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Satoru Iwata Has Passed Away

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I don't think this has been posted. Sorry if it has

directly_to_heaven_by_hugo_h2p-d915sd6.jpg

Source: http://fav.me/d915sd6
 
I think the PETA statement was in poor taste and seemed to be more about an opportunity to steal attention for themselves than anything else.

Which is kind of their whole thing.
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age
I can understand PlayStation and Kamiya .... I can kinda understand NVIDIA ..... but it is CRAZY how even things like PETA and Skype are posting social media stuff for Iwata

The same PETA that were in rage mode over the Tanuki Suit huh?
 

afroguy10

Member
When I saw this thread yesterday not long after it went up I couldn't believe it and I still can't more than a day later.

I'm a massive Nintendo fan, I remember playing Gyromite, Mario and Lolo constantly on the NES my parents received as a wedding gift when I was around 3 years old. I remember getting my old yellow brick gameboy with Mario and the 6 Golden Coins for my 6th/7th birthday and easily putting 200 hours into Pokemon Red. Being playfully ragged on at high school by friends for buying a Gamecube to play Mario and Zelda rather than a PS2 or Xbox like all of my friends had. Right up to me and my youngest brother who would've been 12 at the time each getting a 3DS on launch day and picking up a Wii U for myself not long after launch and having heaps of fun and laughs playing Nintendoland with my girlfriend the first night I got it.

The outpouring of emotion from an industry and it's fans has brought me to tears more than once already. The artwork, pictures, the messages, tweets, stories and letters paint a picture of a lovely, humble, intelligent man who should never have passed away at such a young age especially not to such a terrible disease. I feel that his legacy and what he's left behind will drive Nintendo for a long time even though it makes me sad he won't be here to see it.

If anything this has proven to me even more how much this company and its games and characters mean to me.

RIP
 

SalvaPot

Member
oh fuck

I just remembered the Iwata coffin gif

ugh

I saw someone posting it on tumblr and it actually made me smile.

Man, Iwata gave us so many great memories, doesn´t he? I was trying to watch the last Nintendo Direct he made and I actually couldn´t make it, I got so sad.
 
The next Nintendo Direct is gonna be really tough to get through. I really can't believe he won't be there to greet us with it. Damn, I still can't believe it.
 

Kamek

Member
This was posted by a guy named Tony Harman on Facebook, who apparently used to work for Nintendo.


Tony Harman
2 hrs ·
I have known Mr. Iwata for about 25 years and his passing today caught me by surprise. I remember the day Mr. Iwata became the President of Nintendo Company Limited (NCL). I was in Kyoto at Nintendo's headquarters, and Mr. Iwata came out of a meeting room with Mr. Miyamoto and looked in shock. Mr. Miyamoto had a grin on his face and said "Tony, did you know Mr. Iwata was just named President of NCL by Mr. Yamauchi? I said "really? So what does that mean". Mr. Miyamoto's response was "That means Iwata gets to buy our drinks from now on" and Mr. Iwata responded, "Mr. Yamauchi didn't even tell me if I got a raise". I said "I am pretty sure you got a raise and can afford to buy our drinks from now on". I have know Iwata since he was head of development at Hal Laboratories who made the Kirby series of game, Mario Golf and Super Smash Bros (and tons more games). I will really miss his pure intentions to always make a great game.
 

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
Out of curiosity did iwata cause a bigger impact to nintendo than miyamoto? Game wise who made most of nintendos mascots?

Certainly not as a developer. Nintendo has an endless list of historic famous programmers and designers other than Miyamoto . But Iwata was a leader and a visionary that really rose to the occasion after being appointed NCL President.
 
So I think this is really sinking in now. Watching some tribute videos on Youtube and seeing some of the drawings in this very topic, I'm actually in tears right now. I can't believe it and it might seem silly, but I am.

Iwata is gone forever and the devastation is really hitting me now.
 

