Nintendo Executives Mourn The Loss of Satoru Iwata
Since his passing this weekend, many who knew former Nintendo President Satoru Iwata have come forward to say a few parting words to their friend.
Mr. Iwata’s long time friend, and partner on Earthbound, Shigesato Itoi, had this to say to Yomuka:
“When I’m parting with a friend, regardless of the circumstances, I find it best to just say, ‘See you later.’ We’ll meet again. After all, we’re friends. That’s right – nothing unusual about it. I’ll see you later.
“You went on a trip far, far away, even though it was planned for many years from now. You wore your best outfit and said ‘Sorry for the short notice,’ though you didn’t say it out loud. You always put yourself last, after you’d finished helping everyone else. You were so generous as a friend that this trip might be your very first selfish act.
“I still can’t grasp what’s happened. It feels like I could still get a light-hearted e-mail asking me out to lunch at any moment – after you’ve made sure lunch wouldn’t disrupt my schedule, of course. You can invite me out whenever you want. I’ll invite you, too. So for now, let’s plan on meeting again. You can call me up whenever you like, and I’ll give you a call, too. I still have a lot to talk to you about, and if I come up with any particularly good ideas, I’ll let you know.
“So let’s meet again. No – I suppose we’re already meeting. Right here, right now.”
And now, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has released a statement about the passing of Satoru Iwata:
“Mr. Iwata is gone, but it will be years before his impact on both Nintendo and the full video game industry will be fully appreciated. He was a strong leader for our company, and his attributes were clear to most everyone: Intelligence, creativity, curiosity and sense of humor. But for those of us fortunate enough to work closely with him, what will be remembered most were his mentorship and, especially, his friendship. He was a wonderful man. He always challenged us to push forward…to try the new…to upset paradigms—and most of all, to engage, excite and endear our fans. That work will continue uninterrupted.”
No matter what you thought of the man, you should respect at the very least what he did for the gaming industry. He dedicated much of his life to it, and it through fans and his friends that we can continue to honor that life.