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Serious 8 years ago, Satoru Iwata passed away.

LukasManak22

LukasManak22

who the fuck is that
It's already July 11th over at Kyoto, Iwata is gone for 8 years. It feels absolutely surreal that it's been that long, I remember exactly when the news dropped back then.

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Things in which he was still somehow involved are still showing up, and with great success:

Pokemon GO - Iwata worked on it from his hospital bed, using his laptop to exchange his feedback with Tsunekazu Ishihara

Nintendo Switch - one of the lead heads behind the idea, he also chose Koizumi and Kawamoto to create a team.

Super Nintendo World - the initial partnership with Universal announced way back in May 2015, Iwata credited under the Special Thanks.

Super Mario Bros. Movie - Miyamoto and Melenadri met in 2014, Iwata was likely at the very begining of the process, he is credited in the movie.


It’s honestly really heartbreaking he saw none of it pay off.

Now I could have typed everything about him, the stories and all that but we are on Nintendo forum so am pretty sure you know it all very well. By playing something on your Switch today you will do exactly what Iwata always wanted, as video games are meant to be just one thing, fun. fun for everyone.




岩田 聡

80
 
The man was truly passionate about creating a diverse amount of games. Nintendo wouldn't be where it is today without him.
 
"A society grows great when men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit."

Boy did he sow some special seeds right before the end.

Rest in peace.
 
Truly an amazing, one of a kind guy. He is a part of an era we'll never see again.
 
bellydrum said:
They removed it because it was discovered.
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Pretty much. It wasn't meant to be found except by those in a the know. When it got datamined and word got out, the meaning and purpose of burying something like this within the firmware got lost.

I forgot the exact Japanese terminology they used for it.

Edit: The article mentions "omamori" or amulet.

...An omamori is not supposed to be opened. You're supposed to carry it around with you but never open it lest you release the blessing. That explains why Golf had such specific unlock conditions. People weren't supposed to actually open it. It was just a blessing the Japanese developers tucked into the Switch in Iwata's honor.
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Great man, brilliant talent, and one of the rare examples of a kind-hearted CEO. Took massive pay cuts for himself when times were tough in order for people to keep their jobs.

Lots of the industry would do well to follow his example.
 
As well as being such an important figure in the history of gaming, awesome coder etc. he was such an incredibly likeable man.
The Nintendo Directs with him were fantastic, full of kindness and humour, missing the magic now in comparison .
He is greatly missed.
 
I don't wanna start anything but I do remember Emily Rogers once wrote some less than flattering things about him. Did she ever apologize?
 
This is the only celebrity death where I felt something and still feel something years later. I almost cried during the Mario movie credits.

Iwata was not only the president of a company I personally like, and a visionary I greatly admire. He also seemed to be a genuinely nice man. While we never met in person, there was a genuine "human warmth" in most of Iwata's public speech, and with Iwata Asks and Nintendo Direct, he established a more personal connection between Nintendo and the users.
Lugia667 said:
I don't wanna start anything but I do remember Emily Rogers once wrote some less than flattering things about him. Did she ever apologize?
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If I remember the articles you are talking about, they focused on some questionable business strategies on Iwata's part (e.g., "one game can save a console") rather than on the man himself. And fair enough, nobody can deny Iwata made some great mistakes in the Wii U / 3DS era.
 
Fuck man. I know parasocial relations is the hot new buzzword nowadays, but I really did feel an emptiness when he passed. He cultivated such a kind, genuine vibe over the years that it was impossible not to like the guy. He truly cared about video games as a form of entertainment, and stood staunchly against scummy mobile game practices despite the money Nintendo could've made. He cared for his employees and showed true humility when he cut his own salary to prevent layoffs.

And he was known not just for his tenure as the leader of Nintendo, but for his accomplishments as a software developer as well. As a software developer myself, I admire the awesome things he achieved. Pokémon GSC are some of my favorite games of all time, and he made them possible in the form we know today. When people ask that old icebreaker "Which historical figure would you have at dinner if you could choose anyone," Iwata is honestly the first person that comes to mind for me.
 
I still miss him and think about what it would have been like to see him lead Nintendo through the Switch era. And I wouldnt even have been mad that every direct has come and gone with no MP4 news if it meant he could deliver Nintendo news "Directly" to me.

He's the only celebrity death that made me cry, and Nintendo (and video games in general) haven't been the same without him.
 
Already 8 years, my god. He is missed, every direct I remember him and his appearances. A great CEO, great programmer and a great man. Nintendo, and therefore us wouldn't be the same without his legacy. Thank you wherever you are, and may you rest in peace. A piece of you will always be alive in all of ourselves.
 
SiG said:
Pretty much. It wasn't meant to be found except by those in a the know. When it got datamined and word got out, the meaning and purpose of burying something like this within the firmware got lost.

I forgot the exact Japanese terminology they used for it.

