And then there's the fact that, even accounting for 3DS and Wii U losses, Iwata has probably earned more money selling video games than any other executive in history…

You don't ship your prize race horse off to the glue factory after one bad season.

Their practices are stuck in the past but Iwata's strengths more then make up for them.

That's pretty funny. I did not know that.

For the record, I like Iwata.

The "tone" noted by the first reply is in response to posts like this, frankly. Criticize Nintendo all you want, but solutions need to be realistic. I'm not one of the zealous Wii U defenders around here, but real solutions don't come from wishful thinking.

This means that, even if Iwata were to be forced out, this would only be a symbolic gesture, nothing more. Nothing would change, at least in terms of the leadership style or corporate culture at Nintendo.

and this is the biggest issue of all. iwata's method of running the business just isnt working. they need a drastic change, new blood and new ideas.

Basically.

But this is, again, true to Japanese corporate culture. "Yes men" is seen as a bad thing in Western civilization, but in Japan, respect for the hierarchy is paramount.

This is obviously not a good thing in itself, but it is not a bad thing either. This gives Japanese corporate culture a sense of consensus and continuity, so that the companies are not plagued by infighting like too many Western companies often are (sometimes western companies encourage such infighting: see the social experiment that is Sears' corporate structure, and see where that's gotten them), but also, obviously, makes them very slow to respond or to effect cultural shifts.

Since when was the 3DS a failure?  It may not be up to par with where they want it to be, but the 3DS has sold quite a large number of hardware units already.

The point is that *they* would need to come to the realization that they need new blood, because there's no-one in any position to "force" anything or fight about it.

And once you've reached said realization, you're already at the point where  you can effect change itself.

Major personnel turnover simply isn't going to happen, though that does not mean that major strategic change is impossible, just that it must come from someone listed in the image in the OP

The solution is pretty simple; quit making hardware no one really wants. There's clearly only room for 2 competing consoles as early sales have shown.

Without third party support there is absolutely no reason to buy any Nintendo console. The average consumer can't afford to buy a PS4 and a Wii U just to be able to play Nintendo games.

@Bold:  I don't think it's right to assume that something is broken or not working at all and everything needs to be replaced due to some down times.  There are a number of reasons it could be like that, and it also assumes that how things currently are wont change without everyone leaving.

Maybe things aren't being done right, but all businesses have their low points and have hurdles to overcome.  Just because Nintendo's going through one right now doesn't have to mean that their entire structure needs to be redone.