As a leader, Iwata was known for his approachability. On my business card, I am a corporate president, he said, during a speech in 2005. In my mind, I am a game developer. But, in my heart, I am a gamer. He was, in other words, multilingual, able to speak to shareholders, creators, and consumers. He hosted a video series on the Nintendo Web site called Iwata Asks, in which he interviewed his teams about their work. I remember him as being very actively interested in everything you had to say, and always talking about the technical aspects of making games, Dylan Cuthbert, a developer in Kyoto who once appeared on the series, told me. Hed even translate techno gobbledygook to people around him without a technical background. Iwatas knowledge of programminghe worked on some of Nintendos best-loved games, including Earthbound, The Legend of Zelda, and the Animal Crossing seriesmade him sympathetic to the rigors of imaginative game-making. I never sensed that he thought he was more important, smarter, or more powerful than me, although he was all those things, Martin Hollis, who has worked on many Nintendo titles, said. I never felt he was my boss, or my bosss boss. I felt he was a friend who was trying to help me in my projects. There isnt another person like him in the world.