kaputt Posted July 12, 2015 Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2015/150713e.pdf I'm shocked. Rest in peace, Iwata. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thrik Posted July 13, 2015 Well this is just really sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted July 13, 2015 This is actually pretty sad. Unlike so many of the presidents of other major gaming companies, whenever he'd show up in an outward-facing capacity (press event, Nintendo direct), it was fun. He seemed to have a goofy sense of humor, and his Iwata Asks series of interviews actually lead to a huge amount of new information out of what tends to be a very closed off company. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henroid Posted July 13, 2015 His ability to not take himself nor his job nor his company super-seriously-and-bland was so refreshing in an industry where the giants were expected to behave a certain way. I'm really gonna miss him. Rest in peace, truly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coods Posted July 13, 2015 Tragic in a way that I can't find words for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eRonin Posted July 13, 2015 So devastated by this news. I'm a longtime Nintendo fan and Iwata was always such a bright spot in the company for me. Nintendo Direct and Iwata Asks were among my favourite content to watch and read, I really can't express how much he meant to me as a gamer. Rest in peace, Mr Iwata. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted July 13, 2015 He was such a unique entity in the gaming industry as a corporate leader who had worked his way up from inside the company, he worked on those early Kirby games, and even Earthbound. So much of what he did at Nintendo seemed informed by that, from his Iwata Asks interviews to a broad unwillingness to let individual development teams bear the weight for Nintendo's struggles as a company. (He had spoken about wanting the teams to feel secure in their jobs so they could be creative in a safe environment.) Totally a one of a kind dude. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miffy495 Posted July 13, 2015 The. Fucking. Worst. I am so bummed about this right now. Having come of age in the Gamecube years, Iwata was the first executive I remember actually recognizing, and he was always friendly and amazing. This sucks a whole lot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rohlfinator Posted July 13, 2015 Geez, such a tragic and unexpected loss. He always came across as such a genuinely great guy. Rest in peace. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tanukitsune Posted July 13, 2015 When I woke up I just saw people posting images of Satoru and thought it was just people appreciating him, I was devastated when I found out the truth. R.I.P. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kolzig Posted July 13, 2015 When I woke up today, the first thing flashing in my phone was a message from a friend writing about Iwata's death. What a sad way to start the week. One of the brightest and funniest gaming industry icons has passed away. A truly great leader of the company, who even twice took down his own salary just so that Nintendo would not need to let go workers in the dark times when profits were low and financial losses hit the company. Iwata's quote from GDC years ago: "On my business card, I'm a corporate president. In my mind, I'm a game developer. But in my heart, I'm a gamer." Just read this in GAF, what a truly remarkable person Iwata was: Ladies and gentlemen, meet Satoru Iwata, global president of Nintendo, former acting president of HAL Labs. When he was younger, he disassembled the programs for his home computer by writing down the memory dumps by hand. Mind you, this was before printers. Among his achievements as a game programmer, he...... ported the battle code of Pokemon Stadium to the Nintendo 64 despite not having any access to crucial documents. And he did it all in a week.... programmed EarthBound (from scratch) in its entirety, also with remarkable speed. At the time, the project was very close to being jettisoned due to the unmanageability of the original coding. The coding itself is a huge scripting language, so complex that, theoretically, the text system alone could be used to write an emulator, if altered somewhat.... personally compressed Pokemon Gold And Silver, which filled the cartridge despite still being half-finished. That's the reason the setting for Pokémon Red and Blue was included (with only two locations removed) in the games—there was that much space left after he was done.... debugged Super Smash Bros. Melee all by his lonesome. It only took him two weeks—which was all the time he had to get it out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dartmonkey Posted July 13, 2015 These mornings when I wake and scroll back through my Twitter feed with sadness are getting more frequent now. I keep thinking about all the Iwata Asks I read in bed over a terrible wifi network, stretching desperately to get enough signal for the page to load on my rubbish phone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gerbilsinspace Posted July 13, 2015 @Kolzig, that was an amazing quote. He was one smart cookie. I woke up this morning to the news, and I'm having real trouble functioning today. My wife really didn't know what hit her when she gave me the news. RIP Iwata-san, you'll be missed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Griddlelol Posted July 13, 2015 Fuck, that's unexpected. Incredibly sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gerbilsinspace Posted July 13, 2015 I guess today I'll be trying to finish my earthbound playthrough. Once again, RIP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henroid Posted July 13, 2015 He was such a unique entity in the gaming industry as a corporate leader who had worked his way up from inside the company, he worked on those early Kirby games, and even Earthbound. So much of what he did at Nintendo seemed informed by that, from his Iwata Asks interviews to a broad unwillingness to let individual development teams bear the weight for Nintendo's struggles as a company. (He had spoken about wanting the teams to feel secure in their jobs so they could be creative in a safe environment.) Totally a one of a kind dude. It should be noted that he was the guy who, in the wake of Nintendo taking financial losses, would pay-cut himself and have other executives do the same. Because how could the regular level employees even cover such costs, let alone why should they (since the execs make the decisions)? It was a really unique way of handling business and I've never seen it done before. Or at least heard of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dartmonkey Posted July 13, 2015 There's some incredible art being produced, much of which is very heavy. But this is absolutely perfect. https://twitter.com/tebin/status/620450446654636032 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dartmonkey Posted July 13, 2015 There's some incredible art being produced, much of which is very heavy. But this is absolutely perfect. https://twitter.com/tebin/status/620450446654636032 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaputt Posted July 13, 2015 I had to hold the tears with this last art, really heartwarming and sad homage. He always felt to me like the only President of the big companies that was genuinely passionate about games, I believe that's why Nintendo distanced themselves from the usual hype/marketing stuff we're used to and focused on delivering content in a better, more directly and personal way. His journey is fantastic as well, from a normal programmer to president, this alone shows how great he must have been on his career. Only 55, damn, that's just too soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coods Posted July 13, 2015 A rainbow was spotted above the Nintendo building in Kyoto: People are calling it Iwata's personal rainbow road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Markson Posted July 13, 2015 I never really knew much about Satoru Iwata...but the more I learn, the more I realize that his passing is a great loss for the industry. He seemed like a really sweet, genuine kind of guy. And also very smart, ambitious, and creative! I've been listening to a few videos at work: His 2005 GDC Keynote (in 5 parts - this should go to a playlist): youtube.com/watch?v=w9HUMt2rrOI&index=1&list=PL38B2AD26CFE4C796 His appearance on Game Center CX: youtube.com/watch?v=63mG4k-VIyY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites