General Nintendo sales/business discussion topic (previously: The Wii U Thread)

[canderson]

Woah, funny how he's the only guy who's approval ratings went up, while everyone else went down.

Miyamoto's approval ratings dropped the most.

[SuperLink]

Seems like it's only a matter of time until the directors within Nintendo get shaken up a bit, unless they can pull off something fantastic within the next few years.

 

It's strange that the shareholders were more mad at Iwata last year than they are now, but he must have done something right for the approval rating to rise back above 80%. I'm sure most people expected it to drop even further.

[Autosaver]

Iwata's ratings went down because people saw how Nintendo's value went down tremendously. There also was very little that Iwata outlined that would let people think it would get better. It looked like a train wreck.

 

Iwata has now outlined a planned for the Wii U and has shown many new titles. The internet has even looked highly positive at the recent E3. Mario Kart 8 + Amiibo also hold a strong future for Nintendo. There's only one way to go now and it's up. With big software releases such as Mario Kart and Smash Brothers, the Wii U is going to pull far ahead.

 

It's always the software that matters, not the hardware.

[Gabz Girl]

Looks like the people who wanted Iwata fired from his CEO position are going to have to wait a little longer. =]

 

I'm not surprised to see low approval for Miyamoto though. He's a great guy and all, but he was the one who pushed the idea for Paper Mario Sticker Star. And we all know how that turned out!

[Sami]

Seems like it's only a matter of time until the directors within Nintendo get shaken up a bit, unless they can pull off something fantastic within the next few years.

 

It's strange that the shareholders were more mad at Iwata last year than they are now, but he must have done something right for the approval rating to rise back above 80%. I'm sure most people expected it to drop even further.

 

Not confirmed, but it's possible that some of the shareholders that weren't fond of him sold their stock and left already. Aquamarine described two "camps" within the stockholders - "pro-Iwata" and "anti-Iwata", so maybe the "anti-Iwata" group lost a few people.

 

Maybe not, though. I suppose it is possible that QoL is genuinely exciting for them, despite us not actually knowing anything about it yet.

 

All we can do is speculate, unfortunately. 

 

 

Looks like the people who wanted Iwata fired from his CEO position are going to have to wait a little longer. =]

 

I can be patient.

[TrueBlue]

Next year's approval ratings will be interesting to see considering that things like Amiibo will have been released, and I imagine more info into the QoL stuff will also be known by then. These are two pretty big initiatives made on Iwata's watch -  gonna be interesting to see how they are received internally and externally.

[PSI Wind]

Before Iwata is even fired, we need someone capable in taking his place and not go down a dark path like mobile gaming.

[JaidynReiman]

Before Iwata is even fired, we need someone capable in taking his place and not go down a dark path like mobile gaming.

This exactly. Who is there to even replace Iwata? This is the whole problem with people suddenly trying to claim that Iwata needs to be fired without even figuring out a suitable replacement.

[PSI Wind]

Best I can think of is Nintendo of Europe's president. He tries really hard and has arguably turned NoE from a crappy division to a much better division than NoA.

[SuperLink]

A question from one of Nintendo's shareholders at the recent meeting:

 

Question:

I do not understand video games and I even feel angry because, at Nintendo’s shareholders’ meetings, the shareholders always discuss things relating to video games or such childish topics as “what the future of video games should be,” while I, for one, was flabbergasted that Mr. Iwata continues to hold his position although he had said that he would resign if the company’s performance were bad*.
I hope that Nintendo’s shareholders’ meeting will become an opportunity where the shareholders discuss the company’s business operations from the viewpoints of capital gain and dividends.

Lmao get a load of this manchild. Why would he expect a shareholder meeting from a primarily videogame company to not discuss how said company is planning to strengthen their game market?

 

I for one am still pretty happy that most shareholders are in favour of Iwata, because if they weren't I'm sure, as this indicates, there would be a huge motion to get the company to focus on things like casinos and smartphones rather than video games. Shudder.

[VO.SUPER]

Nintendo stock rises this month:

 

[SuperLink]

Here's another exerpt from the shareholder meeting that I didn't notice 'til now;
 

Someone commented that Iwata might be ill because "he is trying to take on all of the things related to the company’s current situation by himself..."
Miyamoto: "Just for your information, I too have been feeling a great deal of anxiety. Mr. Iwata is a president whom I can rely on very much, and I would like to continue this journey with him."

 
Wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. It sounds like Japanese businessmen have a tendency to take responsibility for their actions to the grave, so Iwata probably has been literally working himself sick after these losses. I hope he gets well soon.
 
Another quote from Miyamoto that I found to be surprisingly insightful (considering people find him to be too traditional sometimes) and on point in terms of the games industry;

"To survive in the entertainment industry, it is often the case that everyone tries to follow suit with the strong one. My comment may be at risk of being misinterpreted, but in the digital content field, I think that our creativity is still immature. In the world of comic books and movies, there are people who are challenging themselves to be even more creative than before in creating their content.

"I believe that we (those who are creating digital content called video games) are still in a transitional period and will eventually step up into the phases where we expand and enrich the substance of our creativity. If we can manage Nintendo without losing sight of this challenge, I believe we might be able to create new entertainment that dominates the industry.

