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[nial]

Led by an american engineer and it's mostly diving into amd's used parts bin anyway and putting it together. Nothing compared to PS1-3 hardware design. Ultimately the western management calls all the shots these days.

No, they don't, because Hideaki Nishino is the head of that particular division (in addition to being the president and CEO of the entire company).
I'm curious, how is Mark Cerny (not a Sony employee, btw) calling the shots? He's literally a contractor that gets his work supervised by the Japanese.

 

[Blitzkrieg!]

Imagine thinking 2 people who appeared on an online show are credible sources regarding the management strategy of a country.

 

[SimTourist]

No, they don't, because Hideaki Nishino is the head of that particular division (in addition to being the president and CEO of the entire company).
I'm curious, how is Mark Cerny (not a Sony employee, btw) calling the shots? He's literally a contractor that gets his work supervised by the Japanese.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

he is Bowser..

 

[Killer8]

Led by an american engineer and it's mostly diving into amd's used parts bin anyway and putting it together. Nothing compared to PS1-3 hardware design. Ultimately the western management calls all the shots these days.

Apart from the blu-ray drive and HDD in every model, the PS3 hardware was terrible. Cell was a nightmare to develop for and i'd also define PS3 as 'diving into Nvidia's used parts bin' for the RSX, which was just a customized 7800GTX.

They did the right thing putting Cerny behind the wheel.

 

[March Climber]

Who literally gives a fuck what some suit posts on social media.

The truth is even though Reggie was public and likeable, he didn't seem to hold much sway where it would have mattered.

Who cares about Doug Bowser? NOA has fuck all say in anything other than distribution and translations. They don't set prices.

It's time for a history lesson:

Wii Sports Only Became a Pack-in Game thanks to Reggie Fils-Aime

As revealed in his new book, Reggie FIls-Aime details that the iconic Wii Sports only became a pack-in title thanks to his appeals.

gameranx.com

Reggie advocated for the idea of packing in Wii Sports for the benefit of the consumer. He wanted "every consumer…[to] get access to this great content." Despite this positive intent, the late Satoru Iwata, then CEO of Nintendo, initially resisted Reggie's perspective. When Reggie explained this idea to Iwata, there was a long pause before he replied by saying that "Nintendo does not give away precious content for free."

Iwata wanted to hold true to Nintendo's long-standing format of creating unique, exclusive software and using that software to promote the sales of its systems. Thus, that's the same idea that he had in mind for the lifecycle of Wii Sports; making it a system-seller, by also making it its own, stand-alone product, thus leading to two revenue streams.

Reggie then explains that he tried to persuade Mr. Iwata by pointing to the fact that the Wii was a "very different concept" compared to traditional systems and the way their software is handled. He believed in its ability, its purpose, of expanding gaming beyond being a niche in order to appeal to the mass market. To Reggie, Wii Sports was an essential component in this operation.

Then he had to try and convince Miyamoto...

Mr. Fils-Aime admitted that this first meeting about the matter was the start to a process that would "last [for] months". Though he did succeed in swaying Mr. Iwata around to being fond of the idea, he then also had the challenge of convincing Mr. Miyamoto.

Miyamoto had the counter-offer of Wii Play being the bundled title, but Reggie didn't think it matched up to the "completeness" of Wii Sports. Instead, he thought it would be better to include that bundled in with a Wii Remote to encourage the sales for the new controller.

Mr. Mike Fukuda was also present in the meeting, and he agreed with both of Reggie's ideas. As it turns out, this rebuttal caused Mr. Miyamoto to get uncharacteristically upset and echoed the early sentiments of Iwata, stating that Nintendo "does not give away [its] software".

Mr. Iwata appealed to Miyamoto by offering the perspective that Reggie was trying to tackle market issues in lands outside of Japan, where tastes are buying habits are different.

Reggie admits that this meeting became one of several, ultimately culminating in all parties agreeing that Wii Sports would be the system's pack-in title, but only in western markets. It remained as standalone software in Japan.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

like a gay samus

 

[blacktout]

I assumed this was going to be another hyperbolic thread, but I actually agree with the sentiment here. There's been a profound failure of communication from NoA in the aftermath of the Switch 2 reveal, and it's inexcusable.

I still see people who think games will be $90USD or that all games ship on download keys instead of real carts or that every game will be $80, and this confusion is amplifying the backlash about real concerns, like MKW's $80 price tag or the system being $50 more than many were expecting.

It's not consumers' responsibility to fact check everything they hear. It's the company's responsibility to make sure that they're communicating clearly and that potential buyers have accurate information about the product and to provide a clear rationale for any decisions that might dissuade people from purchasing your product (like price hikes). Nintendo of America has failed on both counts so far.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Listening to Kit and Krysta, two former employees who each spent over a decade working at Nintendo of America and hosted official online shows for the company, you quickly realize there's a serious issue with how Nintendo communicates with the public.



According to them, this kind of situation isn't new—but back in the day, they could go speak with Reggie, or he would at least be informed of what was going on, step in, and communicate accordingly. That's no longer the case. Doug Bowser doesn't fill (or no longer fills) that role. They're even surprised by the current NOA president's lack of communication. Maybe some interviews have already been done or are under embargo, but that's not the point—what's missing is a proper middleman and a strong face to explain things. In fact, he hasn't done a major interview in ages.

The guy is practically invisible on social media. He posts the occasional useless tweet on Twitter/X about what he ate, how he enjoys mountain biking, and sometimes tweets in Spanish. That might be fine if he were just another influencer—but we're talking about the President of Nintendo of America. And sure, it's a Japanese company, and you can't just say or do anything you want, but he could at least show us some behind-the-scenes moments, engage in conversation, or simply present a better image. Obviously, he's not the only one at fault—there are countless layers between him and Furukawa—but it really feels like Nintendo has inherited Sony's arrogance. The company behind the mustached plumber now seems full of businessmen selling video games like washing machines.

Very little of what you're saying is relevant. Reggie didn't even have a Twitter account when he was NoA President. He started using it after he retired.

NoA employees are not allowed to make statements on behalf of the company using their personal Twitter account.

NoA is a marketing and distribution arm of NCL. It exists to sell and market Nintendo products in North America. That's it. That is its function. They don't produce games there and they don't set company plans or direction there. All of that is done in Japan.

Reggie had a strong personality, but very little actual influence in any of Nintendo's major decisions during his tenure there. There are a few examples and that's it. He didn't even become an Executive officer until 2016, 2 1/2 years before he retired.

What are you even talking about?

 

[Shaki12345]

Let's face it. "We" got lucky with Reggie.

Dude is such a PR powerhouse. Every company would be better with that guy at the frontline.

 

[Spukc]

Yeah nintendo really went to shit during his time

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Let's face it. "We" got lucky with Reggie.

Dude is such a PR powerhouse. Every company would be better with that guy at the frontline.

This. Exactly. And if his greatest contribution to Nintendo's financial success was pleading with Iwata and Miyamoto to include Wii Sports with Wii in North America, he's every bit a slimy businessman as they come. The Wii was $250 instead of $200 and it was basically a GameCube in a different chassis. You were paying for the name and the novelty, not because Wii was a generational leap in technology that justified a $50 price increase over GameCube. It was the same thing just with cheap motion control remotes. Nintendo made a killing on the Wii hardware, make no mistake about that.

 

[Horseganador]

I don't understand how a person in his position can come up with the stupidity of "if you think the Switch 2 is expensive or you can't afford it, then there's the Switch 1, so shut up and don't bother me with the prices." He said it much more gently, but that's the message.

 

[rkofan87]

doug seems like a jim ryan type as in they do not play the games they are trying to sell you.

 

[Trilobit]

Reggie always came off as a businessman first and foremost and never as a gamer. But he came off as a talented and passionate businessman. Him pushing the inclusion of Wii Sports for free when you bought a Wii showed that he cared enough to butt heads with NoJ when he felt he had a better business idea. Bowser on the other hand only seems to be a yesman to his corporate core and will probably just follow orders without ever pushing against the directives coming from Japan. And that's very boring to see since Reggie's Wii Sports push also made Europe get it included. And I can't see my continent having any sort of muscles to do what Reggie did. But then again the leader for Nintendo right now is just a numbers guy and lacks the passion for gaming which Iwata was so famous for, so even if Reggie was still working at NoA he might have much less leeway with Furukawa.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Imagine thinking 2 people who appeared on an online show are credible sources regarding the management strategy of a country.

Terrible take.

 

[Sooner]

I doubt Bowser has any say on the price of the Switch or Mario Kart

 

[Hero_Select]

I'm convinced they only hired him because his last name is Bowser

 

[SiahWester]

So they just hired him because of the name?

 

[CuteFaceJay]

Reggie entered Nintendk when press conference became fun. It was the perfect storm

Bowser doesn't have the charisma. Can't work like that. No idea how good of a president he is, but it's very much seen that Nintendo doesn't have faces now

Makes me wonder if they end up going thee direction of Apple and just add a diff number after Switch like Apple does iPhone.

 

[LRKD]

More companies need dictator like figures, both so that when fans are upset they have a sole target. And when the employees are lost, they have a beacon of light to point towards. Even if they really aren't the leader, just the 'flex' of leadership, can bring you a long way. By placing your king out on the board, the pawns on both sides of the board know where to go. Reggie did a great job at that, and you still to this day get Reggie memes because of it.

