It’s a very sad day over at the Nintendo camp. News has broken recently about the death of their president Satoru Iwata. He passed away suddenly a couple of days ago from a bile duct growth. He was only 55 years of age.
Born in 1959, Iwata learned to program games in high school. He went on to developed that craft at HAL Laboratory where he helped to create games like Super Smash Bros., Kirby, and Pokemon. Later in 2000, he joined Nintendo and became president in 2002. Under his reign, Nintendo released the DS and Wii consoles.
Xbox chief, Phil Spencer expressed his regret at the passing over on Twitter:
Sad day for Iwata-san’s family, friends, and gamers everywhere. His passion, creativity & leadership elevated our industry.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 13, 2015
Director of Xbox Live programming, Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb shared his experiences of the man also on Twitter:
I had the chance to meet Iwata-san at E3 one year, and he was such a gentleman as I fan boyed out. Today the industry lost a huge force.
— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) July 13, 2015
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg posted a simple yet moving message. It was of a flag flying at half mast in a black and white Super Mario World:
Finally, Ken Lobb who previously worked at Nintendo but now is Partner Creative Director on Microsoft’s Xbox team posted:
First time I met Mr. Iwata, I was on a visit to NCL, he was this crazy excited young guy who ran HAL. Super nice, and a great dev. I’m sad:(
— Ken Lobb (@RealKLobb) July 13, 2015
Loved Mr. Iwata’s quote. President as title, game dev’s mind, gamers heart. Where’s the tissue, I need it. Honestly.
— Ken Lobb (@RealKLobb) July 13, 2015
It’s at times like these that all gamers, no matter which console they prefer, come together as a community. Satoru Iwata was a giant of the industry and he will be hugely missed.
Further reading: Larry Hryb, Microsoft, Nintendo, Phil Spencer, Xbox
