if it was up to me I'd get rid of him

By who's standards? And once again you completely ignore the 3DS's performance.

He is capable of rejuvnating a console (ala 3DS) and his track record is superb. He certainly deserves (and should be given) the benefit of the doubt.  Once again the confirmation bias is hilarious.

By a stockholder's standards perhaps? Would you be happy if you invested in a stock that had lost 80% of its value in 5 years time?

The 3DS honestly is only selling "great" in Japan, the numbers in North America and Europe even by Iwata's own admission have been so-so and a sharp decline in those markets from the previous cycle or even the GBA launch alligned. 

The decline from the Wii to Wii U is so stunning it would seem unbelievable a few years ago that Nintendo would struggle so badly it would make the GameCube days seem quaint by comparision and veer into that ugly Sega Saturn/Dreamcast levels of sales. 

Blackberry's management looked like genius' circa 2007 too ... now not so much. Just because you have success in a mangerial role for a certain period of time doesn't mean you're gaurunteed to be a good president indefinitely. These things can turn ugly very fast. 

The world of consumer electronics from 2003-2008 when Iwata really led Nintendo to huge success in that blue ocean market is very different to today where HDTV, smartphones, tablets, social networking, have changed the world. 

*Wii and DS sell over 250 million combined*

-now is what matters, not then!

*3DS is topping the charts*

-but it had a disastrous launch!

Seriously, you may not like the man which is valid, since it's your opinion. However, you have to admit he is the most successful out of all the current CEO's in the industry. He is definitely Nintendo's most successful CEO. I mean sure I don't like that everything moves at a snail's pace with the Wii U but some of you really have some knee jerk reactions. 

And I think everyone will be very surprised how unspectacularly these two systems will eventually do on the market. There are too many devices!

As I mentioned above the 3DS is not hitting sales expectations. And he certainly doesn't deserve credit for rectifying a disaster he caused in the first place.

His track record is not superb. Gamecube was a disaster and the later years of the Wii was a disappointment. The company has had a few poor financial quarters in a row saved only by very favourable economic conditions.

As for whose standards we judge him by? That's a good question. As a gamer I think Nintendo's output has declined in quality in recent years. As a shareholder I'd feel appalled at the loss of value of Nintendo shares. As a Nintendo fan I don't like to see the company lose relevancy in the gaming market.

I really think you should read that Emily Rogers article I posted earlier. She is a very fair writer and a Nintendo fan like us. I too like Iwata, but he's not good at his job, and you can't carry someone who is meant to be leading the team.

1. Nintendo as a company is financially responsible,  people make out that Iwata is driving Nintendo to the ground, so the company is not in some dire position like Sony - no debt and huge reserves, the operating loss is still no good and it is something they should work on. The company is being run relatively responsibly

2. That was a while ago from my recollection, it was around the same time Pokemon X&Y was announced - not exactly a reflection of today's situation. Like you said before what has he done now. * Looks at 3DS* Selling extremely well in all regions

3. I agree, they fucked up the Wii U launch, but calling for his head before they are given a chance to save the console is unfair. It may not do well as the Wii, but the Wii U should be given a chance to prove itself and Nintendo has shown a capacity of resilience being able to prove naysayers wrong for so many years

4. True, but there is no correlation to Blackberry because Nintendo is still Very relevant (arguable still the biggest software and hardware company in the industry)  it's software is still selling well and its hardware is do well  (mainly refering to the 3ds)

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. 

If a new president takes over everything will magically work out fine for WiiU and the games in development will suddenly be finished and released so yeah out with Iwata and in with somebody new!

I can go on, but its so late here. Should we agree that we disagree in opinions? I hate for it to go to a flame ware - not really worth it. LMFAO