Iwata has passed at 55

[dyne]

http://kotaku.com/nintendos-presiden...way-1717386412

Nintendo has just issued a short statement announcing that president Satoru Iwata has passed away at the age of 55.

The statement reads:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.
Iwata was forced to skip last year’s E3 due to his poor health, and shortly afterwards underwent surgery to remove the bile duct growth. A few months later, in the wake of concerns over his health, he said via Twitter “I’m progressing well”.

Iwata first joined Nintendo’s HAL Laboratory in the 1980s, where he worked on games like Balloon Fight and EarthBound. He became a Director of the company in 2000, and in 2002 was appointed as only the fourth President of Nintendo when he succeeded Hiroshi Yamauchi.

In his time as President, Iwata oversaw some of the strongest (Wii, DS) and weakest (GameCube, Wii U) periods in Nintendo’s history as a video game company. In recent times, he developed almost cult status as the host of the Nintendo Direct programs.

An immensely popular figure both within the industry and with Nintendo fans, he will be sorely missed. Rest in Peace, Mr. Iwata.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/12/894...ata-dies-at-55

Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo, has died. He was 55. Nintendo confirmed his passing today in a brief statement.

Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.

Last year, Iwata did not attend E3 on advice from his doctor not to travel overseas. Later in the month, he underwent surgery to deal with a growth found in his bile duct, which in a note to company shareholders he acknowledged could be difficult to treat.

Satoru Iwata was the fourth president of Nintendo, succeeding Hiroshi Yamauchi, who had led the company into its modern identity as a titan of video gaming. Iwata had been a programmer for HAL Laboratory, today known for the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. franchises, before taking Nintendo's top job in 2002.

As president of Nintendo, Iwata oversaw the introduction of two of the company's most profound successes — the Nintendo DS line of handhelds, and the Wii, both of which substantially widened the video game market in the preceding decade.

In recent years, however, Iwata clashed with investors and analysts when the launches of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U fell short of the impact of their predecessors. Iwata sternly resisted calls for Nintendo to push its iconic properties into mobile phone gaming or abandon the manufacture of gaming hardware. Notably, he refused to order layoffs when the company's stock price sagged under the sluggish performance of the Wii U.

"I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world," he said at the time.

Iwata was the first president of Nintendo not related to its founding Yamauchi family. He cultivated an approachable personality through company Q&As (called "Iwata Asks") and appearances such as the latter-day Nintendo Direct video series, in which he spoke directly to the millions of video gamers spanning multiple generations who loved his company's characters and games.

[Santa Barbara]

Oh, wow. That's terrible.

[dyne]

Makes sense now why they used the puppets at e3 and why the whole show for them seemed to have an air of offness to it. Or maybe I'm just forming really wild conclusions.

Wow. I wonder who will step in. Miyamoto would probably be the best for morale but probably not for a long term solution.

[Derb]

Wow only 55.

He was always so cheerful & positive in all the videos I've seen him in. He'll be missed for sure.

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by Derb

Wow only 55.

He was always so cheerful & positive in all the videos I've seen him in. He'll be missed for sure.

Agreed. I haven't picked up a Nintendo product in years, but he's always been a happy presence. Sad news.

[Matt S]

RIP sad news

[Mavrick]

Very sad news such a young age to pass away.

Not only did he keep his staff under hard financial times, but remember he cut his own salary in half in order to save the company money, I couldn't name you one person in any other business who would do that, most would sooner fire the staff to save the cash. A very generous and honourable person.

The top two executives at Nintendo are now senior managing directors Genyo Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto.

I do wonder if there will be a shift away from the “blue ocean” strategy that Iwata started now though? Or if the execs will continue what Iwata-san started.

[Mavrick]

"On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer."

Flags half mast at Nintendo HQ

[GC Riot]

Incredibly tragic news. He really was such a likeable person who you could tell really cared for his fans and customers. He will be sorely missed.

