The video game world is always on the brink of change, as people are almost always moving around, forming new things, or leaving companies they’ve been in for a while. Even the top level brass aren’t exhumed from this. Today, Nintendo revealed their Fiscal Year Earnings report, which revealed some interesting things about the company, the Switch, and the games that have been sold in the last year. However, they also revealed that a new President is going to take over for the company starting this June.
The former president, Tatsumi Kimishima (Pictured above), is set to retire this June, and had a big hand in picking his successor. Kimishima took over Nintendo after the tragic death of former President Satoru Iwata, who had ran the company for some time before succumbing to an illness. Since Kimishima’s appointment, Nintendo has been on the rise, including him heralding in the Switch to great success. But, he wishes to retire, so he will now be replaced by Shuntaro Furukawa.
Furukawa is 46, which was apparently a deciding factor in choosing him as Kimishima’s replacement. They wanted a young voice who could speak to the younger generation of gamers while also appealing to those who grew up with Nintendo. Furthermore, much like Satoru Iwata, Furukawa is apparently fluent in English, which means we could see him speak at events like E3 in the West.
As for his resume, he’s been with the company since 1994, and has served as Outside Director of The Pokemon Company since 2012, so he’s got a lot of years with the company under his belt.
He will begin his reign as president on June 28th, which is two weeks after E3 2018. He’ll have quite the big shows to fill, but with the Switch and 3DS going strong, he might inherit the easiest transition into power in history.
