In a sad day for gamers worldwide, Nintendo have confirmed that its president Satoru Iwata has passed away due to a bile duct growth at an age of just 55 years old. This follows an attempt to have the bile duct growth surgically removed in 2014 – a reason associated with him being unable to attend E3 2014. He most recently appeared in Nintendo E3 2015’s Digital Event, represented by an adorable look alike Muppet.
Mr Iwata’s history with Nintendo saw him hit many milestones for the company. He along with the rest of the Nintendo team managed to dominate the last generation of video game consoles with the Nintendo Wii (In terms of sheer sales), became a dominant force in the portable gaming market with the successful Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS consoles and had a role on many beloved video games.
But I think that the most memorable component of Mr Iwata’s history in video games is that he was an all-around personable and likable guy. In both the Japanese and English speaking markets, he was not the sort of guy to just simply get on stage and make a presentation a few times every year – taking a head on role to promote upcoming titles through the routine Nintendo Direct Conferences. He also served a major role in promoting Nintendo in the role of an approachable personality and not just a staff member, alongside the likes of Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto. Below are just a couple of videos showcasing Mr. Iwata in promotional material:
Ultimately life has to go on, and without Mr. Iwata guiding them, it will be interesting to see which directions Nintendo take from here on out.
My condolences go out to Mr. Iwata’s family.
