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GoNintendo “End of day” thoughts - Harrison, Llewelyn, Kaplan leaving: what does it mean?

A rough night for me, but it ends with a clean computer. I guess I can’t complain about that! I’m completely wiped, so I am off to bed. I’ll catch you guys in a few hours. Have a great morning everyone!

Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed, it looks as if there will be some big changes at Nintendo of America. First off, somewhere around 90% of Nintendo of America’s sales and marketing team are said to be leaving the company. On top of that Senior Director of Public Relations Beth Llewelyn; Vice President, Marking and Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan; and Senior Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Communications George Harrison are going to be leaving as well. Losing 90% of a team is a staggering loss, but throwing in these three big wigs makes the situation seem that much worse. All of this comes as a product of Nintendo of America moving their sales and marketing divisions to either New York or San Francisco. The situation was pretty cut and dry when it came to package acceptance. Either you went along with the move, or you took your severance package and left the company. It looks like NoA is pretty serious about making these changes. I don’t know why they view it as so important, but it appears that nothing will stand in their way. While we do not have the information on when this switch will take place, one would think that it will happen before the close of 2007. We may have precious little time with our industry figureheads, so we better enjoy it while we can. With such a big shakeup just around the corner, what does this mean for Nintendo?

I don’t know whether it was the nature of the job or not, but these people really seemed to love Nintendo. Perrin Kaplan comes across as the most honest when it comes to Nintendo love. This looked like a woman that loved her job and the company she was spreading the word for. As the years have gone on, Perrin has become a much more notable figure. When Nintendo/video game fans think of Nintendo figureheads, people like Iwata, Reggie, and Miyamoto come to mind. In recent years Perrin has joined that group as well. She has become much more recognizable thanks to her frequent public appearances, along with her chats with IGN’s Matt Casamassina. These two seem inseparable, and IGN’s videos have been a huge source of material for message board jokers out there. The other two figures (Harrison and Llewelyn) may not be as well known, but their work was definitely appreciated. Beth gave frequent interviews and has actually released some important info along the way. Just last year she dropped a few mini-bombs before E3 hit. Unfortunately for Harrison, he has become known as the “boring” guy in the group. Whenever he takes the stage at an event, the media slumps down in their seats. This is the guy that discusses software sales, adoption rates, and any other sales figures that Nintendo can throw at him. We all know how much Nintendo loves to hit us with these types of figures, it just so happens that Harrison had to be the man to deliver them.
With these people leaving the company, three big spots open up. Not only does Nintendo have to rebuild their sales and marketing team, they have to find three people that are up to the task of filling the big shoes of Kaplan, Llewelyn, and Harrison. This is certainly not an easy task. Nintendo must be 100% sure that this move is the right way to go. I don’t see them going ahead with this decision unless they had absolutely concrete plans and figures that showed that a move like this was necessary. Even with a firm belief, it will still be hard to hunt out the right people for the job. Not only do these three people perform very important tasks, they presented a certain personality to the public. Believe it or not, there are a lot of Nintendo fans out there that care about these people. These personalities can often gain much more attention and respect for Nintendo itself. On the other hand, the choice of three unsuitable candidates can have us all questioning why Nintendo made the move in the first place. There’s no doubt in my mind that Nintendo already has new people lined up for these jobs. Hopefully these are people well suited for the job rather than quick replacements due to hasty retreats.
This decision isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s good to get some new blood into a company. With new blood comes new ideas and methods of work. Take a look at Nintendo Company Ltd president Satoru Iwata. With Yamauchi we had a company that was on the brink of death. Iwata comes in and completely changes things up. With Iwata came the mind of a developer, a gamer at heart. His new ideas and approaches have taken Nintendo and put them on top once again. It’s hard to picture that ever happening with Yamuachi’s iron fist still ruling. We can also look to Reggie Fils-Aime as proof that new blood is good blood. Reggie hit the scene big when he popped on stage at E3 a few years back. His commanding presence made him an instant internet celebrity. Nintendo was impressed with his work as well. Within the period of a couple years Reggie would move up all the way to President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America. Reggie may be a great figurehead for the gaming public, but he also knows what he is doing when it comes to business.
Who knows what the future holds for Nintendo’s sales and marketing team. Perhaps Game Informer is wrong and there is no shakeup. We still wait for an official confirmation from Nintendo. For now I think it’s a safe bet that the info is true. In a time where Nintendo is trying new ideas with the DS and Wii, it might not be such a bad thing that new people are coming in. More seasoned vets will be on the way, and a younger crowd will be filling spots as well. All of this can help contribute to Nintendo’s success in the future. It will be very interesting to see if Nintendo’s behind the scene changes are noticeable to people like us. If we do pick up on changes, let’s hope they are for the better.