[Brazelton] Satoru Iwata

filmfanatic

filmfanatic

Satoru Iwata has passed away today, due to a bile duct growth.

For those who don't know him aside from being Nintendo of America's CEO and from his numerous Nintendo Direct videos, Satoru Iwata had started out as a programmer for HAL Laboratory. He then became their coordinator of software production, having a hand in developing such games as Balloon Fight, EarthBound, and the Kirby series. It was after his time with HAL Laboratory that he took a position as Nintendo's head of corporate planning division, before becoming their next president after Hiroshi Yamauchi. It was in 2013 that he took up the role of CEO for Nintendo of America, with one of his first big changes being to opt for smaller Nintendo Direct videos, rather than just having one big E3 conference every year.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

He earned a lot of respect from me when the company wasn't doing well and gave himself a big pay cut rather than laying off employees.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Reposting from other thread:

Three years ago, I would've gone "that sucks" and it would've been nothing to me. But I've been watching the Nintendo Direct videos since early 2013, and Iwata made himself a presence in each of those. He was informal, but polite, and had an attitude of inviting us in to see what great stuff he wanted us to partake in, like a video game Mr. Rogers. I looked forward to the videos not just to see announcements or details for upcoming games, but also because Iwata was just so friendly and welcoming. I'd make jokes that I couldn't wait to listen to his adorable accent. I know the Nintendo Board of Directors haven't been happy with him as CEO, but as a spokesman for Nintendo, he's been someone I've enjoyed getting to see. You felt like you knew him a little.

I'm surprised by this. I know he had health issues last year, surgery too, and I guess it wasn't over. He was only 55 and it's a shame. This affects nothing with the games themselves, but it's really disheartening. He was so joyful about everything he presented, everything involving Nintendo. I'm going to miss him.

ThatNickGuy said:
He earned a lot of respect from me when the company wasn't doing well and gave himself a big pay cut rather than laying off employees.
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I totally forgot about that. He had a sense of responsibility to his people. Other CEOs could learn a thing or two from him.
 
CynicismKills

CynicismKills

So he did a lot of work on Earthbound, and in respect to him, /v/ is looping this song:



Those who haven't played EB, this is the ending theme, and towards the end of the song there's a voice that says "I miss you."
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
This was posted on /v/ and frankly it makes a lot of sense.

The E3 puppet thing everyone panned? It's probably because Iwata couldn't physically do it so they figured out how to keep him involved.

 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Interesting. I have heard it got widely ridiculed. But of course that's hearsay considering I wasn't there. Maybe I just run in cynical circles.
 
chris

chris

A great loss for sure. Iwata was a charismatic man who wasn't the typical company CEO. The Nintendo Direct videos with him were always a great watch. He also had his own little segment on the Nintendo website called "Iwata ask". He interviewed game creators about the newest Nintendo releases. Of course you can say they were opinionated (the President of Nintendo talks about their games after all), but they were always a good read and informative.

Here is an Iwata ask Gamecenter CX special made for the Japanese Nintendo Channel. Iwata talks a little bit how it was at the beginning of his career. He plays a little bit of Balloon Fight too.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Dave said:
Interesting. I have heard it got widely ridiculed. But of course that's hearsay considering I wasn't there. Maybe I just run in cynical circles.
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Around here and on places I enjoy going to, people enjoyed the puppets. But you are correct; I lurk GameFAQs Nintendo boards sometimes and they overall hated the puppets. Now several people on there are feeling bad for doing so, as your theory is probably right--Iwata physically could not do the presentation.

Fuck cancer.

EDIT: Frank's link says what I said next, but better.
 
CynicismKills

CynicismKills

Surprisingly, /v/ and some other places I've visited liked the Muppets, but the general consensus was the games shown were all pretty lackluster, "Metroid" being the worst offender.
 
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