Nintendo president cuts salary by 50% over 3DS

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said that he is taking responsibility for the current 3DS price drop by cutting his own salary by 50%.

At a Q&A session in Tokyo last night, live tweeted by David Gibson of Macquarie Securities, Iwata spoke to investors about the decision to drop the price of the Nintendo 3DS by a third. As a result of the price cut, Nintendo has lowered its fiscal profit forecast by 82% and suffered a 12% drop in stock prices.

Iwata revealed that - in addition to his own salary cuts - other executives within the company will see their pay cut and their bonuses reduced.

"For cuts in fixed salaries, I'm taking a 50% cut, other representative directors are taking a 30% cut, and other execs are taking a 20% cut," Iwata said.

The Nintendo 3DS price drop follows a disappointing launch, with less than half a million systems sold in both the US and Japan.

The European launch was more successful, breaking the sales records of both the Wii and DS for the region.