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Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Nintendo Question & Answers: 81st Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I'm so happy someone FINALLY asked these questions. It's a dream come true. But about those answers...

Usually, whenever KoopaTV covers the question and answer (Q&A) sessions between Nintendo and their shareholders or analysts, I like to make fun of them for asking stupid and redundant questions.

However, this time, many of the ten questions published in Nintendo's 81st Annual General Meeting of Shareholders were EXCELLENT. Now it's up to Nintendo to answer them well. I'll review those questions and Nintendo's answers in this article. You won't want to miss question number nine.

Question 1: Why does Nintendo assume 120 yen to the euro when other Japanese companies assume 130 yen to the euro?


Alright, this isn't the most fun question to open up with, but it is interesting if you understand its premise. Nintendo's financial projections for their fiscal year assume it'll cost 120 Japanese yen to get one euro. Right now, the foreign exchange rate is around 130 Japanese yen to one euro, and other Japanese companies seem to assume more adverse rates. Sony, for example, assumes 126 yen per euro (see page 24). Nintendo lists fluctuation in foreign exchange rates as a risk factor for holding Nintendo stock because significant fluctuations when converting currency can have a big impact due to the volume of sales Nintendo does in Europe.

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa gave a complete non-answer as to why Nintendo believes the yen will be stronger instead of its weaker trend.


Question 2: What's up with Chris Meledandri as an outside director?


Chris Meledandri is being appointed as an outside director to Nintendo. He's the founder of Illumination Entertainment and produced Despicable Me, making him responsible for making the Minions a thing. Shigeru Miyamoto has said he's been working with Illumination Entertainment for over five years on making a Super Mario movie. In that time, he's really gotten to know him, and feels like this guy can really strengthen Nintendo because he really understands why Nintendo makes characters and how movies can be important to Nintendo.

Question 3: What's your favourite videogame?


The person asking this believes that high-ranking Nintendo people should like videogames, which is similar to how game fans think that videogame journalists should like (and be good at playing) videogames. So everyone on Nintendo's call had to answer, which for many of the participants was their only answer of the call.
  • Ko Shiota (Director, Senior Executive Officer): Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, which he plays with his kids. He's a hardware guy and finds it interesting. I think it's terrifying and have a very good reason for that thought.
  • Shinya Takahashi (Director, Senior Managing Executive Officer): Yūyūki for the Famicom. It was the first game he worked on at Nintendo. This is the adventure game that the Goku Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comes from.
  • Shigeru Miyamoto (Representative Director, Fellow): He gave three answers: PAC-MAN for being his big design inspiration, Tetris is “wonderful”, and he's currently been a Pokémon GO junkie for the past two years. This may be the reason Nintendo is working with Niantic on a Pikmin mobile game next. Note that none of the games listed care about storylines or characters, which obviously has had an effect on Shigeru Miyamoto's decisions.
  • Satoru Shibata (Director, Senior Executive Officer): Shin Onigashima, but he has recency bias for the Famicom Detective Club games that were recently (re)released for the Nintendo Switch. Shibata liking adventure games with characters and stories serves as a counterpoint to Shigeru Miyamoto's philosophies, and now I feel like I must purchase the Famicom Detective Club games sometime in 2021 in order to send financial support for pro-story Nintendo content.
  • Shuntaro Furukawa (Representative Director and President): Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, especially the Hanafuda card game. ...Alright, you do you, man.
Now it's time for the worst question of the ten, but I promise it gets way better after this following one:

Question 4: Where is the gender diversity in Nintendo?


The guy (or woman?) asking the question cited “some media outlets” in their question that “Nintendo games seem not to fully take gender into account.” I'm unfamiliar with the so-called “journalism” involved, but it sounds like yet another hit piece (or series of hit pieces) from the same imbeciles who lie to you over and over again about what's going on at Nintendo. As for Furukawa's answer, he said gender diversity is “very important.” And that's about it.

Question 5: What are Nintendo's plans for eSports involvement?


Now THIS is a good question. The guy asking was concerned that an UNOFFICIAL tournament using Nintendo software was a “great success” and wants to know why Nintendo isn't doing more official eSports things with their games. Furukawa brought up Japan-only things like “the final stage of the national elementary school Smash Bros. tournament” in 2019... woohoo, freakin’ elementary school. Anyway, Furukawa recognised that game tournaments motivate game engagement and can create interest in games and characters even among those who currently don't own the game. This SHOULD be something in-line with the same reason that Nintendo is off building theme parks and making movies.

Furukawa didn't mention this, but at least Nintendo of America is getting back into doing eSports. The first event of the Splatoon 2 Splatter Ladder 2021 is THIS weekend. And this fall, Nintendo is sponsoring a whole high school circuit for Splatoon 2 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. I have pretty high hopes for NoA to do more things to come, too. But it would be nice for the Japanese leadership to be more supportive as well. And it seems like Furukawa is in theory...


Question 6: Will Nintendo consider a higher price tier with upgraded services for Nintendo Switch Online?


Shuntaro Furukawa didn't answer the question, but it would be nice if he did, because the answer should be yes.

Question 7: Will there be a sequel to Ring Fit Adventure?


