Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has passed away

[Lady Soniko]

I feel a direct connection to sadness even more now because I found out he was a programmer for Super Mario Galaxy, my favourite game of all time and now the weight of sorrow just feels that little bit heavier to me.

Like you don't realise what you've lost until you lose it, and in iwatas case we've lost a prophet of gaming, one of the big gods in the industry and it's just too hard to accept that such a happy and successful man is no longer with us.

Sad days ahead, the gaming world will never feel the same again for me.

I should probably blast across the galaxy from the stars and chase my  dreams of adventure one more time for him.

Thanks Iwata san.

[Pawn]

I've been finding it difficult to articulate my feelings about this since reading the sad news this morning. It surprised me how much it made me feel, given that my fondness for Nintendo as a company is relatively recent. That said, his unique communication with the fanbase, via Iwata Asks, Nintendo Directs and bits like his battle Reggie for Smash, is a hefty part of what endeared me to the company. It's a rare sight to see a CEO of an important developer and/or publisher be so earnest in their passion for gaming.

 

For him to be as young as that as well it such a shame. I hope his friends and family are finding a way to cope.

[DarkDefeater]

We have lost a great man. Nintendo games are a significant part of my life; I owe a lot to this man. A lot of games have helped me cope over the past two years, which have been highly difficult for me. He will be missed.

[Dejimon11]

From Neogaf 

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=171796700&postcount=9872

[Alienrun]

As a final note, I am sorry to all I may have offended! and regarding Iwata here, I can only hope he goes to heaven! Rest In Peace...what else can I say at this point? Hopefully everyone else can learn from this as much as I did!

[Nepenthe]

Alienrun, your first post was hidden by administration because, in a topic about the sudden passing of an influential artist and CEO from cancer, you decided to instead talk about yourself and your problems. Quoting people and responding with awkward diatribes about how you don't care about Nintendo products, how you don't know what to think, or how others' grief fascinates you like people are a sideshow is also not appropriate given the gravity of this thread. It's outright disrespectful. This thread is about Iwata's passing and how he impacted our views on gaming. If he didn't impact yours somehow, pay your respects like you just did and move on to personal discussion for the rest of your ranting.

[Alienrun]

I am sorry I got carried away to the point I didn't realize I was getting off topic! tho actually I posted 2 posts (the first one was more straight foward)

mainly what I was trying to say was that Iwata's death influenced and inspired me to make better decisions and rethink my life, that's all! Perhaps I should have just said that instead of writing a whole essay about it. Again sorry about that, I hope I didn't offend anyone...did I?

[-blank-]

What can I say that so many other people have said before me? My deepest condolences to his families and friends The gaming world has lost a great person. R.I.P Iwata, your contributions to gaming will not be forgotten.

[RK64]

Now that I let this sink in, I want to give Iwata a great thank you :').

When I was very young, I had bad frustration issues with games and despite owning multiple systems when I was little like the Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64 and even the Sega Dreamcast, I could never get into them and just got more angry.

But in 2002, I got my Nintendo GameCube and while my first games were Sonic titles (Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle), I also played a lot of Nintendo games of course :). Kirby Air Ride, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Sunshine brought me really happy memories and stand next to the Sonic titles as GameCube games I really enjoyed. So, I want to thank Nintendo for getting me to enjoy and love gaming, as if it wasn't for the GameCube, I would have never been interested in gaming now.

I remember the day I got my Nintendo Wii back in early 2007. Me, my mom and my sister traveled from Franklin Square all the way to New York City's Nintendo World, as that was the only place they had a Wii. After playing Twilight Princess at a local GameStop a few months prior, I wanted a Wii due to how interesting it felt and played. 

After a long while of traveling on buses and trains, we got to Nintendo World and waited on a long line to pick up the Wii. After waiting a while, my mom got me my Wii and I had the biggest grin on my face. It was such a happy day and look back on it as a time where I really, truly loved Nintendo :').

While I fell out with Nintendo over the years and more recently got back into there work thanks to the Nintendo 2DS, I highly respect Iwata's leadership at making games fun. People want to make games look better, sound better, and want to play around with Free to Play methods to get more money. But Nintendo is never like that; they make a game and make sure its fun. 

