GungHo, the Japanese studio behind mobile gacha hit Puzzle & Dragons, has refuted claims its president receives too high a salary – on par with that of Nintendo’s boss.
At the start of the month, GungHo came under fire from its shareholders when a proposal was submitted requesting it “up its game”. It highlighted a number of issues, not least of all the salary of its president Kazuki Morishita, who receives a similar remuneration to Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa, despite the studio failing to produce a hit game beyond Puzzle & Dragons.
Now, the GungHo board of directors has opposed all of the proposals made by its shareholders (thanks Automaton
GungHo has responded to each of the proposals in a lengthy legal document, even questioning its clarity and legality.
The response states the argument from shareholders against Morishita “is based on misunderstanding and fails to recognise the role that President Morishita has played in achieving the Company’s growth, while leading the Company’s business as its de facto founder for over 20 years.”
Continuing to defend Morishita, the statement reads: “President Morishita has always taken the lead as representative director and president of the Company and has worked with the Company’s staff to create exciting games without compromise and with passion to release the Company’s corporate philosophy of delivering ‘joy and wonder’, which has resulted in the Company achieving continuous and stable revenues for over 10 years.”
Morishita was also responsible for bringing Ragnarok Online to Japan and has continued to direct development of Puzzle & Dragons, the company’s biggest hit.
Moreover, while Puzzle & Dragons has seen a decrease in its revenue, GungHo’s response states the argument from shareholders “does not take into account the circumstances and reality of smartphone games”, which it says is “highly competitive, with countless titles being released constantly”. Even hit games only last for a few months at a time.
“Considering the above,” the response reads, “as President Morishita is currently an irreplaceable figure in the Company as a game development company, the Board of Directors believes that the level of his base remuneration is sufficiently reasonable.”
Shareholders accused GungHo of having a single but gradually fading hit game, of struggling to release another success, and of overpaying its president as a result. Clearly friction between company leaders and shareholders is set to continue.