A Tribute to Iwata

[LocoColt04]

As many of you may already be aware, Satoru Iwata passed yesterday. Our thoughts and feels go out to his family, his colleagues at Nintendo, and his millions of fans worldwide. Iwata was an iconic influence at Nintendo, producing many games and programming many titles (often revising entire games by himself) before finding himself in the CEO seat. His works have touched many of us over the decades, from Kirby to Smash Bros, to keeping HAL Laboratory alive, to his compelling "Iwata Asks" series.

For myself, Nintendo has had a place in my life for 27 of my short 29 years. Almost all of those years have been spent playing titles that Iwata programmed, designed, produced, or imagined. I have thrived on this man's creativity and ingenuity, and the industry has lost a remarkably talented idealist. I wish I could compose a proper tribute, a collection of Iwata's best and brightest ideas, but every Nintendo fan already knows what we've lost today.

Across Twitter, cries rang out from publishers and developers alike, stating his influence on them as individuals and as companies, offering their thanks for his decades of dedication. Iwata's impact was nothing to scoff at. I wish I could generate a more prolific tribute, but in earnest, I can't say anything that we aren't all feeling. The loss of Iwata was like losing a family member, one who belonged in the homes of families across the globe.


How has Iwata impacted your life over the years?

[Incognitus]

Terrible news. My heart sank to the floor when I heard this late last evening. Like you mentioned Loco, Nintendo has basically been a mainstay in my game room ever since I was a child. Satoru Iwata had a big hand--oftentimes his own two hands---in creating the games that I enjoyed over the years. May he rest in piece.

A big part of me feels like most gaming company Presidents are brought in as corporate mouthpieces and PR spinners to mitigate disaster and increase company stock value. Iwata never gave off that vibe to me. A big part of that is because he started off a game programmer and designer, creating the things that we all love. He chose to work in that profession because he enjoyed making games. He probably played them, himself. He was a gamer's President. Never did I see a quote or a presentation from him that made me think, "Oh, he's just in this business for the money."

I hope that his legacy lives on and Nintendo appoints a suitable successor to his position. They won't ever find a replacement for him.