[AeroK]

Originally Posted by dyne

Makes sense now why they used the puppets at e3 and why the whole show for them seemed to have an air of offness to it. Or maybe I'm just forming really wild conclusions.

Wow. I wonder who will step in. Miyamoto would probably be the best for morale but probably not for a long term solution.

That's what I thought as well when I heard the news.

I had no idea he was that sick.

[GC Riot]

[dyne]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ses-away-at-55

"Above all, video games are meant to be just one thing: fun," Iwata once said. "Fun for everyone." Farewell, Mr. Iwata, and thank you for all the fun you helped create.

He was one of the few that really got it.

Originally Posted by AeroK

That's what I thought as well when I heard the news.

I had no idea he was that sick.

It's why he skipped e3 last year as well.

[ps3bd_owner]

I read this yesterday when it came out straight away and I couldn't believe it was actually for real, but considering Nintendo outed it there's just no doubt of its authenticity.

I didn't know Mr. Iwata was sick and was suffering so it makes sense that they used the puppets (although it seemed very childish to me) for the Nintendo E3.. just dammit, he left us too soon!

Mr. Iwata was only 55 years old and with still a lot to live for!

Nintendo Directs won't ever be the same now.

[Mavrick]

A rainbow over Nintendo HQ today



A message from Shigesato Itoi

In any farewells, all you have to say is "See you again".
Friends see each other again.
There's nothing strange about it.
Yes. See you again.

I heard that you are going on a long journey.
It was supposed to be in the far future.
You never said it in words, but wearing your best outfit, you were saying "Sorry for it to be so sudden".

You always looked after somebody instead of yourself.
As such friend, maybe this journey is your first time being selfish.

To be honest, I still don't really believe anything.
I feel like you'll be sending me email to ask for lunch.
Just like always, you can call me and ask "If you have some free time".
Of course, I can always ask you too.

Anyway, "See you again".
You can call me anywhere, anytime, and I'll be calling you too.
There are things I want to discuss, and good ideas I want to tell you.

See you again.
No, we are seeing each other right at this moment.

[Rothwilder Blu]

Terribly sad news. Truly a driving force for the industry.

Everyone loves when Nintendo is top notch and he was a large part of that.

[Mavrick]

Iwata-san June 23rd 2015.

Clearly was unwell, but extremely strong willed and proud of his work until the last. I know people that would call in sick to work with a headache. This man puts them to shame.

Don't think there will be another like him for a long time.

[ps3bd_owner]

As a human being he seemed to be a pretty cool guy () but as the President of Nintendo? He should've been fired!

The reason why Wii U, 3DS and Splatoon are so outdated are due to backward mentalities such as Iwata's, Miyamoto's and the rest of the boardroom that's probably with a bunch of old greasy men.

This is not what modern gaming is about and in fact, it's a shame that Splatoon is so incomplete and unsatisfactory to me because it definitely has a lot of potential but Nintendo's holding it back.

Maybe now things at Nintendo will change for the better.

[tigertron]

I didn't agree with the direction he took the company in, but it's a huge loss. R.I.P

[Mavrick]

Some things you might not know about Nintendo's Satoru Iwata

1. He valued employees highly, sometimes at his own expense

Iwata was never one to shy away from the company's mistakes, and following a profit slump in 2013 he announced that he would slash his pay in half for five months. He was also not a fan of reducing staff. During the 73rd annual shareholders meeting, he was asked why the company hadn't restructured to account for operating losses. His response was spot on:

"If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, however, employee morale will decrease, and I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world."

"I also know that some employers publicise their restructuring plan to improve their financial performance by letting a number of their employees go, but at Nintendo, employees make valuable contributions in their respective fields, so I believe that laying off a group of employees will not help to strengthen Nintendo's business in the long run."

