Tatsumi Kimishima to step down as Nintendo president

Nintendo’s stand-in president Tatsumi Kimishima will be stepping down from the company in June.

Nintendo’s stand-in president Tatsumi Kimishima will be stepping down from the company in June.

The move was announced during Nintendo’s latest financial report, with Kimishima set to be replaced by Shuntaro Furukawa, the outside director of the Pokémon Company and current Nintendo board member.

Kimishima is not the only high profile president to be stepping down from his role. Satoru Shibata. the president of Nintendo of Europe, will also be stepping down and joining Nintendo’s board of directors.

Satoru Shibata’s replacement has not been announced at the time.

The changes in leadership has hit Nintendo hard on the stock market. Nintendo stock is trading at 45,430 yen ($415) since the announcement, down by 940 yen ($9) since the stock market opened this morning.

Kimishima has led the company since the passing of former President Satoru Iwata on July 2015. He led Nintendo into a new golden age with the release of the Nintendo Switch, which has sold over 17 million units worldwide since launching early last year.

Furukawa, Nintendo’s president as of June, has looked to alliterate investors fears. Speaking at Nintendo’s news conference today, Furukawa said that he will look to balance Nintendo’s traditions of originality and flexibility, according to NintendoLife.

“I grew up playing the Famicom and come from that generation,” Furukawa said. “Now as a member of management with Super Mario’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto, I have a lot of respect for him. On the other hand, with this new job that can’t just be it, so I expect to say what needs to be said to run the company.”