Nintendo – 79th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders: approval ratings, Q&A now available in English

On June 29th, Nintendo held their 79th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, where shareholders were invited to vote on several matters. The first one is the distribution of surplus: the company proposed a divided of 640 Yen / share, and this was approved by the vast majority of shareholders:

• For: 919 408 votes (98.57%)
• Against: 529
• Did not vote: 14

Next, here’s the approval rate for the various Directors, which were all re-elected (Number of Votes – For – Against – Approval Rate):

And finally, the official English translation of the Q&A session is now available: click here to check it out! Here’s the various that were asked (and answered… most of them, at least!):

• Question 1: The strength of Nintendo Switch is the many Nintendo titles to be enjoyed, but it also has a weakness in that you cannot play some AAA titles from other major software publishers. Some of those titles do get ported to Nintendo Switch after a while, but as other companies launch their next-generation game systems next year and beyond, and open a performance gap with Nintendo Switch, won’t it become even more difficult to port such games?
• Question 2: I often watch tournaments for games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Splatoon 2. I heard that one video-sharing website recently showed onscreen user comments that made fun of contestants, and that the contestants expressed discomfort with that. In some tournaments, inappropriate comments are deleted, but does Nintendo do anything about this?
• Question 3: With regards to the status of Nintendo Switch sales, my impression is that during the Wii era, unit sales dropped off steeply after reaching their peak. Do you see this same pattern happening with Switch?
• Question 4: There is an impression that Nintendo has been a little slow to join large global trends like the mobile business and releasing games that use VR. The current global discussion now is of the entrance of major corporations into cloud computing and streaming games, as well as alliances between rivals in the arena of cloud gaming. What are Nintendo’s thoughts on these trends, and how do you plan to respond? Also, how does Nintendo plan to respond to the change in communications standards from 4G to 5G?
• Question 5: Currently, some game companies have developed a subscription-based business model, but Nintendo is lagging behind other companies in this regard. How will this business model be employed in the future?
• Question 6: In April, the news broke that Nintendo would be entering the Chinese market. It is not easy for foreign-owned companies to do business in China. What are your thoughts?
• Question 7: Thirty years have passed since Famicom Tantei Club (Famicom Detective Club; direct translation of the Japanese title) was released in Japan for the Family Computer Disk System, and its excellent production and script still resonate with people today. I would like Nintendo to be constantly creating long-form games like this. Is the current Nintendo still capable of creating games in this sort of “adventure game” genre? Please tell us about the development framework for each game genre, and about your communication with international developers.
• Question 8: There are rumors of a new Nintendo Switch form factor, but is one actually being developed? [Spoiler: “no comment”]
• Question 9: There hasn’t been any coverage for a while of the QOL business announced earlier. Is it related at all to The Pokémon Company’s Pokémon Sleep, which was announced the other day? I’d like to hear more about the future direction for the QOL business.
• Question 10: I’d like to know more about Nintendo maintaining an environment that allows titles released on previous platforms, particularly Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube, to be played. Can we look forward to the gradual development of environments and services for playing titles released on previous platforms, via Nintendo Switch Online or other services? Or would it be difficult to quickly provide such online services due to technical and cost considerations?
• Question 11: The entertainment industry has recently begun recognizing the need for sensitivity regarding depictions in content. I’ve heard talk that another platform is applying its own own restrictions on content, and not just the age ratings provided by third-party organizations like CERO and ESRB. What kind of initiatives is Nintendo taking to address this issue for titles released for its platforms?
• Question 12: When software publishers do business on Nintendo platforms, my understanding is that sales for packaged software manufactured by Nintendo and sold to the software publishers are recorded based on gross sales. On the other hand, for digital sales, there have been a variety of arguments about whether sales should be recorded as gross or net (equivalent to commissions) following the release of the Accounting Standard for Revenue Recognition in March 2018. How does Nintendo record sales for the titles of software publishers sold on Nintendo eShop?
• Question 13: Looking at this year’s E3, it seems like the mainstream for video games is the same as it has been for the past 30 years, namely, looking at the screen and playing with controller in hand. How do developers regard this, and do they think it will continue?
• Question 14: In the litigation against MariCAR Inc. (now called: Mari Mobility Development Inc.), I heard that Nintendo’s claims were accepted in the interlocutory (interim) judgment of the Intellectual Property High Court on May 30, 2019. However, vehicles resembling those in Mario Kart are still on public roads in Osaka. If there is a traffic accident, I think it may damage the company’s reputation. How do you intend to proceed with the litigation?
• Question 15: (In the E3 video shown at the shareholders meeting,) I was envious that US fans could watch the E3 announcements from the New York Nintendo Store and be part of the excitement. I heard that a Nintendo Store will be built in Tokyo. Do you have plans for similar events?
• Question 16: A chance always exists that another company might initiate a hostile takeover of Nintendo because they want your intellectual property. Could you let us know if you have any policies or guidelines to defend against this type of acquisition?
• Question 17: Some major corporations have announced new developments in the video game business this year. It looks like Nintendo will be facing off as a rival with these types of corporations. At the same time, collaborations are also a possibility. Could you tell us about any policies or guidelines you may have regarding competition or collaboration with other companies? Do you have any new information to announce about existing partnerships?
• Question 18: Please tell us about Nintendo’s policy for preserving materials related to the history and culture of video games. I believe it is necessary to preserve these materials to protect the value of Nintendo’s IP as well, and that it is a major part of Nintendo’s social responsibility as a business.
• Question 19: Nintendo typically submits a securities report on the day after the quarterly shareholder meeting each year, but some companies submit their securities report before the meeting. Could Nintendo also submit this report before the quarterly shareholder meeting?
• Question 20: A Nintendo Switch Online subscription is very inexpensive, so the barrier to entry feels low, but on the other hand the content of the service still feels rather weak. How will you enhance the service going forward?
• Question 21: Nintendo’s company brochure (for hiring new graduates) each year is very elaborate and impressive. I think it would be good to let more people see this and past company brochures as well, if they could be made available on the official Nintendo website. What do you think?
• Question 22: I know of companies that hold a nice, open shareholder meeting on a Sunday, and set up a room for children so that families can participate. Nintendo, like many companies, holds its shareholder meetings on a weekday, but would you consider holding them on a Sunday? We also received amusement park tickets from one company as a gift at their shareholder meeting. Is Nintendo thinking of doing something similar that would be related to the completion of the area at Universal Studios Japan?

During this Q&A session, it was revealed that Super Mario Run has been downloaded over 300 million times since launch.

Source: Nintendo