2. He was an exceptional programmer who saved Earthbound

At the time that Mother 2 (aka Earthbound) was being developed, Iwata was working as a programmer and the head of HAL Laboratories. When he saw the difficulties that the development team were having with Mother 2, he voiced his doubts that the game could be completed on time. "If we used what you have now and fix it, it will take 2 years," he told them. "If we can start fresh, it'll take half a year."

Iwata then took over development of Mother 2, and returned a month later having got the game's map scrolling feature to work. Once he'd joined the team, the game only took another year of development thanks to Iwata's programming magic.

3. He managed to cram a country into a game cartridge

When Gamefreak made Pokemon Gold and Silver, only the Johto region was included in the game. Iwata thought that players deserved more, so he spent some of his spare time squeezing in the entirety of Kanto (the region from Pokemon Blue and Red) using some very heavy compression. He essentially fit in a whole extra game like it was no big deal.

4. Then he ported over the Pokemon battle logic without reference documents

...which is a big deal. The first step in creating Pokemon Stadium was to analyse the battle logic from Pokemon Red and Green and carry it over for the Nintendo 64. But in the absence of any reference documents, Iwata read through the Game Boy source code directly and managed to rework it for the 64. Oh yeah, and he did it in a week.

5. He announced Super Smash Bros. Brawl before telling the development team

Iwata knew that the Wii needed a Super Smash Bros. game, so at E3 2005 he confirmed that a game would be coming. His plan was clever: he would then approach HAL and ask them to make a new Super Smash Bros. title, and if they refused, he would have Super Smash Bros. Melee (the GameCube's entry in the series) ported over to the Wii with Wi-Fi support. Luckily, HAL agreed to make Brawl.

6. The Miiverse integration in Super Mario 3D World was his idea

Nintendo's often been criticised for being slow to adopt online gaming, but the integration of the Miiverse in Super Mario 3D World truly let you feel like you were part of a bigger community. The game's map would be populated by the Miis of players around the world, whose messages would pop up as you passed them. A small but effective feature.

7. He actually went out and bought Ocarina of Time when it launched

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was launched in November 1998, when Iwata was finishing up Super Smash Bros for the N64. " I was at the Nintendo Kyoto headquarters for a meeting to prepare for its launch, and I bought Ocarina of Time on my way home," he said.

8. His first published game was Super Billiards

Iwata coded his first commercial game during the time of his college education in Tokyo. The game was published by HAL and launched for the MSX home computer. You can see it in action below.

MSX game Super Billiards [HAL] スーパービリヤード.mpg - YouTube

9. Iwata updated his Mii character to reflect his illness

Iwata's health problems were well documented, but it seemed that everything was under control - which made the news of his death even more tragic. Much like Steve Jobs, Iwata lost a lot of weight in lead-up to his death. He updated his Mii avatar to reflect this, along with the message shown below.



10. The NX will likely be an embodiment of Iwata's ideals

We don't know much about Nintendo's next console, but we do know it will be different to what we've seen before. Last time Nintendo shook things up we got the incredibly successful Wii - so we're understandably excited to see what it has in store this time. Iwata was a big believer in bridging the gap between handheld and console, and there's a good chance the NX will reflect this philosophy.

Source

[ps3bd_owner]

He was very kind to his employees, loved his job and was dedicated to it but him and modern gaming just never got along well. Wii U should've never been made because it was a terrible mistake which Nintendo can't back out now as it's too late.

I just hope that the next Nintendo home console doesn't have any of the nonsense that the Wii U and 3DS had.

Things that they need or should incorporate:

- Region free (so if a game is Japan-exclusive it's still playable)
- A proper UI
- No gimmicky bs (no stupid wannabe tablet or motion banana to wave around)
- Third party support from day one
- Blu-ray and DVD playback (as well as a media player for music and video files)
- Quality exclusive launch titles (Mario 3D like Sun/Gal, Mario Kart, Smash, F-Zero, Metroid)
- The console should be more or less as powerful as Sony/Microsoft's.

It shouldn't be too hard, really.