Satoru Iwata

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 10 Comments

Back in July 2013, Toyo Keizai Online conducted an interview with Satoru Iwata. But there was one part of the discussion that was never published.

At one point of the interview, Toyo Keizai Online asked Iwata about the game he likes the most. These comments have now finally made their way online for all to see.

Here’s what Iwata shared at the time:

“Ummm… that’s a difficult question. I was a game developer myself, so I have special attachment to all the products that I was deeply involved in as a programmer or a producer, whether it’s “Kirby Super Star (known in Japan as Hoshino no Kirby)”, “Earthbound (MOTHER 2)”, or “Super Smash Bros. (Dairanto Smash Brothers)”. So it’s pretty hard to name only one.”

“I look at all these games that I produced at very close range, as if they were my children, so to say. The proximity of my perception therefore differs from other people. When I was developing them, I was working almost every day (all night long) till I saw the sun rising over Mt. Fuji. So when I think about them, the memories of those creative endeavors come flashing back altogether as one set?about how I came up with the original concept, what I was thinking at the time to shape it into a tangible form, what portion of these thoughts actually reached the customers and what didn’t, and what kind of struggles and dramatic events I went through during the development process?you know, things like that. These emotions clearly separate my way pf perceiving them from any other person who can get fascinated in these games strictly as one of many ordinary players.”

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments

In his previous Famitsu column, Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai wrote about the passing of Satoru Iwata. This week’s issue of the magazine has another piece from Sakurai in which he touches on Iwata’s funeral.

Sakurai wrote:

“Normally at a place like this, one’s eyes go to the photo [of the deceased]. The smiling face of Mr. Iwata surrounded by flowers was a very nice picture.”

“Inside there was the still body of Mr. Iwata. He was probably dressed in traditional white funeral garb, his glasses removed, and his nose stuffed [with cotton]. And today, his body was going to be burned and reduced to nothing. Mr. Iwata would no longer exist in this world.”

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

Following the passing of Satoru Iwata, many game developers shared various messages about the Nintendo president. Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii was among those who had a few words to share last week. A translation of his comments are below.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments

Following the passing of Satoru Iwata, Game Center CX producer Kan Tsuyoshi wrote an editorial column about the situation. Much of his piece talked about the time when Iwata came in for an episode of the show.

If you never saw that video, you should definitely give it a look below – it’s great stuff. As for Tsuyoshi’s piece, that can be found after the break (courtesy of Greg Lescoe).

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 20 Comments

Masahiro Sakurai published a new column in the latest issue of Famitsu. His piece is entirely about Satoru Iwata, who just recently passed away.

Sakurai started out by stating the following when he heard the news: “My mind went white and even now the reality hasn’t sunk in.”

He then remembers the early days, and recalled how Iwata had been one of the interviewers when Sakurai applied for a job at HAL Laboratory Inc. “Our positions and locations changed throughout our long association,” he said. “He was the best superior I ever had and a man who understood me better than anyone.”

Later in his piece, Sakurai described Iwata in the following five ways:

He was a man of virtue. Where a normal person would get annoyed or angry, he would never show such emotions and would instead analyze, organize, and offer ideas. He was someone who could bow his head and apologize for things that weren’t his fault. I often worried about his stress levels, but he always talked with a smile.

He had a brilliant mind. Even when people would talk at length or without focus he was able to quickly say, “so, what you’re trying to say is…” and quickly summarize their point. He was able to see to the heart of people and things and was a master of simplifying them so that anyone could understand their point. He could immediately make a call on changes to improve. I have no doubt that many people were saved by this quality.

He was a man of effort. Even though he didn’t start out in the managing field, he read numerous management books, he would ask for advice from the necessary people that he would take to heart, and managed to become the president of Nintendo. What he gained from his years as a programmer allowed him to take many long-term projects to successful fruition.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Just a Chat, Videos | 1 Comment

Jon and I discussed the tragedy surrounding the passing of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in this week’s episode of Just a Chat. It was rather tough to get through, but we managed to record this somehow!

Stuff:

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos | 1 Comment

We’ve been seeing all sorts of tributes and honors going out for Satoru Iwata over the past week. The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Master Quest concert also paid tribute with a moment of silence yesterday. YouTube user “GrahamdyAker” recorded it, which you can watch below.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 9 Comments

Earlier today, EVO 2015 paid a small tribute to Satoru Iwata. Iwata was honored with a moment of silence at the tournament.

Satoru Iwata passed away last weekend due to a bile duct growth. He was 55 years old.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 35 Comments

Genyo Takeda. Nintendo’s senior managing director and current co-representative director, delivered a memorial address for Satoru Iwata during funeral services held this week. Nintendo has since released the transcript in full. We’ve posted it below.

As we gather here today for a joint funeral with Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Mr. Iwata’s family, I would like to share my heartfelt condolences. President Iwata, allow me to call you Iwata-san, just as I always used to.

Iwata-san, you left us far too soon. Having just chaired our shareholders’ meeting the other day on June 26, the news of your sudden death has left all the employees overcome with a deep sorrow. The late Yamauchi-san passed the baton to you in naming you the president of Nintendo in 2002, and the two Senior Managing Directors of the company, Shigeru Miyamoto and I, have been assisting and working alongside you. Being rather short-tempered myself, the thing that I am most deeply struck by is that you were a true leader in every sense of the word, overflowing with compassion for people. You always maintained a two-way dialogue, even with the next generation of employees, or with much younger members of the development and marketing teams, or with employees outside of Japan whose different customs and cultures can make communication challenging — sometimes even admitting your own mistakes to them. You demonstrated this through your belief that people could eventually come to understand one another, and your strong conviction that the best way for us to grow is through patient communication, even if it took several times, a dozen times or even seemingly endless discussion.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments

Nintendo of America has posted another couple of messages on Twitter thanking fans for their support in light of Satoru Iwata’s passing.

The company said:

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