Iwata Stays On As Nintendo President
News from Nintendo’s Annual Shareholders Meeting suggest that Iwata stays on as Nintendo President. According to a report on IGN, Satoru Iwata, who was absent from the meeting as he was recently in hospital undergoing surgery, has been “safely” re-elected to Nintendo‘s Board of Directors.
The news will surely come with a sigh of relief from Iwata, who has seen his investor approval rating decline steadily over the past few years. His approval rating stood at an impressive 92.9 percent in 2011, and was as low as 77.3 percent last year. The IGN report doesn’t have the approval rating for this years’ meeting, although following poor recent Wii U sales, it could be within the same region or even lower than last years’ rating.
Nintendo as a whole have enjoyed a spell of positivity and good news of late, with many media outlets of the opinion that Nintendo‘s E3 digital event was the most surprising of the major console manufacturers, with many even saying Nintendo “won” E3. Nintendo showcased a number of strong games, such as a new Starfox for Wii U, new footage from Xenoblade Chronicles and Mario level designer Mario Maker. Nintendo also showcase their new NFC toy range, the Amiibo at E3, launching later this year.
As well as a strong E3 showing, which also showcased the very first footage from the forthcoming Wii U exclusive open-world Zelda game, Nintendo also announced a 666 percent increase in Wii U sales following a hugely successful launch of Mario Kart 8, which sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide over its first weekend, and how now passed the 2 million copy milestone.
Could this be the start of Iwata and Nintendo turning their fortunes around? With Super Smash Bros on the horizon for both the Wii U and 3DS alongside Bayonetta 2, as well as a very strong looking 2015 lineup including Xenoblade Chronicles, Zelda on the Wii U and Wii U exclusive Devil’s Third, it looks a lot like Nintendo‘s future may not be quite so bleak as many predicted.