7. Thorough Corporate Reshuffle And Talent Poaching
Despite a general feeling of legacy-based respect, there are outspoken voices in the industry who are calling it as they see it: Nintendo, as a corporate leviathan, has lost touch with the realities of the industry it helped create. A disconnect between corporate and the end user is something you would expect from a business machine like Microsoft, not a game industry lifer like Nintendo. But both Sony and Microsoft have shown remarkable talent for connecting with their audience, even though it's obviously underpinned by capitalist constructs. Nintendo, in its current guise, shows signs of either apathy or ignorance - neither of which serves them well going forwards. This points to a top-heavy corporation which doesn't have its finger on the pulse. It's quite surprising, in the light of repeated (and substantial) sales target shortfalls, that heads are yet to roll. Perhaps it's due time. CEO Satoru Iwata had hinted at some kind of proverbial Seppuku-style resignation should things not improve, but has since rescinded on that, telling shareholders that "...there will be no major management shake-up in the short term". But a new CEO would surely not be enough; there needs to be significant reshaping at top levels. Ideally Nintendo would snipe some high-profile corporate talent from Western industry strongholds to give the firm some insider understanding of the world market. Instead, what's more likely is that the top brass at Nintendo will continue to stick to their guns and hope for a miracle.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
