Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, has addressed a meeting of shareholders in Tokyo this morning. During that meeting, he accepted responsibility for the slow start to the 3DS’ life and repeatedly reiterated the company’s commitment to bringing games to the handheld.
Iwata outlined the cuts to fixed salaries within the company, with his own reduction being by far the most severe.
For cuts in fixed salaries, I’m taking a fifty percent cut, other representative directors are taking a 30 percent cut, and other execs are taking a 20 percent cut
The cuts weren’t the only thing Iwata was keen to tell investors about. He stated that the recent announcement of the 3DS price cut was made after reflection that the company had missed an opportunity to cut the price of the GameCube console and subsequently missed out. They wanted to address the issue early with the 3DS.
It seems that Nintendo are doing something they rarely do with the 3DS: taking a loss on the sale of each unit. That’s a promising sign for those of us who bough the console as it shows that Nintendo themselves are banking on future software sales and the increased output of console units driving down the unit costs.
Source: Kotaku
Kevatron400
That’s a serious cut – wonder what his before and after salary is.
bunimomike
I was thinking the same thing. “I am taking a cut in salary” *whispers* “down to one gabillion”.
Still, it’s one helluva sign that things didn’t go well in their ‘How’s the 3DS Performing’ meeting this week. ;-)
colossalblue
I would imagine it’s a bit of a shock reaction to the 3DS’ underperformance but it’s also quite a remarkable thing to do. I wonder how many of Sony’s top execs took huge cuts when the PSPGo died on its arse? And how nervous they’ll be about the Vita’s prospects now…
colossalblue
It was the equivalent to around $2 million per annum, already much lower than many of his counterparts.
colmshan1990
I wish some Irish companies and politicians responded like this to underperformance…
Interesting that Nintendo are taking the hit on the 3DS, definitely bodes well for future software, especially for the hardcore, as they normally are the repeat game buyers, while ‘casuals’ can often go a long time between purchases.
XisTG
Yeah, Vita has this effect on people :p
DirtyHabit
Why is it all about the Vita
? This is a reflection the hand held market in general, not just some knee jerk reaction to a competitors console which will probably find its self in the same boat in a few months.
Starting to sound a bit fanboyish TBH…
Smallville2106
Couldn’t agree more.
bacon_nuts
I don’t even want to know how much he earned before. It’s not exactly like this pay cuts going to land him in financial trouble.
Kovacs
Most execs make their millions on stock. The salary part is just to keep them in bagels.
Just saying.
;)
shields_t
….and the stock’s just plummetted by 20%, hmmmmm sounds a bit like Enron.
Tuffcub
This is true- my boss made $3 billion overnight on his shares.
Starman
Nice to see the top execs taking part of the blame instead of making excuses, though I think the negative scaremongering stories in the uk tabloids didn’t help. Stories about eye damage would surely have made some parents decide to to buy them for children.
Crocadillian
I found the news post on the free games people were receiving to be quite humble, and this further shows the CEO’s consideration for the business I think. I’d really hope they come out understanding the current problems their products have and improving it before the Wii U releases.
Tuffcub
Maybe if they had more than 5 decent games for the system it might help.
Forrest_01
There’s as many as 5?? :O
scavenga
Rushed decision, I just bought a Wii last week.
Iwata can safely go back to his previous arrangements.
Darksidesystems
Got to admire the commitment of that guy, at least in public. The odd thing is everyone I’ve spoken to about the price cut has responded with something along the lines of, “Wow, how long’s it been out now, 6 months is it? Must be shit if it’s selling that badly…” and so the vicious circle continues.