I recently just viewed a video done by BBC Three which revolved around large and successful companies and the type of history and practices that were done behind the scenes to make themselves successful. The one that I specifically watched was aimed at Nintendo which I saw at the Google video archive at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2687866789001698114&q=nintendo
This video sure reminds me that when the media wants to make someone look good or bad, they sure over dramatize or emphasize certain points to make the viewer see things according to their opinion on an issue. For me personally, I have always been a person who enjoyed playing video games and since business is also a big part of my life that naturally got me interested in learning more about the business aspects of the game industry. That led me to read a book written by David Sheff titled “Game Over†which dealt with the history of Nintendo and its business practices. It was a great read too for everyone who is interested.
Anyhow, most of the information that was presented in the BBC video was also available in the book, except the book was written in a more positive light wheras the video was presented in a more evil and corrupt corporation type of theme. One of the best examples that stuck out of my head was when the reporter was interviewing Minoru Arakawa, the former president of Nintendo of America, she tried to imply to him that the company discouraged her to find him for an interview as if he had some grudge against the company and could reveal something damaging. From what I saw in the segment, it looked more like they discouraged her from hunting him down out of respect for his privacy.
Throughout the segment they painted a picture that Hiroshi Yamauchi, the former president of Nintendo, was this iron fist and heartless business person that exploited the talents of others to make himself a billionaire. The main talent that they tried to use for this example was Shigeru Miyamoto, the person who created Super Mario. They went on about how his ideas have been such a huge hit and yet he received a fairly small salary in comparison. During the interview, they did try to push the “Don’t you feel that you are making too little money†question to Miyamoto and his response was rather interesting as he mentioned that he liked his position as he did not really have to take risks financially and expressed how taking big risks means making a lot of money and how he does not have to do that.
I thought that was such a great answer as it showed that he recognized and appreciated the difficulties that one must go through in starting a business and I think that level of respect between those two was a big factor in making the company successful. Finding the right people that will work as hard and be as dedicated as you are in helping a business flourish is probably one of the toughest obstacles to overcome. Although presented in a very bias view, the video was an interesting watch and may benefit those who are interested in seeing the type of decision making and scrutiny that goes on behind the scenes of businesses. I wonder if I can find the other videos like the one that was done on Walmart.