Satoru Iwata will take a 50% pay cut

Back in July 2011, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that he would be taking a 50 percent pay cut following poor 3DS sales. With the Wii U now facing a similar situation, Iwata is making a similar move.

[weekev15]

What a nice gesture. Yeah I screwed up so I will take the punishment for the poor performance. Lets hope that when backed into the corner Nintendo come out swinging.

[Arkworthy]

It seems more like a fake gesture than anything. He took a 50% pay cut in 2011. Obviously that was a most temporary measure because he's taking ANOTHER 50% now.

My opinion: A boardroom circus to look good in front of shareholders.

[gedden7]

Umm you see NO other company's CEO COO OR ANYONE do such a thing for how ever long. But let's keep it in the gaming realm.

MS is burning money for the xbox brand which has not made $1.00 in profits... $2 billion and counting in loses so far. They send all their profits in adverts 3rd parties dlc or what ever.. Sony is practally going out of business.. The only thing good about sony is the ps4 but the rest of the company is in the sh!tter.

Analyst say they have a whopping 79% chance of going bankrupt in 2 years.. Where's their companies "fake" gestures of whatever you think is going on???....

People like you give very give little respect to nintendo and management. Smh to your comment and the way u think....

[Arkworthy]

I see no reason that I need to give respect to Nintendo just because they're hitting hard financial times. I didn't mention the other companies at all. Stop trying to bring petty console wars into this.

[WeAreLegion]

Not true gedden7. Kaz took a 50% pay cut, as well. Many CEO's do it when their company is doing poorly.

[mcstorm]

@gedden7 where did you get "MS is burning money for the xbox brand which has not made $1.00 in profits... $2 billion and counting in loses so far." did you not see the last quarter results for ms?

Sony are not going out of business yes they have issues but the PS division is the one side making the money at the moment.

Nintendo are not in as bad situation as people thought they would be but its not the best. Its good to see a company making cuts from the top rather than the bottom as this is how it should be if a company is not doing as well as it wanted.

I live in the UK and when the banks had the issues there were CEO's being given bonuses ect even though the banks were saved by the tax payer.

Its nice to see the rich helping out for once rather than the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

[user5575708]

well then he's going from being rich to being rich HOW SAD

make your salary one dollar like roger goodell did and this will be actual news

[GhostTurtle]

The dude needs to man up and resign.

[lilbroRx]

@GhostTurtle, how exactly is running away from a problem and dumping it on someone else manning up?

Iwata resigning is something that Nintendo haters want, and they want it for reasons that are far from beneficial to the company.

[SilentNegotiator]

The man's gonna be working almost for free before you know it.

[Chrischi1988]

Bubble up for LilbroRx :)

So true. Iwata is proud and will do best as he can, to make it right, I dont think, anyone else will be much better. That man brought so much success to nintendo, that one year is no biggy, especially since the handheld is doing very well, not as much as they wanted, but whatever, it whipes the floor with everything that could be considered competition.

[ChickeyCantor]

"Kaz took a 50% pay cut, as well."

No that's japanese culture for you. Americans wouldn't stand for that shizzle.

[kreate]

'Umm you see NO other company's CEO COO OR ANYONE do such a thing for how ever long'

actually there are ceo's who gets paid minimum wage, or one who doesn't get a paycheck at all. this is in America.

this gesture is to motivate their employees its not all about the money.

pick up stix ceo was getting paid minimum wage just like their other workers. and he would physically go into the restaraunts and work himself side by side with his fellow employees.

there are companies out there that does this. its not a exclusive move to Nintendo.

just becuz u never heard of it, doesn't meant it doesn't exist.

[cleft5]

Regardless of what you think of his performance, imagine taking a 50% pay cut at your job for a situation that wasn't entirely your fault. That is no small thing, even if you have saved up money. I understand we all aren't thrilled with Nintendo's performance right now but give credit where it is due.

Also, I could never see a western CEO doing this no matter what the state of affairs the company was in. This is more than a gesture, it's a show of serious dedication to returning the company to being profitable.

[ravinash]

True...western CEO would keep giving him self bonuses.

While a nice gesture, how much is he earning now?

[speedforce131]

No. This was entirely their fault. In western companies, Iwata would have been axed by now. What credit is due? Nintendo has been out of sync with the markets now for two console generations. The Wii U was a wake up call that they cannot rejoin the race until they get with the times and play nice with the rest of the industry.

You Nintendo fanboys can downvote me all you want but it's the truth and it's unfortunate that you can't see how things really are.

[ABizzel1]

@Cleft5

Actually it was his fault, and I agree it wasn't 100%, his fault, but it was 100% top management fault, and they all should be taking a similar pay cut.

The Wii U's problems aren't hardware failures as in the console doesn't work. It's a hardware failure for the simple fact they once again tried to skate by instead of taking advantage of being the only console out and offer the first taste of the true next-generation of games.

That was a Top Management decision to go with the final hardware in the Wii U.

Pricing the Wii U at $299 - $349, without half the functionality of the PS360 which are 7 and 8 year old consoles that cost $199 and offer a similar gaming experience graphically and gameplay wise, was another failing of the Wii U.

Pricing and features was a Top Management, and if you have only a game console with apps (no Blu Ray, basic apps, etc...), then that price needs to reflect a game console.

The decision to not compete with Sony and MS in terms of online gaming, was a nail in the coffin pretty much eliminating the majority of PS360 owners who might have wanted a Wii U.

Online was a Top Management decision.

The Wii U's failing are all at the executive decision level, and they should be the ones paying for these mistakes. Not the regular employees who did nothing but follow their leaders orders. The Wii U isn't in trouble because the team had a bad month at the office, it's in trouble because the coaches didn't tell their players the right game to play.

[Qrphe]

Just like he's responsible for the success of the Wii and DS, he's responsible for the failure of the Wii U. He IS thr CEO and he IS taking a cut for a reason after all.

[SilentNegotiator]

He would have been fired or re-assigned by now in the West.

[Charybdis]

Its not that uncommon for Japanese CEO's to cut their own salaries in bad times.
edit: an obvious example were the pay cuts of Sony CEO's in 2012

[KevinCubes]

Your avatar made me want to play Conker live and reloaded on my original Xbox I think I will now.

[MEsoJD]

Dammit this guy just needs to resign.

[Muffins1223]

Honestly if i worked for nintendo i would be mad at him if he did not.Did a shit job so he should get a shit pay.

[GreenRanger]

"poor 3DS sales"

Whaaaat?! I thought the 3DS was destroying everything?

[listenkids]

2011

[SilentNegotiator]

lol, actually reading is important.

[SilentNegotiator]

To clarify, I meant that GreenRanger should have read. The first sentence of the article description makes it clear that they meant when 3Ds wasn't doing well.

[MasterCornholio]

Let me put it this way. We both agree that the 3DS is selling very well. There's no way to disprove that. However, the 3DS isn't performing as well as Nintendo thought it would which is why they cut their sales forecast for it. This is the reason (along with the Wii U) why Nintendo executives are cutting their salaries. Because if everything sold what they expected then we wouldn't have this issue.

[MasterCornholio]

@Disagrees

But Nitnendo reduced their sales forecast for both systems. How am I wrong?

[Neonridr]

you are right in saying that, but they were specifically referring to the poor sales of the 3DS in 2011. Once the price cut came into effect and titles like Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 released, the rest is history.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

The 3DS's case is different from the Wii U though.
Even though it's not selling as they expected, the 3DS is STILL out-selling everything else, which makes it a sales success regardless of whether or not it matched up to Nintendo's too-high standards for it.

[deafdani]

Back in 2011. Seriously, pay attention, man.

[Muffins1223]

Compared to DS sales and game-boy sales 3DS are poor.People act like its doing great but its not doing "nintendo great" meaning its not selling well as previous generations.Probably because of smart phones.

[Chrono]

Poor guy, he will only make 1 mil USD a year now.

[Veneno]

He won't be able to get that 5th Porsche :( :( :(

[lilbroRx]

He earned that by making Nintendo billions.