THIS. THIS IS A QUESTION that I've been personally asking for months now. Furukawa responded by saying demand for Ring Fit Adventure continues to be strong, including in non-Japan Asia despite that not being one of Nintendo's main markets. Furukawa's exact last sentence that addresses the question was, “With regard to future developments, I cannot disclose specific plans, but we would like to take various initiatives so many people continue to play this title.”

While it's a non-answer, I'm reading that as “Ring Fit Adventure will have a future.” The game hasn't gotten an update in over a year (March 25, 2020 with the Rhythm Game). Maybe it'll get an update. Maybe a sequel. Perhaps some kind of physical event. Hopefully not some mobile game tie-in. Regardless, I'm looking forward to it. I'm about to beat Extra Fitness mode in two days! (That's the story mode for the second time.)


Question 8: The media said there'd be a new Nintendo Switch model at E3 2021, but there wasn't. Will there be one?


This question and answer summary was released on July 5, and Furukawa gave the standard “I cannot comment on specific products that are under development” line. The very next day, on July 6, Nintendo revealed the Nintendo Switch (OLED model).

...Funny how that works. And, yeah, this is the second question in this Q&A created by dumb media reports. (Click the link in the paragraph above to read what the FAKE NEWS media got wrong about the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model)... because it's a lot. Not just when it'd be announced.)


Question 9: There are human rights issues in your Chinese supply chain. What will Nintendo do about it?


Even more important than the Ring Fit Adventure question is this one. THIS is the question that I've been trashing Nintendo's analysts and stockholders for not asking. Until now.

The guy who asked the question just mentioned human rights and China. It was Furukawa who name-dropped the Uyghurs, saying, “We are aware of the reports that question whether there is forced labor of Uyghurs in factories in Nintendo's supply chain.” However, right after that he said according to Nintendo's investigations (I wonder how hard did Nintendo actually try investigating?), Nintendo's business partners conveniently aren't involved in forced labour, and they have “not received any reports of forced labor within Nintendo's supply chain up to this point.” That contradicts his own first sentence. This also directly contradicts the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's report that KoopaTV analysed. They had a diagram naming the Uyghur-abusing Chinese enterprise Hubei Yihong as a supplier for Nintendo hardware.

That means one of two things: Nintendo is lying, or the Uyghur report is wrong. Nintendo lying seems significantly more likely, given that they deny the very existence of forced labour reports in Nintendo's supply chain despite a public report identifying Nintendo as a beneficiary of abused Uyghur forced labour... and Furukawa acknowledging said report in his answer. What?

I'm really happy that someone finally asked Nintendo the question after all of this time, and I'm also deeply disappointed in Nintendo's categorical denial. How can he be aware of the report that there is forced Uyghur labour in Nintendo's supply chain and then immediately say Nintendo has not received any reports of forced labour in Nintendo's supply chain? I'm not the only one who finds that contradictory, right?


Question 10: Are there future plans for more “mini” series?


“Nintendo Classic Mini” refers to the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System: SNES Classic Edition. No one's really talked about those in years. Furukawa gave a non-answer saying that Nintendo will consider ways for people to play older Nintendo games, and he brought up the Nintendo Switch Online service's classic game content.


That's all of the questions and answers! What did you think of them? Better questions than usual (on average), right? Which things do you think Nintendo will stop considering doing and then actually go do? What do you think about their response to the Uyghur crisis? Is Ludwig the only one who wants a Ring Fit Adventure sequel? Let's talk in the comments section!


The 80th Annual General Meeting Q and A is here.
These were much better questions than the ones Ludwig analysed two months ago for the end of Nintendo's fiscal year that ended March 2021.
The next Q&A session happened February 2022.
Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri are making co-statements about that Super Mario Bros. movie being delayed.
Here is KoopaTV's write-up of the 82nd Annual General Meeting in 2022.

8 comments :

  1. "Note that none of the games listed care about storylines or characters, which obviously has had an effect on Shigeru Miyamoto's decisions."

    ...What beautiful savagery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not out here to be savage (in this one moment)... it's simple cause→effect!
      He's inspired by those types of games so that's the philosophy he's taken when making his own. It hopefully should explain a lot!

      Delete
    2. Well, I'm stealing it, and in MY use it absolutely will be intended to be savage.

      Delete
    3. Alright, you thief. >_>

      ...could I get some credit then? <_<

      Delete
    4. Sure, if and when I get around to using it.

      Delete
  2. So what wait, miyamoto hates stories and he’s been working fondly with the one of the creators of the MINIONS?? Toads will be new minions confirmed.


    I really like that last question about the minis, I really want a mini N64 or GameCube. So many GameCube games I can’t play because I don’t have one and all the emulators suck. Guess I’ll have to wait for Nintendo to drip feed us them by the way of remakes. Could they even make a GameCube mini? It really wasn’t too long ago that the GameCube was new, seems like a long long time ago to me but I suppose that’s not true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I mean, 20 years was a whole generation ago, so... As I've written, the GameCube is now considered "retro" so it should qualify for a Mini.
      There's no reason why they couldn't make a GameCube Mini. It's obviously possible.

      But Nintendo might prefer the remakes route and get more total money that way. Remakes can live forever (unless they're tied to an anniversary... but only some anniversaries) but the Minis had very short supply runs.

      Delete

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