"Also, some may think it is fair to compete with others on the same hardware platform, but it is always challenging to become the one strong existence among so many companies, and to Nintendo, it is more advantageous to create and propose to consumers a brand new framework that includes hardware as part of the structure. We would like to continuously develop something unique by not abandoning this strength of our company. I ask for your continued support."

Actually some of these things are statements I've been making myself for a while now, particularly in relation to the industry being in its immaturity and being in a transitional period. I also found his defense of Nintendo staying a first party to be really important and I hope people who still want them to go third party will keep it in mind.

 

The full quote and some of the other quotes are very interesting, I recommend giving them a read.

[Gabz Girl]

Those are some great quotes by Miyamoto. I may have mixed opinions on the guy but you can't deny he says some great things.

Sad about Iwata though. I do hope he'll feel better soon. D:

[SuperLink]

Here's something almost no one expected;

 

 

Looks like Nintendo has finally got its first real smartphone game presence... in the form of a McDonalds partnership. Scan your McDonalds Happy Meal Mario Kart toy, and get a simple minigame on the McDonalds app with it. I wonder if it'll help game sales? Seems awfully inoffensive either way. And I imagine this is only the start of partnerships and minigames like this.

 

It's very very weird to have something "Mario" on smartphones that's officially endorsed.

[Conando]

This seems like what they were intending to do, though. Not actually sell their games, but use smart phone apps to advertise them.

[Daisy-Fan]

bumping the thread because it do really need it. Yet am still not happy about the Eshop current state on Wii-U, why yet there not Gamecube or Wii titles, hell not even Nintendo 64 library. am overall surprised they did with Metroid Prime Trilogy tho. but yet no 5 and 6th gen games on the store. man they really need to step up with they business.

[Marcello]

What are you talking about? Wii games are on the e-Shop.

[Junko]

bumping the thread because it do really need it. Yet am still not happy about the Eshop current state on Wii-U, why yet there not Gamecube or Wii titles, hell not even Nintendo 64 library. am overall surprised they did with Metroid Prime Trilogy tho. but yet no 5 and 6th gen games on the store. man they really need to step up with they business.

>Super Mario Galaxy 2

>Metroid Prime Trilogy

Those are the main ones, but DKCR and PunchOut are also a thing

[Daisy-Fan]

Please explain me, it is for UK Store? because on NA we only gotten with Galaxy 2 punch out and MP Trilogy. yet i want to see a library its not enough. wasn't skyward sword on the store somehow too?

 

Edited,

[Junko]

May not be out yet, but they're definitely coming.

 

Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Adventure Wii, Pandora's Tower, Sin and Punishment and shit not announced. Hold your horses, they're coming.

[Daisy-Fan]

great thanks for the link info. hopefully they will released N64 and Gamecube soon.

[Kaze no Klonoa]

This topic is still up, huh? Some big news from the Big N.

 

Iwata briefly discuses on the replacement for Club Nintendo.

 

The Wii U bumps up sales in Japan thanks to the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X

 

Over 10 million amiibos have been sold as of now.

 

Also, this.

 

 

Nintendo has staged a turnaround, overcoming its losses and generating a profit on the improved performance of its Wii U division.

Nintendo's Wii U sales hit 3.4 million units in the fiscal year ended March 31, up from the 2.7 million units the company sold in the prior fiscal year, the game firm announced on Thursday. Wii U software sales hit 24 million units, up from nearly 19 million in the previous year.

[Junko]

A profit for FY 2015 is pretty good, but it looks like they're predicting a loss for 2016.

[Gabz Girl]

I am so glad there aren't any major JRPGs around to steal Xenoblade X's thunder *coughFFXVcough*

I mean the sales aren't mind blowing or anything but they're pretty good for a franchise that has only had one game previously released on the Wii! Now I just wish we could get a release date for the rest of the world..

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

This just in; Bowser's coming to work at Nintendo as their new Vice president of sales.

 

 

Nintendo / 20 May 2015

Bowser Is Nintendo's New Vice President of Sales

195

No, the other Bowser.

 

By Wesley CopelandNintendo of America has appointed Doug Bowser as the new Vice President of U.S. sales (sorry if we got your hopes up).

Bowser joins Nintendo after having previously worked for EA as Vice President of Global Business Planning. Nintendo notes that Bowser brings "decades of experience" to the company, "not fire breath."

“Effective today, Doug Bowser (no relation to the King Koopa and Mario’s longtime nemesis) will oversee a variety of sales-related functions, including Sales, In-store Merchandising, Retail Strategy and Retail Marketing," reads the Nintendo press release.

At EA, Bowser was responsible for console, PC, and mobile games forecasting.

Nintendo President Skips E3 Again - IGN News

01:01

For more on the world of Nintendo, you can read our Puzzles & Dragons: Super Mario Edition review, which we found to be "the shining star alongside the less successful Z."

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/05/20/bowser-is-nintendos-new-vice-president-of-sales

 

 

Hmmm, President Koopa, why does that remind me of...