He is better in some ways and worse in others. One area that Iwata was better was in PR. He was likeable and personable. He felt like a family member, even if you weren't Japanese. His joy for the industry came across with every direct, and you could tell he cared about things other than stock value (probably because he was a designer before becoming a CEO).

But my personal favorite will always be Yamauchi. The man simply knew what he was doing, at least in the 80's. He was not a gamer, never designed or coded anything, was pretty old when the video game industry took off, yet his instincts for what people liked during that decade were almost Jedi-level. Nothing got approved without his saying so. So Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, DKC... it was just him up there, going on instinct, and those instincts were good enough to spawn an empire. To me, he's the Walt Disney of gaming. True genius.

Yamauchi chased after the strongest tech until Yokoi convinced him otherwise following his passing, at which point the Blue Ocean strategy of Yamauchi was what decided who would appointed as his successor.

Iwata just so happened to be that guy. And while he did merely inherit the DS, Iwata (alongside Miyamoto) was (were) heavily responsible for the creation of the Wii. Wii U and 3DS were other of his innovations as well as Nintendo Switch— two systems with a pack-in accessory marketed as an innovation, and one which was a genuine step forward for the industry.

Switch 2 is far more innovative than Wii U ever was. A pack-in touchscreen is not as innovative as, say, rumble controls which are so advanced that you no longer need speakers in the controller nor the ability to detach your Joy Con 2 controllers and use them as a mouse. Wii U was simply a bump in power, and it cost Nintendo big; Switch 2, while also mostly just a bump in power, is focused on software first, graphics second. Simply look at games such as MTFever and Pokopia— nothing jaw-droppingly advanced, but they’re such fun to play.

Additionally, you claim Furukawa is interested in DLC and expansion of revenue in subscription services… but was it not Iwata who shoehorned in DLC on titles such as NSMB2, NSMBWiiU, Smash Bros, alongside the introduction of )and heavy reliance upon) amiibo, mobile apps, etc? And since when did a fixed $20USD annual subscription indicate that Furukawa must be interested in subscription-based services for generating revenue?

Lastly, a correction: Furukawa’s focus has been on reviving long-dormant IP and or subseries, not creating new. So Famicon Detective Club, Star Fox, Endless Ocean, 2D Metroid, 2D Mario, 3D Donkey Kong, and so forth. Meanwhile Iwata would heavily lean on single series like NSMB, Mario Sports, Wii series, Captain Toad, etc.

I’m quite liking how the Switch 2 software seems to be shaping up, and the hardware is solid too. Considering that a Switch 2 was the only logical choice for them now, I think Furukawa is the right man for the job. But Iwata might have been the right man back when the Gamecube and Wii U failed and they needed to come up with something new.

What new IPs has the Switch 2 brought exactly?

See comment above you. Also edited that comment you’ve quoted.

Well I think Iwata laid a lot of the groundwork for Furukawa. Just like Yamauchi did for Iwata. Thats why I vote for Yamauchi in the poll. He is the one that got Nintendo into the video game industry to begin with.

Honestly, I may be swayed into believing Furukawa to be Nintendo’s best. However Nintendo did take some bad turns under his leadership— if Yokoi’s WonderSwan had actually been released prior to his death, for instance, we could have seen Nintendo beaten in both handheld and home console markets by once-business-partners whom they stabbed-in-the-back.

They stabbed him in the back? Didnt he leave by his own accord?

He was shamed into quitting. Nintendo was old fashioned back then. After the failure of Virtual Boy he was basically sent to a corner. They treated him pretty badly. What they used to do instead of firing you or something. 

Furukawa, with his background in financials, is a more shrewd businessman.

Iwata though as a developer had more insight in games themselves, I feel, and was better at communicating and relating to customers.