Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has released a public statement on the passing of their president and CEO, Satoru Iwata.
This is the statement he released to the public:
I am truly surprised and saddened by this unexpected news.
The entire development team at Nintendo will remain committed to our development policy which Mr. Iwata and we have been constructing together and to yield the development results which Mr. Iwata would appreciate.
In an earlier statement, Nintendo Co Ltd revealed that they have still not chosen a president, but Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda, both members of the board of directors, and representative directors, will run the company for now.
Under Japanese law, corporations classified as kabushiki geisha must have at least one representative director. This role gives them the right to hold the corporate seal, and also allows them to represent the company in transactions. The law provides that they must also report to the board of directors every few months.
It’s not completely clear how prepared Nintendo was to deal with the passing of Iwata, or how aware they were that this would be happening, but it seems their immediate path has been laid out, at least. They assigned not just one, but three representative directors, and all three were former developers.
While we do not know the details yet, we know that Nintendo already have laid out plans for mobile gaming, QOL, and an upcoming home console called the NX. We also know they have outstanding patents for 3D eye tracking on home consoles and a donut shaped screen on a portable.
Of course, Miyamoto’s statement indicates he has been a part of management along with Iwata, and others at Nintendo have been as well.