Edit: The article mentions "omamori" or amulet.
...An omamori is not supposed to be opened. You're supposed to carry it around with you but never open it lest you release the blessing. That explains why Golf had such specific unlock conditions. People weren't supposed to actually open it. It was just a blessing the Japanese developers tucked into the Switch in Iwata's honor.
Click to expand...
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beautiful
 


This is probably my favorite Iwata-era footage of him. It's weird but idk, even his personality shined through this unboxing. I always liked that.

RIP Iwata.....
 
Reposting from last year but maybe it'll fall on fresh eyes:


Drew this for the Splatoon miiverse seven years ago:
Ka3FAC2.png


Also if you were in the Splatoon lobby that week, it was flooded with tributes:
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As others in here already said, his death is one of the few famous person deaths that actually made me sad. He just seemed like a really nice guy and his legacy cannot be understated. It sucks that he wasn't able to see Nintendo turn everything around in the following years anymore.
 
I'm not embedding this because BitF deserves every single click they get:

brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com

Tribute to Mr. Iwata – Brawl in the Family

brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com

Gingerbread Man said:
This is the only celebrity death where I felt something and still feel something years later. I almost cried during the Mario movie credits.
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I remember that part and it sucking the wind out of my chest. Such a gut punch since it's hard to imagine how long ago that movie was put into motion.

Gingerbread Man said:
Iwata was not only the president of a company I personally like, and a visionary I greatly admire. He also seemed to be a genuinely nice man. While we never met in person, there was a genuine "human warmth" in most of Iwata's public speech, and with Iwata Asks and Nintendo Direct, he established a more personal connection between Nintendo and the users.
Click to expand...
If you've not read Itoi's tribute "Ask Iwata" it's a really really great read for these reasons. He genuinely seemed to care about his employees and the medium. I'm a software developer and I would've loved to work for him if I had the opportunity. He seems like one of the most compassionate bosses I've ever read about.

Lord Azrael said:
And he was known not just for his tenure as the leader of Nintendo, but for his accomplishments as a software developer as well. As a software developer myself, I admire the awesome things he achieved. Pokémon GSC are some of my favorite games of all time, and he made them possible in the form we know today. When people ask that old icebreaker "Which historical figure would you have at dinner if you could choose anyone," Iwata is honestly the first person that comes to mind for me.
Click to expand...
What I personally love the most is that he was incredibly humble about all of this. I remember in college people fawning over Carmack and the technical work he did at id, and wanting to go to QuakeCon to see his annual talk. Meanwhile, here's Iwata quietly doing magic on his own, most of which didn't really come to attention until after he had passed away.
 
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I highly recommend watching the GameCenter CX episode where Iwata appeared as a guest. Both really funny but also unintentionally sad due to Iwata's passing.

Rest in peace man.
 
Every time I see his name in the credits of a game that came out after his passing, I always get a big smile on my face. I wish he could have been here to see the Switch and how successful it is.
 
Eight years ago!? Where does the time go...

As always, Iwata's legacy speaks for itself.
 
I truly miss him. Switch era Nintendo is my favorite, no idea how different things would be if Iwata was still around but I loved that man. I truly believe he was a great person, just watching him talk made me feel nice. Kind and modest nothing like most CEO figures. So sad that he passed and even more sad that he had to suffer that illness.
 
Eight years already? Damn, time goes by too fast sometimes.
I still miss him now. Seeing his name in any credits gets me a little sad.
 
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shoptroll said:
If you've not read Itoi's tribute "Ask Iwata" it's a really really great read for these reasons. He genuinely seemed to care about his employees and the medium. I'm a software developer and I would've loved to work for him if I had the opportunity. He seems like one of the most compassionate bosses I've ever read about.
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I was reading the thread waiting for this. The "Ask Iwata" book really cemented what an incredible man he was and how much he cared about people and videogames. Any person even remotedly interested in knowing about him should read it.

As some of you are posting memorable moments of him, I will add this one which always cracks me up:

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Rest in peace, Mr. Iwata.
 
Seconding the recommendations for the Ask Iwata book. Such an interesting read and a great insight into Iwata's philosophy and passion for game development.
 
What books do you recommend about Iwata? In addition to Iwata Ask, is there any other reading that we should not miss? Any other book? Thank you.
 
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I remember that day.

I came home from the hospital with a broken collarbone and was a bit out of it and went on the net and it was a real gut punch.

One of a kind, especially for a CEO.
 
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Man's had a big part of my childhood years and beyond. Lots of happy gaming memories and I could trace it all back to him. RIP to a legend.
 
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Has it really been 8 years since his passing? It saddens me every time someone mentions him 😔
 
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Eight years huh?

Still remember that day, it was such a weird day, on the internet. It felt surreal and a lot people just did not know what to do with themselves.
 
He didn't know me.
I never met him in person.
But he is a dear old friend and his death truly hurts.
I wish my reaction to the name is "Who". I wish I could forget the pain.
 
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