To this day, they are still doing that and future projects like Super Mario Maker just highlight how fun Nintendo's games are :'). Looking back at this E3, I feel horrible for being so critical of Nintendo. I had my issues with them, but I wouldn't have been so aggressive with my issues if I knew Iwata was so ill :'(. I get why Reggie was so defensive of Iwata's 'apology' now and why his tone was so aggressive now and I feel bad at some of Iwata's final images was me being so negative toward Nintendo X(. 

Iwata has done a lot for the industry, from his amazing programming work with Earthbound and Pokemon Gold/Silver too his work at bring the Kirby series to life. Not to mention his leadership during the Wii and DS era, which was one of the strongest era's Nintendo's ever had with their software output, with games that really used the motion/touch screen to great lengths. 

I just want to say, Thank You :'). Iwata has had a tremendous impact on the gaming landscape and I prey his family, co-workers and friends recover from such loss. 

Thank you for giving me tons of amazing memories of jumping on Koopa's with Mario, traveling through dark space stations with Samus, having dog-fights with Fox and the gang, hunting ghosts with Luigi, tracing paths for a ball Kirby, having fun fights in Smash and letting me explore the sky with Pit.  

Nintendo has been part of my life for my entire childhood and I cannot thank Iwata and Nintendo enough for getting back into gaming all those years ago :'). May you rest in peace and your legacy live on. 

[PaddyFancy]

On hearing the news, I'll admit I wasn't mind-numbingly gutted. I don't usually cry at celebrity deaths. I was still sad about it, so played a bit of New Super Mario Bros. U (that was the last Mario game Iwata was Exec Producer of?) and had a cider for thanks.

My memories of Iwata were of all the Nintendo Directs I watched and how this incredibly charming man presented each segment, in Nintendo's own little. If you asked me to name someone of the big three console companies, Iwata would come to mind (along with Miyamoto and Fils-Aime) and I can't name anyone else. To me he was one of current-day gaming's most recognizable figures.

Funny, before all the news broke. I had a funny emotional turn on the 11th, and after calming down I put my 3DS on and played a bit of New Super Mario Bros. Then the following night whilst listening to music, I decided to stop and do other things. Last song I listened to Gusty Garden Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy. Weird how things happen for a reason.

Sad to know we'll never see him again on a Nintendo Direct.

[Penny]

Here's my tribute to Iwata (from my thread in the Showcase. Seemed appropriate to post it here as well):

Hero

by Jordan Bush

 

       A lone, glasses-wearing Japanese man stood at the edge of a large, glowing platform, dressed in a neatly pressed suit and tie. He stared off into the surrounding black, starry void, waiting. His body was failing him, he knew that, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. Still, he wouldn't let that stop him. There was still something he needed to do before moving on.

       At the sound of footsteps and scuffling, the man smiled and turned around. Standing a little ways away was a gathering of many of Nintendo's most beloved characters, all of whom were staring up at him, their leader. As he had expected, they looked confused, cautious even. It wasn't often he called them all together like this. What could he be announcing?

       The man's smile deepened and he spread his arms wide. "Hello everyone!" he said loudly in that goofy, accented voice everyone gathered had become accustomed to. "Thank you for coming!"

       Silence greeted his words. That was to be expected. Most of the gathered characters rarely ever talked, even in their own games.

       "I have some unfortunate news to share with you all today."

       The silence was broken. The characters were muttering amongst themselves at those words, their curiosity increasing. They'd only ever been called together for good news, never anything bad. What could it--

       "I am dying."

       The muttering stopped dead in its tracks, replaced with stunned silence. Everyone stared up at the man, who'd been their leader for thirteen years, in disbelief. He couldn't be dying. He was too full of life to die. True, he was skinnier than the last time they'd seen him. but still.

       "I know what you are all thinking," the man continued, still smiling. "This is not a joke. I am leaving you all. But don't worry, everything will be all right. Please understand."

       The faces of those who were gathered were morphing from shock to sadness. As funny as the man standing before them was, this wasn't something he'd joke about, of that they were sure. Slowly, but surely, the words were sinking in.

       "No!" came the high-pitched voice of Princess Peach, standing near the front of the assembled characters. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "No, you can't be serious!"