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
these feels won't go away. I've been there for Yokoi, but it wasn't nearly as bad, perhaps I was too distracted or just not caring enough, as sad as it sounds. My feelings towards Nintendo crushed the floodgates in a way I couldn't believe possible in nearly 30 years of playing and loving their games. I can't get over it
 

RoySFNR

Member
I haven't been this heartbroken in years. As I browsed through a lot of the art in here, I couldn't help but feel like I've lost a parental figure today. Nintendo games have been around and helped me through every single one of the bad moments in my life and never failed to make me feel alive; whether by bringing joy or that bittersweet feeling that so few forms of entertainment manages to capture.

Through the years, Mr. Iwata has really become Mr. Nintendo to me through the many Nintendo Directs and he always gave me a reason to continue looking forward to the next of their ventures due to his genuine excitement and passion for the games despite me not always agreeing with their direction.

In the end, I can't help but bow my head for now and pray for his peace. Thanks for giving me the choice to feel the excitement of a kid at times when it's too difficult to be an adult.
 

Kamek

Member
I think Tony Harman was responsible for the rare deal and DKC development.

If love if it was added to the OP. A great anecdote about when he was first named president.

If you search him on Facebook, the paot should be public. I'm on my phone and can't screen cap.
 

Revenile

Member
Whenever I looked at Mr. Iwata, I saw a man who loved what he did, loved the industry, the company, his fans. Nintendo is a large family, with the fans being as close as they are to the company through all the little things Iwata and Nintendo do, like the directs and Iwata Asks. You can look at 4 minutes of any video of Iwata and see that for him it was never really about the money, it was about bringing fun to players in new and exciting ways, to keep those of us who didn't grow out of NIntendo's image with smiles on our faces, and bring in new gamers both young and old in and give them reasons to smile. Iwata was behind all of that, Nintendo will never be or feel the same, but his torch, his legacy will shine brightly forever.
 

gpn

Member
This thread is moving so fast, so I apologize if this has already been suggested, but it would be great if Nintendo put out a book with all the "Iwata Asks" and donated the proceeds to hepatology cancer research.
 

JPLMD

Member
I think it also has a bigger effect just because of how sudden everything was. That compounded by his overall personable nature really struck a lot to people all over the world. I may not believe he made the soundest decisions while running Nintendo, but none of that matters now. We all remember fondly of him for many many other reasons.

People remember others because of their legacies and what they left to this world for sure. But people also remember and hold more dearly those small personal interactions. He didn't have to know you as a person, but the way he interacted with even the small group of Nintendo fans, non-gamers, etc throughout his career really left a lasting impact and showed everyone else that he was more than just Nintendo. He had that human element that is often lost in the midst of profits, business-making, and scheduling/management.

It speaks volumes to a person's character when you go out of your way to make other people's lives so enjoyable.

The lack of selfishness even when he likely knew he didn't have much time left really defines who Iwata is and for that he deserves all our respects.
 

AdanVC

Member
I'm honestly really curious to know what kind of tribute Nintendo will do to Iwata on the next Nintendo Direct. I guess they still didn'd had plans to record one still with Iwata considering not even a month has passed since E3. ND are never going to be the same without Iwata :'( His iconic "Directly to you" will be no more ugh :'c
 

Grief.exe

Member
Just play anything you think you'll have fun with, doesn't even matter if he's credited. That's what Iwata wanted, not to be revered, just to know people were having fun.

I'm going to finally get back to beating pikmin 3.

Earthbound
im gonna start it tomorrow on my WiiU VC

Everyone thinking about this should play Earthbound, especially if it's for the first time.

Any game that is fun. Fun for everyone.

Really depends on how much time you want to dedicate, a Kirby game you can beat in a day while Earthbound is 25+ hours

As for the two Kirby games, he's listed as Chief producer for Dreamland 3 and Supervisor for Crystal Shards here: http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Satoru_Iwata

Edit: Although that wiki doesn't even make mention of Balloon Fight, how odd

Earthbound seems appropriate.
 
