This past week saw the passing of Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata at the age of 55, who now leaves behind a life and legacy as large as the company he once helmed. In the time since, the game industry’s given its share of thanks in remembrance to Mr. Iwata. Now we give you some of ours.
For four years, he brought games, smiles, and laughs directly to gamers via his Nintendo Direct video messages and for over 35 years, he played no small part in shaping one of the industry’s most beloved icons. On his business card, he was a president, but in his head he was a programmer and in his heart he was a gamer. Today, we remember the life and times of Satoru Iwata-san and tell you in our own words what Satoru Iwata meant to some of us.
The Leader
~ by Corey Atwood ~
“Although his work left a dramatic and lasting impression on my life, I have no illusions that I had some sort of personal relationship with Mr. Iwata. While I never had the honor of meeting him, I am still deeply saddened by his passing, for we didn’t just lose a legendary leader of the Industry, a genius developer, or a fellow gamer. We also lost a man who made it his life’s work to make other people happy.
Throughout his decades long career, despite harsh criticism from fans and exceptionally rough financial quarters for Nintendo, he never became jaded. He never forgot that the most important, driving force behind the entire medium was just pure, innocent fun. So, in honor of Mr. Iwata, I suggest that we stop complaining about the industry for a moment to not only have fun again, but that we perpetuate the joy that he brought us by sharing the fun with the people we love.”
The Game Maker
~ by Robert Walton ~
“I honestly must admit I never knew a thing about Satoru Iwata before now. You always heard things about Shigeru Miyamoto and Masahiro Sakurai and such, but I never really heard much about Mr. Iwata. After his unfortunate and untimely passing, my twitter began filling with tributes to him. People spoke of his kind personality and the things he did for Nintendo. It was then that I realized Satoru Iwata was much more than the suit running Nintendo. I frequently forget that everyone starts somewhere, and Mr. Iwata was no exception. He started as a programmer, not a business man; and the things he accomplished as a programmer are some of the most impressive technical feats I’ve heard of, as far as video games go.
Compressing Pokemon Gold and Silver to fit two entire regions when the games’ team could barely fit one, reprogramming Earthbound from scratch, the list goes on. My heart has been heavy the last few days, not just because Mr. Iwata has passed, but because I neglected to appreciate him while he was alive. I neglected to realize that behind his stuffy suit, monotonous speech, and business-like stature, there was a talented man who loved games and loved making them.
I feel horrible knowing I only discovered that because he died – but at the same time, I now have the utmost respect for Mr. Iwata and his accomplishments. I do believe without a doubt that he truly cared about the games he was a part of, the well being of Nintendo, and their fans. For that, I say rest in peace, Satoru Iwata – you will truly be missed.”
The Friend
~ by Jerry Dobracki ~
“It is hard to imagine Nintendo without Iwata. The games he created, the systems he pushed out and the love he had for the genre are now lost to us. His loss is a huge blow to Nintendo, and moreover to the industry, we have truly lost a giant amongst men. See you on the Rainbow Road one day good sir!”
The Visionary
~ Eleni DiCarlo ~
“One of my first memories of playing a Nintendo game involved the Super Nintendo. At the time I didn’t care about fandoms or which console had exclusive games, all that mattered was playing my SNES games after school and on weekends. After learning that Iwata-san passed away I cried over how much his presence is and will be missed in the Nintendo community. His approach to gaming was one that we have long forgotten since childhood: games are meant to be fun and for everyone. He worked hard to show the world and the gaming community that video games are not exclusive to a certain type of personality.
He reminded us time and time again that games are literally games, they are designed to be enjoyable. By being a programmer and gamer first and CEO second, Iwata-san was the ideal leader of Nintendo. Iwata-san’s playfulness in the Direct videos made me laugh every time and now I hope that the new CEO will have some of his excitement for gaming. Iwata-san I hope that you are having the adventures you dreamed about in Heaven and thank you for bringing us happiness through games.”
