Leave luck to heaven... · 2:57am Jul 13th, 2015
So the news has come out that Satoru Iwata, Global President of Nintendo, has passed away at the age of 55.
I am shocked that he died so young. I honestly hadn't an earthly clue this might happen, but I'm not going to despair over this. Since I don't feel like repeating myself, I'll copy/paste my thoughts on his passing from a youtube comment I made on the matter:
Satoru Iwata was more than just a businessman. Or even a man in general. Of all the game company presidents out there, he was the one that best combined the better qualities of a gamer, game developer, game businessman, and just a person in general. He wanted to bridge the gap between the developers and the consumers, and create not just a successful company from it, but also a sense of community.
Read any of his Iwata Asks columns and you can see it in his words that he wants to learn what the job is like for the people who work under him. He wanted to see things from their POV, maybe even dig up fond memories of his time programming games at HAL, before he became president of Nintendo. And then there's the Directs. How many other game developers take the time to directly address you, the consumer, instead of speaking solely through media outlets? I can't think of any others, which is why seeing him speak in each Direct was a special thing for me, because I truly felt like I was getting to know him better as a person. And I liked what I saw in him.
I'm not going to dwell on his passing, nor am I going to let this ruin my fun of playing the games he green-lit. That isn't what he would want. I offer my condolences to his friends, family, and everyone else who felt the same way about him as me. His role with Nintendo, and what a great man he was, will remain etched into my heart forever. Everything he did to reshape Nintendo over the past year or two shall go down as his biggest contribution for the company, and when all that stuff comes about, I fully intend to experience it all to its fullest, so as to honor his desire to make Nintendo a company where fun is law and good feelings prevail.
R.I.P Satoru Iwata
"Leave luck to heaven."
That last line, as well as the title of this blog, is the English translation of 'Nintendo', in case you weren't aware.
Like I said, I'm not going to let this affect me in a negative manner, but I would like to say right now that this man is indirectly responsible for shaping most of my life. I've been playing Nintendo games for such a long time, and the experience of playing them has done much to shape my creative intellect. Without which, all the stories I've written for this site wouldn't exist. Period.
In that respect, I feel as if I'm losing a piece of myself from his passing. It hurts, but just a little, and it won't be long before I'm happy once again.
Best wishes from me to everyone.
huh. i did not know that about Nintendo's translation. i thought it was 'play well'. ... no. wiat. that's the translation for Lego.
Wow, I don't know what to say. The world's lost a truly good man and a great innovator. My prayers are with his family and friends. May he rest in peace.
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