A touching tribute video was played at the Game Developer Choice Awards last night in remembrance to the fourth president and CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata. Iwata passed away on July 11th, 2015, due to complications with a tumour at the age of fifty-five.
A legend in the gaming industry
Satoru Iwata was a legend in the gaming industry. He was responsible for great gaming platforms such as the Nintendo DS devices, Wii, WiiU and Gamecube. Iwata also contributed to the development of classic titles like Earthbound, Kirby series, Pokémon series and Super Smash Bros series.
Upon his promotion to CEO of Nintendo in 2002, he sought to bring the company in a new direction. At the time, though still profitable, the company began falling behind its competition. It was from there that Iwata wanted to create devices and games that would not just be for gamers but everyone.
It’s all about the fun
Iwata was a man who stood for the word fun in every way. Every new piece of hardware and every new game that Nintendo released had to be fun. Anything less than that would not be acceptable as to him that is what video games and the industry are about: having a good time.
Iwata achieved this with devices such as the Nintendo DS series and the Wii. They are consoles that anyone can play due to the easy to use and simple design of the devices. They brought millions of people of all ages together to play and have fun. Even to this day, the consoles achieve that.
He was a man with many great and innovative ideas that helped revolutionise the video game industry. He was a true legend that inspired the video game industry, and developers, gamers and everyone who stands for the word fun will greatly miss him.
