Prologue - A Death in the Family
Prologue - A Death in the Family
Hiroshi Yamauchi sat down on the twelfth evening of December 1993 as he usually did, next to his wife Michiko, sharing some piping hot tea. Unfortunately, the sixty five year old Yamauchi would never get to enjoy his cup of tea. As his wife poured his tea, she heard a sudden loud crash. Looking away from the tea, she saw her husband lying on the ground, defeated.
Mr. Yamauchi suffered a stroke that evening, dying later that night. To some, it was a painful death and seemingly impossible to overcome tragedy; to others, it was an opportunity. See, Yamauchi was the iron grip leader of Nintendo, who’s hold over the company was as determined as the look in his eyes. So, while everyone was overwhelmed with sadness at the loss of their leader, many saw this as the time to take Nintendo in a new direction.
And why wouldn’t they? The past four years had been troublesome, as a once obscure competitor had risen to take a hold of roughly half the market Nintendo had dominated in the last generation of gaming. Sega was the enemy. The same old tricks that had brought Nintendo to the top could very well be there downfall.
Now, another competitor looked to knock Nintendo off the throne. Perhaps if Mr. Yamauchi hadn’t snubbed Sony by way of Phillips two years ago, Nintendo wouldn’t be looking at a second serious competitor in the gaming market. And serious they were. Though Sony hadn’t publicly announced the PlayStation to the world, Nintendo was already familiar with it’s would-be foe’s plans to enter the market with their new console. The PlayStation would be disc based and offer 3D graphics.
So now, with Yamauchi’s death, which surely saddened all involved, many in Nintendo knew his successor must be capable of crushing Sony, Sega, and all future adversaries. Someone who wouldn’t hold on to policies of the past, instead, looking to create the policies of the future.
Enter: Minoru Arakawa. In the days immediately following Yamauchi’s death, whispers around the Headquarters of Nintendo pointed to serious discussion amongst the board members in appoint Yamauchi’s son-in-law, Arakawa to the vacant stations of president and chairman. While the company wouldn’t be so brash as to immediately replace Yamauchi, when the time came Arakawa seemed the perfect fit. For those who wanted to maintain the continuity of command the company had followed, Arakawa was both a Managing Director, and Yamauchi’s son-in-law. For those who wanted to see the company expand its horizons or change directions, Arakawa would be a breath of fresh air, being the head of Nintendo of America.
Thus, on the nineteenth of September, two days after Yamauchi’s funeral, and a week after his death, the board convened. The two senior managing directors, and three managing directors other than Arakawa were unanimous in their decision to make him Nintendo’s next leader. To replace him, Howard Lincoln would take over Nintendo of America, and take Arakawa’s spot on the board.
The future would be in Arakawa’s hands.
Authors Note: This timeline is a reboot of my failed ‘Altendo: A Nintendo Timeline’ timeline. The major point of divergence here is the 1993 death of Mr. Hiroshi Yamauchi, legendary businessman, who propelled Nintendo into the behemoth it became. This timeline will explore the impact of Yamauchi’s early death on the video game industry, and pop culture at large.
Though the timeline is subtitled ‘The Nintendo Story’, it will focus on much more than Nintendo, and attempt to provide an unbiased and fair estimation of history, had Mr. Yamauchi died in 1993, twenty years before his actual death. I hope to update the timeline weekly, but will definitely release chapters at least fortnightly. Any questions are welcomed, and any answers will be canon to the timeline.
Thanks for reading ‘A Death in the Family’ and stay tuned for the next chapter.
Hiroshi Yamauchi sat down on the twelfth evening of December 1993 as he usually did, next to his wife Michiko, sharing some piping hot tea. Unfortunately, the sixty five year old Yamauchi would never get to enjoy his cup of tea. As his wife poured his tea, she heard a sudden loud crash. Looking away from the tea, she saw her husband lying on the ground, defeated.
Mr. Yamauchi suffered a stroke that evening, dying later that night. To some, it was a painful death and seemingly impossible to overcome tragedy; to others, it was an opportunity. See, Yamauchi was the iron grip leader of Nintendo, who’s hold over the company was as determined as the look in his eyes. So, while everyone was overwhelmed with sadness at the loss of their leader, many saw this as the time to take Nintendo in a new direction.
And why wouldn’t they? The past four years had been troublesome, as a once obscure competitor had risen to take a hold of roughly half the market Nintendo had dominated in the last generation of gaming. Sega was the enemy. The same old tricks that had brought Nintendo to the top could very well be there downfall.
Now, another competitor looked to knock Nintendo off the throne. Perhaps if Mr. Yamauchi hadn’t snubbed Sony by way of Phillips two years ago, Nintendo wouldn’t be looking at a second serious competitor in the gaming market. And serious they were. Though Sony hadn’t publicly announced the PlayStation to the world, Nintendo was already familiar with it’s would-be foe’s plans to enter the market with their new console. The PlayStation would be disc based and offer 3D graphics.
So now, with Yamauchi’s death, which surely saddened all involved, many in Nintendo knew his successor must be capable of crushing Sony, Sega, and all future adversaries. Someone who wouldn’t hold on to policies of the past, instead, looking to create the policies of the future.
Enter: Minoru Arakawa. In the days immediately following Yamauchi’s death, whispers around the Headquarters of Nintendo pointed to serious discussion amongst the board members in appoint Yamauchi’s son-in-law, Arakawa to the vacant stations of president and chairman. While the company wouldn’t be so brash as to immediately replace Yamauchi, when the time came Arakawa seemed the perfect fit. For those who wanted to maintain the continuity of command the company had followed, Arakawa was both a Managing Director, and Yamauchi’s son-in-law. For those who wanted to see the company expand its horizons or change directions, Arakawa would be a breath of fresh air, being the head of Nintendo of America.
Thus, on the nineteenth of September, two days after Yamauchi’s funeral, and a week after his death, the board convened. The two senior managing directors, and three managing directors other than Arakawa were unanimous in their decision to make him Nintendo’s next leader. To replace him, Howard Lincoln would take over Nintendo of America, and take Arakawa’s spot on the board.
The future would be in Arakawa’s hands.
Authors Note: This timeline is a reboot of my failed ‘Altendo: A Nintendo Timeline’ timeline. The major point of divergence here is the 1993 death of Mr. Hiroshi Yamauchi, legendary businessman, who propelled Nintendo into the behemoth it became. This timeline will explore the impact of Yamauchi’s early death on the video game industry, and pop culture at large.
Though the timeline is subtitled ‘The Nintendo Story’, it will focus on much more than Nintendo, and attempt to provide an unbiased and fair estimation of history, had Mr. Yamauchi died in 1993, twenty years before his actual death. I hope to update the timeline weekly, but will definitely release chapters at least fortnightly. Any questions are welcomed, and any answers will be canon to the timeline.
Thanks for reading ‘A Death in the Family’ and stay tuned for the next chapter.