Tatsumi Kimishima Is Nintendo’s New President

As sad as the late Satoru Iwata’s death was to everyone around the world, the show must go on for the company as Nintendo finally announced Iwata’s successor by the name of Tatsumi Kimishima, a 65-year-old human resources executive.

Before the news broke out that Kimishima would be the head of Nintendo, many fans including myself never heard of him until now. In the past, Tatsumi Kimishima worked in Sanwa Bank of Japan until he was hired by Nintendo as a Chief Financial Officer of The Pokémon Company in 2000. He than was appointed President of Pokémon USA Inc in 2001 until late Nintendo CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi later elect Kimishima as the President of Nintendo of America in 2002. He held his position four years until Reggie Fils-Aime took over around 2006. After that, he was promoted to Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, overseeing the management of Nintendo of America and as their executive in human resources.

As translated by Dr. Serkan Toto on Twitter from a Nikkei report, Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima said that he will not change the basic strategy set by former president Satoru Iwata (smart phone games, NX, etc) and that he and company will have to face new challenges in recognizing new projects and developing the right human resources to reach Nintendo-like profits again. Director Genyo Takeda was also quoted to say that Nintendo’s aim is to establish a future-proof group leadership instead of one person calling all the shots.

1) The Nikkei quotes new Nintendo boss Kimishima as saying there won’t be changes in the basic strategy set up by former president Iwata.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

2) Kimishima says the challenge is now to identify new projects+cultivate the right human resources to reach Nintendo-like profits again.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

3) The Nikkei also quotes Nintendo’s Genyo Takeda as saying the aim is to establish a future-proof group leadership system inside Nintendo.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

Despite what Kimishima said in not changing Iwata’s basic strategy, under his leadership, the company will have a massive restructure, including merging key branches like Nintendo Integrated Research & Development Division and Nintendo System Development Division into the brand new Platform Technology Development Division, putting development of Nintendo hardware, operating systems, development tools and network all in one roof. This plan will also merge the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division and the Software Planning Division into the large Entertainment Planning & Development Division. Additionally, Nintendo is also establishing a new Business Development Division, handling Nintendo’s smart phone plans and IP licensing. Under Kimishima’s leadership, Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda wil be assign new roles, with Miyamoto as “Creative Fellow” and Takeda as “Technology Fellow.” This restructuring will come into effect on September 16th.

Kimishima also revealed the length of his term as the newly elected president to be one year and that he wasn’t given instructions from the late Satoru Iwata. He’s also open to the idea of Nintendo being run by an outsider at some point in the future after his term is done.

1) In an interview with the Nikkei today, new Nintendo president Kimishima says Iwata didn’t give him instructions how to run the company.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

2) He says he is elected for 1 year and doesn’t know what will come next. Says he is not against company outsiders to lead Nintendo one day.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

3) Kimishima also confirms that Nintendo’s smartphone and IP-related plans won’t change. Says the task is now to develop new businesses.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

Kimishima’s personality, as stated from another Nikkei report translated by Dr. Serkan Toto, as ”soft+friendly” and that he believes it’s wrong to lead a gaming company on numbers alone, countering what critics of Kimishima are saying cause of his business background. Nikkei claims that Kimishima wasn’t Iwata’s favorite choice and that Nintendo was looking for someone younger as president but didn’t have the personnel to fit the role. Kimishima also stated in the Nikkei report that during his time as CEO of Nintendo of America, he warned other Nintendo executives that the Wii U would fail plus it was too similar to the original Wii. Considering how Nintendo’s current gen home console is in 3rd place behind the competition and that it’s currently the lowest selling Nintendo console, behind even the Nintendo GameCube, his predictions turn out to be true.

1) In yet another Nikkei article (last I summarize/translate), new Nintendo boss Kimishima’s personality is described as “soft+friendly”.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

2) According to the Nikkei, Kimishima predicted Wii U’s failure when it was introduced by warning it’s too similar to the original Wii.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

3) Despite his business background, he is quoted as saying it’s wrong to lead a gaming company on numbers alone.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

4) The Nikkei claims Kimishima wasn’t Iwata’s favorite choice. Nintendo was 1st looking for somebody younger but didn’t have the personnel.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

5) The article also suggests the troika was a rushed decision because the holiday season, where Nintendo makes 50%+ of sales, is near.

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

6) Accordingly, Kimishima is quoted as saying one task for him will be to develop the next group leadership structure for Nintendo. /end

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) September 14, 2015

With the late Satoru Iwata being the face of Nintendo for thirteen years from 2002 to 2015, Tatsumi Kimishima has big shoes to fill to cement his legacy with Nintendo for just one year as president.