       The tall, burly figure of Ganondorf shook his head, stepping to the front. "You can't leave. We need you."

       "Yes, we need you," agreed the nearby Meta Knight.

       "The world needs you," added Fox, exchanging a glance with Falco.

       Murmurs of agreement spread through the crowd, the volume growing louder with each passing second.

       The man's smile turned apologetic as he raised his hand for silence. He was obeyed immediately.

       "I am sorry, but I really must leave. My time is over, and I am being called away," he said. He looked over the assembled crowd once again and, even though it didn't seem possible, his smile grew wider. "Before I go, however, I must say how extremely proud I am of you all. You have grown bigger than I could have possibly imagined. You all have changed the world of video games so much, and I couldn't be prouder. You--"

       "But that wasn't us!" Ike interjected from the middle of the crowd. "That was you."

       Bowser, standing nearby, nodded. "We wouldn't be anything without you."

       "No," said the man. "I am not important. You are the important ones. You are the ones people have memories of, the ones who the world will remember long after I have left."

       "But that's not fair!" shouted Pit, crossing his arms.

       "You're every bit as important as us!" added Captain Falcon, frowning.

       Cries and shouts of agreement rang out until their leader raised another hand for silence.

       "I am sorry, but I cannot agree," he said. After pausing for a moment, he continued, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think it's time."

       Turning to his right, the man watched as a road of rainbow shimmered into existence, extending from the platform out into the vast, starry nothingness. An adult-sized go-kart, emblazoned with a familiar red M, materialized at the entrance to this rainbow road. The engine was already started, emitting a soft putting sound.

       The man turned back to the gathered characters, most of whom were now teary-eyed, and bowed. "Thank you all. Goodbye."

       He turned once again and began to make his way to the kart, adjusting his glasses as he did so. Suddenly, a voice called out from the crowd.

       "No!"

       Turning towards the voice, the man saw a boy clad in a red baseball cap and striped blue and yellow shirt forcing his way through the crowd and running towards him. Smiling, the man knelt down and opened his arms. The boy leaped into his embrace, sobbing.

       "No!" said the boy, gripping tightly. "Don't go! Please!"

       "Ness," replied the man, breaking the embrace and looking into the boy's eyes, "I must. It is my time. Please understand. Everything will be okay."

       Tears streaming down his face, Ness could do nothing but stare longingly after the man he loved more than any other as he got up and walked towards the waiting kart. After climbing into the kart, the man turned towards the gathering and gave one final thumbs up.

       And then he was gone, driving his kart down the rainbow road.

       As the man drove away, the crowd of crying characters began to grow as characters from all across the gaming world came to pay their respects.

       A blue hedgehog made his way to the front of the crowd and placed his arm around a sobbing plumber, whose red shirt was stained with tears.

       An orange bandicoot and a purple dragon stood beside a bear and bird at the edge of the crowd. All four of them watched with teary eyes.

       And at the back, behind everyone, stood a soldier clad in heavy green armor; a soldier who was very glad that no one could see through his helmet's thick visor. After all, no one should ever see a Spartan cry.

       The ever-growing congregation watched as one of gaming's greatest heroes left this world for a new one. They watched a man who had changed gaming forever. A man who made the world understand that video games were supposed to be, above all else, fun. A man who put his all into everything he did, big or small. A man who undoubtedly left the world a better place than he found it.

       As Satoru Iwata disappeared into the void and as the world mourned its fallen hero, his voice rang out one last time to every world at the same moment:

 

"Thank you all very much for playing my games!"

       

       No, thank you, Mr. Iwata. For everything.

 

RIP Mr. Iwata. The world won't be the same without you.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Penny

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

My heart hurts.

[Kaze no Klonoa]

Nintendo of America spoke on Twitter today:

:D

[gala]

I am honestly speechless. I had no idea he had health problems, so this was incredibly unexpected. I still can't believe this is happening.

Rest in peace, Iwata-san. You will be missed by many.

[Tara]

I sincerely hope next Nintendo Direct or something is dedicated to his memory.  I don't know if it would be pushing the envelope or not, but I really just don't want his death to be something that is bought up in the news and then abruptly dropped.  I want them to give him the send-off he deserves.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I sincerely hope next Nintendo Direct or something is dedicated to his memory.  I don't know if it would be pushing the envelope or not, but I really just don't want his death to be something that is bought up in the news and then abruptly dropped.  I want them to give him the send-off he deserves.

