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Satoru Iwata

Shigesato Itoi’s company Hobonichi recently released the book “Iwata-san” about the life of the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata to much acclaim in Japan. Fans all over the world who aren’t fluent in Japanese have expressed their desire for translated versions of the book to Hobonichi, and it seems like the company has listened. In a statement released today, they said that while they don’t have anything concrete to announce yet, they are planning to translate “Iwata-san” into multiple languages and will be working together with Tuttle-Mori Agency in order to do so. The full statement from Hobonichi is below:

A note regarding the translated version of our latest book “Iwata-san”

We are honored to receive many inquiries and requests from our readers regarding the translated version of “Iwata-san.”

Needless to say, it is our wish to spread the words and philosophy of Mr. Satoru Iwata to as many people of the world as we can.

Currently, nothing is definite yet, but we are preparing publication of “Iwata-san” in various languages in consultation with Tuttle-Mori Agency. We will make an official announcement as soon as we finalize the deals at this website and via the official twitter account as below:

@1101_IwataSan

We are sorry to keep you waiting. In the meantime, please note that translating this book into any languages for public distribution is a clear violation of copyright and will be subject to criminal charges. We ask for your understanding.

If you are publishers outside of Japan and interested in publishing the translated version of “Iwata-san,” please contact Ms. Manami Tamaoki at Tuttle-Mori Agency: [email protected]

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Hobonichi published a new book in Japan today about the late Satoru Iwata. Titled Iwata-san, it even includes an interview with Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto, which delves into his relationship with the now former Nintendo president.

IGN has now translated some of the excerpts from the book. Here’s Miyamoto discussing his relationship with Iwata:

Late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015. As it’s now July 11 in Japan, it’s been four years since his untimely death. Iwata’s life was sadly taken by bile duct cancer.

It’s always nice to take a moment and remember how much of an impact Iwata had not only on Nintendo, but the gaming industry as a whole. He led the Big N through the major successes that were the Wii and DS, but prior to that, even had a much more active role in game development. Iwata continued to code until he was 40, and helped Smash Bros. Melee release on time – and that’s just one example.

Rest in peace, Satoru Iwata.

Twitter user kumozawa1203 has shared an amazing letter he received in 2013 from the late Satoru Iwata.

Iwata was replying to the fan regarding a school project, as kumozawa1203 had selected Nintendo for his assignment. Despite being president at the time and having many responsibilities, Iwata took the time to craft a special letter that gives a little bit of advice as well as encouragement.

Satoshi Mitsuhara might know late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata better than anyone. Mitsuhara first joined HAL in 1990, and worked with Iwata for several years. The two would end up being close friends.

Forbes recently spoke with Mitsuhara, who is now the president of HAL. Mitsuhara shared some thoughts about Iwata during the discussion, and mentioned that they used to visit the arcades “and play Daytona USA exactly twice” after work.

Three years ago today, Satoru Iwata, beloved President of Nintendo and executive director of countless classics from Earthbound to Luigi’s Mansion to Pikmin 3, passed. His career was so expansive that it would take far too long to list all of the best sellers and gems he lent his hand to. For many years, he was Nintendo’s backbone, delivering Nintendo Directs with pride.

The day he died, I was staying at Yale over the summer. My roommate and I both cried as strangers walked around our dorm, knocking on doors, informing the college of his passing. Even non-gamers felt a sense of loss– Mr. Iwata influenced people like that.

Taken far too soon by complications in a tumor caused by bile duct cancer at the age of 55, he accomplished much during his time. The way Iwata was, however, he would want us to celebrate accomplishments rather than mourn.

So today, please celebrate Iwata’s accomplishments in your own way. Maybe crack open an old favorite, or just hold your head a little higher.

“We do not run from risk. We run to it.” – Mr. Satoru Iwata, 1959-2015

Gravity Rush concept artist Takeshi Oga recently attended an event where illustrators and concept artists discussed their work. As part of this, Oga revealed that he actually took some inspiration from late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s “directly to you” pose, which was often demonstrated during Nintendo Directs. This ended up having an influence on a design element in the PlayStation 4 game Gravity Rush 2.

Here’s what Oga shared:

As previously reported, the NES version of Golf is hidden as an easter egg within the Switch’s firmware as an apparent homage to the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who was the programmer for the game. In order to unlock Golf, the Switch’s cached network time needs to be set to July 11, the day that Iwata passed away. With this in mind, many people believed they would have to wait until 2018 to unlock the game.

However, a member on NeoGaf has posted a workaround that involves changing the internal clock in a way that will keep the easter egg active in order to activate it. More information is available here.

 

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata passed ago two years ago today. Iwata lost the fight to bile duct cancer on July 11, 2015.

With Iwata’s contributions to Nintendo and the gaming industry as a whole, we should take a moment to recognize and reflect on his importance. He wasn’t your typical president having originally started out as a game developer. Iwata kept coding until he was 40, and helped Smash Bros. Melee get out on time. He was instrumental in the hugely successful Wii and DS. And really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

So, thank you Iwata. It’s still unbelievable that you’re not here with us still, but everything you accomplished will not be forgotten. 

In April, Oddworld creator and Oddworld Inhabitants founder Lorne Lanning appeared on The GameOverGreggy Show. Though the show was originally recorded in April, some comments Lanning made about Nintendo made the rounds at the end of this week.

Lanning noted a few things – he personally thought Switch would likely be unsuccessful, that it might not be worthwhile for third-parties given what happened on Wii and Wii U, and several other comments.

Ultimately the biggest remark that caught on is something Lanning said about late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. He said that “The thinking has to change,” before adding: “The biggest problem I see at Nintendo is the thinking. Personally, I think it killed Iwata – that he couldn’t move the organization into a really successful arena.”

Lanning has now apologized “for the poor choice of words concerning Satoru Iwata.” He also clarified what he was originally trying to say. We’ve rounded up everything Lanning passed along on Twitter below.


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