Nintendo Co. promoted a 65-year-old human resources executive to lead the company’s push into smartphone gaming and development of a new console as president.
Tatsumi Kimishima will succeed the late Satoru Iwata, the company said Monday. Kimishima has worked for Pokemon Co. and was chief executive officer of Nintendo of America Inc., where he oversaw the U.S. introduction of the Wii console and the 3DS handheld device.
Kimishima faces challenges revitalizing Nintendo, where its business model has been undermined by competitors’ free-to-play games on mobile devices and weak sales of its Wii U machine. Nintendo is set to release its first game service for smartphones this year and is preparing a new console code-named NX.
“It’s a very orthodox choice, which sends a message that the company is choosing to stay the course,” said Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management Co. “Investors expecting growth would have preferred to see some bigger changes. Someone with a direct experience in designing games would have been better.”
Nintendo fell 1.3 percent to 22,620 yen in Tokyo. The stock has advanced 79 percent this year on expectations the company’s move into smartphone games with DeNA Co. will spark sales.
Read Full Article Here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-14/nintendo-names-tatsumi-kimishima-as-president-to-succeed-iwata
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