A collection of his favorite games perhaps? or of the iconic ones he worked on? That would be one thing, wouldn't be surprised if there wound up being a Scholarship started in his name, but that's a more localized thing

[Tara]

A collection of his favorite games perhaps? or of the iconic ones he worked on? That would be one thing, wouldn't be surprised if there wound up being a Scholarship started in his name, but that's a more localized thing

I was thinking more of a segment that discusses his contributions to the gaming world, his life at Nintendo and how he impacted the lives of others around him, and the legacy he leaves behind.  Something tasteful, informative, and sentimental like that.

[TheChris110]

To make a whole segment for him would be weird. It's one thing if a fan does a tribute video but to make something similar in a Direct video would be inappropriate.

Are they supposed to make this everytime now when someone important dies? They did nothing for Yamauchi and it's normal like that.

Iwata was a very sympathetic guy and the circumstances of his death are tragic so I was just as touched (is this the right word?) as everyone else when I heard about it but yeah... as I said it would be inappropiate.

Nevertheless I really hope we get some kind of easteregg like the banana joke or the "Directly to you" gesture.

 

[Nepenthe]

Yamauchi was not a game designer or programmer, nor was he reported to be an avid gamer. He certainly didn't put himself out in the public as much or in the same manner as Iwata did. He was a businessman through and through, and while his decisions were instrumental in defining Nintendo and gaming, he was not as close to the public or the art of game design as Iwata was.

 

In short, this is the difference between mourning over Walt Disney and Bob Iger. Iger is important as a business man, but Walt was the face of more.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Nepenthe

[TheChris110]

To be fair you have to admit that Yamauchis time was before the modern Internet so he didn't have many options.

The fact that Iwata was so close to the public explains the mourning but I don't really know why you bring up the differences between the two? It doen't change something about my last post.

Edited July 14, 2015 by TheChris110

[Nepenthe]

Television, radio, and trade shows were viable avenues for Yamauchi's generation, and they are avenues Walt Disney himself utilized to endear himself to the public.

The differences were brought up because not every important person who dies will have necessarily earned the outpouring of genuine grief and subsequent corporate response that Iwata has. That is just as dependent on their visible impact and beliefs as it is their financial and corporate status, thus saying it would be inappropriate for Nintendo to make a 15 minute video honoring Iwata simply because they didn't make one from Yamauchi is in itself a comparison that falls flat because it ignores the context surrounding the two men's presence. When Miyamoto eventually passes away, I will expect the same response and for Nintendo to do something versus a hypothetical president who was technically more important but only made the big corporate decisions.

[Tara]

In addition to what Nepenthe said, I hate the mindset that doing something special for one person somehow undermines the importance of another person.  It's not a competition.  They were both great people, and they both deserve to be given a proper send-off.  I don't see how expressing your admiration and appreciation for a man who influenced your job and your life (especially someone with as much prolific influence as Iwata) would be inappopriate, unless you think these emotions are things that should be reserved only for funerals and internal meetings, in which case I will just respectfully disagree.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

It wasn't just Nintendo's flag that was flying at half mast that day...

Whoever did this was really clever.

[Badnik Mechanic]

From Getty Images. Photos by Asahi Shimbun.

More than 4000 people have paid their respects in person. Those who attended the funeral included Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, Reggie Fils-Aime and Bill Trinen. They were joined by former Sonic Team boss Yuji Naka, Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai, The Legend of Zelda series boss Eiji Aonuma, Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert, and Platinum Games' Hideki Kamiya.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/17/8988549/thousands-attend-iwatas-funeral-in-kyoto

http://www.irishexaminer.com/technow/games/nintendo-fans-visit-satoru-iwatas-final-resting-place-343135.html

[goku262002]

Continuing what hogfather posted above.

Source.

Attending Iwata-san's wake to give my thanks and condolences. Miyamoto-san's eyes are red. It's also heavy rain in Kyoto.

Yuji Naka attended too, wish somebody would translate what hes been saying...

Source.

Source.

Weather can be really ironic sometimes.

Why did this have to happen. :(