or persons) some actual power. 

Nintendo made my first console (NES) and I've had every console they've made and loved them all until this current generation! Though Wii gave me the jitters.

However first there was the 3DS fiasco (I got one pre price drop... I feel mega burned by it) but I turned a blind eye because they "learned their lesson" and got a Wii U on launch because Zombi U and Nintendo Land looked awesome and NSMB U was a milestone in that it was a HD Mario. Pikmin was my favourite game on GameCube, and that was also a launch window title along with Rayman Legends... yeah it was looking great.

Turned out I paid £300 for a system I've not even racked up 10 hours on yet with a pad that is IMO utterly horrendous. Big, clunky with a poor display. Add on the awful artifacts which occur in the wireless broadcast to it and it's all just bleh.

I really think Nintendo have dropped a massive clanger with Wii U. I hope they can turn it around, but I'm so sour to the system right now that it's going to take some PS3 style loving to bring me round.

To be honest... HD 3D Mario and stuff like Pikmin 3 will probably redeem it all. But this is the last Nintendo console I buy on launch for a while.