Nintendo is having a truly difficult year. Things are tough! Yet, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe thinks the country can learn from Nintendo.
Earlier today, a member of the Diet asked him for his growth strategy for Japan.
“Well, for example, there’s a company called Nintendo,” Abe replied. “Over there, they made hanafuda cards, but gradually the people playing hanafuda decreased. However, that company called Nintendo makes hanafuda cards and whatnot, and I believe that only by doing that, it wasn’t able to protect hanafuda.”
So, Abe continued, Nintendo used technical expertise to lead the way in developing home video game consoles. “And at the same time, it is keeping the traditional hanafuda cards. For sure, I think this is something that we can learn from.”
Bad timing to bust out the Nintendo comparisons. But, hey, Shinzo Abe is a busy guy! He doesn’t have time to check Nintendo financial statements. He has a country to run.
That being said, he does make a good point about how Nintendo was able to protect its traditional business and at the same time expand into new areas. Good thing Abe didn’t bring up that failed Nintendo love hotel , huh?
~平成26年3月3日 予算委員会~ [NicoVideo via オレ的]
Comments
9 responses to “Japanese Prime Minister Thinks Japan Can Learn From… Nintendo”
Japanese politics is a basket case. If on its best day it could work as well as a company like Nintendo on its worst, Japan would be in great shape.
http://prntscr.com/2xnm06 – 3 year chart of Nintendo’s stock price. Seriously no idea what people are thinking. They are a failing company striving for relevance and refusing to listen to a global market.
Sometimes it’s good to try to be an innovator, but as I see it they leave no room for consumerism – while over leveraging their existing catalog, as though we haven’t played the same game with perhaps 1 new element added just way too many times already.
Any different from Sony and MS’s games division?
You mean the divisions that are doing amongst the best for both companies?
Have they picked back up again? Goodo.
Coming off an unprecedented runaway success, back to the normal share price of, oh… only FOURTEEN GODDAMN DOLLARS.
Very well selling handheld, lucrative merchandising… The only thing dragging them down now is a bad decision on the WiiU.
Yup. Dying. Just spraying money like blood from a severed artery. Dead in minutes.
Everything is a matter of scale sir. By the same degree, when they announce multi-million dollar losses at times, that is also of scale.
A fall of degree is a fall none the less. If you’re making 10 million dollars and all the sudden you’re making 1 million dollars – do you just go “Oh well, a million dollars is still good!!”? God no. You go jesus we really aren’t living up to our potential and our finances clearly reflect this.
Stock price per unit is also largely irrelevant, it just depends on the structure incase you were unaware also 🙂
You can’t use stock price as your argument and then pretend it doesn’t matter when the argument is turned around on you. It either matters or it doesn’t. Either way, my point stands.
What I’m saying is that people have been screaming DOOM DOOM for Nintendo on the internet since the launch of the 64. It was bullshit then, it’s bullshit now. They aren’t raking in money hand over fist anymore, but the one two combo of the SNES and Gameboy, then the Wii and the DS is the kind of lightning that just doesn’t strike thrice. They could be doing a lot better, but this whole narrative that Nintendo is on death’s door and is desperately struggling to find relevance in a world that has left them behind is as melodramatic as it is untrue.
In the end, even at their worst, they could teach the Japanese government a hell of a lot about management.
“Well, for example, there’s a company called Nintendo,” Abe replied. “Over there, they made Wii U, but gradually the people playing Wii U decreased. However, that company called Nintendo makes Wii U and whatnot, and I believe that only by doing that, it wasn’t able to protect Wii U.*”
Fixed. Now all Nintendo needs to do is make their next console. =)