Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Industry Analysts Don't Expect Miyamoto To Succeed Iwata
The gaming industry lost one of its beloved figured unexpectedly over a week ago. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's death sent waves through the gaming community, with people reminiscing his passion for games and kind spirit. In these sad times, it's tough to think of anything else, but Nintendo will need to pick a successor eventually. Who has the best shot, though?
Some people speculated almost immediately that designer and general manager Shigeru Miyamoto's would take the mantle. Miyamoto is one of the most visible faces of the company, but industry analysts aren't convinced he'll be the one assuming the position.
GamesIndustry.biz recently asked several analysts who they think Iwata's successor will be; unsurprisingly, most think it will be an internal candidate, but are doubtful it will be Miyamoto. It seems as though hardware manager Genyo Takeda is a front runner in the speculation.
Both Miyamoto and Takeda are serving as representative directors until a successor is named.
"Although it would be a romantic dream to have the company lead by the father of Mario, I think Takeda-san has more corporate experience and really understands hardware," Nick Parker of Parker Consulting told GamesIndustry.biz.
Mike Schramm, manager of qualitative insights at EEDAR also agreed telling GamesIndustry.biz that Takeda has "a similar trajectory in the company as Iwata (from programmer to manager to executive)."
Also noted was that Nintendo could promote any of its executives. Remember Iwata was basically an unknown when he landed the position. Nintendo no doubt has a lot to consider with a new hardware NX on the horizon and a push to get into the mobile landscape by partnering with DENA, a publisher of mobile titles worldwide. Time will tell, whether Nintendo will sway toward someone similar to Iwata, or try someone with a different leadership approach. As always, there are many factors to consider.
You can read GamesIndustry.biz's story here.
Our Take
Replacing Iwata is going to be hard. Nintendo has a lot on its plate to consider. The company obviously wants to have success with NX and not have a repeat of the Wii U's poor sales. I see Miyamoto continuing to be involved heavily in game development, and not replacing Iwata. But I'm not entirely sure who else will take that role. Takeda makes sense with new hardware on the horizon, but that's only one part of what Nintendo will have to confront in the coming years. Whoever does replace Iwata will have a lot to uphold, and I doubt it's going to be an easy transition.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
