By Paolo Succi on January 29, 2014 at 8:39am
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced today that himself and other top executives at Nintendo will be taking temporary pay cuts. This is in response to the company's record losses which were largely fueled by failing to meet projections for the WiiU.
Iwata will be taking half his current salary, while other executives will see 20-30% cuts on their next pay cheque. These cuts are currently in effect through June 2014. Past that, Iwata says he'll assess the situation and "make a decision at that time".
While Nintendo's recent financial report revealed expected profits of 100 billion Yen were actually record losses of 35 billion Yen, don't be so quick to write them off just yet. Recent software sales are on the upswing with titles like "Super Mario World 3D", "Wind Waker HD", and Wii PartyU moving over 1 million copies. With strong sales from the 3DS and hot titles like "Super Smash Bros." and "Mario Kart" seeing release in 2014, Nintendo as a major next-gen player shouldn't be ruled out just yet.
BBC News: Nintendo Executives Take Pay Cuts Telegraph: Profit Projections IGN: Nintendo Boss Iwata Halves Pay as Profits Tumble
