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Satoru Iwata Has Passed Away

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N

nrvalleytime

Member
Posting this again for a new page. http://christandpopculture.com/celebrating-satoru-iwatas-legacy-of-community-and-joy/

Celebrating Satoru Iwata’s Legacy of Community and Joy

In a way, Iwata’s life spoke a universal language that transcended his status as Nintendo’s president. His heart was to bring joy to the lives of others, and his passion for gaming created a company where quality co-existed with helping people discover new ways to have fun. Most importantly, he wanted to bring people closer together: “Today there are people who play and who don’t… [w]e’ll help destroy that wall between them.”

I wish we could have met. We probably would talk about his life in video games or the risk he took after graduating from college and choosing to work at a small start-up (which essentially left him and his father on non-speaking terms for over half a year).

But more than anything, I’d want to meet the man who helped give me worlds to explore, stories to share, and some of the best moments of my childhood. The CEO who cared to create Iwata Asks, a series of lengthy interviews that offered windows into Nintendo’s mostly unknown and mysterious workings. The technical genius whose coding wizardry enhanced and saved games that might have otherwise never been released. The humble, quiet soul who said that, despite his professional achievements and technical background, he was a gamer in his heart. The man who knew the inclusion and wonder games could bring us. The man who slyly invited us through “Nintendo Directs” to “please take a look” at what he had planned for each year.
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B

Broken Joystick

At least you can talk. Who are you?
LtyItiK.png

7s5qalW.png


Thought this was a nice way of showing respect for Iwata.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
L

linkloz

Neo Member
Apologies if this has already been posted, but i was just listening to the latest Retronauts on the PS1. Part way into the cast, Shane Bettenhausen - the guest for the episode - gets a text informing him of Iwata passing.

It seems that they had wanted to use this episode in September for the 20th anniversary of the PS1, but with the tragic news breaking during the recording they felt it made sense to get it out now.

Jeremy's post on it on usgamer.net http://www.usgamer.net/articles/retronauts-an-early-playstation-anniversary-celebration
 
C

CrisKre

Member
Its so interesting... as the week goes by and the news is processed, I feel something I have never felt with the death of prominent figures before: I will miss Mr. Iwata. I will mainly miss him because he was a great human being, and because he seemed to portray a common interest with myself: love for games. I will miss his kindness and humbleness, and his intent of directly comunicating with us, his consumers. But mostly i will miss how quitely passionate he was about Nintendo, its fans and his vision for what gaming could and should be. You will not be forgotten Mr. Iwata, and you have, personally, become and example in aspects of my life that transcend gaming!
 
N

nrvalleytime

Member
Neiteio said:
I think this article, more than any other I've read, really captures the special human quality of Iwata, most notably his compassion.

I know a lot of people are guarded about anything that appears religious (including myself), but give it a read.
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Appreciate the thoughts. He meant quite a bit to many people.
 
F

fernoca

Member
AdanVC said:
So, according to some developers that saw Iwata days before passing away, they said he looked fine... I truly wonder what happened then. What if not even Iwata himself was expecting this ??? :(
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Well, each person is different; but sadly cancer can be like that.

Went through the same with my mom, who passed away on September 2013. She was diagnosed 2 years before and that because she chose to not go under any procedure, her doctor said it could be a matter of a few years. A few days before passing away (Saturday), she was on her best, to the point that even her doctor thought of sending her home if she continued like that by Monday.

It were years with ups and downs on her condition, but the focus was always to have her feel happy and loved. She made sure to have a closure. The whole thing kinda felt like a movie in many times, how she gifted me a dog because it was something I always wanted, to that Saturday I mentioned earlier when while talking to an old friend of her, she talked about how she felt happy with her life, her husband, two sons...and I even thanked life for 2 miracles on her life: her second son (me) for been born at a time she felt she coukd still raise a kid but thought wasn't possible because she was 36 and my brother was a high risk pregnancy a decade earlier; to even the dog/my dog that she gifted to me, because she gave her a second breath and became a great friend and compsnion to her.

In Iwata's case you can see stuff from the deal with Universal, to DeNA, to other multi-media aspects, the NX and even the puppets at E3 as things he decided to leave ready in case of the...inevitable. Probably even why the focus of this E3 was "happiness", something they even mentioned after when asked about it and they talking about people been more happy and smiling at Nintendo's booth.

In a way, I guess he and everyone close to him knew, but in similar cases everyone's advised to make that person feel and behave like normal..and loved. If they all went around talking sbout his condition, appointing a new CEO, etc; it would've been a constant reminder of his condition and everyone would be talking about it on interviews, etc.
 
Muku

Muku

Member
Neiteio said:
This is great. The whole bit about Iwata never being bitter — that's something Internet culture needs to learn.

The next time someone feels the need to call out someone, tear them down, etc., they should think about how Iwata would handle the situation. Gentle and diplomatic, trying to resolve differences with dialogue. Not self-righteous anger.
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You know, I like that. What Would Iwata Do? Think it's something I'm going to try to keep in mind these days too.
 
S

SmackAttack

Member
KingBroly said:
My stomach dropped when I heard the news 2 days ago. It's stayed there ever since. There's just a sense of emptiness I have about this...I can't describe it.
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I have the same feeling. It still doesn't feel real to me. Why Iwata? Why Nintendo? The one company that has always put 'Fun' first and has always been there for me when I needed them. Not everything they did was perfect but it didn't have to be with their games. Their games were magical and unlike anything anyone else could make. Iwata was special and we will never see another one like him. That's what is so crushingly sad about this.
 
H

Here For The Free Feed

Member
genuinely suprised to get to work and have my boss mention the sad news of iwata's death, we had one conversation about 4-5 years ago about nintendo when he told me he had a ds for brain training but not a word from me about gaming since.

i think he could sense that i have been pretty flat the last few days and probably read something in the business news, put 2 and 2 together.
 
jts

jts

...hate me...
Catching up with the last few pages, some great pieces and tributes.

I think I'm now past the shock. Now it's just that little permanent emptiness that can never be filled again.
 
S

SpacePirate Ridley

Member
Zalman said:
Kyle Bosman nails what was so special about Iwata.
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This is great.

I always found the Nintendo Directs presented by Iwata a little bit like Walt's intro segments on World of Color, talking about future movies or development in Disneyland.
Im so sad, because I always had in my mind him making a direct presenting the plans for the Nintendo land at Universal. I really hope he watches all his future plans in a great way from wherever he is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4WfP-foY6s
I don't know if Iwata made the directs as an idea that came from this Walt segments, but even if not, they have the same idea of CEO of a huge company talking to its audience directly, and thats a wonderful thing.
 
H

Hubble

Member
Can someone link me to the picture where Iwata is on the right, and Nintendo characters are on the left waving goodbye? I been looking for it but can't find it. I seen it in this thread. Thank you.
 
gamerMan

gamerMan

Member
SmackAttack said:
I have the same feeling. It still doesn't feel real to me. Why Iwata? Why Nintendo? The one company that has always put 'Fun' first and has always been there for me when I needed them. Not everything they did was perfect but it didn't have to be with their games. Their games were magical and unlike anything anyone else could make. Iwata was special and we will never see another one like him. That's what is so crushingly sad about this.
Click to expand...

I really think there was a child like innocence around him. His passing reminds me of Walt Disney who passed away of lung cancer.

While the two aren't exactly the same, their philosophies were very similar. Walt Disney once said " We believed in our idea — a family park where parents and children could have fun — together." “Too many people grow up. That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget. They don’t remember what it’s like to be 12 years old. They patronize, they treat children as inferiors. Well I won’t do that.”

Iwata never grew up. While he was a CEO, he was not like anyone else in the world. He was unique. He symbolized Nintendo. That's why his death is so significant. Because the very idea of Nintendo is being challenged. A lot of the executives at Nintendo are getting older. Who is going to lead Nintendo? Is the NX going to be successful? Is the mobile strategy going to work? What does the new CEO do when they take over the company?
 
Porcile

Porcile

Member
SpacePirate Ridley said:
This is great.

I always found the Nintendo Directs presented by Iwata a little bit like Walt's intro segments on World of Color, talking about future movies or development in Disneyland.
Im so sad, because I always had in my mind him making a direct presenting the plans for the Nintendo land at Universal. I really hope he watches all his future plans in a great way from wherever he is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4WfP-foY6s
I don't know if Iwata made the directs as an idea that came from this Walt segments, but even if not, they have the same idea of CEO of a huge company talking to its audience directly, and thats a wonderful thing.
Click to expand...

That's a good point actually. Now that I think about it, the closest comparison to Iwata's style and public image I can think of is almost definitely Walt Disney. I'm sure he was directly inspired by him. Probably Alfred Hitchcock as well, what with his personal introductions and amusing cameos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZzM120Q7Eg
 
F

Fourth Storm

Member
I've really neglected Tomodachi Life up until now, but I just scanned Iwata's QR code in. His Mii will serve as a memorial and inspiration whenever I decide to load up the software.
 
Muku

Muku

Member
jts said:
Catching up with the last few pages, some great pieces and tributes.

I think I'm now past the shock. Now it's just that little permanent emptiness that can never be filled again.
Click to expand...

You know, after thinking about it today, I think that's just what I'm going to have to chalk it up to. I'm past shock, but the denial is still there. But I think that's just going to fade into a permanent hole that cannot be filled again. Even though as day has gone the denial feels like it's fading. I haven't gotten to the angry stage, as I kind of feel like I went through that with denial. It was this weird mix of "Why Iwata?!" and just denying that he is gone.

It feels like a permanent ... weight on my heart. :(
 
K

KingBroly

Banned
I'm at the angry phase myself. I'm asking why didn't he just step aside while he got better? If it meant more time with him, we would've liked it, because he'd be there, directing us to fun. But he's gone. He probably didn't want to worry us, but it just hurts more with him not being there.
 
S

Sponge

Banned
It's been a few days and I'm still in disbelief. I keep thinking I'll see him again in the next Direct and it aches me knowing I won't.

Whenever I think of Nintendo as a company and not by it's games or platforms, I always think of their employees. People like Iwata, Reggie, and Miyamoto are the faces of Nintendo to me. Iwata's memory will live on in my heart because of what's he's done for the company, and of course the Nintendo Directs that made us feel like he was actually talking to us. He was more than just a CEO, or a programmer. He was a man I looked forward to seeing every other month on my laptop screen. That's more than I can say for a lot of people in the industry. Iwata had personality and you could feel it. I'm really gonna miss him.
 
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