Tatsumi Kimishima passes the baton to a much younger successor, Shuntaro Furukawa, who is 22-years-younger. According to Bloomberg, Kimishima was a former banker that oversaw the production of the Nintendo Switch, which has created a boon in their overall profits. As a result of the Switch’s resounding and continued success, Nintendo’s shares rose 2 percent on Thursday. Furukawa joined Nintendo in 1994 for global marketing and was on the board of the Pokemon Company. He promises that he will bring out Nintendo’s full potential.
Out with the old
This is not the first time someone younger has taken over the company in regards to its predecessor. Satoru Iwata was 42 when he stepped in as President. Three younger executives will take over for senior managers, among them being Yoshiaki Koizumi, who helped design the Switch, and Takashi Tezuku, one of the head figures behind the new design of Super Mario.
It appears that a new generation is taking over in an effort to continue Nintendo’s current surge.
A bit on Shuntaro Furukawa
Mr. Furukawa graduated from Waseda University, and during his time at Nintendo, not only was he in the accounting office crunching numbers, he rose to the head of the corporate planning division in 2015.
However, he’s also contributed to developing software and, like Yoshiaki Koizumi, was involved in creating the Switch. He officially bears the presidency sometime in June.
Looking to the future
Nintendo’s profits have increased exponentially, up by 1.1 billion yen over estimated projections. As well, software totaled 10 million above expectations.
And smartphone games netted a 62 percent increase. Nintendo seems to be going all-in on mobile software, from the Switch, to smartphones, and still supporting the 3DS.
There’s an understanding that the world is constantly moving, and Nintendo intends to fully embrace that way of life. Nintendo is gearing up for their presentation at the E3 conference.
It will include a Nintendo Direct, Treehouse, the Splatoon 2 World Invitational Championship and a Super Smash Brothers Invitational, leading to speculation about a possible gameplay reveal for the upcoming title.
E3 will happen from June 11 to June 14. With the Switch skyrocketing beyond Nintendo’s wildest dreams and a new President stepping in to take over, the long-time company looks to continue their upward trend. Mr. Furukawa arrives at the best possible time.
