Struggling Nintendo appoints Satoru Iwata as American CEO

Nintendo appoints Satoru Iwata as American CEO
Iwata has come out of his box in the last year

Nintendo has announced that its Global President Satoru Iwata will be taking over as American CEO, while also continuing his current duties.

Iwata has become a more prominent face for Nintendo in the last year, featuring in a number of recent Nintendo Direct presentations and showing off a more playful side to his otherwise corporate image.

Nintendo told TechRadar: "Mr Iwata is making a point of visiting NCL subsidiaries in the western world, frequently in person, and NCL and its foreign subsidiaries are having frequent comminications via video conference system and other means, so there will be no issue about Mr Iwata's new responsibility.

"Our managerial decision is that president Iwata should act also as the CEO of NOA."

Tough times ahead

The announcement came alongside the release of Nintendo's financial report, which showed that the Wii U has struggled to take off.

Nintendo sold just 3.45 million Wii Us in the last financial year, which isn't great news - especially as the console was outsold by its own predecessor. Despite that, the company remains optimistic that it can turn the console's fortunes around.

Rumours are swirling that Nintendo is planning something big for E3, but we reckon the Wii U will need more than a new Super Mario Bros. if it wants a shot at remaining relevant in the new generation of consoles.

Via Eurogamer

Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.