Top 5 Reasons We Will Miss Satoru Iwata

We’re starting this list back in a time when disco was supposedly inducing a fever. Mr. Iwata always had a passion for technology, so he started working on computers in the 70s. However, no one could predict that this would lead to him becoming the president of one of the biggest -- if not the biggest -- gaming company in the world. In an attempt to understand a PC called the Commodore PET, Mr. Iwata did the only thing that seemed logical: he took it apart. This came in handy when he and his friends got together and created a development team you may have heard of -- HAL Laboratory -- in 1980 because of their love for video games.

People assume that creating video games has to be the most fun job in the history of the work force. Watching Mr. Iwata via Nintendo Direct pretty much solidified that assumption. This video service started in 2011 and it was a way for gamers to get updates and information on what was going on at Nintendo, and if we go by Mr. Iwata’s videos... Nintendo looks like the fantasy land you’d dream about as a child. There’s the muppets representing him and his crew for E3 2015, there’s his fascination with bananas, there’s the all out brawl with Reggie Fils-Aime, the year of Luigi... no one had as much fun with Nintendo as Mr. Iwata.

We’ve all heard the grievances that gamers have had with Nintendo. This greatly affected Nintendo during their fiscal year over 2013 and into 2014 as their profits declined by 30%. We’re used to seeing the dreadful word “layoffs” when something like this happens, but Mr. Iwata stunned the gaming industry with his decision to take an astonishing 50% pay cut to help his company out of its financial hole while members of the board took a 20 to 30 perfect cut. He not only said that he felt responsible for Nintendo’s poor business during that time, but apologized for it, and vowed to see it through. Thankfully, Nintendo bounced back, and Mr. Iwata’s noble gesture was not made in vain.

Mr. Iwata has a longer history with programming for Nintendo than being its president -- 22 years, to be exact, before taking over the company in 2002. So what has he done as a programmer? For starters, many thank him for “Earthbound,” since he rewrote thousands of hours of code to get the game up to speed. He’s also responsible for the Kanto region being in Pokemon Gold and Silver since he felt that gamers deserved more than just the Johto region. He’s had his hands in the Smash Brothers franchise, the Kirby franchise ... so, essentially, he spent years creating some of Nintendo’s most beloved games and building one hell of a resume before becoming president. Well played.


Before we reach the final level, let’s scoop up some extra coins with these honorable mentions:

Big Contenders in the Console War

Code Writing Specialist

If there’s anything that properly conveys Mr. Iwata’s love for Nintendo and gaming the industry, it’s his 2005 keynote speech for the Game Developer’s Conference. Throughout the speech he talked about his start with programming -- number based games and pocket calculators -- and his love for video games -- Pong was the first one he ever played. With 35 years of experience we know he was good at what he did, but it’s the opening quote for this speech that shows that he not only enjoyed it, but cherished it. He may have been a programmer, a businessman, and a company president... but first, and foremost, he was a gamer, just like so many of us.

This list is here to honor the memory of a great individual in the gaming industry. So, instead of asking you to agree or disagree, we’d simply like to know what your favorite memories of Mr. Iwata are, whether they’re on this list or not. Let’s keep his accomplishments and love for gaming in our hearts and appreciate what he’s done for gamers everywhere. Thank you for everything, Mr. Iwata.