Remembering the legacy of Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president and CEO
On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.- Satoru Iwata, 2005
He was one of the video game industry's biggest enthusiasts and also one of its most important figures.
In a regulatory filing on Monday, Japanese video game company Nintendo announced that its long-time president and CEO, Satoru Iwata, 55, had passed away suddenly from bile duct cancer complications.
Iwata was only the company's fourth president since its founding in 1889. Iwata's predecessor Hiroshi Yamauchi grew Nintendo from a small maker of handmade playing cards into an interactive gaming giant and the home of video game icons like Mario, Zelda and Pokemon.
Back in 2002, Iwata was an unusual choice to replace Yamauchi. He was primarily known as a game developer. One of the best, in fact. Before he joined Nintendo, Iwata was part of third-party developer HAL Labratory and lead the creation of what would become some of Nintendo's greatest games and franchises, including Earthbound and the Super Smash Brothers and Kirby series.
As Nintendo's CEO, Iwata lead the company through its greatest successes and most challenging times. Notably, he launched the company's all-time best-selling systems, the portable handheld DS series and the Wii home console — combined they sold over 300 million units. But recently, after rocky sales for Wii U, its latest home console, Iwata took a voluntary pay cut and began to transition the company into the smartphone gaming market.
Iwata, however, wasn't just motivated by business, but also his love of video games. In 2005, Iwata spoke at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) and reflected on his early beginnings as a game developer.
"My first creation was a baseball game," he said during his GDC keynote speech. "I don't think anyone can say it had bad graphics because it had no graphics. Gameplay was represented only by numbers. But when I saw my friends playing that game and having fun, it made me feel proud. To me, this was a source of energy and passion. As that passion for games began to blossom, I think my life course was set."
Iwata wasn't just an important figure within the game industry, but was also well known to Nintendo fans. Iwata was always front-and-centre at the company's public events and game announcements, sometimes wearing costumes and once even appearing in puppet form.
As a result, social media tributes to Iwata poured in after news of his death broke. Here's a small selection of some of them: