Satoru Iwata Has Passed Away

[mynameisBlade]

R.I.P. Iwata. From the Kutthroats

 

[DarkShadow20]

I just got a Ness amiibo in the mail today, kinda odd since he worked on Earthbound.

RIP

 

[LunarDistortion]

This is a terrible time for Nintendo and gaming as a whole, but to see everyone in the gaming industry put aside their differences and come together in harmony in this difficult time, It's an amazing thing to see.

Leave luck to heaven, and please understand. R.I.P. Iwata.

 

[Iceweasel]

In order to remember this great man, lets list the numerous achievements Mr. Iwata has done for Nintendo and its games...

• When Pokemon Gold was being released, originally it was going to be Johto exclusively. Iwata wasn't pleased at this and worked on his own to halve the games size and cram Kanto in as well. Keep in mind, the game was compressed into 2MB of storage. 2 Megabytes.
• When Melee was being produced, there was worry of it not being made on time. Iwata worked hard for weeks, pushing bug fixes, reviewing code, and making sure the game made it on time.
• Iwata reverse engineered the pokemon battle system to work in Pokemon Stadium. Keep in mind that the code was taken from the original gameboy games, then refitted to work with the 3d modules of the N64.
• When the Wii U's sales were at an all time low (pre MK8) he cut his salary IN HALF to push the company to continue making great games.
• His last words to us were an apology for the mediocre E3 presentation this year. He died with the thought of billions of fans wishing he worked harder. We know now Iwata, we know.

He was a once living legend.

Thank you for this post. Most people in this thread don't seem to know of anything Satoru Iwata actually had a hand in, and just know him as "that guy who ran Nintendo for a little over a decade". Which, to be blunt, he didn't do very well.

Crying solves nothing. People die all the time, and you can't put your life on hold every time someone croaks. If you need to acknowledge someone's death, the best way to do so is to remember their life. Their achievements, personality, whatever defined them. Making up fake achievements or typing random things you think might have been done by that person is not only surrendering to irrationality (a disservice to yourself), but a disservice to the person you're trying to remember, since you ignore their actual achievements.

 

[Accursed]

Rest in peace.

 

[AlphaSSB]

A great man who will surely be missed. Rest in peace, Mr. Iwata.​

 

[-Nebula-]

Like many others, I couldn't believe how upsetting this news was to me, simply because I never realized what Mr. Iwata meant to me before he was gone. I always liked him, but it never occurred to me how much might change once he passed. Rest in peace, Satoru Iwata. May God please understand all that you've done for us.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Iwata was a likeable presence in the Nintendo Directs I watched. You could immediately know from seeing him just how passionate he was. We dind't just lose a great CEO, we lost a great man.

 

[febLey]

Rest in Peace Mr. Iwata, we'll miss you

 

[Elin]

I refused to believe it at first, truly I'd think he was in good shape.

But when I realized the announcement was from Nintendo itself, I knew it was unfortunately true.

RIP, Iwata, Wii will miss U.

 

[JohnTwo]

RIP, Iwata. We will remember.

(Now that Iwata's dead.... What will happen to Smash?)

 

[Laggalot101]

RIP, Iwata. We will remember.

(Now that Iwata's dead.... What will happen to Smash?)

Sakurai stated he would continue development like normal, despite Iwata's death, so I don't think this does much to affect Smash. Not right now, anyway.

 

[JohnTwo]

Sakurai stated he would continue development like normal, despite Iwata's death, so I don't think this does much to affect Smash. Not right now, anyway.

Yeah, but without Iwata's ideas, Smash will change in a significant way.

 

[The Dark Hero 64]

i feel so sad today... Thank you Satoru Iwata for everything that you bring to us... I don't know what i can say anymore... It is... Sad... I'll just say
R.I.P. Satoru Iwata

 

[Psifi ¤WG¤]

i will honor him by playing earthbound... possibly beginnings, if possible. R.I.P. satoru iwata. you had a direct impact on not only the nintendo community, but the gaming community all together.

 

[Anti-Aircraft]

This man is the reason why melee is what it is, to the man who made the greatest game of all time, may you rest in peace.

 

[SSBBDaisy]

As someone who has grown up with Nintendo all there life and is continuing to grow with Nintendo this has made me very sad. I'm gonna miss you Iwata and I'm grateful for all your hard work with Nintendo.

 

[DarkStar64]

R.I.P. Satoru Iwata, thank you for dedicating your life's work to making others smile and making some of the greatest video games of all time. Your spirit will live on in the hearts of all those who loved your work. Nintendo will always be in my eyes the greatest video game company of all time thanks to you and so many others.

 

[Riuvee]

I'm gonna miss him......but I shall understand.

 

[Cubical]

I'll probably main Ness again because Iwata helped with Earthbound, but it'll be a struggle, because I love to play as Lucas

 

[OsirisOda]

There goes Iwata on Rainbow Road.

Godspeed, good sir.

 

[PKRev]

Its really sad how he just died. He changed the whole gaming industry and stuff. Man he will be missed. RIP Iwata

 

[HudnofskiBlue]

Rest in piece, Iwata.

 

[candyissweet]

Iwata, a guy who so many people looked up to, changing the gaming industry so much...I can't believe this is happening, especially since I grew up with Iwata as the president of Nintendo. I don't know how I can adapt to a sudden change like this. Rest in peace...

 

[DoodleDuck97]

Thank You Iwata.
For Balloon Fighter.
For Kirby.
For Ness and Lucas.
For the Ds and Wii.
For Amiibo.
Thank you for Every single thing you have done for Nintendo and the industry. Your Legacy will live on you can count on us :'D
ThankYouMr.Iwata.

 

[Rage NF]

Satoru Iwata Thank you so much for all wonderful games and for all your hard work and for gave me such wonderful experience in my childhood which I will never ever forget. Rest in Peace Iwata you will be miss and you always be in our heart and you always be our heroes forever once again Thank You.

 

[[404]]

He touched so many childhoods, really makes you realize how big of an influence he was. May nothing but the best come to him and his family.

 

[dudes43]

Good bye Iwata Good bye we will miss you, ypu will algais live in our minds I will never forget you

 

[Most Valuable Gaming]

We'll miss you Iwata. Thank you for your contributions to gaming and all of our lives, you will not be forgotten.

 

[Pazzo.]

Rest in Peace Mr. Iwata. Those whom you served salute you.

 

[Jet3000]

Rest in peace iwata. You will be missed

 

[Chez G.]

I've played Smash last night to commemorate Iwata. I even played online with the tag "RIP~IWATA". It's very unfortunate to see him go suddenly and so soon.

 

[JesseMcCloud]

He's not gone FOREVER, right? All he has to do is press continue, or restart from a save file, right? Right??

OH GOD VIDEO GAMES DIDN'T PREPARE ME FOR THIS!!

 

[_Wombo_]

He was a true legend to gamer's everywhere. He will truly be missed!

 

[Ur2Slow]

I never thought a public figure's death would impact me so much as it has all day. I ended up crying more than once today, seeing all the tribute videos and fan art. This man shaped/made my childhood what it was, and I'll never forget him because of that. Rest in peace Satoru Iwata, me and many others will miss you

 

[Vexifier]

It's so crazy to hear this. I feel speechless... Rest In Peace, Mr. Satoru Iwata. Thank you for being a huge part of the company that shaped my favourite activity and childhood to this point.

I express my sorrow and thanks... directly, to you.
Nintendo Directs will never be the same with out you... God Bless You

Exact same feelings

 

[Dr.SMASHING]

This man...THIS MAN made my childhood hell of a good one! Rest in peace,Iwata-san. You may be gone from this world, but never from our hearts.

 

[FloatingMew]

I'm like many others... I never knew how much he meant to me until he was gone. I will admit I've cried more than I should have.

 

[Ryuker]

Needless to say his passing really hit me like it did so many others. I posted the following on my FB wall yesterday but I wanted to share it with the rest of the smash community as well.
---------
When I first saw the news this morning I deeply wanted it to be a crude joke, but the source was respectable and the heading so clear. Nintendo’s president and one of the nicest, most humble and visionary CEOs gaming has known passed away today at age 55. Like many others, that resonated with me deeply, but I’m rarely brought to tears of a passing of someone I’ve never really met. Yet when I stood in front the mirror today I couldn’t suppress them as I stared in my eyes and realised the profound impact this man’s actions have had on various parts of my life.

Mr Iwata, unlike many CEOs, you were a player and game creator first and foremost which clearly showed. Despite your father’s reservations, you joined and helped a small software company like HAL grow to produce some of the most treasured games and IP’s that exist today. Through your deep collaboration with Nintendo you were allowed to combine their IP’s into one of the funnest multiplayer games and perhaps unintentionally the greatest competitive series that I’ve ever enjoyed. A series that helped me step outside my comfort zone as it required couch play to compete. When you took the helm at Nintendo I felt safe and looked forward to similar experiences you would nurture at Nintendo.

But as I sought challenge and depth at the time, you saw the bigger picture and looked further in an effort to expand the gaming population, with an emphasis on accessibility first and foremost. I struggled to adapt as I was spoiled by experiences catered to the audience I belonged to, but I admired your eagerness to make digital play accessible to as many people as possible. You managed to do something I never could, you got my mom to play in a digital way. Though I tried, she didn’t grasp Mario Galaxy and even struggled to react in Wii Sports but through Brain Training you managed to get her to play all on her own on the couch while I was upstairs behind my console. In fact you didn’t just get her to play, you helped her rehabilitate through the accessibility of the wii-remote, contributing to her now being able to manoeuvre with a walking stick rather then a wheel chair.

In your efforts to connect with new audiences you struck gold and brought Nintendo some of the most prosperous times it’s seen despite many analysts predicting other wise. Yet you stayed humble and continued your mission to improve accessibility not only through your hardware and software but also through the talks that you chose to learn english for rather then opting for a translator and the many Nintendo Directs and Iwata Asks interviews. The approaches to gamedesign you and Mr Miyamoto shared have been a great influence in my early life as a gamedesigner and one I still identify with deeply. It was a welcoming contrast to the cold and reserved management culture we consider Japan to have and fitting of a playful company as Nintendo.

You showed humility when the landscape changed and your efforts to reconnect with your older fanbase didn’t work out as well. Sacrificing half of your salary so you didn’t have to make cuts in your company is a rare occurrence for a CEO of a company as large as yours and one I that have the utmost respect and admiration for. You didn’t seem to seek an exit strategy, what seemed to matter most of all for you was to keep a smile on someones face. In a rapidly changing landscape I for one appreciate your reserved mentality and sense of responsibility to keep play pure and sincere even when that means missing out on some early financial gain. Splatoon is a good sign to me that you've managed to nurture the experimental, carefree and joyful mentality that lies at the heart of play inside the company and I hope you've managed to inspire someone with as much of an appreciation and respect for play to take up the torch.

It’s sad and incredibly unfair our world has had to say goodbye to you so early on. You're one of the first developers I really wished to meet one day to exchange thoughts with. In a physical way I’ll never get a chance, which greatly saddens me, but in a way through your many efforts to reach out and from what I’ve been able to read I think in terms of ideology we already have.

I’d like to end this post with a symbol of two of the most powerful emotions I see gaming convey. I know you considered your life's mission above all to make people smile but it’s ok to cry some times and today is one of those days.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you Iwata :’)

 

[SoniCraft]

So sad...He definitely left a legacy in the gaming world that will be remembered for generations upon generations to come. Thank you Mr. Iwata, and may you rest in peace.