Sounds like NoJ has taken more control of the ship in recent years, which would be fine by me if it meant they stopped Tree house from censoring, and putting out bad dubs (it hasn't), but the thing is if NoJ is taking control, they need to do a better job of showing it to the fans, and showing who we need to look towards to answers if it isn't the President of NoA anymore. Who are we supposed to look at for answers? Doug went on stage and dropped spaghetti out of his pocket, spouting nonsense about "having a console for those who can't afford the new one", he isn't a spokesperson clearly, and NoA, fans and employees desperately needs one right now.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

I'm convinced they only hired him because his last name is Bowser

He came from EA. He was hired as someone who would replace Reggie once he retired. (Which is what happened). He was hired after the Switch was already this massive success.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Makes me wonder if they end up going thee direction of Apple and just add a diff number after Switch like Apple does iPhone.

Iwata talked about moving in that direction back in 2014 before the Switch was made public.

 

[Azelover]

Reggie was a great communicator, but he is terrible at choosing people.

He picked Cammie Dunaway for his old position in marketing and I believe he picked Doug too.

 

[Ownage]

I had a former friend that used to play basketball with Reggie early in the mornings before work. Guy sounded like a good guy.

 

[AJUMP23]

Japan might have picked him because they wanted a yes man and not someone to challenge them. Ultimately all the decisions are made in Japan NOA Has to sell them.

 

[RoboFu]

Ehh everything is global now. They only need a us president to run the day to day. Japan takes care of all the marketing and pr these days.

 

[StereoVsn]

I don't understand how a person in his position can come up with the stupidity of "if you think the Switch 2 is expensive or you can't afford it, then there's the Switch 1, so shut up and don't bother me with the prices." He said it much more gently, but that's the message.

I mean surely we never had an example of leadership of a video game division dropping a ball like this in the last say 12 years. That would be totally crazy…

 

[StereoVsn]

Japan might have picked him because they wanted a yes man and not someone to challenge them. Ultimately all the decisions are made in Japan NOA Has to sell them.

He is not don't a good job doing that. Switch 2 will still sell out in the first year, but afterwards, who knows.

 

[Oberstein]

I assumed this was going to be another hyperbolic thread...

No, I don't think so. In fact, I was one of the first to speak out against Bowser — even before Mario did.

When you read his big interview, the guy goes even further than my initial fears: his argument to justify the prices, especially of Mario Kart World, is absurd. "There's a lot of content in the game", an incredible argument for sticking it at $90 in physical stores.

The same goes for his Don Matrick side (I confess, I didn't think he'd go that far). For those who can't buy it, they'll just have to play Switch 1. Better and better.

Of course, there are people in this thread who attack me, saying I'm talking nonsense and making anachronisms out of thin air, but the bottom line is this: Doug Bowser represents what's wrong with Nintendo, he's useless but also dangerous. Reggie had to fight for Wii Sports as a pack-In, and Miyamoto wasn'thappy. So, yes, it's free here, but not in Japan. At least he wasn't useless at the time...

 

[Kataploom]

I don't get these comments, the same could be said about Furukawa... I guess the communication problem Nintendo has faces with Switch 2 situation is a while company problem and nothing to put on a single man from a single branch, given he's just there to catch the damage and control it, but the issue is so big I think it should have attended in the direct and not later

 

[Matsuchezz]

He is not useless, he is gonna give D to Nintendo fans in the ass. They all will like it, and they will pay over 500 dollars for the NS2

 

[deriks]

Makes me wonder if they end up going thee direction of Apple and just add a diff number after Switch like Apple does iPhone.

I believe it will, but Apple still has big names showing every event while Nintendo chooses who and when to show nowadays

Miyamoto shows only with something related to him or the overall company, Aonuma with Zelda, and Koizumi with a big thing or Mario - I was surprised that he didn't show for the Switch 2 thou. The times that Reggie and Bill made fun things and worked as characters are gone, and I miss it

 

[BlackTron]

I don't understand how a person in his position can come up with the stupidity of "if you think the Switch 2 is expensive or you can't afford it, then there's the Switch 1, so shut up and don't bother me with the prices."

He must like reading history.

 

[TwiztidElf]

The non-gamer business suits are in charge now.


Those comments...

 

[StueyDuck]

He's no Reggie that's for sure.

His body is sadly not ready.

 

[Smasher89]

I think its even more the issue that there is no gamer in the top bosses inside of the nintendo of japan offices (except miyamoto but hes doing other projects like theme parks nowadays, dont know like anything about the recent 3 new ones though), i think kit and krysta stated that for the marketing of Switch 1, there was basicly 1 head of the operation and they made it his(businessman way) way or no way, and since it succeeded, they probably think the same thing is gonna work the same again and gives him as much if not even more influence.
I sure hope they will get humbled because i dont like where the direction has been going with the post wii u days for sure. Compare mario kart 8 release day on Wii u (get mario kart and one first party game free for the 60) vs what mario kart world(80 pluse 20 indefinitly to play that online) is offering.