this guy

This is less of a risk than what Sony or MS would have been taking. At least Ninty maintained their youth family demographic, which is in both cases of the new systems, an extension on the Gamecube / N64 design appeal, not to mention games.

It will be truly fascinating to see just what each competitor comes up with to widen their market appeal, baring of course the one or two titles, lbp bk lips, that just won't be enough.

BTW does he still have all his fingers?

Good thing he took the risk.

Off topic - Your new avatar looks badd ass.

Is that man former leader...Hiroshi Yamuchi..Or what it was?

I, too, was scared that Nintendo would die prematurely due to bad sales. But look at them now, king of the mountain. As a fan of any good video game, I give them kudos.

@Kihniö: Yes, that was Hiroshi Yamauchi.

@Pichu pichu, Domriver&Nintendo Fangirl: It would be the board who had fired Iwata.

The board consists of shareholders representators, to who the CEO reports, so CEO can't do really anything that the board haven't accepted, in a way of thinking, you could call CEO being the boards executive organ. And the board is the one that chooses the CEO.

Since DS was Yamauchis idea, i think it's largely because of Yamauchi, that the Wii got approval in the first place.

No. This guy is the primary motive why Iwata was pointed  CEO of Nintendo.

They are two very different man but share the same vision about Nintendo and videogame industry.

 No,no. Iwata isn't really the top of Nintendo. The shareholders/the board is. While these guys do little conserning the company, they could fire the president if a certain % of them agreed to fire him.

If you like football, it's like Abrahimovic. He is the main stock-holder, and can thus fire the manager (who is really what Iwata is), at any time.

I think Yamauchi share the same vision of Iwata. Yamauchi is the (relative) major stokeholder of Nintendo so he protected Iwata.

"I have been saying this for some time, but customers are not interested in grand games with higher-quality graphics and sound and epic stories. Only people who do not know the videogame business would advocate the release of next-generation machines when people are not interested in cutting-edge technologies." Hiroshi Yamauchi, February 2004

"Coincidental to my leaving the company, I would like to make one request: that Nintendo give birth to wholly new ideas and create hardware which reflects that ideal. And make software that adheres to that same standard. Furthermore, this software should attract consumers as new and interesting. Lastly, and of equal importance, is completing these products quickly and at a cost comparable to today's current market. I imagine most people question the feasibility of my request, but Nintendo has always pursued those objectives. I'd ask that the company continue to follow this goal as my final and only request to the new management staff. I can't say what these new types of software will be, but I'm sure they'll release it during my lifetime." Hiroshi Yamauchi, 2002

Long life to the President.