RIP Nintendo's Satoru Iwata

Really good obit. over at GI.biz: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...

Oof, I had to fight back tears after seeing that, Kamakazi010654.

RIP Mr. Iwata

It's a terrible loss. I loved how he was always willing to be a little silly during Nintendo Directs and always seemed proud of his company and its games.

IMAGE(http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/steamtradingcards/images/f/f6/Holiday_Sale_2014_Emoticon_sadelf.png/revision/latest?cb=20141212025049&format=webp)As if things weren't sad enough already. Nothing but prayers for his family and friends.

This is a really charming tribute:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/6UUqcsu.jpg)

This editorial from Thomas Whitehead at Nintendo Life sums up a lot of what I'm feeling right now.

If anyone's interested, I'm trying to drum up interest in getting some Smash Bros. on tonight. Didn't see that thing about Mario Kart, but if anyone has Smash 4 on 3DS or Wii U please take a look at my post in the Smash thread so we can start coordinating: https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

ClockworkHouse wrote:

This editorial from Thomas Whitehead at Nintendo Life sums up a lot of what I'm feeling right now.

Great read, and I definitely share some of their sentiment. Been a hard day at work that's for sure.

Sad news. A truly unique CEO who loved games. This caught me totally by surprise.

Great things those articles point out is how he took a pay cut when Nintendo's financials weren't doing as well, instead of laying off a bunch of workers. A great leader.

Very sad that we lost Mr Iwata. He did fantastic things for the company, and was a great gamer. We need more CEOs that used to be programmers, like he was. He'll be missed.

Man, what a tragedy. You didn't have to be a Nintendo fan to see what a great and unique leader Iwata was. He will be missed, and Nintendo will surely not be quite the same without him.

I has a sad. His legacy will never die

I was looking up tribute videos and came across this which I had never seen before. I was smiling the entire time, when I wasn't laughing that is.

Satoru Iwata. Legend.

Wow great video. I should play some Balloon Fight.

I went straight to the eShop and purchased Balloon Fight. It just seemed fitting to spend some time with the game after watching that video. Now begins my quest to get orange balloons in honour of Mr. Iwata.

RnRClown wrote:

I went straight to the eShop and purchased Balloon Fight. It just seemed fitting to spend some time with the game after watching that video. Now begins my quest to get orange balloons in honour of Mr. Iwata.

You should make this viral. How cool would it be to see Balloon Fight I guise weeks sale's charts.

IMAGE(http://cdn.brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comics/2015-07-13-tributetomriwata.png)

RIP Saturo Iwata, I Thank God for this gem of a person we had on this planet sharing with us for 59 years, we are very lucky.

Seeing a LOT of tributes in the Splatoon 'graffiti' that the players can display.

Making it really tough to stay focussed, and having to explain it to my kids, they were very sad, as they know how much I love my King Dedede Amiibo, and the REALLY loved the way he spoke to them "directly" in all of the news feeds we used to watch together for upcoming gaming fixes.

They want to fire up their own profiles now and do a few Laps of Mario Kart with Iwata's Mii. They're killing me...

I typed something, Monkey, but man just come here for an e-hug. I am still needing those, too.

Lots more tributes...

Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka posted a nice Balloon Fight remix in remembrance. Tanaka was one of the composers in the Mother/Earthbound series and many NES games including Balloon Fight. He did something similar when Mr. Yamauchi (the previous Nintendo president) passed away in 2013 with remixes for Super Mario Land and Metroid.

Shigesato Itoi posted a really touching message on his blog in remembrance.

Fangamer also unsurprisingly paid tribute since many of them know each other through Starmen.net, the long-running Mother series fansite, which would not have existed if Iwata hadn't reworked Mother 2 into something playable*.

USGamer and Eurogamer both have good roundups of tweets from notable devs and studios. Love the photo from Yoot Saito (SimTower, Seaman, Odama) of Iwata most likely checking out a prototype build of The Tower SP on a GBA.

And this thread on NeoGAF has all the feels and tribute art your heart can't handle.

(EDIT: I forgot this earlier. Simogo put together a short tribute game for Mr. Iwata. I haven't tried it, but it's available for Win/Mac)

* It's interesting to me that many places cite that Iwata was instrumental in getting Mother 2 shipped, but they forget to mention that he was partially responsible (along with Miyamoto) for convincing Mr. Itoi to revisit Mother 3 as a GBA game instead of letting that old N64DD project lay dormant. While double-checking this I found some interviews he did with Itoi in 2009 which read like some "missing tracks" from Iwata Asks. I guess he liked to interview people (as does Itoi)?

m0nk3yboy wrote:

You should make this viral. How cool would it be to see Balloon Fight I guise weeks sale's charts.

I would not be surprised if this happens without any sort of viral push.

We fired up Mario Kart 8, picked Iwata, and he donned his Kirby Amiibo suit.

He jumped on the SMB Wiggler quad bike, Animal Crossing tyres selected, and a Hyrule Crested glider sail. We then did a few rounds of Mario Stadium, fireworks popping, and a banana held aloft proudly as we crossed the line.

"I like how Iwata is always smiling Daddy" was whispered in my ear...

Then the screen started getting a little hard to see for some reason.

m0nk3yboy wrote:

"I like how Iwata is always smiling Daddy" was whispered in my ear...
Then the screen started getting a little hard to see for some reason.

Oh ow. Right in the feels there.

a whole lot of feels here but...

shoptroll wrote:

Shigesato Itoi posted a really touching message on his blog in remembrance.

that's just....ouch

pyxistyx wrote:

a whole lot of feels here but...

shoptroll wrote:

Shigesato Itoi posted a really touching message on his blog in remembrance.

that's just....ouch

Oof.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
pyxistyx wrote:

a whole lot of feels here but...

shoptroll wrote:

Shigesato Itoi posted a really touching message on his blog in remembrance.

that's just....ouch

Oof.

Beautiful.

gamerparent wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
pyxistyx wrote:

a whole lot of feels here but...

shoptroll wrote:

Shigesato Itoi posted a really touching message on his blog in remembrance.

that's just....ouch

Oof.

Beautiful.

Yeah this one got me the most of all the things I've read in the last couple of days.

Some words from Masahiro Sakurai about the wake and funeral.

At the funeral, Sakurai was given one of the few guest seats – seats reserved for close friends and acquaintances of the deceased – something Sakurai was both honored and humbled by.

...

Normally, after offering incense, guests are permitted to leave. Sakurai however, chose to remain. “As this was the last time I would be with Mr. Iwata, I wanted to remain there as long as I could.”

And the closing:

In a previous column, I wrote that when someone passes on, for those around them, it’s simply as though a character has been removed from their story, but for the deceased, the entire world has gone away. However, even for other people, Mr. Iwata’s presence was too great to simply call him a character in the story of life.

Mr. Iwata’s world is gone, leaving a massive impression on those around him. Yet, even so, our world continues.

I will not mourn or fall into depression. I will continue to do my work as best as I can. All I can offer is that I complete that which I have to do.