He made no where near that much at the start but when the company was seeing huge success with the Wii, everyone received pay raises.

http://www.edge-online.com/...

Iwata makes the least out of all of the major gaming CEO's in Japan. The head of Sony awards himself 5 times as much as Iwata.

[InTheLab]

Dude your article is over 3 years old and is quoting salaries that are 4 years old. And Stringer doesn't run Sony anymore. That's Kaz...the man responsible for the slow but steady turnaround at Sony.

Kaz made .45m more than Iwata and has went through numerous pay cuts voluntarily as well as other top execs at Sony.

http://www.huffingtonpost.c...

[LOL_WUT]

He should just resign don't know why the loyalists keep clinging on to him he's ruining the company but their too blind to notice ;)

[NYC_Gamer]

Where's the plan to turn the company around?these pay cuts and apologies aren't going to correct things with Wii U..Nintendo needs to do real work to fix all the issues dealing with software and 3rd party relationships.

[BoneBone]

Last time they took a pay cut the 3DS went into orbit. I can't help think thinking everyone else on the board is saying to themselves "hang on, why do we have to take a pay cut? It's all your fault, Iwata, not ours!!!". :-P

Of course, it's places like NeoGAF who try and make out it's all one man's fault... they don't actually know it is... as for most things that come out of that place.

[MilkMan]

This is how you do business. Now the real work begins and that's REFORM.

[WeAreLegion]

"I'm taking a pay cut, as well as announcing Pokemon World! It's a full 3D Pokemon MMO available this summer on the Wii U!"

How hard is it, Nintendo? Really?

[lilbroRx]

Nintendo doens't make Pokemon. They just own the I.P. and pay the company that does.

You would have to send that idea to the people who actually make it.

[pabadamus1]

...not impressed. This guy is still well compensated so where is the punishment. I argue that continuous poor results should result in a call for resignation. Why continue to let him waste money and diminish investor returns? If immediate resignation is an unlikely option, timelines should be set for improvement specifically in the WiiU business and profit/loss performance. Why is Nintendo's board so unwilling to place more pressure on Iwata? Why do they continuously allow apology and nominal gestures of accepting responsibility to serve as substitutes for sound, results driven business practices?

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Your definition of "continuous poor results" must be wildly different from the actual meaning, bro.
He's made both the Wii and 3DS wildly successful, and the Wii U's problems are short term and quite fixable.

[pabadamus1]

No. I speak of three consecutive years of net losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars. I speak of the company's inability to hit sales targets for both pieces of hardware for multiple fiscal periods. I speak of their current apathetic business culture and practices that have led to a devaluation of the stock and lower returns.

Neither "Wii" nor "3DS" are appropriate answers to the problem of a failing WiiU and Nintendo business. Nintendo fans use them as crutches and diversions away from what is now even being acknowledged by Nintendo as pure failure. I really hope they figure their sh!t out so fans can continue drinking that Koolaid.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

I know CEOs are paid a lot due to the importance of their job, but a 50% price cut? It makes you wonder just how much their earning if they can afford to take that sort of hit and still be better financially than most.

[lilbroRx]

No apparently you don't. Iwata is not an American CEO and gets paid no where near as much as they do. Neither Iwata or Myamoto get paid that much compared to other company heads despite that the fact that they've made their companies far more money than other company heads.

http://www.edge-online.com/...

Iwata's basic salary was less than 500USD.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

The hell? Seriously? wow. I get paid more than that. Damn.

[InTheLab]

Not only that, but a lot of people never consider stock or other incentives like free travel and bonuses. Hit a few numbers in a quarter and bonus half your salary. Your base pay is really meaningless at the level of CEO.

[MadMen]

Well only 2 things happen to CEOs when performance is bad, you dont get money guranteed, or you get cut.

[josephayal]

They really are desperate, I hope they don't go bankrupt

[InTheLab]

Not really. It's a common thing for company heads to take a cut to their base salary....unless you're that douche that killed JC Penny.

Many companies bounce back from cuts like these and what this really does is save them the trouble of firing employees who had nothing to do with the failure of the WiiU.

