Nintendo boss earns $770,000 basic salary
Japanese executives reveal pay as Sony and Sega Sammy bosses lead the pack
Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata has been revealed to earn a basic salary of just ¥68 million ($0.77m), rising to ¥187 million ($2.11m) with performance-based bonuses.
The figure stands in stark contrast to that of Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer who is revealed to earn a total of ¥816.5 million ($9.20m).
The salary revelations came as a result of new legislation in Japan, which requires companies to reveal the salaries of any board member earning over ¥100 million ($1.13m).
According to website andriasang the salaries of other Nintendo board members were not stated individually, although a group of six - including legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto - were revealed as earning ¥100 million ($1.13m) in total.
Miyamoto has always claimed that his basic pay is in line with other less well known producers at Nintendo, after repeatedly refusing a more exorbitant salary.
By comparison other videogame executives who reported their salaries include Sega Sammy Holdings CEO Osamu Satomi on ¥435 million ($4.90m), Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada on ¥240 million ($2.70m), and Namco Bandai Holdings president Kazunori Ueno on ¥137 million ($1.54m).
By comparison Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is believed to have earned $3.15 million in 2009, according to Forbes. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello easily outstripped him though on $9.85 million, according to the same source.
Robbie Bach, current president (until his planned retirement this autumn) of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices division, which includes the Xbox brand, earned $6.21 million in 2009.