Nintend-oh-no!

Iwata resigning isn’t something I can get behind, who is going to give me Nintendo Direct? Someone else? Fooey on that! But it’s possible that his resignation could be good for the company, since there is a large contingent of people who have little to no faith in Mr. Iwata, and a fresh view is never a bad thing.

I personally hope Iwata stays around, but with the way the Wii U has sold so far, it’s not out of the question for Nintendo to not reach their goal.

Translation of ITmedia report follows:

At an analysts’ meeting on the 31st, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata (53) implied that there is a possibility that he may resign if he is unable to achieve 100 billion yen (US$1.09963 billion) in operating income for the next fiscal year. The company had recently revised its forecast for operating income for the full year ending March 31, 2013 to -20 billion yen (US$220.144 million), making the goal a high hurdle. Iwata aimed to appeal to investors by putting himself on the line to recover the business.

President Iwata, having seen 2 consecutive years of losses, apologized by saying, “We feel greatly accountable for this severe outlook.” He further explained that the basis of meeting the goal by saying, “…we plan to actively release our key titles for Nintendo 3DS which could potentially lead the markets this year.”

In the midst of sluggish sales for the next-generation home console Wii U released last year, Iwata also indicated that portable and home console development groups would be merged.

When asked how he would take responsibility if the goal is not met, Iwata emphasized his strong determination by saying, “Please understand that [achieving it] is my commitment.”

Iwata, formerly the president of a development company making games for Nintendo, was selected in 2002 at the young age of 43 by former Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi, being called a person who had skill in both game development and administration.

Shares of Nintendo stock were sold off on the Osaka Securities Exchange on the 31st, at one point falling 530 yen from the previous close to 8820 yen.

[Source: ITMedia and Nintendo of Japan]