This thread is moving so fast, so I apologize if this has already been suggested, but it would be great if Nintendo put out a book with all the "Iwata Asks" and donated the proceeds to hepatology cancer research.
It's probably been but I agree and would buy multiple copies.
 

Kinsei

Banned
I'm honestly really curious to know what kind of tribute Nintendo will do to Iwata on the next Nintendo Direct. I guess they still didn'd had plans to record one still with Iwata considering not even a month has passed since E3. ND are never going to be the same without Iwata :'( His iconic "Directly to you" will be no more ugh :'c

Will there even be any more Nintendo Directs other than maybe a tribute to Iwata? For all we know the new CEO might decide to announce information in a completely different way.
 

Neiteio

Member
Most of the iwata gifs/ pics will feel weird to use now...especially the dropping the bomb E3 ones :(
I'm hoping we reach a point where we realize that a good way to honor him is to keep having fun using his goofy memes, treating him like a character, etc. I think it's what he would want. What he does want.
 

Nanashrew

Banned
Really depends on how much time you want to dedicate, a Kirby game you can beat in a day while Earthbound is 25+ hours

As for the two Kirby games, he's listed as Chief producer for Dreamland 3 and Supervisor for Crystal Shards here: http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Satoru_Iwata

Edit: Although that wiki doesn't even make mention of Balloon Fight, how odd

He was in the producer role alongside Shigeru Miyamoto for Kirby Super Star as well.
https://youtu.be/Kj3_e4T42nk?t=2m32s
 

random25

Member
Will there even be any more Nintendo Directs other than maybe a tribute to Iwata? For all we know the new CEO might decide to announce information in a completely different way.

I feel like in the short term Nintendo Directs will still be a thing. Rather than one man being the face of Directs like Iwata did in the past, I see the new Directs being handled by each region locally (someone from Nintendo Japan will do the Japanese side, Bill Trinen will probably man the NA side, and Shibata on the European side).
 

Nanashrew

Banned
I feel like in the short term Nintendo Directs will still be a thing. Rather than one man being the face of Directs like Iwata did in the past, I see the new Directs being handled by each region locally (someone from Nintendo Japan will do the Japanese side, Bill Trinen will probably man the NA side, and Shibata on the European side).

Shibata is a great character, willing to even dress up for the occasions.
 
Finally have some time to myself this evening to mourn Iwata. Such a tragic loss for Nintendo, for gamers, for the industry and for humanity. May his kind and playful spirit carry on and continue to inspire others for decades to come.
 

Ecliptor

Member
I didn't know about Mr. Iwata's involvement in Pokemon Gold/Silver and Pokemon Stadium until know. By the time those games were coming out, I had a N64 with Pokemon Stadium and the transfer pak, but I didn't have a gameboy nor Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow. So for christmas of that year (2000), I asked for both Pokemon Stadium 2 and Pokemon Gold. I was fortunate to receive what I asked for and I had a blast playing Gold on the TV thanks to the transfer pak. I was really surprised when I discovered that you could visit Kanto and obviously happy because I hadn't played that region before. It was my first pokemon adventure and what and adventure it was. To this day it is one of my favorite games ever (only second to Metroid Prime) and I spent hundreds of hours on it. To think now that Mr. Iwata directly worked on those games makes me happier and sadder at the same time.

Besides, I started watching the E3 conferences live in 2005. Mr. Iwata was great that year with his introduction of the Revolution and his comments about kicking Reggie's you know what. Since that year I've watched every Nintendo conference live and probably all the directs too, and part of the excitement was seeing what he would say/announce. E3 Nintendo conferences are feel like christmas to me. These past hours I've been watching videos of him on youtube and I can't help having a smile on my face thanks to his charm. Then you have the Iwata Asks, which are amazing to read and made me love and respect Mr. Iwata even more.

I owe him and Nintendo a lot of great memories and I'm sure there are more to come. That is why his passing hurts so much, because I feel like part of my life is going with him.
 

