Nintendo now has a new president amidst shakeup

After taking up the position in 2016, Tatsumi Kimishima has stepped down as president of Nintendo, and been replaced by Shuntaro Furukawa.

Furukawa is a board member of Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.

Further to this, Satoru Shibata, the Nintendo of Europe boss, is also leaving. He is returning to the Tokyo headquarters in a senior role.

Furukawa is now the sixth president of Nintendo since its inception in 1889, when it was a playing card company.

Kimishima, having taken over as president when Satoru Iwata passed away, was the company’s shortest-serving president.

During a press conference, Nintendo stated they wanted to pass the torch to a younger president, with hardware sales stable.

Kimishima’s tenure will likely be celebrated. In a short span, he oversaw the launch of the Switch, guiding the console to a successful first year.

He also guided the company’s mobile output, with Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Fire Emblem: Heroes all launching on mobile devices.

Image: Gamekult

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