TOKYO — After the death of Nintendo Co.’s president, the leadership spotlight is falling on Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of blockbuster video game franchises such as Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda.
Nintendo said Monday that it had no plans yet for who would succeed Satoru Iwata, who served as president from 2002 until his death from cancer on Saturday at age 55. The company didn’t name an interim president but said that Miyamoto and another executive, Genyo Takeda, would maintain their roles as representative directors, a title they shared with Iwata.
Miyamoto, 62, said he would work with game developers to create the kind of future successes that Iwata would have wanted.
The leadership change comes at a pivotal time for Nintendo.
It is looking beyond its traditional strength in console gaming, a business model that has been challenged by the rise of mobile games, for new sources of growth.
In a significant about-face, Nintendo this year agreed to begin developing games for smartphones.
While some analysts say now might be a good time for Nintendo to signal a more radical change of direction by appointing an outsider to its top post, they say that an existing executive is more likely, with Miyamoto at the top of the list.
