Nintendo announced Thursday that Shuntaro Furukawa will take over as president of the company, replacing current president Tatsumi Kimishima, who is stepping down from the role. According to Japanese outlet Nikkei, the 68-year-old Kimishima will remain with Nintendo in an advisory role.
Per Kimishima, the decision to place Furukawa at the head of the company was made due to the thought that the company’s leadership needed to be younger in an effort to better understand its customers. The 46-year-old former Outside Director of the Pokémon Company fits the bill. Furukawa will be the second president of the company, following the untimely death of former company president Satoru Iwata in 2015.
Nintendo had been looking to pass leadership to a new generation for some time, but wanted to wait until sales rebounded, which the success of the Nintendo Switch has provided over the past year, before making the change in management.
Furukawa will transition into his new role later this summer.