[lizard81288]

Haha, from what I hear, they tried to do a good thing at JC Penny. instead of marking things at $49.99, they marked it at $50.

For whatever the reason, the customers that shopped there, thought they were getting ripped off. I guess saving that one penny IS a big deal.

[gano]

its good nintendo.
You got a supporter for life right here.
M$ need to gtfo.
No M$ support here, ever.

[jmc8888]

Well this was a good move. But their next move was idiotic. A $1.2 billion stock buyback.

Stock buybacks are the biggest of waste of money, especially when markets worldwide are artificially inflated by about 90 percent. If you want to buy back stock wait until the CRASH that is coming happens.

Anyways, lots of people talk about wanting an ambassador program if Nintendo releases a new console...well unless they really want to throw money around, this buyback basically would have been most of the cost of an ambassador program.

$1.2 billion/5.86 million Wii U's = $204.78 in stock buyback for every Wii U sold. Would of made a helluva ambassador program or 2/3rd's of one.

Yep that's why Wall Street (and similar morons around the world) is so out of touch.

It's amazing that on one hand you have the heads cutting their salary, and on the other they are basically taking over half of the revenue from Wii U sales and buying artifically high Nintendo stock price to pump it up higher....temporarily...until Nintendo and the Nikkei, like the DJIA, FTSE, CAC, XETRA DAX crash.

Meanwhile if now they release a new console in the next couple of years and don't do an ambassador program...well just remember they wasted that money on this crap.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

That buyback helps prevent a hostile take-over and raises their value and makes them a bit more private, eliminates some of the bad investors that were likely keeping them stuck in the mud as well.
So no, it wasn't a stupid move or a waste of money.

[AJBACK2FRAG]

I really don't see why Mr. Iwata took the cut in pay. The Wii U is a fantastic video game console! A funny name maybe but when you look at the jump in tech from the Wii to the Wii U it's nothing short of extrordinary! Friend codes? Gone. Lack of a cohesive internet infrastructure? Gone! Nintendo's software releases so far have looked gorgeous, played extremely well and have worked perfectly straight out of the box no patchs needed! The guys at Nintendo have done their jobs virtualy perfect! Mr. Miyamoto took a pay cut also which to me is ridiculous!!!!!! He's carried Nintendo around on his back for fricking decades! Why should he suffer? He's done his job magnificently! The level of Nintenndo software is sky high and he's gotta take a pay cut that's insane! I as a Nintendo fan should have to take a pay cut from my dumb ass job before him!!!!!!! They're both doing a spectacular job! The Wii U is an ecxellent home video game console! Nintendo fans it's time to start busting open piggy banks! To hell with Sony and to hell with dumb ass Microsoft! This is our time! This is our time! It's a fight for innovation and a fight for beauty! Who the hell is with me????

[lizard81288]

Nintendo does need to bring in new blood or really look at their market and who they are competing with. In some ways, they are behind the times, like opting out of online play for local only.

[linkenski]

Next Nintendo Direct: Iwata: "As some of you may know, the Wii U is in a poor state right now. I fucked up, please understand!"

[Geobros]

He is a real man....Nintendo is lucky with a president like him.

[JackieCruise69]

I say Kudos to him. I'm sure some people are gonna spin this into some negative shit like half the users on here.

Iwata may not be the 'best' company president, he makes a lot of shit choices. He's realized and vowed to fix them. but hell, he deserves some props. He could have been like Square Enix, or EA and tossed aside some workers, or he could have just said fuck it. But no, he's voluntarily paying for his mistakes. Not once, but twice. You don't see a lot of companies higher ups doing that.
Not just Iwata is doing this, other higher ups are giving up pay as well for their company. Be salty all you want towards them, but you can't just turn your head away or bat an eye at something like this. If being dedicated to your company is a bad thing, then I don't know what'd be considered good.

[R3DRAIN89]

so will this result in a price drop in WiiU?

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Do yourself a favor and go look online for a discounted bundle.
The price is already low enough if you actually, you know, LOOK AROUND...