Remembering Satoru Iwata – a Gamer’s President

Today marks the one year passing of Satoru Iwata. The news of his passing hit a lot of people in many different ways and it’s still hard to believe he’s gone.

While he might not be here with us today, we still think he would be proud of what Nintendo are doing right now and just how many smiles the likes of Breath of the Wild and Pokemon Go are putting on people’s faces.

Below is our tribute to Mr Iwata we wrote days after his passing, we still believe everything in it. Thank You, Mr Iwata.

There’s almost no one else in the video game industry that you can compare Satoru Iwata against. While the record might only show that Iwata-san started with Nintendo at the turn of the century, the person Iwata would become was forged through the 80s and 90s.

Satoru Iwata started his development career at HAL Laboratory, a small company made up from a group of friends which would eventually become a second party and integral part of Nintendo. Iwata was a programmer there, he worked on the likes of Pinball, he programmed Balloon Fight and worked on Kirby’s Dream Land before becoming the boss in 1993. His appointment to this position was insisted on Hiroshi Yamauchi the then president of Nintendo.

Hiroshi Yamauchi saw something in Satoru Iwata, so much so that in 2002 just two years after being appointed director he made him the President of Nintendo, his successor and only the forth president ever in the hundred year long history of the company – the first outside of the Yamauchi family.

“Taking into account the things I’ve encountered in my experiences as Nintendo president, I have come to the conclusion that it requires a special talent to manage a company in this industry, I selected Iwata-san based on that criteria. Over the long term, I don’t know whether Iwata-san will maintain Nintendo’s position or lead the company to even greater heights of success. At the very least, I believe him to be the best person for the job.”

Soon as Iwata took control of the company things began to change. Yamauchi ruled Nintendo with an iron fist, it brought them success in the 80s and 90s but with the dawn of a new millennium things had to change. A new millennium needed a new more softer, more affable CEO.

Dumping the Game Boy brand was a bold move but Iwata had a new plan. A new plan that involved everyone. There wasn’t hardcore and casual, there were people who didn’t play games and people who did – Iwata wanted everyone to play games. After a slow start the Nintendo DS took off, the Wii followed in its footsteps as Nintendo soared to record profits.

Nintendo hadn’t had success like it had with the DS and Wii for years, Unfortunately following it up has proved to be difficult and a real test of Iwata’s leadership. Instead of laying off staff and closing studios Iwata took a 50% pay cut, made other executives take a pay cut and gave a promise to not lay off anyone.

“If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, employee morale will decrease,” 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.”

Throughout all the struggles Nintendo has still managed to make gamers out of anyone, make people smile and completely change gaming.  Between 2004 and just before the Wii U launched Nintendo were able to completely change what it meant to be a gamer, what it meant to enjoy games. That vision has suffered as Nintendo have been forced to retreat inside its shell, focusing on the fans and not being able to enjoy mainstream success in the market place or mind-share of the general public.

This has resulted however in a more open Nintendo, one that appeals to and recognizes its substantial fan-base. Iwata opened the doors to development with the Iwata Asks series and turned game journalism on its head with Nintendo Direct broadcasts. These broadcasts show Iwata off best, he may have been the head of a multi-billion dollar company, an entertainment juggernaut but still allowed himself to be lampooned and have fun with himself and his company.

When Yamauichu left Iwata in charge he had one request. “That Nintendo give birth to wholly new ideas and create hardware which reflects that ideal. And make software that adheres to that same standard. Furthermore, this software should attract consumers as new and interesting.” He did that pretty well.

There will be a lot written about Satoru Iwata over the next few days, weeks and month. His legacy, his successes and even his few failures. One thing is for sure that no one will forget what Satoru Iwata has done for not only Nintendo but the entire video game industry.

When Iwata started at Nintendo gaming was in the same place it was throughout the 80s and 90s, in the bedroom. In the basement. The DS and the Wii taught everyone that playing games could be fun and could be for everyone. My Dad never played games growing up, the simpler Wii controls of Mario Kart Wii meant he clocked in over 500 hours of the game, he’s played it more than I. My cousin’s grandmother with dementia had a DS for Brain Training , my own grandmother gave Wii Tennis a go – my hobby had become everyone else’s – I could share my experiences with games with everyone else. For that bold move alone, Iwata deserves respect.

Iwata put a human face on Nintendo, an extension of a brand known for being a little bit weird, humorous and not afraid to have fun. Iwata embodied those ideals and made other companies look at the way they present themselves and their games.

We didn’t get to see Satoru Iwata much this past year, we all know why. Luckily we will be honoured to see what he was working on with what Nintendo is doing next. His ideals, characters and methods will live on in Nintendo’s future.

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.

Quotes from Eurogamer