MajorMane

Member
I know we posted Bill Trinen's tweet yesterday where he posted the Pearl Jam song, "Off He Goes", but I don't think his tweet from today has been posted. Pretty much echoes everyone's sentiments at Nintendo right now:



I think this might be the right time for me to play Earthbound for the first time.

I'll definitely be starting up my first playthrough of the game this week as well.
 
If I could share a personal Iwata moment.

I attended Nintendo's E3 2004, as I've said before. This was the E3 most remember for Reggie's "Kicking ass, taking names" opening, and the closing with the megaton reveal of Twilight Princess. But surprisingly overshadowed by all of this was the announcement of the Nintendo DS. Remember, Nintendo was in a really rough place in 2003, and many, including those on this board, believed the PSP would be the final nail in their coffin, with the DS being a reactionary move to simply stop the hemorrhaging. But after it was revealed, Iwata took the stage, and confidently stated...

"Nintendo was proud of when we introduced the D-Pad with the NES, instead of arcade joysticks. Proud of two-player gaming on the NES and four-player gaming on Nintendo 64. Proud of the analog sticks, and Rumble Pak, and true 3D. We are proud we established portable gaming with Game Boy. All these advances are now industry standards. All make us proud. But I think we are most proud of this."

Basically, Iwata said he was putting everything the company had on this one idea. Nobody thought they could do it. And now, over 10 years later, the DS line is still going strong, while Sony's handheld division is all but washed up. Iwata knew the system would be a hit when nobody else did. And I think that speaks to him as a man. He loved Nintendo. When times were tough, he gave up half his salary for Nintendo. But more importantly, I think in the end, he cared about the gamer. He knew that delaying games would make us upset, but in the end it would make for a better game. He knew we loved their characters, so he, in turn, became a character. But I think most of all, he knew that gaming should be about one thing, and one thing only, and that's having fun. When he saw gamers with smiles on their faces, that was all the payment he needed. Was he perfect 100% of the time? Of course not. No CEO is. And when he was wrong, he did everything he could to make things right. The one word that I will always think of with Iwata is "passion". Passion to create the best games and experiences possible. Passion to blaze your own trail despite everyone telling you the contrary. And the passion of having fun. Iwata-san, your work on this plane of existence has ended. Go directly *hand motion* to heaven. We wish we didn't have to, but we understand :(.
 
Tonight it finally really hit me. I watched a YouTube memorial video and broke down and cried for a bit. :(

I kind of wish they'd make an Iwata Amiibo with 100% of the profits going to charity.
 
I think this might be the right time for me to play Earthbound for the first time.

I heard Iwata's funeral will be the 17th, which is my birthday, so I had requested off from work that day. I think I'll spend most of it playing Earthbound for the first time myself.
 

boiled goose

good with gravy
The touchscreen and gyroscopes/accelerometers becoming standards in consumer electronics is largely because of the success of the DS and the Wii.
 

Foffy

Banned
So I think this is really sinking in now. Watching some tribute videos on Youtube and seeing some of the drawings in this very topic, I'm actually in tears right now. I can't believe it and it might seem silly, but I am.

Iwata is gone forever and the devastation is really hitting me now.

No need to feel silly. It comes clear you valued and loved the man in some way. Sure, not on a level that you may as close friends or family, but by being so enthused by video games to join a forum of this kind, you very clearly had an interest in games. That would of course extend to those who also have an interest in games on the other end, beyond consumers; the people making them.

It makes it sting even more because many of us know he wasn't a suit, he wasn't interested in spin, he legitimately loved the process of game development and what that entire experience encompassed. He was a shining light in an industry running into darkness, chasing many get-rich-quick schemes. Iwata was a figurehead for what games meant in their purest sense, so to lose him in many ways is to lose some of that sincerity, that honesty, that love for the experience for what it simply was.

Any human we lose on this earth who got with what they did and absolutely loved it all, always leaves the world a little more blue. Their infectious interest made whatever the hell it was worth noting to people. Satoru Iwata was that for video games.
 
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